Compare And Contrast The Aeneid And The Iliad

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People have pondered the idea of predetermined events for many years. Some people believe in the fatalistic point of view, where they think that the future is beyond their control (Taylor, 56), whereas other people believe in free will. The Iliad, written by Homer and translated by Stanley Lombardo, and the Aeneid, written by Vergil and translated by Sarah Ruden, are two epic poems that present the idea of fate. The Holy Bible, King James Version, is a set of ancient texts that also present fate. Although the Iliad, Aeneid, and the Holy Bible all suggest some idea of fate, the Iliad and Aeneid agree more on fatalism whereas the Holy Bible takes on an opposite view and encourages more free will. The Trojans are helpless to stop the fall of …show more content…

The epic centers on Aeneas’ journey to Italy, however, they “tossed on endless seas, went wandering, fate-driven, year on year around the world’s seas” (Ruden, 1. 29-32) due to Juno’s rage with the Trojans. Juno recognizes that they will definitely found Rome, but she decides to “put off these great happenings” (7. 313-315). She knows that she cannot change their fate, but she can however alter how they get to their destined empire. Aeneas similarly tries to delay his fate when he lands in Carthage and becomes Dido’s lover. Mercury goes to him and questions his choice to “[loiter] in Libya” and tells him to think of his son who will inherit the Roman Empire from Aeneas (4. 271-275). Aeneas can try to delay his fate, but after he realizes that his fate is important to his son’s future as well, Aeneas leaves Carthage. He later tells Dido in the Underworld that “it was against [his] will [he] left her country, and by the orders of the gods” (6. 460-461). This shows that he can’t change his fate even if he wanted to stay in Carthage with her. He must go to Italy to carry out his fate. The Aeneid presents a fatalistic point of view, but agrees with the Iliad on the capability to change how a fate is carried …show more content…

When God first creates Adam and Eve, he makes them with the idea that they will live in the Garden of Eden forever to “dress it and to keep it” (King James Version, Genesis 2:15). God forbids them from eating from the tree of knowledge and expects them not to. When Adam and Eve do eat from it though, it was completely their decision to do so. Their predetermined plan to live in the Garden of Eden forever is ruined, showing that their choices changed their fates. This same idea is brought up again later in the epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans. He tells them that “[Jews] are enemies” but “are beloved for the fathers’ sakes”, and that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:28-29). The Jews are thought to be God’s chosen people because they are directly descended from Abraham, who was blessed. However, they are considered enemies and have their blessing taken away due to their choice to reject God. Only by choosing to accept God again will they get those blessings back. This shows that although they were predestined for greatness, their choices instead led them to God’s fury. Their choices changed their fate, showing that the Holy Bible opposes

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  • Comparing the Aeneid and the Odyssey

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  • Role of the Gods in Virgil's The Aeneid

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    ... 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.

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