by Margot Palmer
The Aeneid brings together myths and theology from ancient cultures to which Virgil had access, notably the Greek culture and perhaps the more Eastern cultures. The main story of the Aeneid borrows heavily from the Homeric epics the Iliad and Odyssey. In Book Six of the Aeneid, The Kingdom of the Dead, Virgil embellishes upon Homer’s view of the Underworld and seems to integrate the Greek philosophy of Plato. It is also in this book that one may detect Eastern cultures, such as the Persians and Egyptians.
BACKGROUND
At the outset, we can see the Greek influence in the story. The Aeneid was written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BCE (“Aeneid”) and closely resembles the plot of the Odyssey, written by Homer between 750 and 650 BCE (“Odyssey”). The Roman Aeneid stars the Trojan hero Aeneas, who is featured in the Greek Homeric epic the Iliad. The Aeneid begins where the Iliad ends. Aeneas survives the fall of Troy and makes an epic journey west to establish Latium, which becomes Italy. The challenges Aeneas faces parallel closely those of the Greek hero Odysseus who appears in the Iliad and stars in the Odyssey. Odysseus also survives the Trojan War and leaves Troy, traveling west, but his goal was to return to Ithaca. Both men manage their separate harrowing journeys over land and sea and both are detained by women. In the middle of their respective stories, both heroes enter the Underworld to seek guidance from the dead. Those factors alone would probably win a plagiarism case for Homer in today’s world.
As we examine Virgil’s Kingdom of the Dead or Underworld, we can see the influence of not just Homer but also Plato and perhaps, the influence of the Persians and Egyptians.
GREEK INFLUENCE
The Underworld in Ancient Greece and Rome was known as Hades, and, before entering Hades, the souls of the dead were judged. In both the Odyssey and Aeneid, Minos sits in judgment of the dead. We first see Minos in the Greek myth the Odyssey, Book XI, where Odysseus claims: “Then I saw Minos son of Jove with his golden scepter in his hand sitting in judgement on the dead, and the ghosts were gathered sitting and standing round him in the spacious house of Hades, to learn his sentences upon them” (Homer Odyssey).
Aeneas encounters Minos after crossing the River Styx and drugging Cerberus. The text says: “Minos the grand inquisitor stirs the urn, he summons the silent jury of the dead, he scans the lives of those accused…” (Virgil 196 sec. 498-500). These descriptions are very similar in nature. However, what comes after diverges.
In the Odyssey, it is unclear what the results of the judgment might be. However, in the Iliad and in the Aeneid, there is a place called Tartarus, where the souls of those judged unworthy pass. In the Iliad, Jove says: “…I will hurl him down into dark Tartarus far into the deepest pit under the earth, where the gates are iron and the floor bronze, as far beneath Hades as heaven is high above the earth, that you may learn how much the mightiest I am among you” (Homer Iliad 141).
Both epics also speak of Elysium. In the Odyssey (Homer Book VI), Menelaus is told:
“…the gods will take you to the Elysian plain, which is at the ends of the world. There fair-haired Rhadamanthus reigns, and men lead an easier life than anywhere else in the world, for in Elysium there falls not rain, nor hail, nor snow, but Oceanus breathes ever with a West wind that sings softly from the sea, and gives fresh life to all men.”
Is this to be Menelaus’ fate because he was a good man? No, he is told the following: “This will happen to you because you have married Helen, and are Jove’s son-in-law” (Homer Odyssey Book VI).
So according to Homer, it seems as if a soul could be condemned to Tartarus or rewarded in Elysium, depending on the whims of the gods.
In the Aeneid, however, the souls of the dead were judged by their peers; and, depending on their earthly lives, they were sent to one of three places: Tartarus, where they were severely punished according to their crimes; Elysium, where they would find happiness; or the banks of the River Lethe, where they would make up for earthly faults and eventually be reborn (“Aeneid, Book VI, Summary and Analysis”). The Underworld of Virgil was much more detailed and fairer than that of Homer.
Hades, as described by Homer, was a gloomy place, populated by wandering spirits. No one wanted to be there, perhaps because there was no differentiation based on whether a person was good or bad. In fact, Achilles told Odysseus, “Say not a word…in death’s favor; I would rather be a paid servant in a poor man’s house and be above ground than king of kings among the dead” (Homer Odyssey Book XI). And Achilles was judged to be a good person.
Virgil’s Kingdom of the Dead was not unpleasant, unless a soul was condemned to Tartarus. Generally, it is described as, “Land of joy, the fresh green fields, Where the blessed make their homes” (Virgil 203 sec.741-742).
In particular, Anchises, Aeneas’ father describes his fate as follows: “…we are sent to Elysium’s broad expanse, a few of us even hold these fields of joy till the long days…” (Virgil 207 sec. 860-863).
What happened between Homer’s 8th century BCE and Virgil’s 1st century BCE to change the outlook on the Afterlife? Enter Plato around the 4th century BCE.
