Odysseus The Epic Hero
Semper Fidelis "always faithful," became the Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to their country, no matter what. A lot of people including myself consider the marines to be heroes. That is why I chose to compare and contrast them to the Epic hero Odysseus. They share many similarities such as their patriotism and high Intelligence. However, while sharing many similarities they share a key difference. Odysseus is sometimes “Hot Headed”, or and lets his emotions play a part in his decisions. Which is definitely not ideal, and can get him and his men in trouble at times.
My first point of comparison is how patriotic they both are. I base this similarity on …show more content…
We see an example to this when Odysseus led his crew between Scylla and Charybdis. Sailing into almost certain death Odysseus uses his wits to help him lead them through with as little loss of life as possible. Odysseus tells his men “Have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the cyclops penned us in his cave? What power he had! Did I not keep my nerve and use my wits to find a way out of this?” (Homer 934) He told his crew this to keep his crew calm and help make sure they didn't make a rash decision and get them all killed. A prime example of his intelligence.And I believe this is similar to a Marine because of the Marines outstanding training. Which allows them to make quick and smart decisions in the heat of battle much like odysseus.
Even though they seem almost exactly the same they are still are a little different. Odysseus is sometimes “Hot Headed” or he lets his emotions get the best of him. For example is this quote Odysseus says. “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:” (Homer 916) Odysseus taunts polyphemus revealing his name therefore allowing Polyphemus to curse Odysseus now that he knows his name. Putting his men and him in even more danger. While a Marine would not let his emotions get the best of him, and do what is best for him and his
My first point of comparison is how patriotic they both are. I base this similarity on …show more content…
We see an example to this when Odysseus led his crew between Scylla and Charybdis. Sailing into almost certain death Odysseus uses his wits to help him lead them through with as little loss of life as possible. Odysseus tells his men “Have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the cyclops penned us in his cave? What power he had! Did I not keep my nerve and use my wits to find a way out of this?” (Homer 934) He told his crew this to keep his crew calm and help make sure they didn't make a rash decision and get them all killed. A prime example of his intelligence.And I believe this is similar to a Marine because of the Marines outstanding training. Which allows them to make quick and smart decisions in the heat of battle much like odysseus.
Even though they seem almost exactly the same they are still are a little different. Odysseus is sometimes “Hot Headed” or he lets his emotions get the best of him. For example is this quote Odysseus says. “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:” (Homer 916) Odysseus taunts polyphemus revealing his name therefore allowing Polyphemus to curse Odysseus now that he knows his name. Putting his men and him in even more danger. While a Marine would not let his emotions get the best of him, and do what is best for him and his