a specific place and the Greek traditions are found only within the borders.Aeneas also went to fight in the Trojan War. He also was a national hero. He was a great warrior. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were trying to head home. So, what’s the difference between the Greek Odysseus and the Trojan Aeneas?Aeneas was going home because Jupiter told him to.Do you honestly think Aeneas wanted to head back to Rome? Of course he did not want to. He was having a ball fighting in the war. He was a vicious warrior. Let’s take a look at the typical Roman soldier. They fought with swords and shield without much, if any, armor. He was a natural born killer. Aeneas fit the cookie cutter format of the Roman soldier.He stopped at Carthage and was perfectly happy consummating with Dido (after a little help falling in love from his mother and Juno). Jupiter told Aeneas he needed to leave, and soon. He acquiesced to leaving. Even his mom, Venus, didn’t care if he ended up heading home or not. After all, she’s the one that sent Cupid to make Dido fall in love with him. Taking a look at Rome, this is an example of how Roman life is carried out. Rome is huge. The empire included almost all of Europe at the height of the empire. Home isn’t really that carefully defined. The Roman way of life is simply the way of life just about anywhere that he could travel. Aeneas did not care about getting home because home wasn’t such a peaceful place as it was in the Greek society.Though neither the Odyssey nor the Aenead will ever go down in history as a great love story. There is a difference of how the two heroes handle their love affairs and it too is representative of their cultures.Odysseus was faithful to his wife — sort of. Sure, he may have spent a while on Calypso’s island, but sleeping with an immortal isn’t against the rules. The important thing is that Odysseus ultimately chose to go ho...
