The Price of Duty in The Odyssey and Antigone
What is the driving force within humans that compels us to take on and fulfill a duty? Duty derives from a person’s innate sense of obligation to members of one’s community. This sense of obligation is then taught and reinforced by society’s standards. Social pressures and consequences reinforce the innate obligations one feels towards members of their community. In the context of The Odyssey and Antigone, duty is defined as a person’s sense of responsibility to honor and care for friends and loved ones even at great personal risk to themself.
“The Fame of Her Great Virtue”: The Values of Marriage in Classical Literature
What do the marriage relationships portrayed in classical literature reveal about the societal views and values of marriage in antiquity, and what can they teach modern audiences about this special social relationship? Two examples of marriages portrayed in classical literature are the marriage between Odysseus and Penelope in Homer’s “The Odyssey” and the turbulent relationship between Dido and Aeneas, portrayed in Virgil’s “The Aeneid”.