wrath against the Trojans, whose leader, Hector(son of King Priam), he kills in single combat. The poem closes as Achilles surrenders the corpse of Hector to Priam for burial recognizing a certain kinship with the Trojan king as they both face the tragedies of mortality and bereavement THE OD YSSEY The Odyssey describes the return of the greek hero Odysseus from the Trojan War. The opening scenes depict the disorder that has arisen in Odysseus's household during his long absence: A band of suitors is living off of his wealth as they woo his wife, Penelope. The epic then tells of Odysseus's ten years of traveling, during which he has to face such dangers as the man-eating giant Polyphemus and such subtler threats as the goddess Calypso, who offers him immortality if he will abandon his quest for home. The second half of the poem begins with Odysseus's arrival at his home island of Ithaca. Here, exercising infinite patience and self-control, Odysseus tests the loyalty of his servants; plots and carries out a bloody revenge on Penelope's suitors; and is reunited with his son, his wife, and his aged father 4. VIRGIL, or VERGI(70-19 BC) The greatest of the Roman poets, Publius Vergilius Maro, was not a Roman by birth His early home was on a farm in the village of Andes, near Mantua. His father was a farmer, prosperous enough to give his son the best education. The young Virgil was sent to school Cremona and then to Milan. At the age of 17 he went to rome to study There he learned hetoric and philosophy from the best teachers of the day Virgil studied the Greek poets. He wrote his Eclogues. These are pastoral poems describing the beauty of Italian scenes. At the suggestion of Maecenas he wrote a more serious work on the art of farming and the charms of country life called the Georgics. This established his fame as the foremost poet of his age The year after the 'Georgics' was published, he began his great epic, the 'Aeneid. He took as his hero the Trojan Aeneas, supposed to be the founder of the Roman nation. The poem, published after Virgil's death, exercised a tremendous influence upon Latin and later Christian literature, prose as well as poetry. Thus his influence continued through the middle Ages and into modern times 5. DANTE(1265-1321) z One of the greatest poets in the history of world literature, Italian writer Dante Alighieri composed poetry influenced by classical and Christian tradition Dante's greatest work was the epic poem La divina commedia(1321?: The Divine Comedy, 1802). It includes three sections the Inferno(Hell), in which the great classical poet Virgil leads Dante on a trip through hell the Purgatorio(Purgatory), in which Virgil leads Dante up the mountain of purificati the Paradiso(Paradise), in which Dante travels through heaven. This passage from the Inferno(recited by an actor) comes at the beg inning of the epic, when Dante loses his way in woods The Divine Comedy3 wrath against the Trojans, whose leader, Hector (son of King Priam), he kills in single combat. The poem closes as Achilles surrenders the corpse of Hector to Priam for burial, recognizing a certain kinship with the Trojan king as they both face the tragedies of mortality and bereavement. THE ODYSSEY The Odyssey describes the return of the Greek hero Odysseus from the Trojan War. The opening scenes depict the disorder that has arisen in Odysseus's household during his long absence: A band of suitors is living off of his wealth as they woo his wife, Penelope. The epic then tells of Odysseus's ten years of traveling, during which he has to face such dangers as the man-eating giant Polyphemus and such subtler threats as the goddess Calypso, who offers him immortality if he will abandon his quest for home. The second half of the poem begins with Odysseus's arrival at his home island of Ithaca. Here, exercising infinite patience and self-control, Odysseus tests the loyalty of his servants; plots and carries out a bloody revenge on Penelope's suitors; and is reunited with his son, his wife, and his aged father. 4. VIRGIL, or VERGI (70-19 BC). The greatest of the Roman poets, Publius Vergilius Maro, was not a Roman by birth. His early home was on a farm in the village of Andes, near Mantua. His father was a farmer, prosperous enough to give his son the best education. The young Virgil was sent to school at Cremona and then to Milan. At the age of 17 he went to Rome to study. There he learned rhetoric and philosophy from the best teachers of the day. Virgil studied the Greek poets. He wrote his 'Eclogues'. These are pastoral poems describing the beauty of Italian scenes. At the suggestion of Maecenas he wrote a more serious work on the art of farming and the charms of country life called the 'Georgics'. This established his fame as the foremost poet of his age. The year after the 'Georgics' was published, he began his great epic, the 'Aeneid'. He took as his hero the Trojan Aeneas, supposed to be the founder of the Roman nation. The poem, published after Virgil's death, exercised a tremendous influence upon Latin and later Christian literature, prose as well as poetry. Thus his influence continued through the Middle Ages and into modern times. 5. DANTE (1265-1321). One of the greatest poets in the history of world literature, Italian writer Dante Alighieri composed poetry influenced by classical and Christian tradition. Dante’s greatest work was the epic poem La divina commedia (1321?; The Divine Comedy, 1802). It includes three sections: the Inferno (Hell), in which the great classical poet Virgil leads Dante on a trip through hell; the Purgatorio (Purgatory), in which Virgil leads Dante up the mountain of purification; and the Paradiso (Paradise), in which Dante travels through heaven. This passage from the Inferno (recited by an actor) comes at the beginning of the epic, when Dante loses his way in the woods. The Divine Comedy