Comparing Journeys Of Odysseus And Oedipus The King
Both stories are very similar yet different because both main characters are honorary leaders and are ruled by Greek gods; however, have different endings to their journeys.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle and he marries the queen and is crown king of the city. The city of Thebes is dealing with a plague that is sickening the cattle sick, causing women to die after childbirth, and destroying the crops. Kings Oedipus shows honor when he takes the responsibility of solving the crisis and sends his brother in law, Creon, to find the answer from Apollo’s Oracle. In the Odysseus, Odysseus shows responsibility to his kingdom by fighting in the Trojan war. According to the text, “I myself will go to Ithaca to put some spirit
into his son…” (par. 7). This shows the respect that Zeus, shows towards King Odysseus.
Another similarity is that Greek gods rule the humans like puppets. In The Odyssey, Poseidon test the strength of Odysseus through several trails on his journey home. It is clear, Zeus controlled everything that takes place throughout The Odyssey. However, the gods in Oedipus the King made sure that the prophecy about Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother came true no matter what. Oedipus ran far away from his family but only to find out he was adapted and he had fulfilled his prophecy.
The main differences between the two heroes is the way their journeys ended. In The Odyssey, Odysseus ends his journey with happiness. He survives all the trails the gods gave him and made it home to his family and his kingdom. While in Oedipus the King, Oedipus discovers he killed his actually father and married his mother. According to the text, “…He commands we drive out what corrupts us, what sickens our city. We now harbor something incurable. He says: purge it” (par 15). With fulfilling his prophecy, Oedipus corrupts the city and is banished from his kingdom.
In conclusion, we realize that in this era no matter how great of a person someone is, their destiny is not their own, it belongs to the Greek gods. Also we see how similar both Oedipus and Odysseus are to each other, yet how different their journeys end.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle and he marries the queen and is crown king of the city. The city of Thebes is dealing with a plague that is sickening the cattle sick, causing women to die after childbirth, and destroying the crops. Kings Oedipus shows honor when he takes the responsibility of solving the crisis and sends his brother in law, Creon, to find the answer from Apollo’s Oracle. In the Odysseus, Odysseus shows responsibility to his kingdom by fighting in the Trojan war. According to the text, “I myself will go to Ithaca to put some spirit
into his son…” (par. 7). This shows the respect that Zeus, shows towards King Odysseus.
Another similarity is that Greek gods rule the humans like puppets. In The Odyssey, Poseidon test the strength of Odysseus through several trails on his journey home. It is clear, Zeus controlled everything that takes place throughout The Odyssey. However, the gods in Oedipus the King made sure that the prophecy about Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother came true no matter what. Oedipus ran far away from his family but only to find out he was adapted and he had fulfilled his prophecy.
The main differences between the two heroes is the way their journeys ended. In The Odyssey, Odysseus ends his journey with happiness. He survives all the trails the gods gave him and made it home to his family and his kingdom. While in Oedipus the King, Oedipus discovers he killed his actually father and married his mother. According to the text, “…He commands we drive out what corrupts us, what sickens our city. We now harbor something incurable. He says: purge it” (par 15). With fulfilling his prophecy, Oedipus corrupts the city and is banished from his kingdom.
In conclusion, we realize that in this era no matter how great of a person someone is, their destiny is not their own, it belongs to the Greek gods. Also we see how similar both Oedipus and Odysseus are to each other, yet how different their journeys end.