Home is a reoccurring theme in both “The Odyssey” and “The Aeneid.” Home is the main goal that both Odysseus and Aeneas overcome obstacles in the sea and seduction in their journeys to achieve, and provides justification for their methods employed to reach their final destination. However, the type of homecoming that Odysseus and Aeneas long for differs with their motive. Odysseus desires to be with his wife and son in the home that he once knew prior to setting sail to go to war. Aeneas is saddened by the loss of his home, Troy, but also yearns to find his new home as well as the new home for the Trojan people, which he is destined to reach by the will of the gods. In both myths, the manner in which they overcome their obstacles differs, but the end result is the same. Both Odysseus and Aeneas find home, and upon their arrival receive justification for their substantial …show more content…
outpour of blood, sweat, and tears. Both heroes must battle the gods at sea, resist lustful temptation, deny themselves bodily pleasure, and resist the lure of riches and comfort. However, Odysseus is motivated by personal desire and longing whereas Aeneas is motivated by duty to obey the gods and fulfill his destiny. “The events in Aeneas’ voyage are seen not as a series of fortuitous encounters, but as the stages in the progressive revelation of the destined goal” (Williams 1). Both heroes’ final goal gives meaning to their journeys but the manner in which they reach their goals and the motivation that fuels their longing desire differs. The Greek word nostos was primarily used in “The Odyssey,” but it also applies to aspects of Aeneas’s journey as well. “In Homer, nostos means first and foremost ‘return home from Troy by sea.’ It refers both to the return itself as experienced by the Achaean heroes and to the poetic telling of that experience” (Bonifazi 1). The sea plays a vital role in the homeward journey of Odysseus and Aeneas. Odysseus and his crew leave Troy with confidence, but once their relentless pillaging and greed anger Poseidon, the sea god brings punishment upon them. “We along with Odysseus feel the malicious power of the sea as it tears to pieces his raft and leaves him clinging to a shard for dear life. We know that fate has decreed his ultimate survival, but he doesn't” (Moore 1). Odysseus remains mostly resilient amidst multiple setbacks while out at sea. Odysseus is confident and rarely fearful, but the same cannot be said of his crew. It is clear that Odysseus wants to reach his home, but his actions and the actions of his crew would say otherwise. Meddling with the sun god’s cattle, opening the sacred sack of wind, and humiliating Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus, give the gods, especially Poseidon, numerous reasons to punish Odysseus and his crew. If Odysseus were willing to do anything to reach his home, he would first refrain himself as well as his crew from offending the gods. Odysseus’s hubristic attitude openly defies Poseidon and ultimately lengthens his journey. Therefore, Odysseus relies on his own will and perseverance to overcome his trials at sea. Aeneas’s experience at sea differs from Odysseus.
Faced with a storm brewed up by Juno, Aeneas has a small amount of options to resort to in the open ocean. “It was sent at the instigation of Juno and its purpose is to destroy the Trojan fleet and prevent the Trojans from reaching Italy” (Gossage 1). Aeneas is afraid during the storm, but Aeneas also realizes that he is destined to found Rome, and has faith in the gods to deliver him there. Aeneas is fearful and worried, but he still is committed to fulfill his duty of founding Rome. Therefore, Aeneas is motivated by his sense of duty, unlike Odysseus who doesn’t seem to be in a rush when setting sail for home. Odysseus initially focuses on looting nearby villages with his crew. In regards to sea conflict, Aeneas is more committed to his goal than Odysseus. Later, Odysseus becomes completely helpless at sea, and must rely on the assistance of Calypso to reach his destination. Aeneas has a greater commitment to discover a land that he has yet to see than Odysseus has motivation to return to the land he has experienced most of his life residing
in. Another encounter that Odysseus encounters is that with Circe. Odysseus stays with Circe for an extended amount of time due to Circe’s seduction of Odysseus. Odysseus saves his men from Circe’s swine curse, but he becomes trapped as a prisoner of Circe’s as a result. The same occurs with Odysseus and Calypso. Odysseus comes to the conclusion that he is powerless as a mortal and gives in to the requests of the goddess and nymph. “Odysseus changes from a self-reliant hero to someone less self-assured; his encounter with the strange and mysterious, which increases as his adventures progress and is firmly under way when Circe sends him off to the land of the dead, leads ultimately to the ‘fading of an earlier and smaller self’” (McClymont 1). Odysseus feels as though he is unable to control his destiny, and as a result he falls into a trap of crippling despair. Odysseus’s does not give up on his goal of reaching home, but he becomes despondent upon thinking that he can do so by himself without interference from the gods. Aeneas is tempted by the Carthaginian Queen Dido, but not in the same way as Odysseus. Dido is a mortal, and Aeneas is without a wife when he meets Dido. Aeneas genuinely falls in love with Dido, but is reminded of his duty to the gods. Aeneas’s pietas demands that he forsake personal pleasure for the future of the Trojan