Highway To Hell In Classical Mythology
The Evolution of the “Highway to Hell” in Classical Mythology
Mythology, by denotation, is “a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.” Myths are an entity that evolve through time and through the changing of culture in order to tailor to the people telling the story; as such, we often see a series of different versions develop reflecting a relatively similar story. In this paper, the similarities and differences of the representation of the Underworld in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Virgil’s Aeneis will be analyzed and applied to the culture of the authors. We read these myths thousands of years after they …show more content…
In The Aeneid, Aeneas goes to the Underworld to seek counsel from the deceased whereas in contrast, Gilgamesh goes as part of a quest to ultimately avoid the underworld in immortality. We can see a complete lack of fear of death written through the words of Virgil when Aeneid addresses his deceased father in line 698, “…Father, give me your hand! Give it, don’t pull away as I hug and embrace you! Waves of tears washed over his cheeks as he spoke in frustration: Three attempts made to encircle his father’s neck with his outstretched arms yielded three utter failures.” Through this quote, it becomes apparent to us that Aeneid feels no fear for the dead; he feels simply frustration at the fact that he can’t embrace his father. In blunt contrast, in The Epic of Gilgamesh when the Underworld and death is described, it is described as the following: “Nobody sees Death, nobody sees the face of Death, nobody hears the voice of Death, Savage Death just cuts mankind down” (pg 435). This description from the older of the two works lacks the sense of knowing and fate that is seen as a reoccurring theme in The Aeneid; it is an undefined mystery that still has not been conquered. In this ancient text, we are reintroduced to the idea of Gilgamesh fearing the after-life, verses Aeneas facing it and accepting a fate which has been
Mythology, by denotation, is “a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.” Myths are an entity that evolve through time and through the changing of culture in order to tailor to the people telling the story; as such, we often see a series of different versions develop reflecting a relatively similar story. In this paper, the similarities and differences of the representation of the Underworld in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Virgil’s Aeneis will be analyzed and applied to the culture of the authors. We read these myths thousands of years after they …show more content…
In The Aeneid, Aeneas goes to the Underworld to seek counsel from the deceased whereas in contrast, Gilgamesh goes as part of a quest to ultimately avoid the underworld in immortality. We can see a complete lack of fear of death written through the words of Virgil when Aeneid addresses his deceased father in line 698, “…Father, give me your hand! Give it, don’t pull away as I hug and embrace you! Waves of tears washed over his cheeks as he spoke in frustration: Three attempts made to encircle his father’s neck with his outstretched arms yielded three utter failures.” Through this quote, it becomes apparent to us that Aeneid feels no fear for the dead; he feels simply frustration at the fact that he can’t embrace his father. In blunt contrast, in The Epic of Gilgamesh when the Underworld and death is described, it is described as the following: “Nobody sees Death, nobody sees the face of Death, nobody hears the voice of Death, Savage Death just cuts mankind down” (pg 435). This description from the older of the two works lacks the sense of knowing and fate that is seen as a reoccurring theme in The Aeneid; it is an undefined mystery that still has not been conquered. In this ancient text, we are reintroduced to the idea of Gilgamesh fearing the after-life, verses Aeneas facing it and accepting a fate which has been