Turin=Achilles?

[Hakon]

Speaking of Turin you can compare him to Kullervo from Finnish myth. They both share similar lives. Both had fallen in love with their sisters and both sisters killed themselves. Both had a huge temper. They also share similar swords and slay a powerful enemy. For Turin it is Glaurung and for Kullervo it is Untamo.

The ring itself has roots in Norse Mythology. The story of the Hobbit itself is similar to Beowulf.

[Pitchwife]

Nice idea, Tuor! I always saw Túrin more as a blend of Kullervo and Sigurd the Volsung, but now you mention it, the parallels with Achilles look quite convincing, and I'd like to add another one:
8) Both show pity to an elder person they first perceived as an enemy - Achilles to Priamos, Túrin to Mîm the dwarf; in both cases after either the hero himself or one of his companions killed the elder guy's son. (Gosh, this sounds like One Thing in Common! )

Interestingly, Achilles and Sigurd share the trait of invulnerability except for one weak spot, but I suppose Tolkien found this mythological motif too hackneyed and therefore decided not to use it.

Other classical parallels? Hmmm... If Tolkien had ever got round to telling the voyages of Eärendil before he reached Valinor, we might have a Middle Earth Odyssey. And the story of Beren and Lúthien could be seen as a version of Orpheus and Eurydice with roles reversed (note that Lúthien touched Mandos' heart by singing before him!) and Lúthien-Eurydice succeeding where Orpheus failed.

[Hakon]

Aragorn is somewhat similar to King Arthur and Gandalf to Merlin.

[Pitchwife]

Hakon: brief but true. Let me elaborate:
Aragorn and King Arthur - the obvious parallel that comes to my mind is that both of them had a famous sword which represented their royal legacy and their right to kingdom.
(À propos, and elaborating on a side-thought in my last post: it might be interesting to consider which mythological motifs Tolkien did not use; e.g. no sword retrieved by the hero from a lake, stone, anvil, tree or other receptacle reluctant to release the blade. Might tell us a lot about the difference between Tolkien and post-Tolkien commercial fantasy.)
Also, both Aragorn and Arthur came into their kingdom after a long time in rather infamous positions (although in different phases of their lives) - Aragorn as the Ranger Strider, Arthur as Sir Ector's ward.
Finally, both of them represent an archetype of the ideal King that appeals even to die-hard democrats like myself (but that would be another topic).

Gandalf and Merlin - yep, the two archetypal wizards of world literature; I defy everybody to find a third! And both of them act as counselors to the Ideal King (see above). (Unfortunately, there's no Vivian/Nimue for Gandalf; but fortunately, this means he doesn't have to spend idle centuries banished into a haythorn hedge...)

But what Tuor is aiming at in this thread is parallels between Tolkien's Legendarium and classical=Greek/Roman mythology. The Norse and Celtic influences on Tolkien are quite well known and have been discussed any number of times (not that it can hurt to rehash them once more, especially the Kalevala connection), unlike parallels between Middle Earth and ancient mediterranean mythology, which are still largely terra incognita.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

pitchwife's comments on Galdalf/Merlin are interesting.
I vaguely feel like there should be/are other parallels.

As to the classical, specifically Greek, influences on Tolkiien,
there are some intereting suggestions in HC's Biography:

Already when beginning to learn Greek he had
entertained himself by making up Greek-style words

and

He ('Dickie' Reynolds) was not particularly successful
(in teaching English literature) with Ronald Tolkien, who preferred
Latin and Greek poetry to Milton and Keats.

Someone who was so committed to the history (real or created)
behind languages might well have been more influenced by
Latin and Greek vis-a-vis Scandinavian/northern European then
is generally thought to be the case, especially since said influence
was strongest in his schoolboy years (obviously important
formulatively) then college/university years with Finnish and
such.
Just a thought.

[Hakon]

Also with Arthur and Aragorn you have the guiding figure. For Arthur it was Merlin and for Aragorn it was Elrond early on.

Also Numenor is similar to Atlantis. Both were like the ideal societies and both got sunk into the ocean. Both had a sort of divine ruler, for Atlantis it was Poseidon and for Numenor it was Elros.

The Battle of Helm's Deep is also comparable to Troy only in this case the roles are sort of reversed. The good is defending in this case rather than attacking.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hakon
The Battle of Helm's Deep is also comparable to Troy only in this case the roles are sort of reversed. The good is defending in this case rather than attacking.QUOTE]

Granted, from the point of view of Homer and his audience the "good"
are attacking, but I think that (other then doofus Paris) the Trojans
may be seen by most readers as the good guys. At minimum, talk
about overreaction by the Greeks! I mean, for one babe!

[Hakon]

That is true. But Helen was the most beautiful woman ever according Homer and the lust of men is very powerful. The one thing that has always bothered me about Paris is that his real name was Alexander and that is my name. Sorry that I am off topic. Anyway Goldberry is sort of portrayed as the most beautiful woman in Middle Earth, I am sure a war could have been started over her.

Also it is perspective like you said with which side is good.

[Andsigil]

Originally Posted by Hakon

The Battle of Helm's Deep is also comparable to Troy only in this case the roles are sort of reversed. The good is defending in this case rather than attacking.

Hm? I never saw the Trojans as evil. It was Achilles, after all, who desecrated Hector's body, and Odysseus who resorted to underhandedness.

Also, the survivors of Troy, led by Aeneas, went on to found Rome.

[Hakon]

The Romans were not exactly saints. I just always viewed the Greeks as good and the Trojans as evil. It was Paris that made me see them as evil and the Greeks as good.