Both Book 11 of the Odyssey, orated by Homer in the eighth century, and Book 6 of the Aeneid, written by Virgil in the first century, describe a hero's journey to the Underworld. Although both Odysseus and Aeneas travel to the Underworld to receive knowledge of their future, the views of the afterlife and heroes portrayed by each author, as well as the journey required to get there, contrast significantly. Homer depicts the afterlife as being a meaningless, desolate, and dismal place where all spirits of the dead are forever trapped within Hades and worry about whether they are being remembered or honored by the living, whereas Virgil depicts the afterlife as being one where the spirits of the dead are judged based upon the life they lived and sent to either heaven or hell according to the piousness of the individual or the sins each committed. Although Virgil wrote his epic seven centuries after Homer, he still incorporates some of the same values such as the importance of burying the deceased. Furthermore, the differences in views of the Underworld exemplify the accepted values of each culture. The Greeks abided by the martial code, valued fighting, and focused on gaining individual timé (honor) and kleos (glory), whereas the Romans valued pietas (devotion or loyalty to family, country, and gods). Additionally, the Greeks believed that when one dies, nothing remains but their reputation, whereas the Romans judged each individual’s character before placing them in their respective compartments, showing that the Romans believed in fairness, purging of the soul, and reincarnation after death.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus ventures to the Underworld because Circe tells to him to; likewise, Aeneas goes to the Underworld because he recei...
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...o quickly take it off shows that the bough represents special privilege and fate given to him by God. This contrasts with Odysseus’ ritual because he didn’t have a special task required of him in order to meet the spirits of the dead: his only task was to dig a trench, sacrifice victims, and promise sacrifices to the gods. Aeneas needs the golden bough as his ticket into the Underworld as shown when Charon denies their passage across the river but the Sibyl says, “here is a bough…you’ll recognize it,” (6.548) and as his “eyes fixed on the bough…his heart puffed up with rage, subsided” (6.551-53). The boatman’s sudden change of mind and emotion just at the sight of the bough helps emphasize the bough’s importance because he had been reluctant to allow a living being cross Styx, however, he only needed to see the bough to realize its importance and therefore Aeneas’.
It is Circe who tells Odysseus of the trip which he and his men must
It is clear when reading the Aeneid that Virgil was familiar with the earlier works of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Virgil, more than just being aware of these earlier works, uses themes and ideas from these poems in his own. Far more than just copying scenes and ideas, Virgil expands and alters these themes to better tell his story, unique from the Greek originals he is drawing from. Virgil reveals what qualities he regards as heroic through the juxtaposition of Aeneas’ character and the negative aspects of the underworld. By looking at which qualities are esteemed and derided respectively, we can identify the qualities that Virgil would like to emphasize positively to his readers. Also, we can argue that Virgil is indeed trying to convey a particular set or morals to those readers. Beyond the underworld, it is possible to clearly identify these traits in the other sections of the poem where Virgil is borrowing and making his own alterations. Using these distinctions we can very clearly derive Virgil's morality from the poem, and see where Virgil's ideal characters veer away from the Greek ideal that came before.
Aeneas also went to fight in the Trojan War. He also was a national hero. He was a great warrior. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were trying to head home.
Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid represent their cultures very well, but they express different ideas on what one should strive for in life. There are also different forces that pushed both epics to be written. The Aeneid expresses the Roman idea of pietas which means to show extreme respect for one’s ancestors. We see this in Aeneas when he is pictured caring his father away from burning Troy. He has pietas because he cared so much for his father that in fleeing from Troy he took up his father over his shoulder to save his from certain death. This is not the only major idea in the Aeneid. There is also a very political focus. The Roman were very interested in politics which comes through in the Aeneid. The Odyssey has the Greek idea of arete trapped somewhere among the many themes. Arete is a strive for perfection in both mind and body. It is a much more personal and individual idea than the Roman pietas. In the most basic seance the Aeneid and the Romans have a much more political focus and duty to the state ( republic ) than the Greeks who honor tradition , family , and arete.
The Odyssey portrays the victor, the mighty Odysseus. His story is about a man who has everything, a loving and loyal wife, an ambitious son, a devoted kingdom, and most of all a victory. By the end of Odysseus’ story he has an ideal life. On the other hand, The Aeneid is told through the eyes of a defeated soldier. Early on in the epic Aeneas has a comfortable life. It seems as though he is happy and complancent with his life in Carthage with Dido. Aeneas chooses to leave this life behind in order to fulfill his destiny. The Trojans were defeated in the war, however, Aeneas perceivers and fights for the future of his people. Through Aeneas’ story, Virgil demonstrates the resilience of the Roman culture; he shows just how much they value a sense of
...ontained winds to return home. If he were wise, he would have gotten out of Circe’s bed sooner and set sail for home. Odysseus heals from his emotional wounds , but fails to become the hero he was meant to be because he did not complete the last step of the hero’s journey.
