The Underworld and How it Reflects the Goals and Realities of Virgil and Homer - Essay Example

The Underworld and How it Reflects the Goals and Realities of Virgil and Homer English A1 SL Candi Lucie Schnitzer Candi Number: Session: May, 2012 Works used: The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil Word count: 1,493 The Underworld and How it Reflects the Goals and Realities of Virgil and Homer Two epic poems from two great civilizations depict their authors varying views of the Underworld: The Odyssey and The Aeneid. The Greek poet Homer describes the hardships of Odysseus and his struggle to return home to his beloved wife and family after the Trojan War in The Odyssey. The Roman poet Virgil composed The Aeneid for the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus, in order to reestablish Rome after the civil war had ended. The Aeneid portrays a demigod, Aeneas, whose mission is to create a grand city that will be known as Rome. This paper analyzes the differences and similarities in how Virgil and Homer view the Underworld in The Odyssey and The Aeneid. These epic poems are similar in showing the authors customs and beliefs, but different in depicting the Underworlds topography and how the plot in the Underworld represents the diverging values and goals of Homer and Virgil. The Underworld expresses the paradox of being about the dead and the living at the same time, because The Odyssey and The Aeneid similarly explore the customs and beliefs of the Greeks and the Romans, as their heroes journey to the Underworld. In the Underworld, Aeneas and Odysseus learn that many souls cannot enter the afterlife without receiving their proper burial. Odysseus is surprised when he meets Elpenor, his friend, who died after falling off from a roof in Circe’s island, and was left to rot, while Aeneas is taken aback when he meets Palinaurus, a citizen of his town who was killed by a group of vagabonds in Italy and also not given the respect of a proper burial. Both unburied friends begged for a proper burial, so that they could finally enter the Underworld. Odysseus responds to the request by promising to return to Circe’s island to bury Elpenor’s remains, while in Aeneas’ case, his guide, the Sybil, promises to persuade the locals to do the task. These promises reflect the underlying customs and beliefs of the living about the dead. Both Greek and Roman cultures assert the importance of burying the dead, so that they can have a restful afterlife. Thus, these two societies share the same values that respect the dead. In addition, Odysseus and Aeneas try to show respect to their parents who are already dead. Odysseus unexpectedly meets his deceased mother and tries to embrace her three times. He fails because she vanishes into thin air every time his fingertips touch her. In The Aeneid, Aeneas is led to the underworld to meet his deceased father. Similar to Odysseus, he reaches to embrace his father three times and fails each time, because he is left embracing nothing but air. These acts of greeting depict the high regard for parents in Greek and Roman civilizations. For them, even when dead, ones parents deserve utmost respect through upholding traditional greeting behaviors. The Underworld also reveals the heroes futures. Odysseus and Aeneas both go to the underworld to learn more about their mission and how it will unfold. Odysseus seeks to see Teiresias, because he can reveal directions back to his homeland and give more information about Odysseus family. Circe is the one who advised Odysseus to look for Teiresias: “You must go to the house of Hades...to consult the ghost of the blind Theban prophet Teiresias whose reason is still unshaken. To him alone has Proserpine left his understanding even in death...” (Homer 10). In The Aeneid, Aeneas wants to visit his father in the Underworld and learn more about his future. A prophetess also helps Aeneas to speak to his father: “O goddess-born of great Anchises line,/ The gates of hell are open night and day;/ Smooth the descent, and easy is the way” (Virgil 6). The Underworld is portrayed in The Odyssey and The Aeneid as a source of information. The Roman and Greek cultures believe that their heroes can seek guidance from their ancestors and other dead personalities, especially the great ones who have had legendary successful lives also. The Underworld in The Odyssey and The Aeneid have differences in topography. The Odyssey emphasizes the barren and sad nature of the Underworld, showing that the Greeks believe that death is the end of lifes happiness. Odysseus mother explains to Odysseus why he cannot embrace her: “The sinews no longer hold the flesh and bones together;/ these perish in the fierceness of consuming fire as soon as life has/left the body, and the soul flits away as though it were a dream” (Homer 6). From this statement, it can be inferred that the Greeks think that death is a great equalizer. The bad have it worse in Hell but they die like the good, feeling rather sad in not being