What Are The Main Differences And Similarities Between Italy and Kenya?

What are the similarities and differences between the iliad and the Odyssey?

• I am writing an essay on the similarities and differences between the Iliad and the odyssey. I just need good similarities and differences between the two and i'll find where they are in the book. Basically I need to develop a argument between the the two that ties in with this. Thanks to anyone who answers, i'm not asking for people to do my paper for me I just need help with the differences and similarities.

• Answer:

  Similarities: - Both are attributed to Homer. - Both begin with an evocation of the Muse. - They both take place over the course of 10 years. - They both begin in medias res, or in the middle of things. The Iliad opens up in the last couple weeks of the final year of the war ; the Odyssey opens up with Telemachus searching for news of his father, and then we first learn of Odysseus through flashbacks while he is being held captive by Calypso--which was actually around the middle of his journey. - They both use dactylic hexameter. - Many of the same characters can be found in both poems. Differences: - The Iliad is about a 10-year war fought between the Achaeans (Greeks) and the Trojans; the Odyssey is about the 10-year journey home of the hero Odysseus after the Trojan War. - Achilles is one of the leading characters in the Iliad; Odysseus is the leading character in the Odyssey. - The Iliad is a poem telling the tale of many (Achilles, Hector, the gods, etc.), while the Odyssey is primarily the tale of Odysseus. - Menis, or the wrath of Achilles, is the main focal point and one of several themes in the Iliad; Nostos, or homecoming, is the main focal point and one of several themes in the Odyssey. - In the Iliad, the gods are portrayed as pretty deceptive, temperamental, backstabbing gods; there's a lot of sneaking around behind each other's backs to aid one side over the other (Hera wanted the Achaeans to be triumphant, but Zeus tried to remain neutral), several of the gods conspired to put Zeus to sleep so they could help the Achaeans win, and the battlefield is essentially one giant chess board for them, with mortals as their pawns. In the Odyssey, the gods seem a little more benevolent (Athena supports Odysseus and tries to assist him whenever she can, and they all --except Poseidon--would like to see Odysseus return to Ithaca) and they seem more unified and civil in their views on how things (particularly Odysseus making it home) should be handled. Even though Athena was Odysseus staunchest supporter, she did not try to retaliate against Poseidon when he made Odysseus' journey all the harder and even longer. - In the Iliad, the gods were more actively involved in the affairs of mortals than they were in the Odyssey. In fact, there were numerous occasions where they actually took human form so they could go out onto the battlefield. In the Odyssey, there was little intervention, and usually only when it was asked for. - The Iliad takes place in one location: Troy; in the Odyssey, Odysseus visits numerous places in his journey home. I'll try to add more once I get some sleep and have time to think on it.