SH+2015-16+P4+Ulysses+Juno,+Jupiter

__//**Ulysses, Juno, Jupiter**//__ Roman Mosaic, Ulysses and Chant of Sirens, Bardo, Tunisia, North Africa, Africa
 * __Aim- Amanda Betancourt__ **

During Alighieri’s process of writing his book of //Dante’s Inferno//, he had the purpose of including historical and cultural background of Dante’s Inferno was to describe the struggles and risks that Dante had to go through to make it to the top of their journey. In the book of //Dante’s Inferno//, the author illustrates Virgil’s travels to Dante, which was “Virgil says that their path will take them through Hell and that they will eventually reach Heaven, where Dante’s beloved Beatrice awaits ” (Alighieri 1). In this quote, Virgil was describing to Dante about how they were going to reach Heaven. This quote ties to the point because just like the three Roman leaders or god/goddesses of the Roman Mythology, for, example, they all had to make a risky choice and also had to go through a struggle. For instance, Ulysses was known for leader his man that “had the Greek army build a wooden horse that he and nineteen other soldiers could fit in” (Ellingson 1). For Juno, she had to go through the struggles of the Romans discovering Rome. Finally, for Jupiter, he had to go through the travels of being replaced and them coming back to his post of being apart of the gods. These three examples of these Roman god/goddesses and leaders are connected to the author’s purpose to his book by how all of these important Roman ideals and the character of the book had to go through the struggles of going through their religions trials of becoming a god or reaching Heaven or even become one of the most bravest leaders or travelers in Roman history.

Sources:
 * Ellingson, Leif. "Ulysses." Pantheon.org 26 Sept. 2002. Web. 26 Aug. 2015.
 * SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Inferno.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 21 Aug. 2015.

The first passage of Dante’s //Divine Comedy//, //Dante's Inferno//, was written in 1314 during the Italian Renaissance. During this time, people started to lose their grip on religion. Dante Alighieri uses the characters Ulysses, Juno, and Jupiter in his books to draw the attention of people who have an interest in Greek mythology and convert them to Christianity. “ The power of the sacred poem in popularizing Catholic theology and Catholic philosophy, and rendering it acceptable, or at least intelligible to non-Catholics, is at the present day almost incalculable” (//The Catholic Encyclopedia//). During the Italian Renaissance, the people of the time were slowly expanding their art and literature away from religious subjects. //Dante’s Inferno// made use of characters from Greek mythology and the Bible to illustrate that the characters from both sources are part of the same entity. By describing what hell is like, Dante manages to scare the audience into Catholicism. Dante made such an in-depth description of hell and sin with reference to Ulysses, Juno, and Jupiter that it made the people of the time reevaluate their views on Christianity.
 * //Audience- Connor Kinney//**

Gardner, Edmund. "Dante Alighieri." //The Catholic Encyclopedia.// Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 26 Aug. 2015

(Juno, and Jupiter) (Ulysses)
 * //Historical- Tristan Farrell//**

In Roman mythology there were three well known characters who made an underestimated impact on the world to come. A man told Dante, “There within are tormented Ulysses and Diomed, and thus together they go in punishment, as of old in wrath” (Alighieri. 91). Ulysses, or Odysseus in Greek, is commonly known for being cunning and deceitful and the Greeks admired this very much. A story about Ulysses from a Greek perspective would make him sound like the man every man wants to be and people would try to be like him, but on the other hand from a Roman perspective Ulysses is a dishonorable man because of his trickery. Those of roman persuasion were raised wanting to not be like Ulysses and be a man of honor. Moving on to the roman god Jupiter who heavily influenced people. Sophocles once wrote, “ Zeus who oversees and directs all things is still mighty in heaven” (Sophocles. 173). Jupiter is the roman equivalent to Zeus and people hold a high respect for him. He “oversees” the whole land and makes sure people are doing what he wants. Because the ancient Greek religion was around before Catholicism, the idea of God was likely influenced by Jupiter and ever since Catholicism has changed many people’s lives and it may have all started with Jupiter. Jupiter influences the people who believe in him due to the belief that he will punish them if they do wrong. Jupiter’s wife Juno also affected the lives of many. Juno once admitted, “Great victory requires great risk” (Riordan. 569). Juno is Hera’s roman counterpart and she inspires all the the same. She is the goddess of marriage and love and she takes special care of the roman women and she inspires not only women but also men to be the greatest they can be and to take a “risk” every now and then. These three legends each have unique and great character and have influenced the ancient and modern times alike.

Works Cited: Alighieri, Dante. //The Divine Comedy.// Inferno ed. Vol. 1. State College: Pennsylvania State U, 2005. Web.

Riordan, Rick. //The Lost Hero.// New York: Disney/Hyperion, 2010. Web. 26 Aug. 2015.

Sophocles. "Sophocles Quote." //BrainyQuote.// Xplore, n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2015.

Dante’s entire creation of //Inferno// was focused around the beliefs and people in the time of the Italian Renaissance. Religious, Greek, and Roman stories were very important to the renaissance people, To the audience of //Inferno// it could be argued that, “More important, however, Dante includes mythological and classical literary elements in his poem to indicate that Christianity has subsumed these famous stories; by bringing many religious strands under one umbrella, Dante heightens the urgency and importance of his quest—a quest that he believes necessary for all human beings”(//SparkNotes//). Ulysses, Juno, and Jupiter are important in the cultural time of the Renaissance. The renaissance was a time of advancements in art and architecture; leting art stray away from only religious topics to realistic and meaningful works. While focusing back to the old Roman and Greek inspirations of art and architectural aspects of the rebirth of Italy. Dante used the events around him and the rebirth of the European world to inspire a Hell that the sinners of the new world would face. Dante wanted his audience to understand what the tortures of Hell could actually entitle. While using the influence of the Renaissance and its Greek and Roman aspects, from the mythology to Christian religion to connect to all the people he writes his epic poem to. Dante connects to his audience on the religious and symbolic level that strives all throughout this time of rebirth. //Inferno//, the journey of a sinful man through a living Hell, striking a fear through the people of the Renaissance to know what is to come if they remain sinners and wrongdoers. Ulysses, a legendary Greek king, Juno the Roman goddess and protector of the state, and Jupiter the king of gods and god of light and the sky; The gods of old mythology being written into Dante’s work to show its connection with Christianity and the growing world they all live in.
 * // Cultural- Sherylann Distasio //**

SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNotes on Inferno." //SparkNotes.// SparkNotes, 2002. Web. 26 Aug. 2015.