From the beginning of our heritage, violence and heroism became part of our society and culture. From the time of Napoleon until today when Spiderman became our hero in our fantasy and sometime real life. Violence and heroism appear when there are “heroes” because it is like a process of cause and effect – whenever there is good, there is always evil. The story of Iliad and Oedipus is somehow similar and opposite depending on their attack to their problems and conflicts in their story. However, these two “heroes” brought a unique form of heroism approach that moulds different “heroes” today.
Therefore, the purpose of this paper is not only to show the similarities and differences of Iliad and Oedipus but also applying those acts of heroism and violence to our present generation where there are still forms of aggression and bravery. The story of Oedipus the King is about a man named Oedipus who has a different destiny from the time he was born until his maturity and adulthood. Before Oedipus was born, it was prophesies that he will soon kill his father. That is why when Oedipus was born, his parents nailed his feet together and called him Oedipus, which means swollen-feet”.
They left Oedipus alone and wanted him to die but a King adopted him and treated him as his own along with his wife. When Oedipus became a man, he knew the prophecy and feared that he may do it to his adopted parents, so he went to a journey. While traveling, he encountered some travelers and killed one of them whom to be his real father. Afterwards, when Oedipus will already sit on his throne, it was said that a mysterious plague should be removed and it will only be removed if the murderer of Laois will be found.
After a long search, they have found out that Oedipus killed his own father whom he killed on his journey. Because of this, he blinds his own eyes and he was exiled. The story of Iliad is about a man named Achilles who had so many burdens all throughout his journey in life. The battle between Achilles and his enemies ended through violence and crime. In this story, many have died and suffered just to save their community, their society as Gods and Goddesses. However, love for neighbor, friend, and family emerged in this epic as its story went through different chapter or books.
The combat between the Acheans and the Torjans went through different situations where gods and goddesses also joined the fight to defend one another and their territories. Because this story is an epic, superpowers were defined and described all throughout the narrative. This epic also defined Achilles as a hero who does not want to refuse his fight just to defend his people. That is why when his friend Patroclus died, his anger and grief became a violent situation to both Trojans and Acheans.
When he killed Hector, the one who killed Patroclus, his anger and grief turned into happiness but he was not contented until he wiped Hector’s body into Patroclus grave for twelve days. In the story of Oedipus the King, violence emerged when Oedipus killed Laois, his father during his journey. The prophecy in this story, which says that he will soon kill his father when his right time and age comes, is also a form of violence because it is a type of killing where crime emerges even if the character do not want that kind of act.
On the other hand, in the story of Iliad, violence emerged in different aspects and scenarios. This epic started with a battle between two territories, which imposed violence and crime. The death of different characters in the story is also a form of violence where there is a form of killing and brutality. In the part of this epic where Patroclus and Hector was killed is a form of brutality. That is when after their killings, their body was used to heighten the cruel situations and cynical action of both territories.
However, despite of these scenarios, heroism also exists during the evolution of violence and crime in both stories. Oedipus became a hero in a sense of being humble but powerful. His humility emerged when he finally knew that he killed his real father. Because of this, he accepted the fact that he was in the state of idiocy and become enlightened that despite of his power and strength, there are things that he do not know. In order to remove his despair and resentment, he blinds himself and accepts his exile. However, heroism in Iliad is definitely obvious because Achilles became the hero of many in this story.
He became the hero of Acheans, the gods and goddesses, and the hero of Patroclus. Achilles showed that he did not fight for his own goodness and achievement but also for the peace and safety of his territory and family. Even though his revenge for Patroclus’ death is a form of violence and crime, he remained hero to the fact that he is defending his friend’s death and grave. Both Achilles and Oedipus made remarkable acts towards the establishment of heroism. However, both of them changed in the latter part of the story, their strength and power transformed into humility and forgiveness.
In this case, the concept of heroism is not always based on strength and power but also in the heart of the “heroes”. Aside from those similarities, these two stories became similar in their conviction and ideology. Even though Oedipus went to his journey to escape from the prophecy and killed his real father, his ideology of acceptance to what he has done defined his heroism. While in the case of Achilles, despite of all his anger and revenge, his ideology of forgiveness and love defined his heroism that emerged only in the latter part of the story after Patroclus’ death.
In addition to this, both of these characters have their own freewill, whether to go into the battle and have their journey or not. Through the act of freewill, the prophecy that marked into their lives changed not because they escaped from the prophecy but it is the fact that they have conquered their fears and irrational dictations of their manhood. Their freewill also gave them the opportunity to know the truth behind all the falsifications of being alive.
Aside from these, their freewill became their stepping-stone to achieve the factor of heroism in opposed to the prophecy that is imposed into their lives. Therefore, freewill became the main factor that contributes to their manhood and individuality as human and heroes. The difference between these two stories is that Iliad is more on the battle aspect while Oedipus the King is more on the humanistic aspect. Iliad showed his heroism factor through his battles and revenge for his territory and loved ones while Oedipus showed his heroism factor through his journey and his acceptance of his punishment.
However, even if Oedipus the King tackles the humanistic point of view of being a King, it is more conflicting than what had Iliad showed. Nevertheless, both of these characters showed different ideas of heroism and violence through their situations and actions. Therefore, Iliad and Oedipus the King do not overlap its content and point of view but they fill in the gap and imperfections of one another. As a whole, these two stories showed similar trends but different point of attack. It became the pattern of today’s concept of heroism but not its violence.
Personally speaking, we know that we all need heroes in our life especially today when there is crime and violence in different parts of the world. However, I can say that heroes lie within each one of us. We do not need to become Achilles or Oedipus to prove our heroism, we just need to face the reality and develop the society into a better situation not only for today but also for the future – this is what heroism should be.
Works Cited Lesky, A. (1996). A History of Greek Literature; trans. de Heer &; Willis, London: Methuen &; Co.