РефератыИностранный языкKiKing Arthur And Zeus Essay Research Paper

King Arthur And Zeus Essay Research Paper

King Arthur And Zeus Essay, Research Paper


Inside the compilation of mythical stories of King Arthur and His Knights of the


Round Table, retold by Roger Green, and Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek


Myths, two major characters in each story that could be expressed in similar and


contrasting ways are Arthur, the king and head of the knights of the Round


Table, and Zeus, the supreme leader of all gods and mortals. Similar


resemblances that can be found in both is their shadowy lineage, their major


mortal flaws, and their nature to journey on epic quests. Even though they were


very similar in some aspects, the two were also very different in other means.


Arthur is much more kind to his people and cares about them, while Zeus does not


view his subjects as worthy of him and treats them unjustly. An additional


difference is Arthur is more mild and not taking harsh action all the time,


though Zeus is known for being severe. There are many similarities as well as


differences that are attributed to these two mythical characters. Arthur and


Zeus can be noted for their mysterious childhood and ways they were treated at


infancy. Both had prophesies of prosperity that led them into adulthood. When


Arthur was born, Uther Pendragon, the leader of the Britons, killed a man and


married his wife, Igrayne. Uther and Igrayne had one child, but not much longer


after it was born, Merlin the enchanter took him away. Soon after, the boy was


placed in the arms of Sir Ector, a noble knight. Later, the youth pulled the


sword out of a stone that proclaimed that he was the king of all Britain. This


young man would later on grow up to be King Arthur. Not unlike Arthur, Zeus also


had a unnatural background. Before Zeus was born, there was a prophecy that


stated that Cronos, the king of all gods, would be overthrown by one of his


sons. When Zeus was born, he was concealed from his father. As time went by,


Zeus waged a war against Cronos and defeated him. Though Zeus and Arthur came


from entirely different locations and times, their childhood?s were related on


account of both of them being hazy. Even though some might not consider either


of the two ?mortal?, Arthur and Zeus had very notable human-like flaws. They


both seemed to rush to judgements hastily, and were very passionate towards


women. When Arthur hears about King Pellinore and how he is shamelessly killing


knights, Arthur runs off to fight. Obviously, Arthur does not give himself time


to think, and would have died if it was not for Merlin. Another example would be


when Arthur runs off to the Castle of Tarn Wathelyne and pays no heed to Sir


Gawain?s warnings. King Arthur ends up being tricked by Morgana Le Fay and


would perish save a horrid woman who forced Sir Gawain to marry her for King


Arthur?s life. Many times King Arthur would have been killed if it weren?t


for his friends such as Merlin and Sir Gawain. Zeus showed the same


characteristic even though it played no part in death for himself. The mighty


god jumped to his feet and killed when he found out that Ascelpsius was curing


mortals headed to the underworld. Later, Zeus regretted his act of terror and


brought Ascelpsius back to life. Passionate feelings for other women, and desire


for romance were huge faults in Arthur and Zeus. Arthur?s feelings for


Guinevere led to the downfall of the Logres. At first, when Arthur saw Guinevere,


he immediately fell in love with h

er. Through carelessness and desire for


romance, Arthur neglected Merlin?s advice of not marrying the queen. When


Guinevere and Lancelot had an affair, a war started, and the realm was


destroyed. In Zeus? case, the gods are not affected by romantic affairs, but


the mortals they make love with are affected. Zeus approached many different


gods or mortals, even though he is already married to Hera. Hera occasionally


followed Zeus, and punished the ones with whom he had affairs. The mythical


figures Arthur and Zeus both have major moral flaws: rashness and crave for


passion. King Arthur and Zeus are best known for their epic quests and


accomplishments. The two figures seem to be born for the reason to journey on


adventures. At age sixteen, Arthur ruled as the king of all Britons. He


immediately set forth to drive all of the Saxons out of the island of Britain.


This could be considered his first major quest. During his life span, Arthur


would set out on many quests to retrieve, and to kill. He journeyed to King


Pellinore?s land to fight, and he fought his final battle against Sir Mordred.


He died while fulfilling his last quest; killing Mordred. Zeus started his


adventures immediately after he was born and hidden from his father, Cronos.


Zeus led a battle, and defeated Cronos and his army of Titans. Afterwards, Zeus


was not as concerned about adventuring out to enforce laws, but he desired


passion. Though Zeus only journeyed on crusades very few times, he and Arthur


are known for the ways they both mythically adventured on quests. The two great


figures, Arthur and Zeus, have many similarities; yet the pair is very different


on their attitudes of ruling their subjects. The King of the Logres had a very


laid back ruling style. He enforces laws, but is very lenient and he lets the


people live freely. After Arthur was crowned king, he set the rules of nobility


and honor. His main concern was his own generosity and his leadership. Arthur


knew that he was not the strongest or the best of the knights, but he was one of


the purest. He knew that he could not lead his knights with an iron fist or else


they would rebel against him. On the other hand, Zeus, was a very harsh,


all-mighty dictator. He was the strongest and controlled all mortals and their


destiny. Zeus has only one way of thinking, his way. When Prometheus asks him


about man?s suffering without fire, he casually explains that man is happy now


without fire and the dismisses Prometheus with a warning. Zeus? desire is to


have all of the mortals? and immortals? lives in his grasp. He does not like


the idea of not being in control. While Arthur is trying to set up a harmonious


living space, Zeus is being very harsh and unforgiving towards his people.


Ironically, it turns out that Arthur fails in his mission to set up a peaceful


location after corruption strikes, while the subjects of Zeus turn out to be


content at the moment. Arthur, the mythical figure who arose from the Dark Ages,


and Zeus, the Greek King that ruled over the people, can be compared together


very easily or can be contrasted easily too. Both Arthur and Zeus had mysterious


origins, moral flaws, and their everlasting pursuit of quests. They also had


distinctive and opposite styles of ruling their people. The attributes match up


very closely for these two great mythical figures, yet they both had different


outcomes in their lives.


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