The Journey of Life in Odyssey and Aeneid Assignment

Name:The Journey of Life in Odyssey and Aeneid
In reading both the Odyssey and the Aeneid, we can see a contrast of how the audience perceived and received the themes of love, passion, and death in the respective stories. Innate to every culture, these elements are essential to the dynamisms of life and existence. From the two stories, we can extract the motivation that drives the author by analyzing their specific culture, mind-set and audience. Both of the stories have intricately woven nationality, customs and culture into the setting of the protagonist and environment. The audience’s method of understanding is greatly dependent on their own dimensions of understanding through their political, social, and cultural interaction.
One such prominent theme in the Odyssey is that it permeates its audience with a feeling of awe in journey and personal growth. This passage in the odyssey relates life to a journey of fools on their journey to enlightenment and peace. “Dear nurse, the gods have made thee mad, they who can make foolish even one who is full wise, and set the simple-minded in the paths of understanding; it is they that have marred thy wits, though heretofore thou wast sound of mind. Odyssey 23 10. It emphasizes the audience belief in the divine and how they are thankful to the guidance that it emits and radiates. It is prominent in the Odyssey to have a vibe of learning through struggle and pain and yet achieving the bliss of success and accomplishment. This other passage supports the claim that the audience of odyssey were inspired by Homer to face life as a temporary journey through time and space. “and his hands in loving welcome; and a sweet longing seized him to weep and wail, for in his heart he knew them all. Odyssey 22 495”
Aeneid has a darker and more controlling vibe. The creation of the Aeneid involves an alteration of the Odyssey in order to glorify the empire of Rome and h...