Flucht und Migration in Vergils “Aeneis” und Homers “Odyssee”

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the existence of parallels between the migrations found at the beginning of the literature of antiquity, in the fundamental epic poems of Greek and Latin literature, and the phenomenon of refugees in the modern world. The aim is to provide an overview of the circumstances in which the refugee is acting. The Aeneid and the Odyssey represent in some respects two opposite stories: seeking and being guided, self-determination and entrusting to the divine powers. Ulysses has left his social environment intact and his migrations are only transit stations to his home in Ithaca, where he returns as an illegal migrant. On the contrary, Aeneas escapes from a destroyed social context, with the divine mission of finding a place for a new settlement and a better future, asking to be admitted to settle, at least temporarily, in a foreign land.

DOI: 10.4424/lam102021-2