For thosewho don't know, the Aeneid is the story of the Trojan prince Aeneas who has been spirited away by Zeus and is the only surviving member of the royal house of Troy. He is searching for a home, and to find it must brave many dangers, including a voyage into the underworld. Sound familiar yet? Good. In reality, only the first half of The Aeneid is a picture perfect retelling. Like a Xerox some of the details are fuzzy, but other than that it is the same. Aeneas blows to the cyclops’ isle, but is saved by one of Odysseus’s men who was left behind. He has the same misfortune as Odysseus with better result. Aeneas is detained by a beautiful woman, but escapes and continues his journey. Like Odysseus he feared her wrath should he leave, but he went because he had to. That brings us to the underworld parallel. Odysseus was frightened by the ghosts, but Aeneas met with horrors. Both travels began with the required sacrifice, and are done at the bidding of the gods. Also, they reveal the fates of the travelers. Virgil continues on his campaign to surpass Odysseus by forcing Aeneas to enter the underworld and pass through the horrors found there.
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