This paper examines how Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are, in many ways differing manifestations of
the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride and near divinity, Odysseus' character is
difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. It shows how both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions.
action is what drives the plot of both the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" and action is what holds the characters together.