Odyssey and the Aeneid Essay Example for Free

Odyssey and the Aeneid EssayFrom the cultural views, there are some differences between the Greek and Roman invention of heroes the Achaeans attach importance to individuality whereas the Romans to community. Unlike the Roman Empire which we know is a kingdom, in the ancient Greece-also called Hellas-there are no countries but only city states scattered around the Balkan Peninsula. In this sense, the Achaeans do not have the notion about collective consciousness or what country is, so they tend to make individual will, and so do the heroes at that time. We can conceive the evidence in the two works.On the one hand, in the Odyssey, Odysseus constitutes the standard Greek determine of heroism individualism. He mainly concerns if he can go back to Ithaca safely and how to regain his throne that is, what he cares about is not really relate to anyone else but is himself, his life, and his personal purposes. For instance, as a leader of his sailors, the hero Odysseus is proved t o be the only survivor coming back to his Ithaca. So we can see that his cleverness and resourcefulness are only applied for his own individual survival.On the other hand, the Roman heroism is quite different. Aeneas is burdened with a bulky responsibility for his sacred mission ordained by Jupiter to found a new land. He concerns about not personal gain or offbeat but other deal and therefore he is the presentation of pietas, possibly the key quality of honorable Romans consisting of a series of dedication toward the family, followers, homeland, and the gods.Culturally, the Roman, or Virgilian political theory of heroes is distinctly different from that of the Greeks. The chief difference of their model heroism is that the Greek heroes symbolize individual will, glory, and feelings whereas the Roman heroes an ideal nationalistic ruler (Augustus, whom Virgil writes the Aeneid for) who with sacrifice, devotion, and duty for his people is regarded as a servant rather than the serv ed.