Examples Of Hell In The Odyssey

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The concept of heaven, hell, and afterlife varies from culture to culture throughout centuries. The Odyssey a poem by homer was created in 8th century B.C, the epic poem is enriched with Greek mythology and Greek culture which uses the underworld as a representation of afterlife. While the Aeneid by Virgil uses the Underworld as representation of heaven and hell, the epic poem uses Roman cultural beliefs to create their own spin on Greek mythology. As Christianity and culture evolved, a separation of heaven and hell became our current representation of the afterlife. While each spiritual afterlife has vast differences, many of the concepts shared between the three underworlds are how each hell is a predecessor for the other.
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Nonetheless, Virgil constructs a complex underworld where people were judged on their actions rather than suffering consequences one did not deserve. Comparable to the Odyssey the underworld in Aeneid spirits that have died from war, the loss of a loved one, murders, and people that have died in peace are not trapped in one place. Many of the elements described by Virgil are similar to what we believe what after life is to be. For example, purgatory in our current time people believe purgatory is to be a place where souls are unprepared to be placed in heaven or hell. This is portrayed by the souls that are unable to cross the river to the gates of the underworld because; they have yet to receive a proper burial. The fear of an improper burial is alluded in the Odyssey when a member of crew requesting a proper burial after his death. As Aeneid journeys further into the underworld the separation of heaven and hell is apparent in which a particular soul is placed after judgment. Aeneas is reunited with his mother who died from heart break she is placed in the fields of mourning where she and others continue to mourn the loss of loved on which contrast to Odysseus’s mother is wandering the underworld morning the loss of her son. The field of war heroes is where men who fought with bravery are set to live in peace for eternity. The field of gladness and blessed groves is modern Christianity’s equivalence to heaven; souls have passed on have the ability to live in peace and happiness for

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