Saturday, September 10, 2011
Aenied
The Aeneid potrays Aeneis as a new kind of hero. A traditional Roman or Greek hero would have stayed in the Trojan war and fought to the death however Aeneis decided to leave the war because he had a greater destiny that is to lay the groundwork for the founding for a new city, Rome. Aeneis has the quality of pietas or loyalty to ones state. Aeneis is loyal to the gods in the sense that he follows their orders and decree and his loyalty is an important aspect of his character
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3 comments:
I like how this story is a little different than the other epics we've read. It's not just a war story. It is about establishing Rome.
I definitely agree that it is interesting that Aeneas does seem to be an alternative hero. However, I think this epic is actually pretty similar to the Odyssey. They both involve superhuman heroes (a signature characteristic of an epic)on a lengthy journey after the Trojan War. Then again, Virgil did borrow quite a bit from the Odyssey and Iliad.
I don't see anything wrong with borrowing things from the Odyssey and Iliad. It's not like he is plagiarizing, because everyone knows that he is referencing the Greek poet Homer. I think Virgil is building upon what Homer had already written, its very cool in my opinion. Yes The Aeneid has all of the characteristics of an epic, but it definitely is distinctive from the Iliad and Odyssey. The Iliad is about the siege of Troy and the Odyssey is about the journey back home from Troy. Virgil incorporates a journey from Troy to Rome, but also has the typical epic battles (such as the one between Aeneas and Turnus). Also, Aeneas is an epic hero who is strong and a warrior, but he does not feel emotions and does not follow orders. Virgil puts a twist on the usual epic hero, which I find very interesting.
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