Virgil vs. Homer in Underworld

How does Virgil deviate from Homer in the underworld, and why?

When comparing “The Aeneid” to “The Odyssey”, it is impossible not to notice the similarity between Homer and Virgil 's poems. Both heroes leave Troy, granted one barely escapes and the other leaves victoriously, and both in one sense or the other are trying to reach their home, whether it is the old or future home. The adventures of the two heroes are incredibly similar on a number of accounts with the trip to the underworld being most intriguing. First of all it is important to understand that Homer and Virgil wrote their poems for different reasons; Homer 's "The Odyssey" was written for entertainment purposes, while Virgil 's "The Aeneid" was written in order to subtly praise Augustus and promote the glory of Rome. This could in fact explain most of Virgil 's deviations from "The Odyssey". The two poems present us with very clear similarities; both heroes have to travel to the underworld in order to continue their voyage; both meet friends, foes and most importantly a parent. Besides that, both Odysseus and Aeneas are guided by a god without whom they may have not been able to enter the underworld, and would definitely would not have been able to leave it. Even with these similarities however, the tasks of Odysseus and Aeneas are entirely different and the underworlds which they become acquainted with are also not explained in the same manner. Therefore, while the basic idea of the underworld seems to be the same for both poets, their description of Odysseus 's and Aeneas 's trips make these passages entirely different. One of the most obvious comparisons of the poems is Aeneas and Odysseus 's meeting with old friends and family; both for example meet one of their parents. In this case, Odysseus may be sympathized with more for he did not know of his mother 's death and in the underworld had learnt that she died because of his absence and her longing for her son. Aeneas on the other