Aeneas feels great pride and energy regarding his role in history and is anxious to continue on his journey. The gods are trying to convince Aeneas to value duty to his city and family, a kind of affiliation or relation by virtue of descent as-if from a parent, above duty to a lover by mere affiliation, or arbitrary association. This perspective on an appeal to authority still hinges on a relationship between Aeneas' desire for affiliation and public authority as the authority of filial priority. We learn early on in this epic that Aeneas is a very important character because of his divine parentage. After all, his mother is the Goddess Venus and his father's brother was the King of Troy.
This theme of death giving meaning to life is prevalent throughout the Odyssey. Hell is death, heaven is now, in life, in the field of time and action.
The vision of the underworld portrayed in Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey share many similarities. Both Dante and Odysseus confidently travel to the underworld because a woman, with whom they have had an intimate instructs them to. In The Odyssey, Circe instructs Odysseus to “make [his] own wa...
The Ancient Greeks sought to define how humans should view their lives and how to create an existence dedicated to the basis of the “ideal” nature. This existence would be lived so as to create an “honorable” death upon their life’s end. Within their plays, both dramas and comedies, they sought to show the most extreme characteristics of human nature, those of the wise and worthy of Greek kleos along with the weak and greedy of mind, and how they were each entitled to a death but of varying significance. The Odyssey, their greatest surviving drama, stands as the epitome of defining both the flawed and ideal human and how each individual should approach death and its rewards and cautions through their journeys. Death is shown to be the consequence
Returning to the quotation “… the great leveler, Death: not even the gods/ can defend a man, not even one they love, that day/ when fate takes hold and lays him out at last’” (Homer 3.269-271). Death is a power that surpasses the gods. In The Odyssey we are introduced to gods who control the water, the wind, and the decisions of men. They can bring peace and war, but the one thing they cannot do is prevent a mortal’s fated death. This alone shows how central death is to The Odyssey. The power that death holds rivals no others in this story, there is “… no escape from death” (Homer 12.483). Death is a constant threat for Odysseus throughout this story, and the future foretold for Odysseus by Tiresias is not one of his life being a good one but of “…your own death will steal upon you…/ a gentle, painless death, far from the sea it comes to take you down…” (Homer 11.153-154). His fortune ends not with his happy life, but with his eventual death. This scene is crucial because it draws the reader back not to the life that Odysseus will have once he has successfully returned home and killed the suitors but the death that he will experience. It draws it back to when and where Odysseus will die and take his place among the
In The Odyssey, Odysseus rejects the offer of immortality from the goddess Calypso long after he discovers the true nature of the afterlife after travelling to Hades. In Hades he meets Achilles who tells him “I’d rather slave on earth for another man. than rule down here over all the breathless dead’ (“Odyssey”, 265). Given such strong words from someone who has experienced the afterlife first hand, all of horrifying sights of the underworld, and the fact that Odysseus himself flees the underworld; one would be lead to believe that Odysseus would take up any offer that would him to dodge a fate in the underworld. Along with these reasons, Odysseus has endured many trials and tribulations over the course of his travels that might convince him to accept the offer of immortality.
Odysseus’ journey is one that features much emotional pain. Pain for being away from his home, wife and son, but in Aeneas’ journey he is a warrior, and he goes through physical pain. Unlike Odysseus, Aeneas begins his journey after the Greeks have burned his home to the ground. He does not have the pleasure of long comfortable “holdups” Odysseus has and he also has to deal with his father dying—the ultimate blow.
Roman vs. Greek Civilization Although both Roman and Greek civilizations shared similarities in the areas of art and literature, their differences were many and prominent. Their contrasting aspects rest mainly upon political systems and engineering progress, but there are also several small discrepancies that distinguish between these two societies. This essay will examine these differences and explain why, ultimately, Rome was the more advanced civilization of the two. Greece, originally ruled by an oligarchy ("rule of the few"), operated under the premise that those selected to rule were selected based not upon birth but instead upon wealth.
Roman artwork is extremely intricate and diverse, however, a lot of what is referred to as Roman art can better be described by the cultures it conquered. The ancient Greeks were the most influential of these cultures, from their temples and sculptures, to their reliefs and paintings. Greece was the first culture to create major programs for sculpture, painting, and architecture. Many of the first Roman artists were of Greek descent as their artwork reflects the Classical and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece. A lot of what is considered to be Roman artwork is criticized as being mere copies of Greek artwork since they modeled their forms and styles after the Greeks, but other cultures influenced the Romans as well, mainly the Etruscans,