people. “In short, Virgil's Aeneas explains himself: he proves himself gracious, exculpates himself from any wrongdoing, and points out to Dido just how little she means to him in comparison to other things. He then leaves” (Martin 1). Once Aeneas comes to his senses he realizes that his personal feelings are getting in the way of his duty. Aeneas forsakes personal pleasure and happiness and realizes that he must still complete his task. This differs from Odysseus in that Odysseus sulks and sits around accepting his fate in depression. Aeneas accepts his fate, but he does so in a way in which he still holds power and the hope that his goal will help the Trojan people. Odysseus gradually becomes less and less confident in his own ability to reach his home. The gods have decided Odysseus’s fate, but Odysseus does not trust the gods as Aeneas does. Aeneas
Everyone always has a safe place in their hearts for their homes. Home doesn’t always have to be a place where someone just sleeps in. However, home to some people is where they feel comfort. Somewhere or someplace can be one’s home. Some of the characters in Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Rozario and The Odyssey by Homer express the theme of home through an emotional journey. Enrique’s Journey is about a boy named Enrique who goes on a journey to find his beloved mother who he has believed abandoned him. The Odyssey is about a mythology where a hero named Odysseus tries to find his way back to his homeland after participating in a war. Odysseus from The Odyssey shows the theme of home by trying to return home to his family. Enrique from Enrique’s Journey shows the theme of home by looking for his mother who he considers to be his home. Telemachus in The Odyssey shows home when he decides to go find his father,
Throughout their stories, we got to experience the struggles they went through in pursuit of their journey and their loss of home. In the Odyssey, home is the place where you live. It is where your family resides, where your house is located, and where people know you. It is a physical place. One of the most important themes in the Odyssey was hospitality.
The majority of the Odyssey is an account of Odysseus’ adventures trying to reach his homeland of Ithaka. Several of these adventures are false homecomings, the most prominent of which is his imprisonment on Kalypso’s island. This false homecoming is strikingly different from what one would expect of Odysseus’ real homecoming, but similar enough for parallels to be drawn between the two. Homer uses this false homecoming to foreshadow Odysseus’ true homecoming.
won) fighting a war against the city of Troy and has been held captive by
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. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were helped by different gods. Odysseus was helped by Calypso in a way. She held him captive, but was forced to release him from the father of all Greek gods,Zeus.
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.
are followed and proper respect given the gods, it is possible for man to live
Mortal and immortal women inspire many of the events that take place in The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh. For example, without the harlot, who “tames” Enkidu, the story of Gilgamesh would not be, as we know it. A chapter entitled, “Women in Ancient Epic” from A Companion to Ancient Epic by Helene Foley compares Ishtar in Gilgamesh to Calypso and Circe in The Odyssey. By comparing the role of immortal and mortal women in both The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh, one will be able to discern how the feminine figures have played a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of the epic heroes, as well as, understanding the interrelation amongst the female figures of both ancient epics.
A Comparison of Aneas of Aeneid and Turnus of Iliad The subtlety in the differences between Aneas and Turnus, reflect the subtlety in the differences between the Aeneid and the Iliad. Although both characters are devout and noble, Aneas does not possess the ardent passion of Turnus. Unlike Turnus, Aneas is able to place his beliefs in the fated establishment of Latium before his personal interests. Although Turnus is not a bad person, the gods favor Aneas in their schemes.
Odysseus and Aeneas both have an extremely different view of what the meaning of “home” is. They also have a contrasting value of importance on home. This is a parallel that follows them throughout their lives.
Webster's College Dictionary defines home as: An environment offering security and happiness" and "a valued place regarded as refuge or place of origin." Anyone can build a house but the emotional security a home provides is created by the people who live there. In Homer's Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus leaves his home in Ithica to fight in the Trojan war. The Odyssey tells the story of his treacherous journey back to Ithica, and the turmoil he experiences. Due to his strong desire to return to the place he remembered as home, Odysseus endurs the hardships of his journey. He hopes his homecoming will return him to the same home, and same life he built twenty years ago. Odysseus will never truly return home because he is not the same king, husband, or man he once was; He is not capable of recreating the home he once had.
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.
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.
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.
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.