Virgil s The Iliad And The Odyssey - 1403 Words

Virgil s Aeneid takes a character form Homer’s Odyssey and constructs a life for him beyond Homer’s ideas. It is quite obvious that Virgil was heavily influenced by both Homer’s writings, The Iliad and the Odyssey. Both stories tell of parallel journeys home from Troy at the end of the Trojan War. Homer’s Odysseus is returning to Greece and the family he left behind ten years ago. Virgil’s Aeneas, in contrast has been given a direct command by the God, Mercury to create a new Empire. Both men set out on their ships, into the Mediterranean Sea, and both encounter mythical creatures along the way. Sirens and harpies respectively curse and unsuccessfully attempt to lure the men off course. Bad weather however is noted to blow both ships off course. Aeneas lands on an island and lives with the beautiful Dido for a period of time, putting his journey to found a new city on hold. Similarly, Odysseus remained on the Island of Cyclops with the beautiful Calypso for several years, only leaving when the Gods command him to. The love in not everlasting and both tales tell of the men subsequently abandon their loving women waiting for them at home. Throughout their respective journeys, Aeneas and Odysseus both make trips into the underworld. Aeneas goes with a guide and spends his time in Hades reflecting on the past and his future goals. Odysseus went alone into the Underworld and was only able to see the past (the Trojan War and those who died there). The visits of both heroesShow MoreRelatedComparison Of Virgil s The Aeneid, The Iliad And Homer s `` The Odyssey `` Essay1155 Words   |  5 Pagesand the outcome will remain the same. The idea of being able to control one’s own fate is laughed at. This idea of a definite destiny is found in both Virgil’s â€Å"The Aeneid† and Homer’s â€Å"The Odyssey.† Both hero’s lives are shaped by their destiny and it forces them to make difficult decisions. In â€Å"The Odyssey† Homer presents us with an epic hero, Odysseus. A man who fought in the Trojan War and won. All he wants is to return home and be with his family. He was given a prophecy by the seer TiresiasRead MoreGreek Mythology1294 Words   |  6 Pagesessays. Required Texts: 1) Aeschylus, Oresteia, trans. C. Collard (Oxford World s Classics) 2) Euripides, Bacchae, trans. Paul Woodruff (Hackett) 3) Hesiod, Works and Days and Theogony, trans. Stanley Lombardo (Hackett) 4) Homer, The Iliad, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) 5) Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) 6) Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. R. Fitzgerald (Vintage, 1990) Lectures: Tuesdays and ThursdaysRead MoreAeneid Analysis789 Words   |  4 PagesAeneid By Virgil Written 19 B.C.E Translated by John Dryden Analysis Jazymn Talley SNHU Analysis The intention of Virgil s poem, Aeneid, is to romanticize the origins of the Roman Empire. Aeneid shares many characteristic to Grecian writer Homer s Epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. Much of Roman culture is modeled after or inspired by the Greeks, especially the arts. Roman art, writings, religion, and celebrations were on the rise as they experienced a time of rest, enabling themRead MoreGreek Epics873 Words   |  4 Pagesmotivations, it tells the society conditions and the civilization of that history period. Homer; the authors of The Iliad and The Odyssey; and Vergil; the authors of The Aeneid are two of the greatest writers in ancient western civilization. There are heroes in these three literatures to reflect the society and culture: Achilles, Odysseus and Aeneid. The Iliad and the Odyssey are two of the oldest ancient literatures by Homer in around 8th century B.C. (Homer, 2012). According to Redfield (1975)Read MoreComparing The Underworld Of Homer And Virgil1744 Words   |  7 PagesThe Differing Views of the Underworld of Homer and Virgil In both Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, the heroes make the dauntless adventure into the underworld. Both of theses visits occur around the middle of the stories, and they bring information about the lives of heroes loved ones. The heroes also get very important information from these loved ones; information that they require to continue on their journeys. However these are not the only things that are similar about the heroes visitsRead MoreComparing The Iliad And The Odyssey905 Words   |  4 PagesThis short essay will identify five traditional epic characteristics that are evident in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. The first epic characteristic evident in both epics is catalogs and genealogies. For instance, Book VIII of the Odyssey features a list of participants in the game (115-125) and the Iliad Book II features a catalog of ships (484-759). Secondly, both epics start in media res. The Odyssey starts ten years after the Trojan War and the Illiad starts nine years after the start of the warRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1060 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.† (The Iliad pg.405) The quote is relevant to the stories Homer created during the period of the Trojan War. Homer orally performed two of his best works The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer’s stories are old and probably translated differently than their original telling. Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey still show the basic human emotions and are an inspiration to other authors, poets, and oral presentersRead MoreBiography Of Ancient Greek Poet Homer2350 Words   |  10 PagesJohnathan Kennedy World Literature 212-WID3 Monday,Wednesday/8:30pm-9:45pm Research Paper #1 March 28,2016 Biography of Ancient Greek Poet Homer Homer was an unbelievable antiquated Greek writer who composed the stories, the Iliad and the Odyssey. These stories were a piece of Western ordinance of writing and extraordinarily affected the historical backdrop of writing. The real time and area of his living is still questionable. The old Greek antiquarian, Herodotus evaluated that HomerRead MoreThe Aeneid By Publius Virgilius Maro1712 Words   |  7 PagesThe Aeneid was written by Publius Virgilius Maro, also referred to as Virgil. He was a Roman man born in northern Italy, in around 70 B.C.E. Virgil, who known for his poetry, especially his earliest work, wrote The Aeneid which was known as his greatest work. His gained his knowledge from studying Greek and Roman authors. Although Virgil studied both cultures his work was more so influenced by the Greek culture, his work was written with the use of common themes that Greek writers used for so manyRead MoreThe Aeneid By Virgil Is An Epic War Poetry1472 Words   |  6 PagesTh e Aeneid by Virgil is an epic war poetry written in the 19 B.C.E based on the Trojan War. The poem narrates a story of a Trojan who visited Italy where he came the Romans’ ancestor. In the context of the poem, gods have much quoted manipulating; plotting and working against humans they abhor (Virgil Ferry, n.d.). Despite the god s cunning behaviors, their actions end up putting destiny back on its proper course. Gods, future, and fate are essential aspects of Greek epic poetry .in most Greek