THESIS STATEMENT
In the epic poem The Aeneid, Virgil stressed the theme of ultimate victory over defeat through Aeneas’ adventures to Italy.
PURPOSE STATEMENT
Through the analysis of the text and critical analyses of the Aeneid, it is true that Aeneid is ultimately the victor in this war for freedom.
INTRODUCTION
Imagine you were a well- recognized noble; you had everything you could ever possibly want. Then imagine sudden defeat. You are no longer a noble, but a fugitive. There seems to be no victory in the future, and you have lost all hope. Right when everything seemed lost, you overcame obstacles and were finally back on top. Anthony Esolen gave a simple statement on how astonishing the losses of Aeneas really were. “Virgil laments the terrible loss upon which the nation [of Rome] was built” (Esolen 1). In his critical review of Robert Fagle’s translation of the Aeneid, Anthony Esolen describes how Virgil shows how sad the countless defeats of the Trojans really were.
When Aeneas fights in Italy, Virgil portrays him as a courageous hero that leads his men through battle. The problem is that the odds are stacked against Aeneas and his small army. Aeneas eventually overcomes this. Aeneas is helped many times throughout his journey by the mystical power of gods and goddesses that favor him, such as Venus (Aeneas’ mother), Vulcan, and others. One example is when Aeneas and his crew beach on the coasts of North Africa after an exhausting voyage, Venus appears to Aeneas in the form of a young hunter and directs him to Queen Dido while shrouded in a misty veil.
The triumph of the Trojans throughout Virgil’s Aeneid is highlighted in the Trojans’ arrival at Italy, with the coalition of enemies and sudden wars. This triu...
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... where Aeneas was always (if not eventually) triumphant over all of the obstacles thrown at him, though the obstacles themselves always suffered a dreadful defeat. As author Alden Smith said in his review of Virgil’s Aeneid, “Yet a victor also implies, a loser, and no victory is without loss” (Smith 220). During the first half of the Aeneid, Smith’s comment was all too true for Aeneas and his group of surviving Trojans. Towards the last half of the epic though, the tables were turned and it was now Aeneas and his Trojans that were victorious, while some of the Latins were the losers. In the Aeneid, Virgil made the victories of Aeneas seem amazing with all of the troubles, hardships, and demoralizing defeats that Aeneas and his fellow Trojans went through. With danger and defeat lurking around every corner, Aeneas finally got a break and was victorious in the end.
There are two main fashions in which the Aeneid is read by Scholars today. The main difference between these two theories is each's respective treating of Aeneas' obstacles. The first views Aeneas as a classic epic hero, that is, to view him as fated to the grand destiny of founding Rome, and Aeneas carries out that destiny successfully, in spite of a few unfortunate hardships. The other view regards the obstructions that Aeneas is subjected to as, instead, evidence from the gods and other powers that Aeneas' quest is, as purported in an essay by Steven Farron, “brutal and destructive” (34), instead of trivial occurrences. This view referred to as the dark reading of the Aeneid. One of the best known circumstances in the Aeneid is Aeneas correspondence with Dido. This period in the Aeneid is often used to evidence an argument for one of the two readings, as the text gives important specifics about both Aeneas and his quest there. However, given a close reading of the text, the flawed relationship between Dido and Aeneas better endorses the dark reading.
The brutal killing of Priam, king of Troy, is both at the beginning of the story of the Aeneid and an end to the story of the Trojan war contained in the Iliad. In war, some of the most damaging things that can be accomplished are the demoralizing of the other soldiers and the desecration of their gods. The Trojans held their gods in great esteem and are portrayed as a very reverent people. This can be seen by Aeneas refusal to touch the statues of his household gods until he can clean himself of the battle from which he has just come.
...rvival. However, Aeneas becomes the Virgilian leader, his concern is always for the people and they are the most important thing to him. The reason that the endings of the books are so dissimilar and the Aenied is far less satisfying than the Odyssey is a result of this point. Odysseus' accomplished aim can be viewed within his lifetime, and listened to within a short time. His short-term goal of going to bed with Penelope, and sorting out the situation in his country is all seen within the borders of the story. Aeneas' ending merely means that his journey is at an end but the rest of the story lies with his people. The emphasis is on the people he is leading and not what he individually has accomplished.
11: Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. and ed. David West, Revised Edition; Penguin Books, published by the
Goldwyn, Adam J. "A Literary History of the Trojan War from Antiquity to the Middle Ages." Order No. 3426747 City University of New York, 2010. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 13 ‘May 2014.
The decision of Achilleus is a crucial moment in understanding how fate works in epic (Homerian) literature. Thetis tells Achilleus of his opportunity to win renown as the greatest warrior of all time, earning glory through his fearless acts in battle against a foe who is sure to overcome the Achaians. The fate of ten years of attack on Troy hinge upon the decision of Achilleus, who is given the choice to win glory for the Achaians and, more importantly, himself.
