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The Odyssey vs The Aeneid

Comparisons: The Odyssey Vs. The Aeneid Virgil was a creative genius from his time, but it can be understandable that many of his works may have been influenced from previous works of literacy. A comparison of Virgil’s, The Aeneid, and Homer’s, The Odyssey, will help to show the different aspects of Roman and Greek cultures. It will also help to illustrate the effects the Greeks had on Roman culture. There are many differences and likenesses between these two epics. Greek culture and literature had a great dominating influence over Roman life, therefore, the influence of style and the stories written by Virgil adopted many of the old Greek ways. However, Virgil did not imitate, he gave a new meaning to the works that he borrowed and added his own thoughts and opinions that expressed and explained Roman life to the rest of the world. The Aeneid is not only a personal epic about Aeneas, but also exaltation and beautification of Rome and the future of the people. There is a greater emphasis placed upon the founding of Rome rather than the actual adventure of Aeneas. Virgil’s epic shows that he had a great admiration and pride in Rome and its people. Homer used the story of The Odyssey to express his understanding of human nature and the world that humans live in. His techniques were used to express his ideas and beliefs. Homer’s poems were accepted as the ultimate authority for information about mortality and early history.5 The introduction of epic poetry begins with an invocation. This is where the writer states the theme of his work and asks for divine aid in telling the story . During the time of Homer, an invocation was used as a prayer based on the belief that art and poetry were a sacred act of creation. In Virgil’s time, the invocation was only used because it was a tradition in epic poetry. The change in Virgil’s invocation reveals his different approach to this epic. This new...

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The Odyssey vs The Aeneid. (1969, December 31). In Retrieved 03:06, April 27, 2015, from