In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the pilgrim (Dante) and Virgil have a close relationship. To begin with, the two have much in common due to both being poets and they seem to bond over this. Additionally, Dante has a great amount of respect for Virgil so this shapes how Dante interacts with him. Throughout the comedy, Virgil admonishes Dante for having sympathy towards the damned and their condition and each time Dante apologizes for this to which Virgil accepts his apology. Virgil also serves as a protector, interpreter, and spokesperson for Dante as they journey further into the underworld.
Author: b.gilliland
Describe how Plato, Sappho, and/or Catullus conceive of love (and/or friendship).
In Plato’s Symposium, love is conceived as a harmony of opposites from the viewpoint of Socrates. It takes form as a god, Love, who is the offspring of Poros, god of resources, and Penia, a beggar woman. Being from such different parents, Love takes on the aspects of both and maintains a medium between each extreme. Therefore, love is neither young or old, ignorant or wise, without resources or rich, and so and so forth. However, all those in attendance are in agreement that those in love want it to last forever.
Discuss the role of xenia (the guest-host relationship) in The Odyssey. How do guests and/or hosts exemplify or fail to meet the high standard he has in mind for how guests and hosts should treat each other?
In The Odyssey, there is a guest-host relationship unlike anything the modern world has seen. Wherever, Odysseus and Telemakhos go they are treated like royalty and are given the best food and sleeping arrangements their hosts have to offer, even though they show up unannounced and often have no pre-existing relationship to the host. However, there is an exception of the Kyklops, Polyphemus, as a host to Odysseus and his crew. Polyphemus is a terrible host in the way that he eats his guests and that’s not an acceptable way to treat visitors. Not only is this action considered heinous by mortals, the gods feel the same way. This is brought to our knowledge when Odysseus shouts, “‘It was our luck to come here; here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give—as custom is to honor strangers. We would entreat you, great Sir, have a care for the gods’ courtesy; Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest.’” However, in the end, it was Odysseus who avenged himself by putting out Polyphemus’s eye.