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The Aeneid
and
The Odyssey
John Smith
History 321 – Ancient World of Greece and Rome
28 February 2021
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Introduction
The Aeneid
by Virgil, and
The Odyssey
by Homer, are two grand tales about the trials and
tribulations of the trojan hero Aeneas (The Aeneid), and the Greek hero Odysseus (The
Odyssey). These epic poems are considered timeless pieces of art from Rome and Greece,
respectively. The goal of this research paper is to understand who Virgil and Homer are, to
compare the similarities and differences in their stories, and what their works of art reveal about
the cultures in which they were created. Subsequently, one should be able to determine why both
stories were highly influential in ancient Greece.
Virgil
Virgil (October 15, 70 BCE – September 21, 19 BCE), was born of peasant stock in
northern Italy and is considered Rome’s greatest poet. He loved the Italian countryside and
adored the people who cultivated it; his affinity for Italy resonates throughout all his poems.
Virgil was well educated and had acquired a thorough knowledge of Greek and Roman authors
but was drawn to poets.
He is best known for his epic poem
The Aeneid
, and is also known for
The Eclogues
, and
The Georgics.
Virgil’s youth was full of uncertainty as civil war loomed over Rome and the political and
military forces at the time were struggling to find a sense of identity. The civil unrest worsened
as Pompei and Julius Caesar fought for supreme power taking the civil wars across Italy until
Augustus’ victory at Actium in 31 BCE. Subsequently, Virgil’s hate and fear of civil war was
expressed with great passion in his work.
The Aeneid
is Virgil’s vision of an ideal Rome, being
reborn from the chaos that prevailed during his early adulthood. The theme of
3. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
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The Aeneid
placed it close to the date and subject of Homer’s
Iliad
and
Odyssey
and allowed
Virgil to transition the story into Augustus’ new world by presenting Aeneas as the experimental
model of the Roman way of life. Unfortunately, Virgil’s death in 19 BCE left
The Aeneid
unfinished. Legend has it that Virgil’s last wish was for his epic poem to be burned, but this wish
was overruled by Augustus.
Homer
Homer, who’s birth date is unknown, wrote two of the most influential epic poems in
Ancient Rome,
The Iliad,
and
The
Odyssey
. Not much is known about Homer’s life except that
he is believed to have been a native of Ionia (present day Turkey) unlike Virgil, who’s life story
is well documented. In fact, scholars are uncertain whether Homer existed as he seems to be this
shadowy figure linked to
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey
. If Homer is accepted to be real, then his
two epics are indeed the most influential pieces of work in Greek education and culture
throughout the Classical age. His work provided a strong base for humane education up to the
Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
The Aeneid
was influenced by
The Odyssey
in that
Virgil formulated
The Aeneid’s
theme around that of
The Odyssey
. Homer was so influential, that
he had descendants known as “Homeridae,” a group of authors that would mimic Homer’s poetic
methods in hopes of preserving and propagating his poetry.
The Aeneid
The Aeneid
is an epic poem written from around 30 – 19 BCE by a Roman poet named
Virgil. The work consists of twelve books and is written in the oldest form of Greek poetry,
called Dactylic Hexameter. Virgil was highly influenced by Homer as the first six books of-
1. Kirk, G. S. “Homer.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
3. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
4. Weigel, James, Jr. 2019. “Aeneid by Virgil.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
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The Aeneid
were modeled after
The Odyssey
, while the last six books were modeled after
incidents in
The Iliad
.
The Aeneid
takes place after the Trojan War and documents the story of
Aeneas the Trojan Hero, who is destined to be the founder of Roman greatness.
The story begins as Aeneas encounters terrible weather which forces his fleet to land on
the Libyan coast where he is welcomed by Dido, the Queen of Carthage. Aeneas confides in
Dido by explaining the events that led up to him landing on her shore. Not long after, Dido
confesses her love for him, but the gods force Aeneas to set sail once again. Dido is turmoiled by
this and decides to take her own life. Then, Aeneas arrives in Sicily where a competition is held
in commemoration of the death anniversary for Aeneas’s father, Anchises. After setting sail
again, Aeneas journeys to the underworld and Elysium, where he meets Dido and Anchises, and
Aeneas learns about the destiny of Rome. Soon after Aeneas leaves the underworld, the Trojans
reach the Tiber River where they are greeted by Latinus, the king of that region. The god’s
attempt to deter the foreseen marriage alliance between Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, and
Aeneas. Latinus’ favor of Aeneas angers Turnus, leader of a local tribe who was expecting to
take Lavinia’s hand in marriage. As a result, war breaks out, but the Trojans prevail. Aeneas
marries Lavinia and together they found Lavinium.
