Virgil's Aeneid

¶ … Aeneid

The Odyssey and the Aeneid are similar in that they are both stroies about heroes. Odysseus' experience is different than Aeneas' in that he is recognized for his honor as well as his fantaststic adventures. Odysseus' is an honaravle man and he works the maintain this honor. We can see an example of this type of honor when he tell the Phaeacians who he is and that "Men hold me/formidable for guile in peace and war:/this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim" (Homer IX.19-21). He is proud and self-confident. While this is the Odysseus we meet, Aeneas, is a character that must mature through the narrative of the Aeneid. The two men also ventured in to the underworld, which is a significant aspect of both tales. Both men are changed by what they witness in hell and their experiences serve as a warning and a lesson to us.

Aeneas' only character flaw is that he is human. Therefore, he suffers and learns like all humans do. This makes him a hero as well. With the first war, Aeneas suffers defeat in the war with Troy and he learns from that. It is through his defeat that his learns of his own strength in character. He does not give up or give in and the gods look upon him with favor because of this. Victory lies in Aeneas' future but it is not without painful consequence. He suffers greatly over the death of Pallas, his "beloved foster son" (Virgil XI.43). This pain leads to righteous indignation when he later sees Turnus wearing Pallas' belt. He is outraged and kills the man. Through scenes like this, Aeneas because a symbol of success for Rome. He is not a demigod because this would negate all efforts to make Aemeas' experiences humn.

3. Aeneas leaves the Underworld through the Ivory Gate because that is the gate that represents false dreams. Virgil's intent for this type of departure illustrates how Aeneas' journey is not as significant to him as it is to readers.

4. Aeneas undergoes significant change in the story because it is natural for human being to evolve. Virgil wanted to emphasize this evolution as a man through Aeneas and his sufferings and growth. We watch his character develop as the story progresses. With time, he understands that he is just a small part of the bigger picture. Humanity is capable of great things and that is what Virgil is attempting to tell us through Aeneas' character development. He becomes a greater hero because he is only human and yet he accomplishes many things. From going to and through the underworld to mustering up great courage to fight and carry on, Aeneas is a revered hero because he is human and, to this, we can relate.

5. Virgil writes the Aeneid because he has something to say about the hero of the story. The Aeneid also depicts other significant factors that influenced first century Roman life and seeks to the meaning of Roman life in general. Virgil also tells a tale of history and the human heart with the Aeneid. The story remains popular because of this aspect of humanity.

6. There is a general sense of hatred for the Greeks because they defeated Aeneas' country and everything in which he and his countrymen believed. The correlation between the Aeneid and the Odyssey is impressive because of the common threads of history that each story reveals. Virgil's vision is demonstrated through Aeneas' journeys and experiences. The influence of Homer's great epics allows us to understanding the Aeneid in a way that is important because of the historical context of each narrative. Here we see that Virgil was not afraid to borrow from one of the greatest storytellers to tell his own story. This has no bearing on what Virgil thought about what the Homeric epics had to say. Chaos, religion, gods, and goddesses were all a part of both writer's culture and similarities are bound to overlap.