A twenty-first century reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey will highlight a seeming lack of justice: hundreds of men die because of an adulteress, the most honorable characters are killed, the cowards survive, and everyone eventually goes to hell. Due to the difference in the time period, culture, prominent religions and values, the modern idea of justice is much different than that of Greece around 750 B.C. The idea of justice in Virgil’s the Aeneid is easier for us to recognize. As in our own culture, “justice” in the epic is based on a system of punishment for wrongs and rewards for honorable acts. Time and time again, Virgil provides his readers with examples of justice in the lives of his characters. Interestingly, the meaning of justice in the Aeneid transforms when applied to Fate and the actions of the gods. Unlike our modern (American) idea of blind, immutable Justice, the meanings and effects of justice shift, depending on whether its subject is mortal or immortal.
Virgil’s Aeneid, tells the story of the founding of Rome. It follows the last of the Trojan’s who escaped the fate of Troy. Troy eventually falls following Homer’s The Iliad, and Virgil continues the story of their people. The Trojans are not, however, the only similarity between the two books. Virgil employs many of the same image patterns that Homer uses in The Iliad. The symbolism of fire, shields, and gates are used in both epic poems.
I believe that the ending of the Aeneid shows that Aeneas is very heroic. According to Webster’s New Dictionary, “a man of distinguished bravery” and “admired for his exploits.” Aeneas is very brave when he fights Turnus, especially because it is known that the gods are on his side. He successfully killed Turnus, which is an achievement that calls for admiration.
In addition, the overall theme of the poem highlighted morality, which was a definitive tenet of Greco Roman civilization. In many ways, Virgil wrote the poem as a means of lauding the moral virtues of Roman society and as a personal challenge to outdo Homer’s epic compositions, The Illiad and The Odyssey. Virgil was successful because he had incorporated many of the same tales shared in the works of Homer into one epic poem which presented a linear storyline in the books that detailed the life and times of Aeneas and the Trojans. That being said, Virgil did not stray far from the approach that many writers had used before him; his primary focus throughout the Aeneid was placed squarely upon the back of idealized Greek and Roman moral principles, which were the dedication to ones’ honor, family, and country. By no means is there anything wrong with this approach, but in many ways, the entire poem could be viewed as a “propaganda” piece; while it might have served to enlighten, educate, and create a cohesive and uplifting story for the Roman populace, the poem lacked depth and a more profound exploration of human intricacies. While Virgil’s epic poem has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest pieces
Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.
Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.
One owner was forever remembered as a Roman hero, while the other died brutally in war. Even though Achilles was killed by Paris, Homer perfectly described the shield of Achilles. It showed life and death, happiness and war, and finally peace versus brutality. The prophetic shield should have been a warning to the great Achilles. However, he did not see the warning hidden in the beautiful shield’s images. This made the shield the more effective symbol. Finally, Homer’s Iliad came first and therefore, Virgil’s Aeneid was simply modeling its shield description off of the shield of Achilles. In the end, the first story, the Iliad, had to be more effective because its ideology was original and it foreshadowed the impending fate of a great war hero. It was not a replica, like The Aeneid. In the end, being original is the more effective
Homer’s The Iliad: Book XX features a battle between the Trojans and Achaians, shortly after Patroklus’ death (Lattimore Book XVI), where the gods must intervene in order to restrain Achilleus’ destructive nature that becomes amplified due to the grief and wrath as a result of the loss of his cousin/lover. The divine foresaw an early fall of Troy caused by the intensified destructive nature of Achilleus, therefore they interfered in the battle to protect a bigger ideal of fate, a fate of a nation, by manipulating smaller ideals of fate, the fates of people’s lives(Lattimore 405). At the beginning of the battle, after the gods descended from Olympus, they decide to sit and just watch how their mortal teams will fend for themselves until Apollo takes form as Lykoan and coerce Aeneias to challenge Achilleus, thus establishing the first act of divine intervention (Lattimore 406-407). When Achilleus is inches away from killing Aeneias, Poseidon takes sympathy upon him and whisks him off to safety (Lattimore 407-411). The last interference occurs during the confrontation between Hektor and Achilleus, where Achilleus is about to murder him and Apollo saves Hektor (Lattimore 416). Hektor’s rescue in this battle is an important event in the Iliad because Achilleus’ and Hektor’s fates are interrelated, further meaning that if Hektor die...
Homer's Iliad is commonly understood as an epic about the Trojan War, but its meaning goes deeper than that. The Iliad is not only a story of the evolution of Achilleus' persona, but at times it is an anti-war epic as well. The final book proposes many questions to the reader. Why not end with the killing of Hektor? Most stories of war conclude with the triumphant victory of good over evil, but in the Iliad, the final thoughts are inclined to the mourning of the defeated Hektor, which accentuates the fact that good has not triumphed over evil, but simply Achilleus triumphed over Hektor. Ending with the mourning of Hektor also brings to center stage for the first time the human side of war and the harsh aftermath of it. We see that war not only brings great glory, but also much suffering and anguish. Homer puts his anti-war views on display.