ODYSESSUS

Odysseus, who fights for ten years in the war, is one of the most important Greek leaders in the Trojan War. Befor the war, when he is the king of Ithaca, he begins thinking of marriage. Like other heroes in Greece, he desires Helen, the beautiful daughter of King of Sparta. But Ithaca is poor kingdom and Odysseus has little hope of winning her. Nevertheless, he goes to Sparta as a suitor. While in Sparta, Odysseus displays some of the cunning for which he becomes famous. Crowds of men have come to Sparta to seek the hand of Helen but the king fears what might happen when he chooses one of them to marry his daughter. Odysseus advises the king to make all the suitors swear an oath to protect Helen and the man she will marry. The suitors agree and thus accept Menelaus when he is chosen to be Helen's husband. To show his gratitude, the king helps Odysseus win the hand of his niece Penelope. The couple returned to Ithaca, and Penelope bore Odysseus a son named Telemachus. After a short time, Eros shoots Helen with a golden arrow and fall in love with Paris. Then the pair leaves for Troy. Menelaus declared war on Troy to retrieve his queen. This begins the Trojan War. He is renowned for his cunning and cleverness. For example of his cunning is that he tries to avoid from the Trojan War by feigning madness and evidence of his cleverness is that he originates the Trojan Horse, which makes the Greeks win the war. The courage and wisdom of Odysseus help him survive. For instance, Odysseus kills Cyclops Polyphemus who is uncivilized one-eyed giant. While the giant tries to eat them, Odysseus blinds him and manages to escape. Odysseus has courage to stand up for his beliefs; otherwise, he can’t stand to be away from his land for twenty years.

ACHILLES

Achilles is the king of the Myrmidons, son of the mortal Pileups and the nymph Thetis. In the Trojan War, Achilles is the best Greek warrior-hero. Achilles could not be hurt. Thetis, his mother, tries to make her son immortal by dipping him into the river Styx, holding the baby by his left heel. Because of that his left heel remains dry and therefore unprotected. When Achilles is a boy, Thetis knows the prophet that the city of Troy cannot be taken without Achilles’s help in the future. Therefore, she sends him to the court of Lycomedes in Trojan War time. There, Achilles is disguised as a girl and lives among Lycomedes's daughters. When Odysseus learns that prophet, he goes to the court of Lycomedes in the guise of a peddler selling women’s clothes and jewelry and also swords and shields among his goods. Achilles is the only ‘maiden’ to be fascinated by the swords and shields. The previous of that, Odysseus arranges for a trumpet alarm to be sounded while he is at court. While the women flee in panic, Achilles prepares to defend the court, thus giving his identity away. He is killed by Paris who shoots his heel with a poisoned arrow.

He is a brave warrior for the only reason that he would do anything to win a battle for the glory of his land. He is a leader who is feared because of his invulnerable. On the battlefield, he is unstoppable; he is able to rout whole armies single-handedly. Dealing with his rage is the central action of the epic; he sacrifices many of his allies to his pride, refusing to fight because of an insult to his honor. His movement from rage to grief and wrath and finally to recognition is the heart of the Iliad.

In every positive characteristic, there is always a corresponding negative characteristics and his negative characteristic is being selfish one. He becomes selfish when he didn’t join the Greek army to a series of battles because of the only reason that Briseis is taken from him.

KING ARTHUR

King Arthur is a legendary king in the mythology of Great Britain. He lives in Camelot and owns a mythical sword ‘Excalibur’ which comes from a magical lake. He is a warrior, who kills giants, witches and monsters and leads a band of heroes on many daring adventures. He is known for his Knights of the Round Table and for uniting the peoples of his land. When he is older, he marries Lady Guinevere. They live happy together until Sir Lancelot, who is King Arthur’s best knight, sleeps with Lady Guinevere. First he is angry with them, but in the end forgives both of them. After King Arthur’s many adventures, his sword Excalibur is stolen by his son, Mordred. They fight for a long time and Mordred hit King Arthur. In the end, Arthur dies from loosing blood. As his knights ride back to Camelot, they throw Excalibur into the lake so that it can return to where it comes from. He is incapable of acting harshly toward the people who he loves, no matter how hurtfully they treat him. In sense, it is Arthur’s very simplicity and earnestness that enables the downfall of his reign. He is powerful warrior, who is able to personally slay 960 men in one charge.

BEOWULF

Beowulf is a Geatic warrior from Geatland (modern southern Sweden) and Hrothgar, a Danish king, has built a big mead hall, which is called Heorot. Hrothgar and his people live a good life until monster Grendel attacks the Heorat. Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s trouble with Grendel. Beowulf and his men leave Geatland to help King Hrothgar.