The descent into the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in a diverse number of religions around the world, including Christianity. The hero or deity of the upper world travels to the underworld or the land of the dead and returns, often with a quest item or loved one, or with elevated knowledge. The ability to enter the realm of the living dead and return is testament to the classic hero’s exceptional status as something other than mortal.
Virgil, the greatest of all Roman poets, modeled his masterpiece, The Aeneid (30-19 BC), on the ancient Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by Homer. For his part, Aristophanes (448-385 BC), an Athenian playwright, is considered one of the greatest comedy writers in literary history. The frogs is one of his masterpieces. The wit of the plot, the incidental extravagance, the sparkling fresh wit, the delicate literary criticism, the sweet bursts of song lyrics, and the matchless bits of parody make The Frogs of Aristophanes the greatest literary satire in any language. The Aeneid is divided into different books. Of these, Book VI is very significant because it tells of the underworld that Aeneas, the Trojan hero, visits and experiences after the fall of Troy. However, the story of Aristophanes’s The Frogs can be related to that of Virgil’s Aeneid (Book VI) in terms of the journey to the underworld, especially in terms of theme, characters, places, description of the underworld, etc.
The initial part of these two trips can be compared. Before embarking on the journey to the Underworld, Aeneas, the Trojan hero, visited the Sibyl of Cumae. She in her prophetic vision told Aeneas that she would very soon have to fight a battle in Latium. It was Sibyl who ordered Aeneas to uproot the Golden Bough. Aeneas was escorted by her to Hades through the cave of Avernus. They came to the River Styx, on one side of which they could see the ghosts of the unburied dead. In The Frogs we see that Dionysus, the patron god of the drama as the hero of the play, begins the journey to the underworld accompanying his slave Xanthias. Unsure of the best way to enter the underworld and always unsettled in his worth, he devises an ingenious plan. He will don the guise of Heracles, who in the last and most spectacular of his famous labors fought his way into the realm of Hades and stole Hell’s watchdog, the three-headed hound Cerberus. Dionysus figures that if Hades’ guards see “Heracles” coming again, they will all run away and let him in without a fight. However, disguised in lion skin and full mace, like Heracles and accompanied by his slave Xanthias with baggage, he sets out on his perilous journey. If we compare The Frogs with The Aeneid, we see that Dionysus acts as a hero in The Frogs who is actually a god (god of drama) while Aeneas; a human being plays the role of a hero in The Aeneid. The Golden Branch which has a magical effect to save oneself from any danger can be compared to the lion skin dress worn by Dionysus.
The main objective of his journey to the underworld is to get instructions on how to build (Aeneid) or save the country (The Frogs) from the dead who were great in his life. We can see that in both trips there is the presence of Charon, the old ferryman who transported the souls of the dead through a river that separated the world of the living from the world of the dead and took them to the gates of the underworld. In both pieces, the protagonists have to ask Charon to take them across the River Styx (Aeneid), which is also called Lake Acheron (The Frogs), and the river is the same for both journeys, albeit with different names. In Aeneid we can see that Aeneid is suggested about the precondition and procedures of Helen’s journey. Similarly, Heracles suggests Dionysus, who is his half brother.
In both trips the protagonists meet many souls, ghosts, ugly creatures. Cerberus, a monstrous dog is found on both trips. Cerberus, a three-headed dog with a dragon’s tail that guards the entrance to the underworld, or Hades. The monster allowed all the spirits to enter Hades, but did not allow any to leave. Sibylla, who sets the tone and stays with Aeneas as her traveling companion, can be compared both to Heracles (of whom Dionysus gives suggestions before embarking on the journey) and to Xanthias. Xanthias is a comic figure who works as a servant to Dionysus. Sibyl is a female prophet who led the Trojan prince Aeneas through the underworld to visit her father Anchises and her role in the journey was most remarkable because without her prophecy and assistance.
The experiences accumulated by Aeneas and Dionysus on their journey to hell are not the same. But in both The Frogs and The Aeneid, hell is described as dark and muddy, ugly and full of dangerous creatures never seen before. Aeneas’ experience on the journey is more bitter than Dionysus’s experience. In the epic Aeneid the journey to the underworld has a serious purpose and in the other writings we can find that throughout the comedy seriousness is absent and is replaced by humor, irony and witty commentary. Many comical incidents can be found throughout the journey made by Dionysus such as Dionysus’s disguise as a slave and Xanthius’s master’s disguise which is done out of fear of Dionysus of Empusa.
We can see that in Aeneid, the hero Aeneas acts bravely and remains determined and confident throughout the Journey. On the other hand, in Las ranas, the cowardly, selfish, carnal, unmanly hero Dionysus is found throughout the journey to Hades. In Ranas we observe that the choir is present throughout the trip and in La Aeneid there is no choir. We can find that Aeneas is prophesied to establish the Roman empire and descend into Hades to meet Anchises’s dead father for suggestions on what to do. But in the case of frogs, there is no prophecy about Dionysus’ journey to the underworld.
A striking difference between the journeys in these two pieces is the difference in the treatment of nature in the description of the two journeys. In the Aeneid we can find an elaborate description of the environment and natural setting of Hades. For example, there is a description of Dis with shadow and light like a forest on a moonlit night. On the other hand, there is no such description in the frogs of the trip made by Dionysus. I Aeneid Charon is described as an old man who has the vigor of forever youth with a fiery red beard. We can find the presence of song and dance in the journey of Dionysus in the frogs but there is no such element in the journey that Aeneas makes in the Aeneid.
Although The Frogs and Eneid are different types of literary works, some similarities are noted between these two pieces regarding the journey to the underworld. In Las ranas the situation was very funny and satirical but in La Eneida it was serious. Indeed, it is the patriotic zeal that is the common similarity in both pieces.
