Differences and Similarities in The Odyssey and Inferno...

Differences and Similarities in The Odyssey and Inferno When going through the stories The Odyssey by Homer and Inferno by Dante, you get the feeling of how diverse, yet similar the two stories are. When reading The Odyssey, you find Ulysses trying to get home to his love, Penelope. He has been gone for twenty years, and through those years, he has struggled with good and evil, just like Dante in Inferno. Ulysses finds himself time after time fighting off gods and their children. Dante, struggling with good and evil, works his way through the nine levels of hell. He is struggling to find where his faithfulness lies. He also is trying to find his way to his love, Beatrice. When reading The Odyssey and Inferno, we find many†¦show more content†¦Dante tells us to â€Å"look carefully; you’ll see such things/as would deprive my speech of all belief† (Alighieri, 1992, Canto XIII 13.20-13.21). Dante shows his heroism by testing his own strengths. Ulysses’ characteristics differ from Dante’s because Ulysses has many great accomplishments whereas Dante does not. One other difference in these stories is the portrayal of religion. Religion in The Odyssey is portrayed as polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in many different gods. An example would be during Ulysses’ journey, the goddess Minerva helps him, while Neptune continues to challenge Ulysses constantly; â€Å"Bear in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes† (Stevenson, 2009, Book I, Para. 6). Religion in Inferno portrays a Christianity approach, or the belief in one god. Though they have different characteristics and portrayals of religion, there are some similarities within their stories. One similarity that we find in both The Odyssey and Inferno, is the fact that both Ulysses and Dante travel to hell. Ulysses travels to the underworld, Erebus. Ulysses seeks out his mother for news regarding his love, Penelope: Your wife still remains in your house, but she is in great distress of mind and spends her whole time in tears both night and day. No one as yet has got possession of your fine property, and TelemachusShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of The Odyssey And The Inferno Essay1574 Words   |  7 Pagessuffering is a key part of the story, the different characters of the divine in the Odyssey and Inferno result in a unique take on the role of suffering. We see that people who suffer in the Odyssey sometimes do not deserve their punishment, whereas in the Inferno we see that the people who suffer are suffering justly. Suffering is a very important topic when it comes to writing tragedies or similar genres. It is a topic that authors take very seriously and are meticulous when implementing it in theirRead MoreWhy Is Humanities Important?3163 Words   |  13 Pagesmemorized the punishments in the Inferno than most people would understand. But the basic idea is that by studying humanities we ll communicate and understand each other better. And while memorizing these infernal punishments may seem tedious, if looked at pragmatically it s really not that difficult. The punishments are poetic, and usually make some degree of sense for the crime.. I have a similar issue with Math and Life Science courses. It’s complicated when the cell structures won t affectRead MoreThe Inferno, By Dante2284 Words   |  10 PagesThroughout the Inferno, Dante has often presented characters in a way that reflects his own personality: there is the amorous and suicidal Dido for whom he shows sympathy and gives a le sser punishment, while there is the suicidal Pier delle Vigne to whom he gives a much harsher punishment. This difference in placement should reflect a strict moral code that agrees with a pre-established divine order, and yet Dante demonstrates such obvious favoritism. Why? Dido loved Aeneas too much, as Dante loved