Athena in the Odyssey vs. Virgil in the Inferno Essay

Two of the greatest works ever written, The Odyssey by Homer and The Inferno by Dante, are detailed, multi-sectioned poems about the journey’s of two men. In each story, the main character is given some sort of guidance by another character in order to aid them in their travels. In The Odyssey, Athena is portrayed as the protector to Odysseus on his journey back home from the Trojan War to his family in Ithaca. In The Inferno, Virgil is requested to lead Dante through the depths of Hell in order to save his soul. Many similarities can be seen between the two characters as they both served as advice givers, protectors, and guides for the main character. While the two guides seem very alike in the way’s they help, it turns out that many differences can be observed between their ways. Athena and Virgil can both be perceived as escorts in the main characters’ journey, but they both are leading their pupils towards different endings and these endings can be representa tive of a much larger purpose that describes the two authors’ views on life at the time each poem was written. In Greek mythology, Athena is regarded as the goddess of Wisdom. She uses her wisdom to aid Odysseus on his journey back home to his family, through various trials and tribulations. Athena’s guidance can be seen when Odysseus is finally being allowed to leave Calypso’s island, which outraged Poseidon. Poseidon sends a great wave to wreck Odysseus’s ship and possibly drown him in the vast ocean but instead Athena helps him survive. â€Å"But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once./ The rest of the winds she stopped right in their tracks,/commanding them all to hush now, go to sleep./ All but the boisterous North-she whipped him up/ and the goddess beat the breakers flat before Odysseus,/ dear to Zeus, so he could reach the Phaeacians,/ mingle with men who love their long oars/ and escape his death at last.† (Ody. 5. 421-427). Another example of Athena protecting Odysseus is during the great battle in the hall when Odysseus finally confronts his wife’s suitors. Athena appears to Odysseus in the form of Mentor and tries to motivate Odysseus to kill all the suitors off with threats and accusations. She even commands the suitors to through their spears at Odysseus all at once. â€Å"At his command,/ concentrating their shots, all six hurled as one/ but Athena sent to whole salvo wide of the mark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ody. 22. 267-269). Odysseus sees that all of his men are untouched by the suitor’s spears, and this action propels him to take charge and lead an attack on the suitors. Each time Athena guides or protects Odysseus, it’s in order to save his life. She desperately wants Odysseus to get home because Odysseus is a war hero and a King, very much deserving of a safe return home. Athena thinks very highly of Odysseus because he is such a great warrior and she feels he exemplifies the virtue of excellence. It’s easy to see how the ideals of society on life and death in Homer’s 7th Century BC times are portrayed through Athena’s help. The people of this time were most concerned on how you lived your life during the time you had. For them there was no glorious afterlife, so there was no need to try and save your soul to reap the prize of a great time after death. Homer uses Athena as Odysseus’s guide to get back home and live out the rest of his life the way he pleases. He’s spent his time as a warrior and won his most important battles before the beginning of the poem, so now he deserves to live out the rest of his l ife in peace with those he loves the most. Once he arrives home and fights off his wife’s suitors (with the help of Athena of course) he will finally be free in a sense to enjoy his life. In Dante’s The Inferno, Virgil serves as a guide for Dante through the depths of Hell. Virgil is widely considered an allegory for human reason. Reason is needed in a Christian worldview in order to control emotion and desire from taking control allowing for acts of sin. Reason is God’s gift to mankind, a way of staying on the right path and avoiding the dark side of life, if it is used properly. Virgil was requested to help a lost Dante save his soul by Dante’s departed love, Beatrice, who represents God’s grace. Virgil leads Dante through Hell in order for him to learn the descriptions of sins and their consequences. Virgil is with Dante through out his entire journey, unlike Athena who only appears to Odysseus in The Odyssey every once in a while. One example of how Virgil is always there to lead Dante is when Dante faints before entering the First Circle of Hell. Dante faints at the shine of a bright light and awakens already in the next circle. â€Å"With rested eyes, I stood/ and looked about me, then fixed my gaze/ to make out where I was./ I found myself upon the brink/ of an abyss of suffering/ filled with the roar of endless woe.† (Inf. 4. 4-9). This type of situation occurs many times throughout the poem, as Dante proves many times too weak to carry on, and Virgil takes care of him, protects him, and moves them along on their journey. Another situation is when Dante and Virgil arrive at the center of Circle 9 of Hell. They come to the great body of Lucifer, and Virgil throws Dante on his back to continue their upward climb out of Hell. â€Å"At his request I clasped him round the neck./ When the wings had opened wide enough/ he chose the proper time and place/ and took a handhold on those hairy flanks./ Then from hank to hank he clambered down between the thick pelt and the crusted ice.† (Inf. 34. 70-75). While Virgil leads Dante physically in many ways, he also serves as a voice of reason and leads through his words. An example of this is back as they are entering the First Circle. Dante says, â€Å"My master (Virgil) began: ‘You do not ask about/ the souls you see? I want you to know,/ before you venture farther,/ ‘they did not sin. Though they have merit,/ that is not enough, for they were unbaptized,/ denied the gateway to the faith that you profess./ ‘And if they lived before the Christians lived,/ they did not worship God aright./ And among these I am one.† (Inf. 4. 31-39). In this situation, Virgil not only instructs Dante on what he needs to do, but also reveals a little more information about himself as well. Although Virgil seems to guide Dante in almost the exact same way Athena guides Odysseus, Virgil is working towards an all-together different purpose. In Dante’s 14th century AD Christian society, it was imperative to ensure that you lived a good life on earth and repented for all your sins so that you would be in God’s presence in the after-life. Dante uses Virgil as a way for his audience to see that the most important thing is to save one’s soul, even if a little guidance is required to do so. Dante needed to travel through the depths of Hell to be able to wake up and realize how reason should control emotions and desires so that life can be lived in God’s name allowing for a magnificent afterlife. By showing Dante the different circles of Hell, Dante learns the nature of sin and it’s consequences. Virgil teaches Dante a most important lesson; when reason is not in control, it is more likely to commit harsh sins, sins worthy of an afterlife in Hell and not in God’s good grace. Virgil steers Dante toward the light of God once again, saving him from his impending doom, had he not been able to save his wandering soul. Athena and Virgil are considered to be a form of guidance to their poem’s main characters. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Athena helps to ensure Odysseus’s safe return home, but also allows him to live out the rest of his wonderful life on earth by saving him from various dangers including Poseidon and his wife’s suitors. In Dante’s The Inferno, Virgil serves as Dante’s escort through the circles of Hell, but also pilots Dante back into God’s grace by saving his soul. Each can be seen as not only a physical chaperon but also a spiritual one that illustrates society’s point of view on life or afterlife at the time each poem was written. Works Cited Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Trans. Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. New York: Anchor, 2002. Print. Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1997. Print.