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Our Poetry
Archive’s upcoming 2018 Anthology: OPA Anthology of Spiritual Poetry, Beyond
Borders, will be a collaboration of poems directed toward spirituality. The
topic may include, relate to, or consist of any spiritual matter of: spirit,
soul, religion, spiritual morality, sacred matters, including meditation,
devoutness, dedication, faith, etc.; as well as spiritual qualities,
tendencies, believes, perceptions, insights, and/or the overall expansion of
the mind into a spiritual place and/or time. This editorial will focus upon
cultural changes in belief systems and spirituality throughout literature;
starting from the ancient period into the medieval period; emphasizing the
similarities and differences between three epic poems: Hesiod’s Theogony, Virgil’s
Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno; in hopes of giving an example, explanation, and
appreciation of spiritual poetry.
Hesiod’s Theogony,
Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno are three epic poems that focus on
similarities and differences. Though beliefs differ in these epic poems, they
all have a powerful source of a “Supreme Being,” they acquire a spiritual guide
on their journey, and focus on an eternal afterlife. Enjoy the crossing of
time, as we make our passage through epic brilliance.
In our depictions
of divinity, we humans have given form to our sense of the ultimate source of
our own significance. When we give form to divinity, we derive that form from
our own experience. We make gods in our own image because our own image marks
the physical limits of our being. We cannot know the gods; we can only
experience them (Leeming, D.A. 2014).
Hesiod’s Theogony
is a pre-classical Greek didactic epic poem that focuses on the cosmology of
the universe, the genealogy of the gods, and the eventual reign of the almighty
Zeus as the “Supreme Being.” Hesiod’s cosmology is important in Greek mythology
because the poem explains the gods, and how the “Supreme Beings” created the
universe. It was meant as an instructional piece of literature that give
answers to questions that the Greeks had regarding why they were here, how the
universe was formed, and who formed it. Though Zeus becomes the almighty ruler
over all the gods; the gods, goddesses and lesser spirits play a significant
role in the creation of the universe, the purge of humanity from the
destruction of the flood, and the afterlife. In the Theology, Hesiod fulfills
the Muses’ command on the origin and genealogies of the gods and the
established reign of Zeus:
So, spoke the
fresh-voiced daughters of great Zeus/ And plucked and gave a staff to me, a
shoot/ of blooming laurel, wonderful to see/ And breathed a sacred voice into
my mouth/ With which to celebrate the things to come/ And the things which were
before. They ordered me/ to sing the race of blessed ones who live/ Forever,
and to hymn the Muses first/ and at the end. No more delays: begin (Damrosch D.
& Pike D. 2008).
A similarity is
also found in Virgil’s Aeneid. The gods have a vital part in the lives of the
mortals and to the demigod Aeneas. They decide their destinies, especially Zeus
who is the “Supreme Being” over all the gods, as in Hesiod’s didactic epic
poem. The Aeneid has a lot of involvement of Zeus and the gods through divine
intervention, along with the pietas in the character of Aeneas. Although Aeneas
is upstanding in character as a hero, the mighty Zeus has great hatred toward
him and the Trojans and make a constant effort to interfere in Aeneas’ quest.
His mother Venus, who is also a god, pleads with Zeus on her son’s behalf:
It was the day’s
end when from the highest air/ Jupiter looked down on the broad sea/ Flecked
with the wings of sails, and the land masses/ Coasts, and nations of the earth.
He stood/ On heaven’s height and turned his gaze toward Libya/ And, as he took
the troubles there to heart/ Venus appealed to him, all pale and wan/ With
tears in her shining eyes/ “My lord who rule/ The lives of men and gods now and
forever/ And bring them all to heel with your bright bolt/ What in the world
could Aeneas do/ What could the Trojan’s do, so to offend you/ That after
suffering all those deaths they find/ The whole world closed to them, because
of Italy (Damrosch D. & Pike D. 2008)?
While Hesiod’s
Theogony and Virgil’s Aeneid focus on the Greek divine myth of many gods,
Dante’s Inferno focuses on one “Supreme Being,” the one and only God of the
Christian belief. Dante’s Inferno states this fact in lines 1.127-29, “He
governs everywhere, but rules from there/ there is His city, His high capital:
O happy those He chooses to be there (The Divine Comedy of Dante Inferno,
trans. Mandelbaum A. p.9). Though Dante focuses on the belief of one God,
Virgil, whose epic poem revolves around the Greek gods, is his guide through
his adventure through the gates of hell. Hell, being the opposite of the
“happy” place in heaven, is where the two poets venture after Dante is forced
to go back to the dark forest. “When I had journeyed half of our life’s way/ I
found myself within a shadowed forest/ for I had lost the path that does not
stray (The Divine Comedy of Dante Inferno, trans. Mandelbaum A. 1980). Dante
saw the sun upon the mountain (the light of God in the upper world) but is
forced back to endure the darkness of sin that the Christian faith speaks
against in the Bible. It is in this dark forest that Dante meets the spirit of
Virgil and begins the descent into hell (Limbo is the first circle of hell
where Virgil exists). Dante must journey through hell to reach paradise and
spend eternity with God, the Supreme Being.
Throughout all
these epic poems, the similarity of acquiring a spiritual guide is apparent in
the various religious beliefs. For example: a religious guide is sought out in
Hesiod and Virgil’s poems, and Virgil is the spiritual guide in Dante’s poem.
