The Role Of The Trojan War In The Aeneid

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On a quest to compose a story that would be known as the great epic of Rome, writer Virgil created The Aeneid, a poem following the journey of an epic hero, Aeneas. In “Book II”, Virgil portrays the Trojan War in such a way that makes the Trojans appear less foolish than what The Odyssey depicted. The Trojans good character, love, and sympathy shine through as the Greeks are viewed as deceitful and untrustworthy. “Book IV” describes Queen Dido’s inability to find love after the loss of her beloved husband. Aeneas arrives in her kingdom after escaping the Greek’s attack on Troy, and Queen Dido ultimately falls in love with the great warrior who washed up on her shores. Withstanding plights that seem impossible to overcome can cause one to make decisions by balancing the need for personal happiness and obligations that must be upheld. Through …show more content…

To begin, Aeneas shows great sympathy towards Sinon when confronted with his stories. As the Trojan War seemingly will never end, a large wooden horse appears outside the walls of Troy. The people inside Troy become very skeptical as to why the horse had been placed there. They have very little trust for the Greeks because the Greeks are known for their cunning attacks and deceiving war tactics. However, the Trojans put much pride into the fact that they do not cheat their war opponents and place their values before everything else. In “Book Two”, Virgil opens with Sinon, a Greek warrior, announcing to the people of Troy that he had been left behind as the rest of his men retreated back to Greece; “Unblamed may I break the oath of Greek allegiance, unblamed hate them and bring all to light that they conceal; nor am I bound by any laws of country” (?). Beginning to feel pity for

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