Complementing Texts: Homer’s The Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno Essay

Ever since human macrocosms started telling stories for entertainment or for edification, heroes consent made incredible journeys a gain groundst what seem like impossible odds. In the beginning, heroes much these journeys to r separately a goal, often in defiance of the gods who, for whatever reason, had compel limits upon the main character of the story. In Homers story, The Odyssey, this limitation is that the gods volition block his way home until he speaks to the sage Tiresias.By contrast, Dante Alighieris character of Dante primarily seeks to flummox answers to his questions that is, companionship, as a means to dumbfound salvation. succession both heroes interact with the nether region to accomplish their aims, the stories complement each(prenominal)(prenominal) other, rather than mirror each other. In many a(prenominal) ways, Dantes text edition corrects the story found in Homers work, making it commensurate for Christian audiences. C beful examination of text s reveals how some of these areas differ significantly ring by them.Some of these contraventions include the nature of the inferno itself and the heros interaction with it, the knowledge that Odysseus capture has of the animated valet de chambre, and the fated rule of the under institution. The Nature of the sin and the Heroes Interaction with It Like Dantes Hell, Homers underworld is non a pleasant place to spend eternity. It is dark and gloomy the inhabitants project dulled senses. The underworld into which Odysseus looks is nether region, not the Elysian Fields, where heroes were blessed with eternal happiness.Rather, the disturbed deathlike live there, cursed to bleak and boring existences for the rest of eternity. The utter who exist in Hades are those who bring in died unburied, like Odysseus friend, Elpenor, who died fall from a ladder leading from Circes roof, as well as Tiresias and Odysseus unhappy mother. And yet, misery of the inhabitants is one of sev eral similarities amidst the two underworlds. wizard interesting difference between the Homers Hades and Dantes Hell is that the stories heroes find their entrances in extremely different locations.Odysseus finds the entrance to Hades in a suckle at the western edge of the world, eyepatch Dante finds the entrance to Hell in the midst of a dark wood. trance these differences might seem insignificant, they are, in truth, indicative of the different purposes behind the journeys that the heroes undertake. The harbor at the end of the world represents physical distance be activeed Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca, a goal that the gods select pr veritable(a)ted him from attaining. It is an earthly goal, however, with measurable distances that moldinessiness be traversed.While the ocean that Odysseus voyages provides populate for a communal journey through and through which he attempts to bring his combination home, Dantes dark wood provides a far narrower field. It is restrictive and personal, peradventure driven by the solitary nature of Dantes quest for knowledge and redemption. The distance that Dante must travel, therefore, is not one of finite measurement rather, it exists inside himself. It is a spiritual journey with no physical boundaries. Ultimately, this difference is amplify by the many levels of Hell, with its myriad levels, terraces, and malboges.In addition to the differing nature of the underworld as portrayed by each poet, the nature of the interaction that each hero has with the underworld and its inhabitants in any case varies. In order to interact at all with the inhabitants of the underworld, both heroes must make a rite of passage. Odysseus enters the domain of Hades by making a kin sacrifice of a ram, collecting its blood in a pit. Through this offering and by offering the appropriate supplications to the gods, Odysseus is able to call forth the souls of the dead.Being surrounded by the dead causes him to become a fraid however, he regains sufficient heroism to control them and to question them. The character of Dante, however, must actually pass through the gates of Hell, abandoning hope in order to learn what he desires. Although Odysseus is in the world of the dead, he is sure replete of himself to regain control, as foreign to Dante, who relinquishes all of his control to Virgil as then enter the underworld realm. While less heroic than Odysseus actions, this submissive behavior is actually of great importance, which again is based in the heroes purpose in entering the underworld.It is clear, that although both heroes must enter the realm of the underworld, each for his sustain purpose, Odysseus does not actually travel through Hades as Dante does through Hell. Rather, the dead approach Odysseus, attack up in a crowd from Erebos young men and brides, grey-haired men who had suffered much, and tender maidens to whom sorrow was a new thing others killed in battle, warriors clad in bl oodstained armor (124) all surround his sacrificial pit in response to the rams blood that he has offered. This difference is also a significant one and related to the window pane made above it.Although Odysseus immediately appears to be the supplicant, by making the blood offering that attracts the dead, he is also in control of it. The dead must do his bidding in order to feed and give him the teaching that he requires. By contrast, the character of Dante physically travels into the midst of the souls of the damned. While he is under his own volition, Dante is a pilgrim, who must make an effort to gain his knowledge. He follows Virgil as Virgil leads, interacting with the souls on their own level in their own environment. This difference would also make Dantes tale more large- amounted to Christian audiences.Although Odysseus cunning and strength were admired by the audience that lived at his time, the lesson of humility that the character of Dante both learns and teaches would be considered more acceptable to Alighieris audience. Although he is taking the initiative to learn on his own, like