The example in Hesiod’s Theogony is the Muses. The Muses in Greek mythology
were sister goddesses, daughters of Zeus, who gave the ability of music, and in
Hesiod’s case, the ability to write epic poetry. In the beginning verses of the
Theogony he says, “The Muses once taught Hesiod to sing/ Sweet songs, while he
was shepherding his lambs (Damrosch D. & Pike D. 1.25-26, p.55). In the
epic poem of Virgil, Aeneas is guided by Sibyl, a woman who had prophetic
powers. In Book Six, he promises to build a temple for the Sybil, the gods
Apollo and Diana, and the priests. Aeneas states,
Then I will build
you a solid temple/ Apollo and Diana, established hallowed days/ Apollo, in
your name. And Sybil, for you too/ a magnificent sacred shrine awaits you in
our kingdom/ There I will house your oracles, mystic revelations/ made to our
race, and ordain your chosen priests (The Aeneid, trans. Fagles R. 6.83-88,
p.184-185).
In Dante’s
Inferno, Virgil becomes the guide for Dante. He comes as a spirit to guide
Dante into hell. Virgil is the perfect guide for Dante because he lives in
Limbo and is also familiar with the inhabitants of hell. Virgil speaks to
Dante, “I was a poet, and I sang the righteous/ son of Anchises who had come
from Troy/ when flames destroyed the pride of Ilium/ But why do you return to
wretchedness/ why not climb up the mountain of delight/ the origin and cause of
every joy…Therefore, I think and judge it best for you/ to follow me, and I
shall guide you, taking/ you from this place through an eternal place (The
Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri Inferno, 1980, 1.73-76, 1.112-114). Virgil
then guides him through hell, so Dante can reach paradise.
Another similarity
in the three epic poems is the concept of the afterlife. In the Inferno,
Dante’s journey takes him deep into the nine levels of hell, the afterlife of
the Christian belief. Like Dante, Aeneas from Virgil’s Aeneid also journeys to
the underworld in Book Six “The Kingdom of the Dead.” Aeneas is seeking out his
father who passed on when they left Troy. Aeneas, like Dante faces many
obstacles throughout his journey into the underworld. Hesiod’s Theogony also
speaks of an afterlife. In his epic poem, the underworld or hell refers to
Tartarus. Hesiod speaks of the Titans being thrown into the underworld, with a
brief description of the terror of the dreadful place.
Overshadowed the
Titans, put them down/ in everlasting shade. Under the earth/ Broad-pathed,
they sent them, and they bound them up/ in painful chains. Proud though the
Titans were/ they were defeated by those hands, and sent/ to misty Tartarus, as
far beneath/ the earth, as earth is far beneath the heavens (Damrosch D. &
Pike D. 2008).
There are many
similarities between the Theogony, the Aeneid, and the Inferno, but there are
some differences in the epic poems. The differences found, are due to the
changes that occurred throughout Europe from the ancient period to the medieval
period. Some of the differences are: in Greek mythology, mortals believed in
more than one god, where as in Christian beliefs, there is belief in only one
God. Another example is the cosmology of Hesiod. Hesiod gives explanation not
only of the genealogy of the gods, but the creation of the universe and how the
gods developed throughout the creation process. In Virgil’s epic, the gods are
still active, and though Dante uses Virgil in his epic, Virgil was born before
the birth of Christ and the establishment of Christianity. Also, in Greek
mythology, the gods and the goddess possess human like traits like love and
hate, lying and cheating, anger, and revenge. In Dante’s Inferno, he uses
metaphor to give the traits of various sins and actions to animals.
In conclusion,
although Dante’s Inferno revolves around the Christian belief of one God, and
Hesiod and Virgil’s beliefs revolve around many gods, there is still an
established Supreme Being in all three epic poems. They also had a spiritual
guide, whether it be a Muse, a Sybil, or the spirit of a man. Finally, they all
had a concept of the afterlife. The differences in the three epics occur
because of the cultural changes and development of the Christian faith. The
comparison of the three epic poems are more similar than they are different,
even though there is a change in the belief system.
Voyage into Our
Poetry Archive’s General Edition, May 2018, and experience the number of
contributions provided by poets and poetesses across the world. Also, delight
in the Poet of the Month, Eliza Segiet’s personal interview. Eliza Segiet has
been a faithful contributor to OPA for a few years. It is a pleasure to read
Eliza’s responses, and learn about the poetess herself. We thank you for your
continued support and wish you remarkable success! We also thank every
contributor to Our Poetry Archive! Without your continued support, OPA would
not be successful. We appreciate and relish every penned word, from every poet,
who contributes to the numbers of Our Poetry Archive! Thank you!
References
Damrosch D. & Pike D. 2007. The
Longman anthology of world literature. Pp. 1-2878
Leeming D.A. 2014. The world of myth. An
anthology. 2nd ed. Pp. 1-330
The Aeneid. Trans. Fagles R. Introduction,
Knox B. 2006. Penguin Books. Pp. 1-484
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri
Inferno. Trans. Mandelbaum A. 1980. Pp. 1-396
STACIA
LYNN REYNOLDS.
(Editor)
From The Editorial Desk
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