Greek Culture Vs Roman Culture Research Paper

There are many ways in which Greek culture and Roman culture can be compared. They also differ in their own way. What most people don’t already know is that the Romans borrowed much of their ideas from the Greeks, such as, Gods, Culture and most importantly Literature. For example, almost everyone knows the popular Gods of Greek mythology, like Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, but what they may not know is the Roman equivalent to those Gods are Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, and Mercury. In Greece, the gods and goddess are based on human personality traits such as Love, Honor, and Hatred, while in Rome the deities are named after planets and objects. This is important because while reading some Greek literature, for example, Homers the Odyssey, we see lines such as “Zeus, the cloud-gatherer”
and “Poseidon, the earth-shaker”. When it comes to thinking about classic Greek literature, we can use Homer’s the Odyssey as an example.
For an example of Roman classical literature, we can use Virgil’s Aeneid. The Greeks often specialized in epic poems and drama. An epic poem is a long, narrative poem that is about a heroic deed. When we think of epic poems, Homer comes to mind. His poems are skillful and gives a vivid depiction of war and peace, honor and disgrace, love, and hatred. It is said that the Greeks also invented drama. Some other Greek poets include, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides. Unlike Greek literature, which is more mythological, Roman literature is written in Latin and focuses on comedies, histories, and tragedies. Some of Rome’s greatest poets includes, Aristotle, Plato, Ovid, and Virgil. Virgil’s The Aeneid, is considered as Rome’s national epic. Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid begins with an invocation to the Muse, goddesses of literature and art. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus 10 years after the Trojan war. In the Aeneid, Aeneas tells the story of how the “cunning” Odysseus devised a way for Greek warriors to enter Troy by hiding in a large wooden
horse. After 10 years of not returning to his homeland after the Trojan War, Odysseus’s wife, Penelope must find a new husband, but she refuses, she keeps the suitors waiting. Odysseus son, Telemachus believes that his father died during the war. Until Odysseus’s guardian, Athena tells Telemachus that his father is still alive and he needs to go bring him back home so that the suitors can leave. The reason for Odysseus long journey is that Poseidon keeps interfering with Odysseus attempts to go home because he blinded his son Polyphemus. The Aeneid tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas’s dangerous flight from Troy to Italy following the Trojan War. In the epic, Virgil repeatedly foreshadows the coming of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Virgil was known by the Romans as their greatest poet. His fame rests chiefly upon the Aeneid, which tells the story of Rome’s legendary founder. Virgil uses the comparison of Aeneas’ sense of duty to Odysseus’ self-interest to propel the Roman culture above and beyond that of the Greeks. In the both Aeneid and the Odyssey, characters Aeneas and Odysseus both undertake a comparable journey with the definitive purpose of returning home. However, throughout their journeys the actions of the two heroes are immeasurably different. Aeneas exemplifies the Roman value of duty. He is given a task by the Gods, he was told directly by Mercury to leave Carthage and immediately after receiving this message, Aeneas is prepared to leave. Aeneas is willing to obey knowing that he will be leaving his lover Dido and his life behind. Aeneas sacrifices his personal pleasure for the good of his people and his civic duty. Meanwhile, Odysseus is not driven by any sense of duty. He leaves Troy after the Trojan war to return home to Ithaca and does not reach his destination for 10 years. When he does arrive, he does so without any of his original crew members and soilders. In my opinion, Odysseus is driven by his own self-interest. He strays multiple times from his path, for example, on the island of the Cyclops, with Circe and with Calypso, all the while putting his fellow crew members in danger and betraying his wife who is turning down suitors for him. Odysseus only returns to Ithaca and his wife at the order of the Gods, after he has had his enjoyment with Calypso.