Compare And Contrast Elirus And Aeneid

Virgil lived in a time that went through many changes. He was born in 70 BCE to a peasant family in Northern Italy. After the civil war, Augustus became Emperor of the Roman Emperor and wanted to preserve Roman values and tradition. Virgil also wanted to see Rome rebuild after the civil war and to be a thriving city again. Virgil had always wanted to write a great epic like The Odyssey or The Iliad. He wanted to write a national epic similar to what The Odyssey had become for the Greeks. Since Virgil was a client of Caesar Augustus, he had sworn loyalty to him, both in day to day life and in all political aspects. In return,Caesar Augustus would give “kindness” to Virgil, such as enough financial stability for him to continue his poetry and

They both have an epic hero. In The Aeneid, this hero is Aeneas. Aeneas is often compared with Caesar Augustus. He is a strong leader and conquered new lands. “As firm as a sturdy oak grown tough with age when the Northwinds blasting off the Alps compete, fighting eft and right, to wrench it from the earth, and the winds scream, the trunk shudders, its leafy crest showers across the ground but it clings firm to its rock, its roots stretching as deep into the dark world below as its crown goes towering toward the gales of heave - so firm the hero stands: buffeted left and right by storms of appeals, he takes the full force of love and suffering deep in his great heart.” ( Virgil, Book 4, pg. 143, lines 555- 565). This passage using the literary element, simile. In this simile, Virgil is comparing Aeneas to a strong oak tree and able to withstand the elements. The simile also shows that the oak tree, Aeneas, is able to withstand controversy from all around. Since Virgil uses Aeneas as a parallel for Caesar Augustus, he is also saying that Augustus is a firm and strong leader as well. He is also saying that he will be able to handle the controversy in his current time and that he will come out