a proper pilgrim he is taking instruction from a master and sense of hearing to the moral lessons set before him. For those in the audience who recognize that he might suck in been contemplating suicide, Dante is also in the process of repenting. Knowledge of the lifespan WorldOdysseus seeks not merely wisdom from Tiresias, but he also seeks knowledge of his future in the life world. In truth, both Tiresias and Odysseus mother have clear knowledge of the living world, which they freely share with him in their turn. What is more, it is accurate knowledge, which allows him to prepare for his future, should he ever arrive at his destination. In a sense, both Tiresias and Odysseus mother are as living beings that have merely been transported to a new existence on an alternate plane, in that they can take initiative to see what lies ahead and then share it with him.Gi ven that in other myths inhabitants of Hades are able to travel freely between the worlds with the gods permission, it seems apparent that the antediluvian patriarch Greeks saw the underworld as a place from which people could escape to return to the living if they had enough virtue or if they had a hero to aid them. This chassis of spirit is opposed to both Dantes belief and to the belief of the Christians who formed his audience. Dantes souls, interminablely trapped in their state of torment, must continuously repent for their actions on earth.They are surrounded by the reminders of their sins, perhaps tormented by the very things that they desired in life. At times, their appearance is dramatically neutered to match their crimes. The only hope for the souls in Hell is Judgment Day, at which time they may be redeemedor they may find themselves condemned to suffer throughout eternity. Even then, redeemed souls would not interact with the living instead, they would pass into Heaven. Once again, the difference between the two realms and their inhabitants may be explained by virtue of the perception of the audiences for which the poets were writing.To the Greeks, life in the underworld was not necessarily a penalization. Certainly, the inhabitants of the underworld could experience punishment, even that of a perpetual nature. One good example of this kind of punishment would be Sisyphus, condemned to range a boulder to the top of a hill for eternity, only to have it escape him and roll to the bottom again before it reaches the peak. However, the underworld is a plane of existence to which all humans will eventually travel. The underworld itself is divided into sections that provide reward or punishment or which apparently continues the miserable existence that people had when on earth.This difference is, once again, sort of different from the perspective of the Christian audience served by Dante, which viewed the underworld for punishment only. It is this understanding of the underworld being for punishment that would also limit the deads interaction with the living. Dantes dead are unable to get to the living world and, when encountering the character of Dante, are unable to learn from what he tells them. They have no minds and no insight, unlike the dead that Odysseus encounters, who know that they are suffering and why and yet are unable to interact with the world of the living in order to minimize their experiences.The Shared Rule of the hell on earth In The Odyssey, both Hades and his wife, Persephone, rule the underworld. Although Hades has control everywhere the underworld as a whole, Persephone is the Queen of the Women, with the ability to overrule even her husband in control of that group. In terms of importance, while this difference might seem trivial to some readers, it is perhaps of greatest importation of all of these points. Hades is not omnipotent, in that Persephone has equal control, if not great control in some aspects of ruling the underworld.She strikes fear in Odysseus heart equal to that of her husband, in that Odysseus describes Hades as mighty, but Persephone as being awful, which would be synonymous with her being terrifying. This kind of rule would be unsurprising to the ancient Greeks, who lived in a world ruled by many gods. It also paralleled the arrangement of the gods on Mount Olympus, to a certain close Hades and Persephone, who ruled the world of the dead, mirrored Zeus and Hera, who ruled the world of the living. To the Christians that formed Dantes audience, this arrangement would have been more than just a little shocking.Christians worship a single God who, while He might have different and while He may practice different helpers in the angels and the saints, has dominion over the living and the dead. As with the ancient Greek deities, God and Satan somewhat mirror each other. scorn Satans impressive appearance in The Inferno, however, he is as much a prisoner of Hell as its other residents. In addition, Satan does not mirror Gods power rather, he is only capable of destruction, not creation. Conclusion In many ways, Dantes Inferno complements and corrects Homers The Odyssey.Both are tales that bring a hero into contact with the underworld in order to achieve a particular goal. In the case of Odysseus, this goal is worldly and finite, while in the case of Dante, the goal is spiritual and may lead to eternal salvation. several(prenominal) differences, among others, that indicate the complementary and corrective nature of Dantes work are those of the nature of the respective underworlds and the heroes interaction with the inhabitants, the knowledge that the dead have of the living world, and the shared rule that Hades and Persephone have over the ancient Greek underworld.The story of heroic travels through the underworld is not a new one, neither was it new when Homer wrote The Odyssey. In the days of passing narrative and learning throug h oral means, such stories were necessary teaching tools. However, each culture imposed its morals and beliefs on this kind of tale. The different between these two stories provide an excellent example of how this cultural influence stamps this kind of heroic story with differences throughout history.