In The Republic, Plato imagines Socrates carrying on a dialogue with a cast of characters. At the end of the dialogues, Socrates narrates the Myth of Er, which describes the recollection of Er, who was once dead and is now alive. By way of the myth, Plato, speaking as Socrates, delineates an Afterlife that clearly was different from Homer’s. In this Afterlife, the good and bad are rewarded or punished, there are different places for the good and the bad, and rebirth as another life exists as a possibility. Here, in the Aeneid we see then the philosophy of Plato, the existence of reward and punishment, heaven and hell and reincarnation (Plato).
Considering the foregoing, it is clear that Virgil was highly influenced by the Greeks, Homer and Plato. Could he have been influenced by Eastern philosophies?
PERSIAN AND EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE
Between 300 and 31 BCE, the Roman Empire expanded greatly, both by trade and war. As the Empire expanded, the Romans accepted the religions of the lands that they dominated, thereby effectively integrating the culture and providing stability for the Empire. By the height of the Empire, several international deities had come and either been integrated or abandoned, including deities from Persia and Egypt (Nelson).
Persian Influence. Greek, Persian and Roman cultures intermingled in significant ways. Zoroaster was an influential Persian prophet. We know that Plato was aware of Zoroaster who lived around 628 BCE (König). First, Zoroaster’s name is mentioned in Plato‘s First Alcibiades (“Zoroaster”). Second, the Greek philosopher Clotes who lived around 320 BCE accused Plato of plagiarizing Zoroaster (“Zoroaster”). For this accusation to have been made, means that Plato had more than a passing acquaintance of Zoroaster’s philosophy.
Zoroaster’s philosophy on the Afterlife provided reward or punishment based on the totality of one’s life on earth. For those whose lives were mostly evil, their souls were to be cast into hell. For those whose lives were mostly good, heaven awaited and so eventually did resurrection (“Resurrection of the dead”). Resurrection and reincarnation are not too far apart.
If Plato was influenced by Zoroaster and his Afterlife, then so was Virgil.
It is clear that Virgil knew of Persia. In Book Three (123 sec 712-716), Aeneas and his men meet Achaemenides, a friend of Ulysses (Odysseus) who has been stranded. The name Achaemenides is Persian in origin, and an ancient Persian Dynasty known as the Achaemenid Empire existed in the 4th century BCE (“Achaemenid Empire”).
Although not clear evidence, the expansion of the Roman Empire, the integration of cultures and the tolerance of many religions by Rome all seem to point to the possibility that Plato and Virgil may have been influenced by the philosophy of Zoroaster.
Egyptian Influence. The Fertile Crescent of the Nile Valley is often called the “cradle of civilization.” This is where some of the most ancient civilizations began and flourished (“Fertile Crescent”). They had a long time in which to develop and structure their religion.
In Egypt, it was believed that the soul of the dead journeyed perilously through the Underworld and then reached the Hall of Judgment, where the soul would plead with 42 judges for entrance to the Afterlife. The soul would be judged by the weight of its heart. If the heart was heavier than a feather, it was eaten and the soul was cast into darkness. If the heart and feather were in balance, then the soul would enter the Afterlife and reside in The Field of Rushes. (Australian Museum).
Note that the Field of Rushes is very similar to the Elysian Plain, which was first introduced into Greek culture by Homer and then into Roman culture by Virgil. According to some studies, this new idea of the Afterlife was imported from the Egyptian system (Lazaridis).
How could this be? We know that Egyptian influence in the ancient world was extensive.
Beginning in the 4th century BCE, Egypt began constructing the Royal Library of Alexandria, the goal of which was to house the world’s knowledge. The Library apparently held many Greek works. According to Galen, Ptolemy III requested permission from the Athenians to borrow the original scripts of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The Library also held Homeric texts. It served as a center for scholarship until 30 BCE when Rome invaded Egypt (“Library of Alexandria”). Rome occupied Egypt in 30 BCE, and Egypt began to function as a prosperous and cultured Roman province in the Mediterranean (Department of Egyptian Art). It is likely that learned men of Greece or Rome would be interested in the great library.
As mentioned previously, the Romans practiced a great deal of religious tolerance. Furthermore, they “freely adopted and adapted the gods and goddesses of the people they conquered…” (Nelson).
It is probable then, that some mingling of cultural and religious beliefs between and among Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilizations took place.
Conclusion. It is obvious that the origin of the Roman Virgil’s Aeneid owes much to the Greek Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. Just reviewing the plots and characters tells us that. It is also likely that Virgil borrowed his detailed version of the Afterlife from the Greek Plato’s Myth of Er in the Republic. Without Plato’s positive outlook on the Afterlife, Aeneas would probably not have had a chance for joy in the Afterlife or a chance at rebirth. Whether and how the Persian and Egyptian views of the Afterlife influenced the Greeks and Romans is a matter of interesting speculation.
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Image: The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland via the Tate Gallery