Author: s.baath

In The Commedia, Virgil is acting as a guide for Dante as they are making their way through hell and purgatory. One comes to an understanding that Dante does not only trust Virgil in guiding him through the terrain, but also looks up to Virgil as a teacher and a writer. Dante has great respect for Virgil, and he sees “The Prince of Poets” as his superior. However, as they are traveling together Virgil enlightens and teaches Dante, which leads to the relationship between the men becoming more equal and Dante is no longer inferior. The knowledge that is being passed from Virgil to Dante will, at the end of their journey, make Dante feel like he has surpassed his master.

In Plato’s Symposium, there is no such thing as a distinctive concept that is called love, it rather depends on the person experiencing it and their own conception of it. Phaedrus speaks of love being the oldest of the gods and it is what promotes virtue within people. Pausanias speaks of a common love and a heavenly love. Eryximachus states that love is not only something that can happen between two human begins, but it can be found other places as well. Aristophanes speaks of the concept of soul mates. What can be understood from all of these different conceptions of love, is that there is not only one but there are many. All of these views of love that are presented are surely true, but that depends on the person in question. Aristophanes concept of soul mates is something that some people of today believe in still, and Eryximachus statement that love can be found in other things such as music is just as true. To conclude, none of these men are neither right nor wrong in their own perceptions of love – it all depends on whom you are asking.

In my opinion as a reader of Homers great work, I am not convinced that Odyssey wants to return to his home. Odyssey is not only depicted as a hero, but he believes himself to be one too. He is described as a family man who loves his family, but also a hero returning from war with a great need to express his own heroism. As discussed in class, he has hubris and constantly has to state his heroism because of his pride.

As the story moves along, one starts to contemplate whether his expressed wish to return to his family is genuine or not. The great amount of time and obstacles along the way makes one wonder whether he is seeking new adventures or is trying to find his way home. One may even question if Odyssey is making an effort, or is in fact welcoming these obstacles with open arms to prove his worth instead of focusing solely on the journey back to Ithaka.

In my opinion as a reader, Odyssey is indeed a man of many turns (polytropos) and this hinders the reader from truly believing that Odyssey wants to return home. Perhaps this was something that Homer always intended to make the reader feel, as well as making the reader encouraged to follow Odyssey to find out if he will do. To conclude, the constant question of Odyssey doing what he considers to be right and return home, even without him necessarily wanting it, is something the reader will continue to ask throughout the story and it is something one can never fully trust.