Compare and contrast Odysseus from the Odyssey with Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Whom do you feel is more heroic and why?

Gilgamesh
and Odysseus are two of the famous heroes of the Ancient World, with Gilgamesh emerging from
Mesopotamia while Odysseus emerges from Ancient Greece.

Like many ancient
heroes, both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are kings. (Gilgamesh is king of Uruk whereas Odysseus is
king of Ithaca.) Likewise, both are men of superhuman ability. Each travels widely, and in the
course of their traveling, each displays those superhuman capabilities. Both are also capable of
tremendous brashness.

There are differences between the two also. As brash as
Odysseus can be (his taunting of Polyphemus is probably the most infamous example of this), he
tends to treat the gods themselves in a respectful manner, recognizing his own limitations as a
mortal.

By contrast, when the goddess Ishtar attempts to seduce him,
Gilgamesh responds with insults and castigation. Even if both Odysseus and Gilgamesh have their
moments of brashness, there's a striking difference in scale between taunting a cyclops (even if
he is the son of a god) and taunting one of the primary goddesses of a mythological
pantheon.

There are other differences as well. When you compare the two
stories, you might observe that these two heroes are driven by very different motivations (and
they have different levels of success in achieving their goals). Throughout The
Odyssey, Odysseus is driven by his desire to return to Ithaca, after having fought in
the Trojan War. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is most famous for his attempt to attain the
secret of immortality. Only one of the two succeeds.

As far as which is the
greater hero, keep in mind that different people can be expected to formulate different opinions
about the two. This is a purely a matter of individual judgment.