“The Final Hours of Troy” Virgil is a first century B.C.E. Roman epic poem writer. Virgil wrote the greatest epic poem and the most influential work of all classical literature, The Aeneid. The Aeneid makes up twelve books in total and it incorporates various legends of Aeneas who later becomes the founder of the Roman Empire. The story of “The Final Hours of Troy” is Book II of The Aeneid and it’s told by the Trojan Prince, Aeneas, to a Queen named Didio and her court. This long and tragic story begins with the 10-year war between the Greeks and Trojans.…
The Aeneid was then written in a time of great political and cultural change, as the established political order is replaced by an emperor. Ovid himself states, “...and the exiled Aeneas, the beginnings of lofty Rome: no Latin work is more famous.” (Ovid. Ars Amatoria. 3.337-38.…
Virgil is supposed to be the voice of reason sent from heaven, so it’s surprising that he is inconsistent in his opinions on sinners. This selective and essentially useless pity shows that there is never a true reason to pity the sinners, and Virgil’s apparent unrepentant nature proves that he belongs in Limbo as he has yet to realize his impiety in believing that he is…
Livy and Virgil both give accounts of the famous Hercules and Cacus tale. However, they are very different accounts, each having distinct changes. Virgil has an introduction of Aeneas, while Livy has Romulus and Remus. Cacus is known as a man to Livy, but a monster to Virgil.…
Everyone agrees that warfare is an undesirable fact of our world’s history, examples such as the war in the Aeneid show us the gruesome and dehumanizing effects battle can bring to people and nations. However, it is disputed over what the Virgil intended the Aeneid to portray about war. Some say the book is meant to display that war can be justified, however, I believe this book is meant to not state whether or not war is right or wrong, but to show us that war is a disgusting, brutal and sometimes idiotic means of settling differences. There are many examples of this in the Aeneid to back up this statement, such as the means of war, a quote from Juno, and a quote from Virgil himself.…
In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas’ continuous pietas and subservience to the gods and fate lead him to the foundation of Rome; however, even though he follows the authority of the gods, Aeneas shows true heroism and human characteristics by following his own morals, values, and freedom. For Aeneas to be able to reach his fate, the gods had to interfere multiple times in order to help him achieve the qualities he needed to found Rome. Because Aeneas is a man that follows the traditions of revering the gods and goddesses that follow human nature, he shows the true pietas that allowed him to overpower Juno’s selfish desires to keep him from his destiny. Aeneas shows his pietas when he is in the Underworld and he visits with Anchises.…
In the book The Aeneid, the writer Virgil uses Greek mythology to add emphasis to and exaggerate the story of how Rome was founded during the time of Ceaser Augustus. The story mainly revolves around the protagonist, Aeneas. Aeneas is the son of the god Anchises the Trojan prince and Venus the goddess of love. He respects and cares deeply for his family. He has become a hero of his city for great things he has done throughout his life, but he didn’t start out so bold and strong.…
Rooted from the term “duete”, which means to owe or debt, the word duty can be defined as the need to accomplish some achievements for an entity that the person is in debt of. Although Romans and Christians do not share the same religious belief, the Romans’ concept of duty is very similar; their concept of duty is largely related to the obedience to their god and their country. The Roman values the importance of the sense of obligation towards their gods and goddesses. In book VI of Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas, the main character of the story, clearly showed this concept of duty.…
Roman Strengths and Weaknesses One essential element of the epic is the catalogue, which is a long list describing persons, places, or events placed in the catalogue for a specific reason. The Aeneid, written by Virgil, is exceptionally accomplished in creating a certain perception of his catalogues in The Aeneid. Virgil’s reason for having the prophetic catalogue in Book VI take place in the underworld is to place an emphasis on how the future of Rome will have its dark and light spots, just as the underworld has dark and light areas. Virgil chooses to include the dark parts of Roman history in this catalogue to remind Romans, including Aeneas, that, although they are powerful, they also have their weaknesses. To start the catalogue of Book…
Human agency is demonstrated in Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid through the story arcs of the characters of Odysseus and Aeneas. In the Odyssey, although Odysseus’ fate seems to be predetermined by the gods, it is actually influenced entirely by Odysseus’s own choices. In the Aeneid, however, Aeneas does not possess the same free will as Odysseus; his destiny is determined by the will of Zeus. Homer establishes the independence of the choices of mortals over the preordinations of the gods, while Virgil emphasizes the control the gods exercise over the fates of mortals.…
In ancient Roman history, Virgil a great poet wrote two of the most epic poems in The Iliad and The Aeneid. Both poems contained main characters that were meant to showcase the greatness that was to be a standard for being a great Roman hero in respect to Achilles and Aeneas through respect to Gods, duty to their country and loyalty to family. Although these characters were similar in their own respect, Virgil made a clear distention in the two using their personalities and different motivations. In comparing these characters, you will first find that both were demigods were one parent is a God and the other parent is a mortal.…
I, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, have the answer to the woes of men. You, Virgil, commissioned by Augustus Caesar, composed The Aeneid, describing the journey of pious Aeneas. Aeneas’ duty to his country, family, and the gods mark him as a symbol of Roman piety. The theme of mercy is also evident in The Aeneid and is linked to the concept of piety. Yet, the poem concludes with gloom and ambiguity in the eeriness of “death’s chill” (Fitzgerald 402).…
In Symposium by Plato there is discussion on what love is and for the assembled guests it has different meanings. Many types of love can be seen in Virgil’s Aeneid as well; there is love between people or of the devotion to gods and family (pietas). These types of loves can be described through Diotima’s speech. Diotima defines love as the desire to give birth to beautiful ideas that last forever; she argues that love is not fully knowledgeable or ignorant, and that the soul is more beautiful than the body. These ideals can be seen through the love Juno has for Carthage, the love Aeneas has for pietas, and the love Anchises has for Aeneas.…
In the poem The Aeneid by Virgil the characters showed signs of mortality as they thought through their options, unlike The Iliad that was written by Homer. The ancient epic poems that are more commonly known are: The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil. All three of these poems are concentrated around one famous war known as the Trojan War. “How about this: what makes Virgil’s Aeneid connected to Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey is also what makes it different from them” (Shmoop).…
The Odyssey represented a cunning hero, named Odysseus, King of Ithaca. This work of literature highlighted the tantalizing journey he and his man were forced to make fueled by the Trojan War coupled with the Fall of Troy. Odysseus and his men were antagonized by an innumerable amount of hindrances and misfortunes in their ten year journey back to Ithaca. Critics emphasize that although Homeric characters are generally static. Odysseus and his son are fairly different.…