Homer was a blind, oral poet who created both The Odyssey and The Iliad. Homer told these epics in many short episodes, then editors would write down the epics and arranged them into books. Homer wrote The Odyssey for entertainment, he does this by depicting events dealing with interaction between the gods and men. The Odyssey is set after the sack of Troy and tells the story of Odysseus’ nostos –journey home- to Ithaca. The epic poem shows us the nature of heroism in classical Greece, and touches on themes of what it means to be a man, the duties of a king/ruler and the ideals of a marriage. The ancient Greeks heavily believed in the existence of heros, and The Odyssey was a source of information as well as entertainment about the life and
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Odysseus is the protagonist of The Odyssey and shows the character traits of a Homeric hero and leader. He is resourceful and cunning which is depicted in book 9 of The Odyssey when he and his men have let themselves in the cyclops’ cave and helped themselves to his food. When the cyclops returned he asked what Odysseus’ name was and in return Odysseus said “My name is Nobody. That is what I am called by my mother and father and by all my friends.” Following this instance when Odysseus has chalennged the cyclops Polyphemus and lets slip his real name, we can relate the homeric trait of hubris because he is confident and arogant with his triumph over Polyphemus whcih enrages Polyphemus’ father Poseidon , causing Odysseus hardships and struggles on the rest of his journey home to Ithica. From this we can say that Odysseus doesn’t hide his thirst for glory, because even after getting away from Polyphemus he still can’t help himself fromcalling back to Polyphemus to tell the cyclops his real name. Odysseus shows the homeric trait of warrior skill at the end of the epic when he returns to Ithaca under a disguise. He dressed as a beggar watched …show more content…
The Aeneid was Virgil's third piece of work which he worked on fro age 39 up to his death at 50. Reportedly he cared so much for the epics perfection he only wrote a few lines a day, which left the poem unfinished at the time of his death. Unlike Homer's epic Virgil had carefully planned the Aeneid and was the work of only one man. Virgil has borrowed many ideas and events from Homer's epic, The Odyssey, but he has twisted and changed the event slightly to fit the political propaganda of Augustus. An event from The Odyssey that Virgil used in his poem was the journey to the underworld in book 11 of the odyssey where Odysseus travels to the underworld to seek guidance from the dead, he follows Circe’s instructions to make a sacrifice and offerings, following this Odysseus communicates with Tiresias, who tells odysseus how to get home and then his mother who had killed herself in mourning for her son and other hero figures and divinities. To match this in The Aedeid, book Like Homer Virgil wrote The Aeneid to entertain, but he also had the desire to write an epic that would rival the work from Homer. Virgil wanted to honor Augustus with The Aeneid, which he does when the poem tells us that his family are descendants from the goddess Venus, Aeneas’ mother. He also wanted to honor the greatness of Rome, Virgil planned for The Aeneid to become a nation epic honoring Rome's greatness. Unlike the
Odysseus is the protagonist of The Odyssey and shows the character traits of a Homeric hero and leader. He is resourceful and cunning which is depicted in book 9 of The Odyssey when he and his men have let themselves in the cyclops’ cave and helped themselves to his food. When the cyclops returned he asked what Odysseus’ name was and in return Odysseus said “My name is Nobody. That is what I am called by my mother and father and by all my friends.” Following this instance when Odysseus has chalennged the cyclops Polyphemus and lets slip his real name, we can relate the homeric trait of hubris because he is confident and arogant with his triumph over Polyphemus whcih enrages Polyphemus’ father Poseidon , causing Odysseus hardships and struggles on the rest of his journey home to Ithica. From this we can say that Odysseus doesn’t hide his thirst for glory, because even after getting away from Polyphemus he still can’t help himself fromcalling back to Polyphemus to tell the cyclops his real name. Odysseus shows the homeric trait of warrior skill at the end of the epic when he returns to Ithaca under a disguise. He dressed as a beggar watched …show more content…
The Aeneid was Virgil's third piece of work which he worked on fro age 39 up to his death at 50. Reportedly he cared so much for the epics perfection he only wrote a few lines a day, which left the poem unfinished at the time of his death. Unlike Homer's epic Virgil had carefully planned the Aeneid and was the work of only one man. Virgil has borrowed many ideas and events from Homer's epic, The Odyssey, but he has twisted and changed the event slightly to fit the political propaganda of Augustus. An event from The Odyssey that Virgil used in his poem was the journey to the underworld in book 11 of the odyssey where Odysseus travels to the underworld to seek guidance from the dead, he follows Circe’s instructions to make a sacrifice and offerings, following this Odysseus communicates with Tiresias, who tells odysseus how to get home and then his mother who had killed herself in mourning for her son and other hero figures and divinities. To match this in The Aedeid, book Like Homer Virgil wrote The Aeneid to entertain, but he also had the desire to write an epic that would rival the work from Homer. Virgil wanted to honor Augustus with The Aeneid, which he does when the poem tells us that his family are descendants from the goddess Venus, Aeneas’ mother. He also wanted to honor the greatness of Rome, Virgil planned for The Aeneid to become a nation epic honoring Rome's greatness. Unlike the