Odyssey and Dantes Inferno

Odyssey means trouble: giving and receiving in kind, while inferno is symbolic for hell. This paper reviews the two poems, written centuries apart. The odyssey and inferno are about the journey of two men. In the two poems, the main character is given guidance by another character aiding them in their travel. Athena is the protector of Odysseus on his journey back from the Trojan War to his family in Ithaca. Dante on the other hand was led by vigil through hell in order to save his soul. In Dante’s inferno, there is a struggle between good and evil setting up the theme of the poem. The journey through hell is symbolic; the presentation of the soul towards God. The two characters, Athena and vigil, can be perceived as escorts in the journeys, both leading them into different endings.
Athena is regarded as a goddess of wisdom in the Greek mythologies. She uses her wisdom to guide Odysseus form Calypsos Island. Poseidon, enraged by her acts, sends a wave to wreck the ship but she helps him survive. “But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once. / The rest of the winds she stopped right in their tracks,/commanding them all to hush now, go to sleep./ All but the boisterous North-she whipped him up/ and the goddess beat the breakers flat before Odysseus,/ dear to Zeus, so he could reach the Phaeacians,/ mingle with men who love their long oars/ and escape his death at last.
The theme of maturation usually is reserved for young people maturing into adults. Odysseus and vigil are adults already but the son to Odysseus, Telemachus, is coming of age. Athena also guides Telemachus on his journey to find his father. Giving him wisdom and hope which helps him become a mature young man. She helps Telemachus find himself as vigil helps Dante's. They both are mentors as they also let them find themselves.
Dante’s journey through hell represents the different evils that identify with humanity. Each sinner will be punished in capacity befitting their crimes: the chief sin