"Odysseus" and "Ulysses"

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a comparison and contrast of Odysseus and Ulysses. It shows that on the one hand Ovid's "Ulysses" reveals striking similarities to Homer's "Odysseus" in that he is a hero who frequently engages in what we would today consider morally dubious actions; but whose defining characteristics are intellect and cunning rather than strength or success in battle.

From the Paper:

"A comparison and contrast of the representation of the character of Odysseus in Homer's epic The Odyssey and Ulysses from Ovid's Metamorphoses is complicated by two key issues. The first complication is that while they are essentially the same character in the mythic narrative of ancient Greece, Homer's representation is - as best we know - the original version of the character. Ovid's Ulysses is a Roman recreation of the original, shaped by the language and culture of classical Rome, many centuries after Homer. The second key complication is the fact that Odysseus is the protagonist of a immense poetic epic by Homer, whereas the Ulysses of Ovid is merely a minor character in the Metamorphoses."

More papers on "Odysseus" and "Ulysses":

• Analytical Essay # 14999 : "The Odyssey" ( Homer ) and "Ulysses" ( James Joyce )"
• Analytical Essay # 7613 : "Characterization in Tennyson's 'Ulysses'"
• Book Review # 95981 : "Ulysses"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: