The lessons conveyed from Greek and Roman mythology are often cast aside as mere folklore and folly. However, numerous points displayed by the epic poets through the actions of their stories’ heroes are beneficial to the audience and can change one’s outlook on life. Heroes from Greek and Roman mythology that contain many similarities and differences between them include two brave souls. These men were Bellerophon, an audacious young adult who dared to bridle the winged horse Pegasus, and Aeneas, a Trojan War champion who bravely defended his city and later set the foundations for Rome after a treacherous journey through the Mediterranean. Readers can harvest a vital life moral from the causes of the resemblances and disparities between these two heroes’ journeys; humility and dedication reap rewards, while haughtiness and pride lead to demise. The separate paths that Bellerophon and Aeneas traveled share many parallels. In both of the heroes’ stories, a goddess aided their journey. In Bellerophon’s case, the goddess Athena assisted him in taming the winged horse Pegasus by bestowing upon him a charmed bridle. Aphrodite helps Aeneas by foiling Hera’s plan to ensnare the hero with the love of Dido, the queen of Carthage, thus preventing him to travel to the future site of Rome, Italy. The Goddess of Love caused the affection that Aeneas showed to Dido to be nothing more than a shallow drive to take anything that the queen presented to the champion. This led to Aeneas not feeling a great deal of attachment to Dido, which caused his departure from Carthage to be extensively easier. Also, the god Hermes visited Aeneas to motivate him to finish his mission and fulfill his legacy of founding a wondrous city. Issues that Bel... ... middle of paper ... ...erely by his or her morals and attitude towards life. The myths pertaining to the heroes Bellerophon and Aeneas teach valuable morals to readers. However, the sources of these lessons do not originate from where one might think. The causes behind the two heroes’ similarities and differences bring about a priceless point that readers will benefit from; if one lives a life of meekness and perseverance, he or she will be rewarded bountifully, but if one displays conceit and selfishness, doom is likely to follow. Readers of the stories of Bellerophon and Aeneas can easily find parallels between the Greek and Roman myths and events in reality. Affected audiences will most likely discover a newly found appreciation for the olden legends. It is true that mythology originates from antique folklore, but this does not hamper the precious messages it conveys to mankind.
There are two main fashions in which the Aeneid is read by Scholars today. The main difference between these two theories is each's respective treating of Aeneas' obstacles. The first views Aeneas as a classic epic hero, that is, to view him as fated to the grand destiny of founding Rome, and Aeneas carries out that destiny successfully, in spite of a few unfortunate hardships. The other view regards the obstructions that Aeneas is subjected to as, instead, evidence from the gods and other powers that Aeneas' quest is, as purported in an essay by Steven Farron, “brutal and destructive” (34), instead of trivial occurrences. This view referred to as the dark reading of the Aeneid. One of the best known circumstances in the Aeneid is Aeneas correspondence with Dido. This period in the Aeneid is often used to evidence an argument for one of the two readings, as the text gives important specifics about both Aeneas and his quest there. However, given a close reading of the text, the flawed relationship between Dido and Aeneas better endorses the dark reading.
Since the days of mythological origin to the origin of pop culture, various mythological stories have been adopted and presented to newer generations. Some of these presented adaptations of mythological stories have significantly been modified in order to be deemed entertaining by audiences in a pop culture generation. Thus, my study will seek to compare mythological hero's during their time to how they have been depicted in modern day. Moreover, my study will analyze the similarities and differences between the Greek hero Heracles and his replica character, Hercules, depicted in Disney's adaptation of this myth. Although there are few similarities between the two versions, the differences between Heracles and Disney's Hercules are prominent. These differences help modern day audiences relate more easily to the characters in the story. Furthermore, the alterations have enabled a new aspect of heroism to emerge since Disney tailors it's movies towards youth who can seek valuable lessons from animated movies. Disney's choices through these alterations will be determined by focusing on the main plot, characters presented in the movie, peripheral details, and the notion of being a "true hero" that Disney presents.
The Aeneid by Vergil is a long-standing epic poem with brief historical connections that was contributed to the Roman people’s beginnings. Of course, the main character, Aeneas has to have had some turning point within the poem that he became Roman rather than Trojan, at least within the eyes of the readers and listeners. This turning point is within Book IV when Aeneas has remembered his fate of creating a great city in Italy, and has to leave Dido and Carthage behind. This scene contributes to Aeneas now becoming a true Roman, at least in the ideals of one, because he has continued to be ‘Pious Aeneas’ and is securing his son’s future with following his fate. As an extra factor, Aeneas is also persisting as a heroic character by putting
Although both epics justify a status quo, codify a national mythology, preserve cultural memories, and establish literary tropes, they are united by sensibility and are traditionally poetic. They both almost have the same exact core values such as in the end, but project influence into a number to areas of cultural identity. Once more, after analyzing both texts, it is possible to conclude that Aeneas is the better leader, and The Odyssey is the greater epic. Knowing that this is the proper proposition made, this affects the readers of both well-known stories.
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
We have read two myths of great heroes this semester, Virgil’s The Aeneid and Homer’s The Odyssey. In both of these tales we get to go along with two great heroes on their journey home and all of the troubles that they face. Although these stories tell us about two great heroes and their journey there are a lot of differences. In this paper I will compare and contrast scenes from both myths and suggest a reason that this borrowing was appropriate for what Vergil was trying to do with his version of the myth.
A comparison between Virgil's hero, Aeneas, and the Homeric heroes, Achilles and Odysseus, brings up the question concerning the relevance of the difference between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas. The differences in the poets' concerns are explained by the fact that Virgil lived many years after Homer, giving Virgil the advantage of a more developed literary and philosophical society than Homer had at his disposal. But the question remains: how are the differences between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas relevant to the epic at large? This question will be answered by first pointing out the differences between Greek and Roman society, then explaining how those differences relate to the heroes of the three epics at hand, and finally explaining how these differences allow Virgil to portray the Roman values and way of life as more structured and oriented towards a greater-good.
...e Aeneas and Caesar to become great heroes among men. Both show piety and one is also driven by the gods, but after centuries no one has forgotten them. One of them because his ending created the foundation for an empire that would reign for a millennium. The other because of his clever tactics and devotion to protect his men and city. War has torn the world apart through the millenniums passing their times, but no one has come to the magnitude of positive renown like Aeneas and Caesar.
165-66)." "All have dared a monstrous sin and achieved the sin they dared. Even had I a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths and a voice of iron, I yet could not include every shape of crime or list every punishment's name (pg. 166)." Aeneas finds his father Anchises in the underworld and is told of the future of Rome and how his descendants will found it. When Aeneas saw his father in the 'Homes of Peace (pg.168)', Anchises explains the reincarnation process which is also believed today by a great number of people. All the details of their descendants and future wars confirmed what Aeneas knew all along: his true love, Italy: the future of Rome and the "glory to be, will be (pg.174)." Book VI contains the following passage: "You are the only soul who shall restore Our wounded state by waiting out the enemy. Others will cast more tenderly in bronze Their breathing figures, I can well believe, And bring more lifelike portraits out of marble; Argue more eloquently, use the pointer to trace the paths of heaven accurately And accurately foretell the rising stars. Roman, remember by your strength to rule Earth's peoples - for your arts are to be these: To pacify, to impose the rule of law, To spare the conquered , battle down the proud." Lines 1143-1154 Within this passage, Virgil uses literary allusions to the Iliad and the Odyssey by allowing Anchises to give Aeneas some history of his people as an incentive to carry out his mission as a leader.
The Classical mythology contains tales and epics of the ancient Greek and roman literatures and myths. On the other hand, Homer’s two epic poems, the Iliad relates to the events of the Trojan War while the Odyssey details Odysseus expedition after the war. Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad present a major part of ancient history as modern fictional heroic stories. In ancient Greek, heroes were humans who were depicted to possess superhuman abilities. A key example in the classical mythology is Akhilles who is later known in Homer’s Iliad as Achilles. Achilles is he greatest hero of the Iliad whereas Odysseus is the greatest hero of the Odyssey. The greatest heroes from classic mythology and the modern fictional hero’s stories are mortal, and subject to death. The Odyssey and the Iliad marks the beginning of modern fictional literature.
Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.
We also see in the story what someone must sacrifice in order to fulfill their goals. Though Aeneas's destiny was much more grand than many of our own, we still must make choices that can sometimes hurt others. I really thought that Vergil captured our inner emotions with the affair between Dido and Aeneas.
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. Nevertheless, 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. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, a picture is painted of a very virtuous roman hero who remains pious and loyal to his people. This is the picture of Aeneas’ life. It is shown in the poem, that the costs that come with holding these virtues greatly outweigh the rewards. The rewards, although small, are on the inside of the hero and the costs are large and are on the outside. It is critical to follow your destiny no matter what it is, but that is a virtue that not only Roman heroes, but also all Romans must possess.
In Virgil’s The Aeneid, there are many parallels found in Homer’s The Odyssey. In each epic, the heroes, Aeneas and Odysseus, are on a journey “home.” Aeneas is on the search of a new home for he and his companions to settle since Troy has been destroyed, Odysseus on the other hand is attempting to return to his home he left years earlier to fight the Trojan War. They both have Gods against them and helping them, both Aeneas and Odysseus are both held back by women, both voluntary and involuntarily, and they both have experiences visiting the Underworld. Despite these similarities, there are differences between the two characters and it reflects their values and the society they live in. Aeneas relies on his strength as a warrior, where as Odysseus uses his deception to survive which reflects how Aeneas is truly Roman is versus Greek.