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The Aeneid And Homer's The Odyssey

1267 Words6 Pages

Compare the underworlds visited by Odysseus and Aeneas. Describe the major similarities and the major differences. Be sure to include the spirits who speak to the two heroes.
Visiting the underworld for guidance for the protagonist is a common theme of Virgil’s The Aeneid and Homer’s The Odyssey. The heroes Odysseus and Aeneas use the underworld as a place of knowledge and incite for the future. Although the experiences of these heroes are very similar, they still possess their own unique differences. These differences are made visible through a deep compare and contrast analysis of each individual epic.
Primarily, the most significant similarity between Homer’s hero Odysseus and Virgil’s hero Aeneas is the purpose for exploring the underworld. Both heroes decided to go to the underworld to speak to a specific person for insight on the future. …show more content…

In The Odyssey, Odysseus discovers from the ghost of his comrade Elpenor that he is dead. This evokes sadness in Odysseus, which leads him to inquire the cause of death and Elpenor explains “ 'it was all bad luck, and my own unspeakable drunkenness” (Hom.Od.11.60-61). Elpenor fell of the roof of Circe’s house while asleep and broke his neck. Elpenor pleads with Odysseus to give him full burial rites so his soul can go to hades. Odysseus agrees to help him when he returns from the underworld. Correspondingly, in Virgil’s The Aeneid, Aeneas is told by the Sibyl that his comrade Misenus had been killed by Triton over jealousy of his trumpeting skills. Also, Aeneas runs into the ghost of Palinurus in the underworld who died while the ship was at sail. Palinurus had fallen asleep and fell overboard into the ocean. Aeneas like Odysseus honors his fallen comrade’s requests of proper burial, and does so immediately upon return from the

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There are many themes in both O Brother where Art Thou and the Odyssey which seem to be strongly similar. Many similarities between the characters and their actions surface through their actions. In my essay I will not only compare and contrast the most important elements of the mentioned works, but will also discuss the importance of heroic figures and the less favored themes, such as revenge and foolish fearlessness. It is important to note that both works are taken place during hard times. Odysseus’ journey is dated around 1200 BCE, or the ‘Dark Age’.

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Sundiata and The Odyssey are two out of the many great great orally told tales in all of mankind history. In writing, comparing your work to another similar text is extremely important for making your paper understandable to any audience. In this case, I will be comparing the two similar texts, The Odyssey and Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Both of these two tables show the characters, Sundiata and Odysseus, long quests of pursuing and accomplishing a certain objective. To reach their goal, both characters encounter obstacles and enemies who want to stop them on their prolonged journey.

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From the onset of the book, death is a recurring event, persistent throughout the entire poem. In many ways, the Odyssey is the story of the death of all of Odysseus’ friends and fellow fighters during their return home from conquering Troy. These deaths are particularly heartbreaking to Odysseus because, normally, one would expect that all dying would conclude with the end of the war against Troy. In this case, however, the anticipation of his return to his family at home became a series of tragedies. This sequence of events changes his view and molds Odysseus’ character in regard to his surviving friends and family.

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In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, by the end of chapter twelve Odysseus is the lone survivor of his crew, saved and cursed by Polyphemus’s prayer. Even though Polyphemus’s prayer intended to doom Odysseus, ironically it actually spared his life. Odysseus is saved by Polyphemus’s prayer because he prays to keep Odysseus alive long enough to return to his ruined homeland. After Odysseus stabbed Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus prayed to his father, “‘Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home’” (Odyssey 9.451-452).

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Odysseus is cruel and quick to anger, arrogant, and does not truly win in the end. Along with the Hero’s journey, there is another journey that is not talked about. The villain’s journey is a parallel to the hero’s journey but usually ends the inverse of the Hero’s journey. Both hero and villain experience a call to adventure with guidance along the way.

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Homers complex writing is devoted to the extend he gives on the perspective into the Greek underworld, stories in which were prevailing in the Greek society. The numerous conditions of the reality of the afterlife are deeply described rather than the setting of the underworld. The underworld is described as the House of Hades which is where your death and inevitable fate lies. It is signified in The Odyssey Book XI, concretely in the scenes of Odysseus mother’s death in the Cimmerians, the Greek culture expresses a depressing but inevitable view of death as a complete dichotomy of the fate but shows the indication of more than just one afterlife.

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