Aeneas and His Ghosts

1615 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of aeneas not a hero

Aeneas and His Ghosts

The Aeneid Written by Virgil Translation by Fitzgerald

I.Pious Aeneas (his background and key characteristics)

•Mother is Venus (the Greek Aphrodite) Page 54, Book II, Lines 775-777

“Stepping before me, radiant through the night,My loving mother came: immortal, tall,

And lovely as the lords of heaven know her.”

•“Favored by Jupiter” Page 164, Book VI, Lines 190-193“… A few

Whom a benign Jupiter has loved or whom Fiery heroism has borne to heaven,

Sons of gods, could do it…”

•Fated

oThe gods respect his fate. Page 11, Book I, Lines 319-322

“Surely from these the Romans are to come In the course of the years, renewing Teucer’s line, To rule the sea and all the lands about it,According to your promise…”

He will found the land where Rome will later stand.

Page 12-14, Book I, Lines 352-354, 373-375

“No, he, your son – now let me speak of him,

In view of your consuming care, at length,

Unfolding secret fated things to come-”

“And call by his own name his people Romans.

For these I set no limits, world or time,

But make the gift of empire without end.”

He is fated to go to the Underworld.

Page 164, Book VI, Lines 214-217

“Pull away the bough. It will come willingly,

Easily, if you are called by fate.

If not, with all your strength you cannot conquer it,

Cannot lop it off with a sword’s edge.”

•Receptive and Open.

oAeneas constantly looks for signs from the gods as to what his actions should be and listens/ follows through when he is nudged in the right direction.

Page 110, Book IV, Lines 545-551 “Duty-bound,

Aeneas, though he struggled with desire

To calm and comfort her in all her pain,

To speak to her and turn her mind from grief,

And though he sighed his heart out, shaken still

With love of her, yet took the course heaven gave him

And went back to the fleet…”

oIn all his interactions with his crew, wife, father, Dido, other leaders, the gods, etc., Aeneas listens instead of tooting his own horn (Odysseus), knowing there is a lot to be gained from others.

•Aeneas is dutiful.

oBrings the household gods.

Page 65, Book III, Lines 16-18

“…I took to the open sea,

Borne outward into exile with my people,

My son, my hearth gods, and the greater gods”

oCarries Anchises from Troy on his back and holds his opinion in high regard.

Page 55, Book II, Lines 829-830

“…I looked for him at once,

My first wish being to help him to the mountains;”

Page 58, Book II, Lines 921-924

Show More
Related

  • The Heroic Qualities of Odysseus (The Odyssey) and Everett (O Brother, Where Art Thou)

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Odyssey, Odysseus portrays an important trait to the story, perseverance. His perseverance really stands out as something that he has and always will have. On his long journey home, he never gives up and just stays where he is, no matter how tempting. He always manages to push through and keep getting closer to his goal of returning home. An example of when he does this is when he is faced with the challenge of getting past Skylla and Kharybdis. He knows that either path will kill at least some of his men and possibly him, but he knows he has to keep going. "And all this time,/ in travail, sobbing, gaining on the current,/ we rowed into the strait---Skylla to port/ and on our starboard beam Kharybdis, dire/ gorge of the salt sea tide." (Homer, 12. 301-305). In O Brother, Where Art Thou, Everett also showed his perseverance. While trying to get back to his wife, he also faces many obstacles that he must get through. There were many people and things keeping him from where he was going, but he pushed through and got there anyway. His greatest obstacle to get through was when he came upon the sirens. He went down to the river and the sirens got the men drunk enough to fall asleep. While asleep, Pete was turned in by the sirens, but the other men hadn't been turned in yet. They woke up and were forced to get out of there as fast as they could with a frog they thought was Pete. Delmar wanted to stay and try to change Pete back but Everett told him they needed to persevere and keep going, and they did. Another trait that both of these men show in their stories is their cleverness. Odysseus show...

