History of Odysseus and Aeneas - Essay Example

?English Literature Question Aeneas is regarded as one of the founders of the Roman culture. Although is not accredited with the establishment of Rome, his characters reveals his identity and his value for the Roman culture. Unlike Odysseus, Aeneas is not involved in concurring expeditions around Mediterranean islands. However, he was engaged in many battles that led to the creation of the Roman Empire. This essay analyzes Aeneas characters in the context of the Roman Empire through a comparative study. Odysseus and Aeneas are mythical heroes who had significant following in ancient Rome and Greece. The two heroes fought in opposing sides during the Trojan wars and their encounters are accounted in odyssey and Aeneid respectively. Odysseus ruled Ithaca and he is regarded as one of the greatest kings and hero of his time. On the other hand, Aeneas was a warrior from Troy who had a Roman/Italian heritage. The two characters share many similarities in their upbringing and attitude towards nobility. Born in noble families, the two heroes chose to defy some norms associated with their social class. However, they were both religious and true to their calling and social status. Certainly, Odysseus and Aerneas had different social status and commanded different forms of respect from their followers and fellow citizens. The two characters reveal how the Romans and Greek valued brevity and war heroes. Indeed, the two characters gained their status from two different events/wars that are rather similar. Odysseus earned his title from a brave idea that led to victory during the battle of the Trojans. During this episode, Odysseus plan and execute a heroic move by sending alcohol to Greek soldiers. After the Greeks were drunk and asleep, Odysseus and his men descended on them slaughtering them all. Similarly, Aeneas gave motivational talks to the Trojans before they went into the battlefield. Certainly, Odysseus and arenas had a different perspective and obligations to the republic. Aerneas believed that each Roman citizen had a duty and a responsibility towards the state. According to his thinking, every Roman citizen had to remain pious and royal to the Roman race. The character upheld the two virtues and, he believed that the virtues had attached costs and rewards. Aerneas also complied with the will of the gods. He believed that they were the custodians of human destiny and his sole counsel. This is the main difference between the Greek’s outlook toward mortality and personal conduct. In the course of his mission, Aerneas gains and command respect from the people leading to the creation of the Roman Empire. The Arneoid depicts that Aerneas sacrificed worldly pleasures for the sake of the Republic. For example, he failed to engage in sexual pleasure with women as other worriers did. According to him, the act was holly and it was meant for procreation rather than for pleasure. This basic virtue was to be included in the newly established Roman culture. Moreover, Aerneas chose to forsake his lover Dido in order to be in the Roman army. This shows his dedication to the service of the republic. Question 2 The New Testament is the textual basis for what became a new civilization, one that largely substituted Christian teachings for the religious, philosophical, and social values that prevailed in the classical, that is the Greek and Roman world. The New Testament particular the New Testament has considerable similarity with the works of profound classical authors such as Homer, Plato, and Virgil. The New Testament has outstanding contradiction with other classical literature. In particular, the New Testament is written from a spiritual perspective rather than a worldly perspective. Certainly, nearly all classical writers had an ideal physical republic or a city that defined their views towards life and the role of humanity. On the other hand, Jesus referred to the heavenly kingdom that did not resemble anything in this world, as we know it. In this reference, the heavily kingdom as portrayed in the New Testament has considerable similarity with Plato’s republic in terms of ethical and social values. Unlike in the New Testament, classical authors advocated for earthly cities and good life here on earth. Certainly, the authors explored ways and ideas that would make our lives to be more productive. On the other hand, the New Testament preaches about the future and ways of avoiding destruction and punishment in hell. Thus, Jesus preached that the future is more important than the present. Jesus’ verbal style differs from that of his classical predecessors. These differences are associated with the philosophy and attitude among the three individuals. Certainly, Jesus spoke with a forgiving tone while his predecessors spoke condemningly. For instance, Jesus preached about the forgiveness of sinners while his predictors advocated for punishment of the wrong doers. Consequently, Jesus had a different perspective on perfection compared to his predicators. According to the New Testament, Jesus states that humans cannot achieve any form of perfection while living on earth. On the other hand, classical philosophers believed in perfection of the human soul and mind. For instance, Plato believed that humans could achieve perfection through an appropriate combination of ideas and thoughts. The teachings of Jesus and those of the classical philosophers had different intentions and, hence different audience. While Jesus preached about the heavenly kingdom, classical philosophers thought of how to create a new paradise here on earth. The Roman invasion of Palestine has no any form of resemblance with the first church as recorded in the New Testament. Arguably, Christians were supposed to sell all their earthly processions and give the proceeds to the poor. According to the New Testament, Christians were not supposed to value their earthly processions. Instead, Christians should have value for the heavenly kingdom or afterlife. The Roman invasion of Palestine does not comply with any of the New Testament teachings in that the Romans were after material processions. Certainly, struggle