able to live again. Virgil, however, describes the Underworld in greater detail through its sequences and in much more glorified details (Leach 120). In The Aeneid, every seat in the Underworld is a product of judgment on peoples lives (Leach 121). Virgil depicts Plutos dome, which has the roman vestibulum where official and honorable guests congregate (Leach 121). Virgil also describes the differences between the people of honor and people of sin in the Underworld. Sinners suffer in the cliff guarded by Tisiphone, where vultures eat their livers and experience numerous other forms of suffering. The Underworld also holds heroes who continually fight their legendary battles: “Here found they Tsucers old heroic race,/ Born better times and happier years to grace./ Assaracus and Ilus here enjoy/ Perpetual fame, with him who founded Troy” (Virgil 6). Virgil is saying that death is not the end of glory. He opposes the view of Homer that death ends lifes best moments. In addition, by focusing on rulers and soldiers of war, Virgil emphasizes the glory of the battlefield and united efforts of creating and protecting ones homeland. Finally, Homer and Virgil have divergent values and goals that are reflected in their depiction of the Underworld. The main goal of Virgil is political in nature, compared to Homers goal of entertaining his audience through mythology, including the mythology of death. Homer only aims to entertain his audience through depicting the Underworld as a place of death, the end of all that is precious to life. Smith argues that Homer wants to reinforce the mythical views of the Underworld in his time. At the same time, Smith stresses that when Virgil changes who his hero will meet, the father instead of the mother (as in The Odyssey), and depicting differences in what can be found in the Underworld, Virgil, in effect, is showing the rise of patriarchal values and collectivity over matriarchy and individualism. The plot of the Underworld in The Aeneid essentially portrays the historical vision of Aeneas, which demonstrates changes from Greek to Roman civilizations, particularly the “increased centrality of patriarchal values in Augustan Rome with their emphasis on reason and practical concerns of Empire building and civil service,” and which sharply contrasts with the “mysticism and matriarchal orientation of The Odyssey” (61). When Aeneas meets his father, Anchises is watching how spirits are leaving the Underworld and floating upwards to the living world. Anchises explains to Aeneas that these spirits are their great ancestors and he named each one of them, including Augustus Caesar: But next behold the youth of form divine, Ceasar himself, exalted in his line; Augustus, promisd oft, and long foretold, Sent to the realm that Saturn ruld of old; Born to restore a better age of gold. Afric and India shall his powr obey; He shall extend his propagated sway Beyond the solar year, without the starry way (Virgil 6). Mentioning his name is part of the propagandistic nature of the poem. It is Augustus Caesar who commissioned Virgil to write the poem (Rubel 197). Virgils primary goal is to create literature that will emphasize the collective role of strengthening and expanding the power of the Roman Empire, which is why Aeneas has grand political plans himself too. Homer and Virgil similarly use the Underworld to describe their cultural customs and beliefs, which are identical in respecting the dead and ones parents. The Aeneid, however, describes the Underworld in greater detail than The Odyssey. The Aeneid also has a different aspiration from The Odyssey. Homer only aims to entertain his readers by describing what the Underworld will look like for the good and the bad who have died. Virgil, however, being commissioned to write The Aeneid for Caesar, reflects the same goals as the Roman Emperor. Virgil uses the Underworld to express his desire to unite the Romans in building the largest and strongest empire. Hence, The Aeneid and The Odyssey share cultural values, but not political aspirations, which can be remarkably construed from how Homer and Virgil describe the Underworld and what happened to their heroes in it. The Underworld is ironically the Upperworld, reflecting only what the real worlds values and socio-political realities are. Works Cited Fitzgerald, Robert and Virgil. The Aeneid. London: Vintage, 1990. Print Lattimore, Richmond. The Odyssey of Homer. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1999. Print. Leach, Eleanor Winsor. “Viewing the Spectacula of Aeneid 6.” In Perkell, Christine G. (ed.), Reading Vergils Aeneid: An Interpretive Guide. Oklahoma: U of Oklahoma P, 1999. 128-147. Print. Rubel, David. The Bedside Baccalaureate: The Second Semester: A Handy Daily Cerebral Primer to Fill in the Gaps, Refresh Your Knowledge, And Impress Yourself and Other Intellectuals. New York: Agincourt, 2009. Print. Smith, Evans Lansing. The Hero Journey in Literature: Parables of Poesis. Maryland: U P of America, 1997. Print. Read More