Preview

Similarities Between The Aeneid And The Odyssey

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1553 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities Between The Aeneid And The Odyssey
The Iliad and the Odyssey are some of the best know books of antiquity, filled with the history and roots of the Greek people. Also belonging to this list of ancient texts is the Aeneid, the epic poem on the founding of Rome, and of the man who made it happen, a man who was seen and considered as the embodiment of Roman moral values. Because of this, the poem if suffused with many instances in which he is able to show the extent of his morality. It is through these examples that we catch glimpses of what Rome’s thinking is like in regards to their moral values and that we can see what kind of importance they put in it. It’s for this reason that the Aeneid can be a great point of reference from which to see how this work of literature influenced …show more content…
Virgil, full name being Publius Vergilius Maro, was a male roman poet born in 70BCE in the village of Andes, near Mantua in Cisalpine Gaul. He came from an equestrian landowning family, which meant that his family could afford to give him a good education, and he went to school in Cremona, Milan in northern Italy, Naples to the south, and most importantly Rome, where he was introduced to Octavian and became one of his close friends. He briefly considered a career in law and rhetoric, but then decided to turn his talents towards poetry. Besides the Aeneid, he is also very well known for his other works, which include the Eclogues, the Georgics, and a number of minor poems collected into a book called the Appendix Vergiliana. He died in Brundisium in the year 19BCE, while still working on the Aeneid, after contracting a fever and being severely weakened by the …show more content…
The Romans, with a lineage going all the way back to Troy could now say to be equals with the eastern peoples they conquered, and whose civilizations and cultures were much older than Rome’s, therefore giving them even more prestige than before, showing that they descend from great empire and therefore are a great empire themselves. The fall of Troy could be said to be necessary because Fate intended its survivors to form part of the Roman race, which shows the favor of the gods, and that they thought their ancestors to be of such importance that they be saved from death in the besieged city of Troy. Rome’s growth, in turn, could be seen as not by chance but by design of the gods. Aeneas is told his descendants, the Roman people who read the poem in Augustus’ age, must govern their empire in peace and with just laws. This would be helpful in preventing any uprisings against the new regime, and turning people over to a more favorable way of viewing the new

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Toll proposes that Virgil’s poem, with Aeneas as the protagonist, was written for the readers who were in need of help when it came to viewing themselves as Roman Italians. Virgil was able to see that Roman-ness and Italian-ness was not the same thing. He believed that amalgamating the two nations should have been mutually decided and formed not authoritatively. Toll argues that he accomplishes this idea by using Aeneas, a Trojan who was referred to as “Pater” (Means father in Latin) in the Aeneid, as the vehicle of the new forming national identity of Roman Italian for two important reasons. Aeneas was Homeric and this offered Virgil the opportunity to write his generation’s origin and history as ancient as the history and origins that the Greeks were given by Homer. The second reason that Toll argues why Virgil picked Aeneas, is that, Rome already had a founding-father story that excluded the Italians. In the Aeneid, Aeneas is used to represent the ancestor of a greater commodity than Rome, which begins the formation of the amalgamation of Romans and Italians as one unit.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fictional queen of Ithaca and and a woman in 1930’s Mississippi having anything in common might seem like a stretch but in fact, they are more similar than they seem at first glance. Penelope of The Odyssey and Penny of O Brother, Where Art Thou have much in common along with characteristics that set them apart from each other. Penelope is presented as loyal, distraught. Penny is presented as unapologetic and a more independent, strong woman when being compared to Penelope. The two women are similar in that they are both cunning and cautious. Many of these changes are made in order to allow the character to blend into the time period and, in the case of Penny, to create a stronger, more realistic female character.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people have noticed the similarities between The Odyssey by Homer, and O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? by the Coen Brothers. Both characters exhibit perseverance at great lengths and many other things throughout their journeys. There are many things in common between the two main characters. Both are away from their homes for a long time and are leaving loved ones behind. Their journeys were very similar but different at the same time. Two things may be very similar but things are bound to be different.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One day, in the far away land of Olympia, lived two gods named Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus and Poseidon are brothers, but Poseidon prefers not to be seen by other mortals or gods. Therefore, he was already mad Zeus for bringing him to Olympia, but little did they both know that it was about to all go down hill. Just before Zeus pulled Poseidon out of the ocean, he saw a mortal girl named Ara. Ara is a very beautiful woman and most people are attracted to her. Besides the fact that Zeus has already had three affairs, he had to win over the heart of Ara. That leaves us where we are now with Zeus and Poseidon. Poseidon is now out of the ocean and refused to go into town.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Virgil’s Aeneid is a quintessentially nationalistic epic, written during a troubled time in Rome’s history and Virgil sought to place Rome’s past in the frame of myth by telling the tale of Aeneas and the founding of Rome. A Greek-centred myth, The Aeneid, brought about a new stage in Roman ideology. Virgil brought the present into the past through locations, people and prophecies, the most important of these being the prophecy of the descendents of Aeneas, the future leaders of Rome in Book Six . Family, therefore, takes centre stage in The Aeneid, the appearance of the dynastic line of Aeneas himself being a central event in the book. The various parent/child relationships found throughout the poem shape and drive forward the action of Aeneas’ story, from his escape from Troy with his own father and son, the numerous interventions by his own mother, Venus to the tragic stories of both Evander, his son Pallas, and that of Lausus and his father, Mezentius, whilst also tying in important themes, such as love for the family, duty to the father and the struggle for glory…

