Everyone has different perspectives and ideas about what hell is. This is particularly true in The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and Inferno. Firstly, 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 offered a more vivid and descriptive explanation of Hell that also explained that the souls of those who pass through are punished for their sins on Earth. Finally, in Inferno, Dante presents a disturbing version of Hell and explains how Hell is divided into sections; each section was dedicated to a certain type of sin. Dante then described the different punishments presented at each level. Although the three epics have different ideas about what describes Hell, there is no doubt that they 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 share the same characteristic of being epic poems and involving a hell or underworld, each book offers different viewpoints about what exactly “hell” is. The Odyssey has been described as a vast land of sorrow and sorrow. Odysseus referred to the inhabitants of the Underworld as the "listless spirits of their ghosts" (Homer 250) and the "nations of the dead" (Homer 250), which gives the image of crowds of souls gathering in an open space. There is no separation between the dead in the Underworld; young girls rub shoulders with old men as well as warriors fallen in battle. There is no distinction between sinners and virtuous souls; all are shadows, shades and spirits. In volume eleven, Odysseus ventures into the Underworld and meets his mother and tries to kiss her... middle of paper... future. On the other hand, 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 she believed in an afterlife, but she said if she did, she thought it would be like living your life again, but everything you feared would happen to you . She thinks that hell would mean being forced to live out all of your worst fears, as if you were trapped in your own head. Then she said that she believed 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 in the class texts. Works Cited Dante, Alighieri. Hell. Trans. Jean Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2009. Print.Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1997. Print.