Final answer:
Paradise Lost is modeled after Virgil's The Aeneid and Dante's The Divine Comedy, both of which have had significant influence on John Milton's epic, particularly in themes and structure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The literary works that Paradise Lost is modeled after are The Aeneid by Virgil and The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Both Virgil's and Dante's works significantly influenced John Milton's development of themes and structure within Paradise Lost. The Aeneid, similar to the Iliad and Odyssey, is an epic poem that follows the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy and his journey to establish Rome, which in turn provides a mythic foundation for the Roman Empire and historicizes a heroic past akin to what Milton seeks to do by contextualizing the fall of man.
Dante's The Divine Comedy offers a detailed journey through the realms of the afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, which Milton echoes in his portrayal of Heaven, Hell, and Earth. The vast landscapes, the moral and spiritual journey of the protagonist, and the integration of classical and Christian elements within Milton's epic are evocative of the poetic tradition set by his literary predecessors.