A Tragic Hero vs. an Epic Hero

A tragic hero is a character that makes a wrongful decision and at the end pays for it. His choice will cause tragic circumstances. On the other hand, an epic hero is a character that goes through difficulties along his journey, all of which end up making him stronger. Example of a tragic hero is seen in Oedipus de King by Sophocles and an epic hero is seen in the Odyssey by Homer.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is the epic hero who goes through so much in order to return home. It takes him 10 years to finally return home and in his adventure he encounters a nymph named Calypso who kidnaps him in her island and doesn’t let him go until she is ordered to do so by Zeus. He is almost killed by the Cyclops’ Polyphemus, but survives by using his cunningness. The greatest attribute of Odysseus is being smart because that is how he survives all the challenges presented and how he gets home safe while many of his men get killed in the act. “Yea, and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so I will endure…For already I have suffered full much, and much have I toiled in perils of waves and wars. Let this be added to the tale of those.” (Homer V 18) Epic heroes are differentiated by other kind of heroes because they survive their journey by being smarter, stronger and braver than any other person.
Oedipus the King in the other hand is a tragic hero because even when he is smart and strong his story still ends tragically. One of his greatest mistakes that took him to his ruin was his pride and the idea that he could overturn his faith. Oedipus at one point said, “I a stranger to this matter, a stranger to the murderous deed, shall speak out. Where I to seek the truth alone I could not go far without any signs. “It was only after the deed that I became a Theban among Thebans” (Sophocles 216). This shows that he was oblivious to the situation and was looking for the murderer of the king without knowing that he was looking for himself. It also showed that he thought of himself as the hero that the town needed and that it was his responsibility to save the town. The entire story can be considered a tragedy because his destiny was already determined before he was even born. Unknowingly, he killed his father and married his mother and that’s why he was a tragic hero. He was a hero because he saved his hometown from a prophecy and after this event he was given the title of hero. The town also decided that he should marry the queen of the town who was his mother, even though no one knew this detail. In his case he was already destined to be cursed and his fate was already decided. Thus, after everyone found out what he had done, they ostracized him and he had to flee and look for refuge.
An epic hero may have to prove himself and many times his own faith. He goes through challenges in a journey and conquers them without giving up or losing his battle. In the end the story of an epic hero ends positively. After the many struggles, they achieve what they desired and change for the better. Alternatively, a tragic hero may have a good fortune until his tragedy ensues and ends up losing everything he had. Tragic heroes learn their lesson but by then, it may be too late and things end up as a tragedy.