for the heavenly kingdom is not conducted through physical confrontation as depicted in the invasion. Therefore, the Romans were acting on their own political motivations and intentions. Question 3 Homer’s epics and The Aeneid are both major products of the classical world, while The Divine Comedy is a great monument to post-classical, medieval-Christian civilization. The three works of art have different perspectives on the notion of perfection and morality. The literature sheds light on the considerable differences that separate medieval men from the classical counterparts. Although classical and medieval civilizations had related values and social organization, there are profound differences in the notion of morality, afterlife, and holiness. The classical man was obsessed with perfection. Everything that they did was intended to be perfect. On the other hand, their medieval counterparts were not concerned with perfection as their classical counterparts did. The notion of perfection ruled various aspects of classical social and governance. This led to the establishment of systems and social structure that identified people according to their social status. Social status defined the level of perfection within a person. For example, the nobility considered themselves as perfect humans while they despised the commoners. The classical men were more religious than their medieval counterparts were. In classical Rome, people had or believed in many gods. This was meant to keep them holly and covered in all aspects of life. Certainly, the Romans believed the existence of more than one god according to human is needs. Religion controlled nearly all aspect of life including philosophy and politics. Although philosophers tried to disassociate themselves from religion, they were tied to religion in one way or the other. Unlike classical people, medieval people were pagan and they had no close relations with their creator. Christianity was spread from Rome to the rest of the Europe after the fall of the imperial Roman Empire. Certainly, the Romans used Christianity as a strategy of influencing the rest of Europe. This aspect is reflected in most of the literature that was created after the fall of the Roman Empire. Virgil seems closer in spirit to Dante than Hormer. This is because he was closer to Dante than his counterpart was. He taught Dante and their relationship grew from that of a teacher student relationship to become his chief advisor and mentor. Dante places a circle of limbo to shed his people away from hell or the place of the inferno. The place is devoted to those that are closer to evil despite having had the opportunity to do right. The limbo was not meant for sinners but those born by pagan parents and had no opportunity of knowing righteousness. The circle was also known to separate light from darkens. Thus, Virgil was filtered on the light side of the limbo. On the other hand, hormer seems spiritually unconnected to the spirit of Dante. This is because the two did not have an opportunity to share common interests during their mortal age. Consequently, the two had no any significant connection through their spirituality. Lastly, Dante always hoped that vigil’s soul would be rescued from the limbo. This shows the level of spiritual connectedness between vigil and Dante. Question 4 The tour through hell will be a fascinating one and I would wish to be spared from it. However if situations persist, I will take the tour under the guidance of Dante. The tour of the inferno under Dante’s leadership would be patronizing. Consequently, I will be assured of meeting some of the most famous sinners who will have already been assigned their rightful cycles in hell. Of course, some of the circles would be better than others are and, there would be a difference of social class. I believe that some sinners would be more privilege than others would and, may be their circles would be of high quality. The term quality will have a different meaning to the hell’s residence. Certainly, I expect to meet Adolf Hitler in the innermost limbo together with his accomplices. Adolf would never escape hell considering his role in World War II and the Holocaust. If he did not go to hell then there would be riots in heaven. How this would happen is still unclear to me since heaven residents will be holly. In the second Circe, I expect to meet eve the wife of Adam. This is because she made humans to be chased away from the Garden of Eden. If it were not for her sins, we would dwell in paradise happily ever. In the third circle next to Mr. Adolf, I expect to meet Judas the ruthless trader who sold Jesus to his murderers. His main accusations would be false witness and torsion. Were it not for his sins, Jesus would be here with us and we would never go hungry since he would have cha need stones into bread and water into wine. In the fourth circle, I expect to find Michael Jackson. His main sin and accusation would be blasphemy and creating a parallel religion. Certainly, his sins would attract heavier punishment than for the other sinners. The fifth place would be preserved for Christopher Columbus charged with human trafficking and illegal trade. Christopher opened the door for other European rivals to explore the world leading to the establishment of slave trade in which millions of Africans were transported to America and Caribbean islands to work as slaves in sugar plantations. The list will not be complete without including Mr. Osama bi laden. His role in the September 11 bombings should earn him a warm place in hell. His colleague the former president of Libya will also be present. His main accusation will be murder and torture of innocent civilians during the Locabbi bombings and the just concluded civil wars. Lastly, I expect to meet Peter the disciple who denounced Jesus three times on that fateful day of his crusifiction. The eight sinners shall be held accountable for their respective sins and they will receive their appropriate rewards. In this classification, none of the sinner will be exalted than the others and all the sinners shall receive equal measures and terms in hell. Read More