Descent into Hades : Orpheus, Odysseus and Aeneas

Abstract

This paper will deal with the blending of mythology and poetry in the classical world and will be concerned with one of the most fascinating and elusive aspects of man’s encounter with the realm of death, the underworld, or the chthonic. I shall focus on three legendary heroes in Greek and Roman mythology. The first is Orpheus, musician, hero, founder of a cult and later victim. The second, Odysseus, one of the prominent Homeric heroes whose wanderings around the Mediterranean brought him everlasting fame, and the third, Aeneas, a Trojan hero, appropriated by Virgil as the legendary founder of Rome. The common thread of the narrative is the link with the underworld – all three heroes at one stage in their lives feel compelled (or are advised) to visit the dreaded Hades, the chthonic shadowland.