The Odyssey
The Odyssey
is an epic poem written in 725 BCE by a Greek poet named Homer. The
work consists of two volumes, each containing twelve books (24 books total) written in the
oldest form of Greek poetry called Dactylic Hexameter.
The Odyssey
is arguably the most-
influential work of art from the Classical Age.
The Odyssey
takes place immediately following
the Trojan War and documents the story of a wondering hero named Odysseus.
2. Weigel, James, Jr. “Odyssey by Homer.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature
4. Weigel, James, Jr. 2019. “Aeneid by Virgil.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
5. Virgil. The Aeneid. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg.
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The story begins with Odysseus being the only Greek hero to not return home after the
Trojan War because he angered the god of the sea, Poseidon.
Zeus decrees that Odysseus should
be allowed to return to his home and family in Ithaca. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope, and son
Telemachus, are dealing with a slew of suitors working towards gaining Penelope’s favor in
hopes of taking her hand in marriage, as Odysseus is believed to be dead. The goddess Athena is
sent to Ithaca where she disguises herself and speaks to Telemachus, advising him to rid his
home of the suitors and to go search for his father, who lives. The suitors deny his request to
leave, but they insist that Telemachus leave in search of his father as they see it as an opportunity
to get Telemachus far away from the Ithaca coast. Telemachus is ultimately led Lacedaemon
where he learns that Odysseus is being held prisoner by the nymph Calypso on her island of
Ogygia in the Mediterranean Sea. Concurrently, Odysseus is set free by Zeus, who sends the
messenger of the gods Hermes, to Ogygia to order Calypso to release him.
Odysseus spends four
days constructing a boat, only to have it destroyed once more by Poseidon, washing him ashore
the Phaeacians coast. Odysseus startles a girl named Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous, when
he calls out to her from behind a bush asking her where he is. Nausicaa calms and realizes that he
is no vulgar person, she then helps Odysseus by providing him with clothes and food.
Odysseus’ story does not get easier for him as he is confronted with a slew of ill comings.
Odysseus travels past the isle of Sirens where he and his men are nearly sent to their death. Then,
he and his men are blown to the land of lotus-eaters where they grow too comfortable. Odysseus-
notices their guard down and urges for them to leave, but Odysseus and twelve of his men are
captured by a cyclops who lives on the island named Polyphemus. His men are eaten one by one-
by Polyphemus, leaving Odysseus the sole survivor. Polyphemus cries out to his father Poseidon,
6. Homer. Odyssey, Volume I: Books 1-12. Translated by A. T. Murray. Revised by George E. Dimock.
7. Homer. Odyssey, Volume II: Books 13-24. Translated by A. T. Murray. Revised by George E. Dimock.
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Odysseus’ lifelong enemy, after Odysseus stabs his eye to escape. Odysseus and his remaining
crew continue their journey rowing for six days where his crew is picked off and eaten one by
one in the land of the Laestrigonians, half-men half-giants. They then face Circe who tries to turn
them into swine. Odysseus saves his men by using an herb called Molly, given to him by
Hermes, that blocked Circe’s magic. As if this was not enough, Odysseus, his crew, and his ship
are destroyed after Odysseus and crew kill a cow that belonged to the sun god, Hyperion.
Odysseus is now the only person living out of his entire crew, and washes ashore on Ogygia, the
island of Calypso once more.
In the end Odysseus is helped greatly by Athena, who turns him into an old man to hide
his identity, reunites him with his son Telemachus. Odysseus explains his troublesome story and
creates a plan to get his life back. Athena turns Odysseus into and old man once more and they
set sail for Ithaca. A disguised Odysseus sees what has been going on in his absence but chooses
to remain unknown. Penelope devises a test to see who should gain her hand in marriage by
using the bow of Eurytus and twelve-battle axes. The suitors must try and string the bow and
shoot an arrow through the twelve axe handles. The suitors all fail to string the bow, then
Odysseus, still in appearance of an old man, strings the bow and shoots an arrow through all axe
handles. At this moment Odysseus reveals his true self and kills all the suitors and their servants.
Odysseus is finally reunited with his family.