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Homer's Odyssey: Gaining Power from Others in The Odyssey

    1880 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus’ power was gained through the power of others resulting in three phases of understanding: self-determination, courage, and having a greater vision in life. In order to understand these three phases, one must be able to conquer predominance from those less useful than others. Although Odysseus was physically strong, he was not who he was mentally, without the help and guidance through the gods. Odysseus was like one who has no friends, but when he meets up with more people, he becomes popular. One who was alone and meets new people, has more friends and finds out more interesting subjects about daily life. They are the ones who have more predominance than others because they know more people and have much more interesting subjects. Odysseus was like this because he didn’t know much without the help and guidance from others.

    Read More

  • The Relationship of a Father and Son in Homer's Odyssey

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Early on in both of their stories, Odysseus and Telemachus learn to practice strong will in initiating their own journeys. Even though Telemachus reaches the cusp of his childhood, the individuals around him plague him into believing he remains a boy. In the Odyssey, gods are considered to control vast things such as fate or choose to intrude in the lives of mortals. One of these goddesses, Athena, desires to aid both Odysseus and Telemachus in their journeys. In disguise, she gives Telemachus inspiration to initiate the steps to adulthood by saying, “you’ll never be fainthearted or a fool, /Telemachus, if you have your father’s spirit; /he finished what he cared to say,” (Homer 27). With this he commences the hardship of finding his father by immediately calling an assembly and defying the men around him who thought him incapable. Meanwhile, Odysseus has already faced trials testing his determination. He evades the many temptations of immortals su...

    Read More

  • Analysis of Telemachus in Odyssey

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the analysis above, although he never fully matches Odysseus either in wisdom or courage, we cannot deny their highly resemblance in initiative, sensitivity and socialization. Influenced by his father not only by hearing the great deeds spread by people but also fight with him for vengeance, he follows his father’s step and comes to his manhood.

    Read More

  • Aeneas, the Anti-hero of Aeneid

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people seem to be under the impression that the Aeneid is a celebration of Roman glory, led by the hero of fate Aeneas. I find these preconceived ideas hard to reconcile with my actual reading of the text. For starters, I have a hard time viewing Aeneas as a hero at all. Almost any other main characters in the epic, from Dido to Camilla to Turnus, have more heroic qualities than Aeneas. This is especially noteworthy because many of these characters are his enemies. In addition, Aeneas is presented as a man with no free will. He is not so much bound to duty as he is shielded by it. It offers a convenient way for hum to dodge crucial moral questions. Although this doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person, it certainly makes him a weak one. Of course some will argue that it takes greater moral conviction to ignore personal temptation and act for the good of the people. These analysts are dodging the issue just like Aeneas does. The fact is that Aeneas doesn’t just sacrifice his own personal happiness for the common good; he also sacrifices the past of the Trojan people, most notably when he dishonors the memory of his fallen city by becoming the men he hated most, the Greek invaders. The picture of Aeneas as seen in the end of the Aeneid bears some sticking resemblances to his own depiction of the savage and treacherous Greeks in the early books.

    Read More

  • Compare Aeneas and Odysseus as Heroic Figures

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    Aeneas’s mission is to find a new home for him and his family. Both these characters had many similarities and differences in their ways of fighting. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were helped by different gods. Odysseus was helped by Calypso in a way. She held him captive, but was forced to release him from the father of all Greek gods,Zeus.

    Read More

  • Parallels between Virgil’s The Aenieid and Homer’s The Odyssey

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Book I, we learn that Aeneas will be facing many obstacles on his journey because Juno (Hera) “in her sleepless rage” does not favor him (1.7). An issue Odysseus also had to deal with. The difference here is, unlike Odysseus who has angered Poseidon by blinding his son, Cyclops, Aeneas has not done anything to provoke this rage. Juno holds a grudge against Paris for not choosing her in a beauty competition against Minerva (Athena) and Venus, “that suffering, still rankled: deep within her, / Hidden away, the judgment Paris gave” (1.39-40). She also knows what is to come of Carthage, “That generations born of Trojan blood [Aeneas] / Would one day overthrow her Tyrian walls,” a city “[Juno] cared more for…/ Than any walled city of the earth” (1.31-32, 24-25). We know that Aeneas is set to build Rome so she will try her hardest to make him fail on his journey. In the case of Odysseus, Athena interc...