    • 2058 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Aeneas is one of the few survivors who managed to escape when Troy fell. When Troy, a city on the coast of Asia Minor, was sacked by Greeks, he assembled a force and then traveled around Mediterranean Sea to find the promised lands, Italy. The Aeneid is about his journey from Troy to Italy, which enables him to accomplish his destiny. After six years of overcoming many hardships posed by gods and several failed attempts to found the city, his group made landfall at a Carthage, a city she brought into being on the coast of North Africa. Characterized by a reverence for the will of the gods, Aeneas subordinates all other concerns to the task, founding Roman race in Italy. Before Aeneas’s arrival, Dido is…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catullus One

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Catullus was a Roman poet in the 1st century BCE. His poems were known for being differently written from what his contemporaries were writing at the time. While others were writing more “manly” poetry, about their sexual conquests, Catullus was less racy in his writings. In his “Poem 1”, Catullus is dedicating his new poetry to a man named Cornelius. While not a love poem like he usually wrote, “Poem 1” shows several aspects of Roman culture and gives us a glimpse of how Romans tried to make a lasting impression on the world of the future.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within each passage, both Homer and Atwood depict Sirens with immense differences through the use of tone. The Odyssey has a strong component intensity and urgency throughout the entire piece. Starting with, “… Our trim ship speeding toward the Sirens’ island,” setting the stage for later on when Homer’s, “Heart inside [him] throbbed to listen… [to] their urgent call,” concludes the passage with a powerful tone of clear intensity. Meanwhile, the second poem, Song of Seiren, includes an urgency only within the song, “Help me! Only you, only you can,” the rest of the poem has an air of nonchalance and indifference. This is due to the differing points of view of each poem. The Odyssey is told by Odysseus, a male sailor who barely skims by the…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Augustus Research Paper

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Virgil was writing the Aeneid Augustus had commissioned this book, he had made sure it was up to his par, you can see the similarities of Aeneas life and Augustus. Virgil wanted to make sure that the people could relate Aeneas to Augustus, so when they looked for a hero, they would see Augustus as Aeneas. Augustus used this piece of literature as a key staple in gaining the trust of his people. Augustus understood that if the people read this book and they saw Aeneas as a fictional Augustus, they would think of himself as a hero, someone who only did right for his people. In the Aeneid, Aeneas has to save his people and deliver them to from the grasps of death. Not only did Virgil make this book during the rule of Augustus, but he also wanted it to be burned when Augustus died. He wanted this to be a working to show the strength of Augustus and show the struggle of man. The people of Rome understood Aeneas’ and that helped them understand Augustus just as…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While the city of Troy was being burned and sacked, a survivor known as Aeneas would begin a mission to deprive the Greeks of their victory of Troy not through the sword and spear, but through his words. Aeneas knew that the Greeks would tout themselves as brave strategists who managed to outwit the Trojans. The Greeks would make Aeneas city appear as though they were full of imbeciles that fell to the mighty hands of the Greeks. In order to tarnish the image the Greeks would no doubt boast, he would tell a story to Queen Dido that not only takes away the Greek’s ability to claim credit, but also say that the burning of Troy will allow the Trojan’s to become more powerful than the Greeks could ever have imagined.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History Livy Summary

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages

    An analysis of Livy’s text “History” book III, chapters 26-29, reveals and exalts the greatest virtue of a Roman whether a citizen, general, or politician; that is nobility, the humility, simplicity, and loyalty of such this quality. During the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire men would rise to seats of power and thrones of rule becoming great in time and through history. Although based on the accounts of written ancient text, in the words of Roman and Greek historians, philosophers, and writers; many great men would become victims to the idea and quest of absolute power and supreme prestige and lose sight of duty and nobility. Composed in the chapters mentioned is Livy’s account of Cincinnatus; his rise to dictatorship, his victory in war against the Aequians, and his willingness to step down as dictator after time served. Cincinnatus was a Roman citizen whom devoted his life to civic service for the greater good of the Roman…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    -Carthage had been twice defeated and the foundations were solidly laid of the Roman civilization, pp. 15…

    • 4479 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Greeks had a poor and dark view on what happened to them once they died. They did not have a place where they their souls went to rest in peace. Instead, they went to where they were tortured for the rest of their immortal lives. This is shown in both epics, The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil. In the Odyssey Odysseus into the underworld and you get his count on the awfulness of Hades, and too Aeneas goes to the underworld and you see the different parts and find out the meaning of each section. Both texts have similarities and differences on the interpretations of the after lives of greeks. Throughout time Greeks have changed their understandings of…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not only was the point of view of the story teller important in reading both The Odyssey and The Penelopiad, but the perspective regarding the time period in which the stories were written also provides much insight regarding the credibility of the events. The Penelopiad portray opposing views of the events that took place between Odysseus and Penelope. The Odyssey is told from a perspective consistent with the mindsets of that time period regarding a woman’s place in society. While in The Penelopiad, the novella is told from Penelope’s point of view, and includes more modern perspective and feminist ideals regarding roles of women. Atwood takes the modern perspective head on as “The novel unravels the influence of society, including family,…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Antigone, a play about corruption, political context, and bravery, shows how the different perspectives on values and conflict between the characters can lead to destruction and death. Antigone is a great tragedy between family members that illustrates the characters true purposes and personas on what they believe is right and wrong in their society. It explains how Antigone and Creon battle a theoretical war dealing with the controversy of the Greek ideals and values. The classic tragedy allows readers to see the values and conflicts in the play about social, political, and religious matter. In that day and time, ancient Greeks believed that women were nothing but objects, and they were only to be seen and not to be heard. Antigone reveals that is not always the case and that women have a right to say and stand up for what they believe in. Antigone was written by Sophocles, who demonstrates different views of political and religious principles of Antigone and Creon, along with conflict of blood relationships and honor in the fight for what is right.…

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays