Author Date

2020-04-01

Degree Name

Department

Comparative Arts and Letters

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2020-03-09

Publication Date

2020-03-31

First Faculty Advisor

Roger Macfarlane

First Faculty Reader

Mike Pope

Honors Coordinator

Cecilia Peek

Keywords

Artemis, Diana, beautification, reverse odyssey, Penelope, Calypso

Abstract

Beyond demonstrating that Latin could achieve lilterary monumentality, the Aeneid filled the Augustan regime with echoes of Homer's ancient heroes. An inseparable component of Homer's tales is also found in the manner which Vergil integrates women and goddesses into Aeneas's odyssey towards founding Rome. I am examining gendered interactions in the Odyssey and Aeneid because I want to understand the differences between Vergil's hero and Homer's so that my reader can appreciate particular nuances in the reception of classical literary models in Augustan Rome. When we examine how Homer shows women helping or hindering Odysseus, we find templates that Vergil used for the development of his female characters. Considering this juxtaposition, I will pursue greater depth of understanding for the Aeneid's nuanced reception of Homeric styles specifically by comparing Odysseus's encounter with Nausicaa to Aeneas's first encounter with Dido.