    Read More

  • Odysseus and Aeneas Similar with Important Differences

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aeneas also went to fight in the Trojan War. He also was a national hero. He was a great warrior. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were trying to head home.

    Read More

  • Aeneas as a Roman Hero in The Aeneid

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, the ideal Roman hero is depicted in the form of Aeneas. Not only does Aeneas represent the Roman hero, but he also represents what every Roman citizen is called to be. Each Roman citizen must posses two major virtues, he must remain pious, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In the poem, Aeneas encompasses both of these virtues, and must deal with both the rewards and costs of them.

    Read More

  • The Odyssey

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    I said that after going through much hardship and losing all his men he should come home again in the twentieth year and that no one would know him; and now all this is coming true” (14). This shows how the gods did interfere and would tell the people on earth with symbols. The gods knew from the beginning the fate of Odysseus because they predestined it. The gods are those who gave Odysseus misfortune, and they are also the ones who fated him the way he did. Through these examples of hospitality, pride and fate, one can learn many important Greek principles.

    Read More

  • Compare Aeneas And The Odyssey

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin, both the leadership qualities and flaws of Aeneas and Odysseus must be examined in order to determine who the better leader is. Virgil presents Aeneas very differently than Homer presents Odysseus. They are both certainly heroes, but Aeneas seems more accessible and a stronger leader, due to the way Virgil presents him. Virgil illustrated Aeneas as a man that had to participate in many tests and tempering’s, and from that, his heroism was seen as flawless. The same goes along with Homers’ Odysseus, yet in a different, more astounding way.

    Read More

  • Free Will vs Fate: Analyzing the Character of Aeneas in 'The Aeneid'

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    When discussing the fate of Aeneas, a thought provoking question is posed that is commonly debated. If Aeneas is commanded by fate, does he have free will? It is important to approach this question with a solid understand of fate. There are two common sides to the debate of whether Aeneas had free will or not. One view believes Aeneas had no choice but to follow his destiny because he was commanded by fate, and prophesied to found the race that will one day build Rome. The other side states Aeneas did indeed have free will, and even though his fate was set, room is available within his fate for events to change. One can argue Aeneas makes some of his own choices, but no particular detail of his life is untouched. Destiny determines that the Trojans will found a city in Italy, but it does not stipulate how that will happen. This is where room is left for free will. After much research and considering the views of many commentators and the proof they showed, the answer can simply be found by going back to the text of The Aeneid.

    Read More

  • What Is Cultural Relativism?

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.

    Read More

  • Role of the Gods in Virgil's The Aeneid

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... attempts they do just the opposite. With Venus’ many interventions, Aeneas is prevented from making mistakes and is guided to his fate, from not killing Helen [book 2] to leaving behind the old and the weak for Italy [book 4] . He is shown enough times to be the puppet of their play: from obeying the will of the gods while enduring the wrath of other gods, all this in order to set the wheels in motion for the far off future Roman race. However, there are also times when he is also shown to be exerting his won free will. For example, in book 12, killing Turnus when he is begging for mercy, something not heroic and which Susanna Braund debates the positive and negative aspect of in her essay on Virgil and the Meaning of the Aeneid [1.17-18]. nonetheless, this act demonstrates that even the gods and the fates require his cooperation to fulfil his destiny.

    Read More

  • The Challenge Of Cultural Relativism

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural relativism is the idea that moral and ethical systems varying from culture to culture, are all equally credible and no one system is morally greater than any other. Cultural relativism is based on the concept that there is no “ultimate” standard of good and evil, so the judgement of what is seen as moral, or immoral, is simply a product of one’s society and/or culture. The general consensus of this view is that there is no ethical position that may be considered “right” or “wrong” in terms of society and culture (Cultural Relativism). In this paper I will argue that cultural relativism is not an adequate view of morality by providing evidence of its most common logical problems and faulty reasoning.

    Read More

More about Aeneas and His Ghosts

Open Document