Lessons from Greek and Roman Mythology

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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.

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