Everyone has different perspectives and ideas about what Hell is. This is especially true in the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and the Inferno. First, in the Odyssey, Homer's explanation of Hell was very basic and contained the dead and was very dark and sad. Then, in the Aeneid, Virgil offers a more vivid and descriptive explanation of Hell, also explaining that the souls of those who die are punished for their sins on Earth. Finally, in the Inferno, Dante presents a disturbing version of Hell and expresses how Hell was divided into sections; each section was dedicated to a certain type of sin. Dante then described the different punishments presented at each different level. Although all three epics have different ideas about what Hell describes, there is no doubt that all three epics reiterate the same message that sins expressed on Earth do not go unnoticed. Although Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, and Dante's Inferno all shared the same characteristic of being epic poems and including a Hell or underworld, each book offered different views on what exactly the "Hell". The Odyssey has been described as an immense land of pain and sadness. Odysseus referred to the denizens of the Underworld as “listless spirits of their ghosts” (Homer 250) and “the nations of the dead” (Homer 250), which gives off an image of crowds of souls gathering in an open area. There are no separations among the dead in the Underworld; young girls stand next to old men and fallen warriors. There are no distinctions between sinners and virtuous souls; all are shadows, shadows and spirits. In book eleven, Odysseus ventures into the Underworld and meets his mother and tries to embrace his… middle of paper… future. Instead, Dante was lured to Hell by a guide, Virgil, sent by Lady Beatrice. I asked my roommate, Jessica, what her personal interpretation of Hell was. Jessica said she wasn't sure if she believed in an afterlife, but said if she did, she believes it would be like reliving your life but everything you feared would happen to you. Think that Hell would mean being forced to live out all your worst fears, as if you were trapped in your own head. Subsequently, he said that he believes that the inability to forgive oneself is what would condemn one to Hell. In short, no, Jessica's version of Hell does not reflect one of the versions present in the class texts.Works citedDante, Alighieri. Hell. Trans. Giovanni Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2009. Print.Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1997. Print.