The Underworld and Morality in Vergils Aeneid Essay -- Aeneid Essays

The netherworld and Morality in Vergils AeneidBook IV of the Aeneid place stand alone as Vergils highest literary achievement, but centered in the epic, it provides a base for the entire work. The book describes Aeneass trip through the underworld, where after passing through the depths of underworld, he reaches his founder Anchises in the land of Elysium. Elysium is where the Souls to which Fate owes Another flesh lie (115). Here Anchises delivers the prophecy of Rome to Aeneis. He is shown the great souls that will one day convey the bodies of Romes leaders. Before the prophecy of Rome is delivered, Aeneiss journey through the underworld provides a definite ranking of souls according to their past lives on Earth. The Aeneid does not encompass a heaven, but the Underworld provides a punishment place where souls are purged of their evils and after one thousand years, regenerated to Earth. The ranking of souls in the Underworld warns of punishment for sin, and provides a incorrup t framework for Roman life.Aeneiss first contact with a soul in the purgatory of the Underworld is Palinurus, who died after falling from one of Aeneiss ships. Aeneis is at the mouth of the river that flows through hell with his guide the goddess Diephobe and Charon the ferryman. Palinurus is waiting to be ferried to his place in the Underworld, so he can begin his thousand-year purge. He pleads with Aeneiss party to take him along, but Deiphobe scolds him Shalt thou, unburied, throw the Stygian flood, / The Furies stream, or reach the bank unbid? (107). In Vergils Underworld one must have had a proper burial to gain a position. This serves as a warning to Romans to give their deceased a proper funeral, less they remain in hell longer.After Pa... ...ere he meets his father and receives the destiny of Rome. Elysium houses those souls to which parcel owes another flesh (115). These are the great heroes of the Ancient World that will be reincarnated as Roman leaders They have no hum an acts to be punished for. The story shifts here from that of moral lesson, to historical prophecy, but underlying the history there is a subtle command of respect for Roman leaders.The Underworld is more then just a creation to make Aeneiss voyage to his father more poetic. Through it, Vergil creates a moral code for his people, emphasizing grayer acts that can be easily justified such as deciding not to raise a child and giving up on love. Vergil saw how these acts combat injury humanity, and created the Underworld to curve them.Bibliography Vergil. Aeneid. Dover Thrift Edition. Trans. Charles J. Billson. New York Dover, 1995.