Similarities and Differences
The stories have many similarities that are worth noting. On the surface, they are both
epic poems written in Dactylic Hexameter. Both stories follow their own hero who is helped and-
6. Homer. Odyssey, Volume I: Books 1-12. Translated by A. T. Murray. Revised by George E. Dimock.
7. Homer. Odyssey, Volume II: Books 13-24. Translated by A. T. Murray. Revised by George E. Dimock.
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hindered by gods throughout their journey. Both Odysseus and Aeneas spend much time sailing
across the world. The difference here is that Odysseus is shipwrecked several times, where
Aeneas is not shipwrecked once. We know this because Odysseus angers the god Poseidon, god
of the sea, and Aeneas is hated by the god Juno, queen of the gods, because she knows of a
prophecy stating that Trojans will destroy her favorite city Carthage. A common theme we see in
both stories is the god’s intervention in human affairs. For example, in
The Odyssey
Zeus sends
Hermes to help Odysseus escape Calypso, where in
The Aeneid
, Aeneas has an arrow wound
magically healed by the goddess Venus (Aphrodite in Greek mythology). The two stories both
take place after the Trojan war, however there is a key difference between them, Odysseus is a
Greek and Aeneas is a Trojan. In fact, in Homer’s
Iliad
, Odysseus is the master mind behind the
Trojan Horse scheme that ultimately won them the Trojan War. Aeneas’s story begins with him
fleeing Troy after the Greeks destroy it. In the end, both
The Aeneid
and
The Odyssey
result in a
battle for what Odysseus and Aeneas believed to be the most important to them. For Odysseus it
was his family, and for Aeneas it was the beginnings of a new world.
Cultures
The works of Virgil and Homer certainly had a huge impact on society in the Classical
age. Homer in particular set the stage for future poets such as Virgil to succeed by following
Homers model. In the time of their writings, Greece and Italy were experiences trying times. The
people needed a guiding light to set an example of how one should treat others and instill fear of
the gods. Although both stories intertwine intervention of gods and real events that happened in
the world such as the Trojan War, the human element is where the people could relate. We have
two protagonists, Odysseus, and Aeneas, who never falter although they are constantly met with-
1. Kirk, G. S. “Homer.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
3. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
S m i t h
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extreme hardship. This gave the citizens of Greece and Italy hope, in that they, much like the
heroes, should remain strong and never give up. The uncertainty of a war-torn world had great
influence on the writing of
The Odyssey
and
The Aeneid
.
Aside from the hardships, and of upmost importance is the influence that Homer and
Virgil had in world of education. For example,
“Virgil’s poetry immediately became famous in
Rome and was admired by the Romans for two main reasons—first, because he was regarded as
their own national poet, spokesman of their ideals and achievements; second, because he seemed
to have reached the ultimate of perfection in his art (his structure, diction, metre)”
and
“Implicit
references to Homer and quotations from the poems date to the middle of the 7th century BCE.
Archilochus, Alcman, Tyrtaeus, and Callinus in the 7th century and Sappho and others in the
early 6th adapted Homeric phraseology and metre to their own purposes and rhythms. At the
same time scenes from the epics became popular in works of art”
both show evidence of how
influential the two writers were on Greek and Roman culture.
1. Kirk, G. S. “Homer.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
3. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
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Bibliography
1.
Kirk, G. S. “Homer.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc., Last
modified November 14, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Homer-Greek-poet
.
2.
Weigel, James, Jr. “Odyssey by Homer.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2019.
https://search-ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=87575213&site=eds-
live&scope=site
.
3.
Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica,
inc., 1999. Last modified 1999. Accessed February 28, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Virgil
.
4.
Weigel, James, Jr. 2019. “Aeneid by Virgil.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=87575021&site=eds-
live&scope=site
.
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Virgil. The Aeneid. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg. Accessed February 28, 2021.
https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1085009&site=eds-live&scope=site
.
6.
Homer
.
Odyssey, Volume I: Books 1-12.
Translated by
A. T. Murray
.
Revised by
George
E. Dimock
.
Loeb Classical Library 104. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1919.
https://www-loebclassics-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/view/LCL104/1919/volume.xml
.
7.
Homer. Odyssey, Volume II: Books 13-24. Translated by A. T. Murray. Revised by
George E. Dimock. Loeb Classical Library 105. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1919.
https://www-loebclassics-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/view/LCL105/1919/volume.xml
.
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