The Ramayana and The Odyssey are both epics of ancient societies that held some common beliefs. Ancient Greece and Ancient India both placed heavy emphasis on religion, which played a large part in their literature. These cultures also found honor in actions incredibly important, and those who acted without honor were looked down upon and shamed immortally in history and literature. For example, in The Odyssey, Odysseus murdered the antagonists, Penelope’s suitors, and then had their bodies disposed of without proper burial rituals. The Greeks found no honor in death for those who acted dishonorably in life. On the other hand, in the Ramayana, the hero, Rama, defeats his enemy Ravana, but still upheld his honor after death. Despite all the atrocities Ravana had caused for Rama, Rama respected his enemy’s life and honored his body after death. One aspect of Hinduism is the reincarnation of the soul after death, so Rama honored Ravana’s soul by not desecrating his body. In contrast, the Greeks did not place much emphasis on life after death, and therefore would not treat the bodies of the dead as sacredly as other cultures, especially not those of evildoers.