Odysseus and Aeneas both visit the Underworld; in Odysseus' case, in Book XII of Homer's Odyssey, and in Aeneas' case, in Book VI of Virgil's Aeneid. In discussing the differences between the two treatments of the Underworld episodes, it is imporcant to first outline the similarities in the two situations:
Odysseus and Aeneas both journey to the Underworld in order to receive knowledge. Previous mythological warrior-heroes went there to fulfill a more specific, tangible purpose eg. Heracles' borrowing of Cerberus and Orpheus plea for the return of his wife Eurydice. The atypical purposes for the visits of our heroes leads to a logical conclusion: simce the Odyssey predates the Aeneid and we know Virgil to have been familiar with the earlier work, it follows that Aeneas' descent to Hades is loosely based on Odysseus'.
In both cases, the visit to the Underworld is the turning point in the hero's development during a long and treacherous voyage towards home. Rebirth, actual and......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 915
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |