In The Odyssey, Odysseus was crying because, as the Bard was singing about Odysseus, he was reminded of all the soldiers that had died in battle. Odysseus may have also been crying because he felt sorry for himself. Odysseus had to go into battle and leave his wife Penelope and his son. I think that Odysseus was torn between going to war, which is something that he needed to do, and staying with his wife and son, which he wanted to do. Odysseus may have regretted his decision to go to war rather than staying with the people he loves, because he may never get back. 

Can you regret good decisions you’ve made? Good choices don’t always lead to good situations. For example, Penelope was trying to stay faithful to Odysseus by not marrying any of the suitors and by making the shroud. This decision was good at the time, but it came back to get her later on, she missed Odysseus and didn’t want to marry anyone else. She felt that she couldn’t move on in life. I’m not saying that it was wrong of Penelope to reject the suitors, but I think that she could have tried something different than the things she did.

Another example was, when Jesus was on earth. The Bible says that Jesus was without sin and that He was perfect. He did everything right and never was rude to anyone. All He did was help and love people, and He made good decisions, but He got beaten and crucified. We all know He got crucified because God wanted him to, to save us, but the people on earth didn’t like him because He was so perfect. You might be thinking well Jesus saved us so why is that bad? It’s the symbolism of the story, that not all good decisions lead to the best results. Although it did in the end for this story, it was because of God’s power it ended up good.

So, you don’t have to be or make perfect decisions to have a perfect life. Why do people try so hard to be perfect? The Bible says that it is impossible to keep all commandments, therefore we can’t be perfect. It’s like if you were standing on the ground and trying to touch the sky. It is physically impossible to do that, so would you try your whole life to accomplish that goal? It’s the same concept, so if you’ve ever tried to be perfect or are still trying, just remember you are perfectly imperfect, and

that’s what makes us human. If that doesn’t prove or convince you that you don’t need to try to be perfect, I don’t know who or what will. But if I didn’t, I hope the Bible will. Still, I hope you got some meaning out of my essay!

I know I went down a rabbit trail, but the moral of the story and the point I was trying to get across was that Odysseus might have regretted his decision, but he had to make one, and you will make decisions and they will not always turn out perfect, and I felt it was important to maybe try to help as many people that need it.

Hector and Paris are characters and brothers in Homer’s Iliad. Unlike most siblings, they are the complete opposite of each other. They both have different mindsets, personalities and dreams. Hector was a chief warrior of the Trojan army and the Trojan Prince. He was really heroic and the greatest warrior of the Trojan war. Hector was Brave and respected by many. Hector was married to a woman named Andromache; he was very faithful to her. Hector and Andromache had one son together. Hector had the chance to marry a very beautiful woman many men wanted, her name was Helen, but he rejected her because he loved and was faithful to his wife. 

Unlike Hector, Paris was very different. Hector was a nice man and loved by most everyone, but Paris was the opposite. Paris was also a Trojan Prince, but he played the game a bit differently than Hector did. Paris started a war because he stole Helen from Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Paris, as you can tell, is self-centered. I think there are some similarities between Paris and Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was also very self-centered; as king he got to sleep with any women on their wedding night and he had no sympathy for the husbands whatsoever. Paris had a similar situation with Helen. Paris didn’t bother to even care about Menelaus’s feelings. If Paris wanted Helen as badly as Menelaus did, he should know how it feels to be without her, so in other words their feelings were mutual, and if two people have mutual feelings there’s no point in trying to fight.

It’s kind of like us on earth. You can spend your whole life in sin and go to hell, or live like God wants us to, doing what’s right and going to heaven. You don’t have to be perfect to go to heaven. I think some people think that’s what you have to do to get to heaven. But that’s the thing, you don’t have to be perfect. God will still love you and you get to spend eternity with him. Some people won’t make a few changes in their life and have a better ending. Would you rather live doing sinful things and spend eternity suffering. Or just believe in God and spend eternity living in a place where you won’t ever have pain, no more depression or sadness, any problems you have on earth will be gone, so why do people choose the first option? Even though Hector didn’t live as long as Paris he will most likely have a more rewarding life in the end and be remembered as a hero.

In The Odyssey, Penelope was a very pretty woman, so, many men wanted to marry her. Penelope already had a husband, and his name was Odysseus. Odysseus went off to war and hasn’t come back, but Penelope is still hopeful that he will. Penelope doesn’t want to marry any of the suitors that want to marry her, so that’s why she is making the shroud. When Penelope is making the shroud, she keeps undoing it when no one is looking. She keeps undoing her work because if she finishes, she will have to marry one of the suitors.  

Penelope, in a way, is putting off the future because she is making progress but is undoing her progress, so in reality, she is making no progress at all. She might be making a mistake not going on in life. If Penelope doesn’t go on in life, she is missing out on a life she could be having. I know how she must have felt losing someone she loves so much. The main mistake she is making is stopping her life just because someone else’s did. It takes everyone a different amount of time to heal, but never let your life stop forever.

Was Penelope too attached to Odysseus? Penelope didn’t want to be with anyone else because she still hasn’t let go of Odysseus. I think she was attached, but not too attached, because she loved him and no one can replace the feelings she had for him, although some people want to try. I think the people that wanted to marry her were being selfish. No man would have ever wanted to marry her if they really asked her if she wanted to move on and how she felt, but she is waiting for the man she really loves. Feelings aren’t replaceable for some things.

Do Gilgamesh and Ishtar actually love each other?

In The Epic of Gilgamesh Ishtar proposes to Gilgamesh but Gilgamesh refuses to marry her, But why? Ishtar doesn’t propose to Gilgamesh because she loves him for who he is but because he has beauty, wealth and power. Gilgamesh has never really loved any women; he just acted like it because he liked their bodies. I think Gilgamesh still is a little depressed about Enkidu so maybe he doesn’t want to love anyone more than him. 

Gilgamesh didn’t want to marry Ishtar because she has nothing to offer him. Ishtar is a goddess, and she has everything she could ever want, so Gilgamesh is afraid that she will lose interest in him over time, because you can get bored of someone if you don’t actually like them. I feel that life is about trusting in God, but also making yourself happy. If you don’t enjoy how you’re living your life you need to find a different one. Gilgamesh doesn’t trust Ishtar because she is very powerful and fears that she will someday use her powers against him.

It was very wrong for Ishtar to just want to marry him for his beauty, wealth and power because she should really think about how he makes her feel. If she has fun with him and if he makes her happy then that’s when you know you really love someone. What’s the point of living with someone you say you love but really can’t stand. If you want riches, you have to work for it yourself and not use other people. Money is limited but love isn’t.