T.J. Czikra
The Aeneid and the Odyssey
Southern New Hampshire University
Virgil was one of the greatest ancient Roman poets in Western literature that wrote the epic Aeneid. His full name was Publius Vergillus Maro . The Aeneid is about a Trojan refugee Aeneas, who struggles to follow his destiny and arrives at the Italian shores. The poem consists of 9,896 lines and is in Latin. Aeneas later becomes the ancestor of the Romans after being a known Greco-Roman legend in Greek and Roman myths . His wanderings associated with the personal characteristic of scrupulous pietas. The poem is a founding myth and a national epic tied to the Roman legends and traditional Roman virtues. It legitimized the famous Julio-Claudian dynasty where
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Odysseus offends Poseidon, the sea god when he blinded the god’s son, Cyclops Polyp emus. Athena, who is the Goddess of wisdom, intercedes several times to protect him from adversaries in his journey. Aeneas faces Juno, a God, who attacks him because he is a Trojan warrior. The goddess seeks vengeance because another Trojan descendant had awarded another God with beauty in her place. Venus, Aeneas mother who is also the goddess of beauty and love, aids him in all conflicts with Juno.
Both writings have the characters meet with their dead parents in the visitation to the Underworld in the middle of the poem. Odysseus meets his dead mother and tries to touch and embrace her, while Aeneas meets his father and tries to hold him but realizes later he cannot because he is dead. Aeneas knows that his father is dead while Odysseus does not know that his mother is dead. Odysseus father is alive while Aeneas mother is a goddess and
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Odysseus finds Elinor's body after he fell from the roof and Circe’s Island. At the shores of Italy, Aeneas finds Palinurus body after he faced sacrifice after the murder by vagabonds after a safe passage . Both characters promise to return and bury their friends to contend their souls. Their companions at the time discourage them for the burial arrangements. Aeneas faces opposition from the Sybil and Odysseus faces disputes from King Minos. Two of their companions kill themselves when the heroes embark on their journeys. Dido commits suicide and Ajax; Odysseus friend kills himself after disappointing
are followed and proper respect given the gods, it is possible for man to live
To begin, both the leadership qualities and flaws of Aeneas and Odysseus must be examined in order to determine who the better leader is. Virgil presents Aeneas very differently than Homer presents Odysseus. They are both certainly heroes, but Aeneas seems more accessible and a stronger leader, due to the way Virgil presents him. Virgil illustrated Aeneas as a man that had to participate in many tests and tempering’s, and from that, his heroism was seen as flawless. The same goes along with Homers’ Odysseus, yet in a different, more astounding way.
Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this, his men are killed and his boats destroyed.
By mentioning the downfall of his people during the Trojan War and foreshadowing his destiny by "Sparing the conquered" Trojans and "battle down the proud" Greeks, can be looked upon as a reinforcement of his duties not only to his dead father and family, but to the entire Trojan population. To let another character found and rule Rome would just prove the failure of his people again, as shown through the Trojan war. 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. His mother is more concerned with his destiny than with his happiness. She makes Dido fall in love with Aeneas and then he falls in love with the Carthaginian queen in return. Despite the fact that he is happy, his mother is one of the gods working to make him fulfill his destiny. This "destiny" is truly revealed to Aeneas in the underworld when he encounters a few fellow Trojan comrades.
Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid tell the tale of heroes – Odysseus and Aeneas, respectively, both driven by a prophecy to a goal. In both stories, fate and divine intervention are the underlying and central mythological components which drive the stories. Odysseus is fated to return to his wife whereas Aeneas is fated to found Rome, a dynasty of rulers, and eventually the Roman Empire. However, the similarities between the two stories mostly end here, with the nature of how each carry out their fate and their overall journeys being heavily indicative of Roman and Greek values and goals. Differences manifest themselves within the realm of power, peace, and warfare, which is particularly central to the overarching purpose of the Aeneid; the nature
In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, the ideal Roman hero is depicted in the form of Aeneas. Not only does Aeneas represent the Roman hero, but he also represents what every Roman citizen is called to be. Each Roman citizen must posses two major virtues, he must remain pious, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In the poem, Aeneas encompasses both of these virtues, and must deal with both the rewards and costs of them.
The tone in the story is very different in the 2 parts. In part 1, it could be said that the tone is one of excitement and danger, because it is following Odysseus on his endeavors against the ocean and the gods. In part 2, the tone could be one of sadness because Odysseus must disguise himself as a beggar, and he cannot reveal his identity to his family and they cannot be reunited. They tone was also kind of mysterious, because the readers wonder what will happen when he converses with his family in disguise, because the reader knows about the disguise but his family has no idea who it is.
After his meeting with Venus, Aeneas runs home, finds his father, and orders him to prepare for their journey to Hesperia. However, Anchises refuses and says that he has lived and suffered long enough. After Aeneas convinces his father to settle on the journey, they process on until they notice Creusa is lost from the group. Aeneas turns around to look for her.
The most obvious of characteristics in an epic can sometimes receive little attention and the story, as a whole, can become unnoticed. A common phrase of this is, “pointing out the elephant in the room.” It is obvious, to me, that Virgil’s Aeneid is based on the epics written by Homer; Odyssey and the Iliad. Many of its major chapters and minor details are very similar in comparison. The Odyssey is a poem of war and peace.
Odysseus and Aeneas are very alike in some ways and very different. They are both epic heroes except that one is Greek and the other is a Trojan. Odysseus is from the Greek tale The Oddessy, which was written by the famous Greek poet Homer. His quest is to find his way back home after a long journey. Aeneas is from the roman tale The Aenied, written by Virgil a famous Roman poet. Aeneas’s mission is to find a new home for him and his family. Both these characters had many similarities and differences in their ways of fighting.
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.
In addition, the overall theme of the poem highlighted morality, which was a definitive tenet of Greco Roman civilization. In many ways, Virgil wrote the poem as a means of lauding the moral virtues of Roman society and as a personal challenge to outdo Homer’s epic compositions, The Illiad and The Odyssey. Virgil was successful because he had incorporated many of the same tales shared in the works of Homer into one epic poem which presented a linear storyline in the books that detailed the life and times of Aeneas and the Trojans. That being said, Virgil did not stray far from the approach that many writers had used before him; his primary focus throughout the Aeneid was placed squarely upon the back of idealized Greek and Roman moral principles, which were the dedication to ones’ honor, family, and country. By no means is there anything wrong with this approach, but in many ways, the entire poem could be viewed as a “propaganda” piece; while it might have served to enlighten, educate, and create a cohesive and uplifting story for the Roman populace, the poem lacked depth and a more profound exploration of human intricacies. While Virgil’s epic poem has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest pieces
In the book the Iliad, The Odyssey, and Works and days, there are many things that can be similar when talking about Greek heroes and the world of Greek poetry. The stories and topics are describing similar events during this time of the eighth and seventh century B.C. In the end, however, they do have some differences in some parts when describing or explaining certain situations and ideas. The world of Greek heroes is written like a story; or Epic Poetry. That is what The Iliad and The Odyssey are; Epic Poetries. They are telling a story of a great hero and their adventures. On the other hand, the more realistic Greek World that is being described in Works and days is a Didactic poem, which tells more of a moral or message to the reader.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.
These two gods have different effects on the story: Poseidon is trying to cause pain and suffering for Odysseus, while Athena is trying to help Telemachus and give him hope that his father will return soon. The role of these gods is important to both journeys as Odysseus and Telemachus try to reunite their family.