Who has a closer relationship to their father, Odysseus or Aeneas?

The mental and physical decline of Laertes health, since Odysseus departure, are a result of the grief stricken state that he refuses to get past over his missing and presumed dead son. This state of morning is epitomised when from the underworld Anticlea, Odysseus mother, tells Odysseus of his father's current state "he lies in misery with old age pressing hard upon him, and nursing, the grief and yearning for you to come back" Odysseus saw this with his own eyes when he finally visits his father after defeating the suitors, he then says "I cannot help remarking -and please do not take offence- that you don't look after yourself very well."

Odysseus and Laertes were obviously close during Odysseus childhood and this is apparent when Odysseus is trying to convince Laertes that he is Odysseus, his son. He does this by re-calling stories of their time together when he was a boy, "I was only a boy at the time, trotting after you through the orchard, talking about this and that."

The last event of the play, which is the confrontation between Odysseus, Telemachus, Laertes and the families of the suitors, again hints at a strong bond between father and son as despite his age and poor physical health Laertes is only too willing to help and fight for his son.

Despite Odysseus having been back in Ithaca days if not weeks he shows no desire to re-unite with his father, despite knowing the grief stricken state that he is in, until having killed the suitors and revealed himself to Penelope. This suggest that father and son are not as close as first anticipated, especially when taking into consideration that they have been apart for twenty years, we would expect him to be more anxious to see his father.

This hero has a tendency to test those who are supposed to be closest to him as well as strangers. His father proves that there is no except. This need to test his own father implies at a serious lack of trust within a relationship which if close there would be no trust issues, father and son should trust each other implicitly if in a genuinely close relationship.

Aeneas first displays his deep affection for his father when talking to Dido about the sacking of his home, Troy and how he refused to leave his father behind when fleeing the burning city, despite Anchises pleas for him to go and when refusing to leave Aeneas carried him. This leads to the very poignant moment when Aeneas is carrying his father over his shoulder, away from his past and into his future, symbolizing Aeneas desperate need and desire for his father to be a part of his future and his destiny.

When Anchises dies Aeneas is obviously distraught as any close father and son would be in reaction to the death of the other. Aeneas does the great honour to his father by holding the Trojan games in his memory. Even long after his death Anchises is never far from Aeneas mind and in conversation is constantly referring to him.

Throughout Aeneas' journey he endures the most horrific experiences whilst in the underworld all so he can see his father "Three times he tried to put his arms round his neck and three times the phantom slipped his vain embrace" He is brought to tears by the sight of his father again and is obviously missing him desperately and is far from over his death.

Anchises was a major part of Aeneas life right up until his death and after his death via memories of his father and their reunion in the underworld. As a major part of his life he is a great influence to Aeneas and a driving force behind Aeneas determination to reach his destiny and fulfill his duty. At no point in the Aeneid does Aeneas or Anchises show any sign that their relationship is anything but the ideal father and son relationship.

Aeneas is obviously much closer to his father Anchises than Odysseus is to his father Laertes. There is a complete trust and dependency between Aeneas and Anchises as they have experienced so much together as father and son whereas there is a lack of trust between Odysseus and Laertes and they have missed out on twenty years worth of experiences which could and should have been spent together. This is a major factor in the distance between Odysseus and Laertes and it is obvious that they do not know each other very well, Laertes even failed to recognize his own son. What also contributes to this is Odysseus' personality. He tends to distance himself from people by being very secretive and suspicious even to those closest to him. One of the lessons that he was suppose to learn over his Odyssey was to trust people yet right up to the re-union with his father he still refuses to and feels the need to test his own father. This lack of trust and his suspicious nature towards even family members means that to some extent he and his father could never be as close as Aeneas and Anchises. Aeneas is the complete opposite to Odysseus in that he embraces everyone like a close family member, his crew are like brothers, which means that his family are even dearer to him and this is obvious in his relationship with his father.