Which epic has most relevance to a twenty first century reader, Virgil's 'Aeneid' or Homer's 'Odyssey'? Examines themes in both epics (from the english translations) and compares the two.

Which epic has most relevance to a twenty first century reader, Virgil's 'Aeneid' or Homer's 'Odyssey'? The very fact that I am studying both Virgil's 'Aeneid' and Homer's 'Odyssey' at A Level immediately proves to me that both epics must have contemporary relevance, else they would have been buried with the bones of their authors rather than being the subject of this essay. However, choosing which epic has the most contemporary relevance is not an …

…with many of the themes originally. Whether Virgil could have presented such provocative issues without Homer for a model is questionable, although his utterly original tale of Aeneas and Dido suggests he was equally, if not more talented. It is therefore virtually impossible to judge, but either way, due to the psychological nature of the themes within the two epics, I remain confident that both Homer's 'Odyssey' and Virgil's 'Aeneid' will never loose their relevance.