Separated by seven hundred years these two ancient European epic poems, the Aeneid and the Odyssey, use the after-effect of the Trojan War as a basis for their storyline. William Franke, a professor at Vanderbilt University and historian, constructed this scholarly journal article; The Secondariness of Virgilian Epic and Its Unprecedented Originality, to compare and contrast the Aeneid and the Odyssey, and proposes a theory based on prophecy by Virgil (Franke, 1). Dealing with the first chronologically written poem, the Odyssey, a Greek poem written by Homer, starts off beginning ten years after the Trojan War, where the main character Odysseus faces conflict on his journey returning home to his kingdom Ithaca. Throughout the epic poem, Odysseus encounters issues with Greek Gods, traveling at sea, and gaining acceptance from his wife and kingdom to believe that he is not an imposter—luckily, he reclaims control of his throne and wife’s love (Krstovic 1). Comparatively, the roman literature written by Virgil, the Aeneid’s plot is about the Trojan king Aeneas, who leaves his land with the remaining survivors to reside in Rome, Italy. The Aeneid is a combination of the past and the future, where Virgil writes about the future of the Roman Empire based on historical information of the past. The synopsis presented by Franke, is the Aeneid mimics aspects from the Odyssey and presents his theory by comparing and contrasting against one another. Franke also argues, Virgil wrote the Aeneid based on historical events designed to explain the creation of the successful Roman Empire and Virgil’s writings have a religious-moral goal dealing with prophecy related to one of Christians (Franke).
For understanding the epic poem, it is ...
... middle of paper ...
...partments/Italian_Studies/dweb/literature/medieval_attitudes.php>.
"Giovanni Boccaccio." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .
"original sin." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 25 Nov. 2013. .
Ozment, Steven E. Introduction. The Age of Reform (1250-1550): An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe. New Haven: Yale UP, 1980. 13. Print.
Susanne Hoeber Rudolph Economic and Political Weekly , Vol. 35, No. 20 (May 13-19, 2000), pp. 1762-1769 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4409298
In the 16th Century, Europeans had their faith shattered and were forced to realize that there was doubt in what they believed in. From the countless wars being fought in the name of religion, to the once great and wealthy countries that needed to reaffirm their place in the world, ‘all that they had once taken for granted was suddenly cast into doubt’ (446). Europeans were desperately searching for new foundations to put their faith in ‘in the face of intellectual, religious, and political challenges’ (446). This period is an example of the expression “Age of Doubt, Age of Uncertainty”.
Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.
By the end of eleventh century, Western Europe had experienced a powerful cultural revival. The flourish of New towns provided a place for exchange of commerce and flow of knowledge and ideas. Universities, which replaced monasteries as centers of learning, poured urbanized knowledge into society. New technological advances and economics transformations provided the means for building magnificent architectures. These developments were representative of the mental and behavioral transformations that the medieval world underwent and the new relationships that were brought about between men, women and society in the twelfth century. As in technology, science, and scholasticism, Literature was also reborn with a new theme.3
The ancient Greeks have brought upon numerous ideas, inventions, and stories to the world. Greek mythology influences modern day literature and life. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer, which tells the story of Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War. Odysseus does not achieve his goal of reaching home so easily; monsters and gods come in his way and hinder him. The Odyssey expresses Greek values of hospitality from the customs of Ithaca, humility from Odysseus’s reform, and loyalty from Odysseus’s family.
McEvedy, Colin. The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. New York: Penguin Group, 1992. 90. Print.
“Even here, merit will have its true reward…even here, the world is a world of tears and the burdens of mortality touch the heart” (1:557-559). With these words, Aeneas contemplates his divine-fated destiny that finds its heroic beginning amongst the destruction of Troy. Aeneas, the classical hero who willfully submits to his purpose-filled fate, is created by Virgil in order to transcribe the foundational origins of Rome though the mutation of the Greek into the Roman, the Eastern cultural and literary tradition into the Western. In doing this, Virgil illustrates Aeneas as a reinvention of the classical heroes from Homer’s Achilles and Odysseus. Through this reinvention, Virgil maintains a continuity and familiarity with the Greek classical hero, yet at the same time he creates a hero who raises and exceeds the expectations. The Aeneid serves as a re-enactment of Odysseus’s journey in The Odyssey and of the battle between the Greeks and Trojans in The Iliad; it is synonymous for Aeneas’s quest to find the Latin realm and of the battle between the Latins and Trojans. In
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.
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 Aeneid clearly reflects the influence which Homer's Odyssey had on Virgil's writing. Among the several common aspects shared by these two epic poems, each author's depiction of the Underworld provides an interesting basis for comparison. Although the resemblance appears extraordinary at first, several important differences can be discovered upon closer examination. These differences enable the poems' reader to draw comparisons not only between the two poets, but between their characters as well namely, Aeneas and Odysseus. Two particular passages one can compare are Book VI, lines 335-489 from The Aeneid and Book
The Aeneid is Virgil's most famous work, an epic poem based on the Roman tradition that Aeneas, a Trojan hero, and his Trojans settled in Italy and founded the Roman name (“Roman Literature”). The Aeneid was influenced by Homeric poems, like many others of its time (“Virgil”). The Romans consider the Aeneid to be their national epic (“Vergil - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature). It is around 10,000 lines long and can be separated into twelve books, or divided into two parts with six books or three parts with four books (“Virgil Biography). The Aeneid tells the tale of Aeneas and his journey to find a new home for him and his followers after leaving Troy and how he eventually founded Lavinium, the parent city of Rome. Augustus contracted Virgil to write the Aeneid to glorify Rome and its people(“Vergil - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature). As said in the Aeneid, “You remember to guide the peoples with power, Roman, (theses will be your arts), to impose the way of peace, to spare the conquered and to battle down the proud.” (Virgil, Book 6, lines 852-853). Vergil had wanted the Aeneid to be burned because it wasn’t finished and he was dying, but Augustus made Vergil’s literary executors, Lucius Varius Rufus and and Plotius Tucca, to complete it with as little changes as possible (“Vergil - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature). The Aeneid is recognized as a literary masterpiece and a testament to the splendor of the Roman Empire (“Vergil - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature). The Georgics are another important work by Virgil. The Georgics are a didactic poem that acclaim the wonders of agriculture, show the ideal farmer’s life, and the creation of a golden age through hard work and sweat (“Vergil - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature). The Eclogues, also known as the Bucolics, are
Born in 70 BC, Publius Virgilius Maro ranks among the greatest Roman poets who ever lived. With only a few Latin poets attempting to write an epic before him (Naevius and Ennius), Latin literature reached its peak wit the publication of the Aeneid shortly after Virgil’s death. His epic heavily influenced succeeding poets throughout Western literature. Ever since people have compared The Shepheardes Calender, one of Spenser’...
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
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.
Roger Babusci et al. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1994. 115-136. Print. “The Medieval Period: 1066-1485.”
Rice, Eugene E. and Anthony Grafton. The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559. 2nd. ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1994.