Comparing Virgil's The Aeneid And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

“Aeneas”

The God’s Obedient Hero What is the definition of a hero? The Webster dictionary describes a hero as a person known for great and brave acts or fine qualities. Heroes as described in the epics of the ancient times by such scholars as Homer of ancient Greece with the The Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh of the Sumerians were always men who were definitely favored by the pagan gods but, were also challenged by these same gods with adversity. The hero, usually after overcoming this adversity was admired by all for his achievements through these writings. The motivation behind these epics was to express the heroic qualities that a great man of that culture was to encompass. At the early stages of the great Roman Empire sometime between

Virgil often interprets Aeneas’ actions throughout the reading of The Aeneid by the term” labor”. In The Aeneid, “labor” is conveyed as the sense of having a natural calling to duty as that of a bee. The symbolic representation of a bee in the ancient times was seen as having an altruistic willpower in ones duties to serve the colony or in the case of man to serve his gods and society. This description explains Virgil’s emphasis on expressing the drive and determination that Aeneas displays toward obeying the gods by establishing his new home and creating the foundation for the new dynasty of Rome. As Turnus, antagonist to Aeneas is described as expressing the quality of “amor”. “Amor” is more liken to being compelled by a passion for narcissistic acquisition and a yearning for pleasure. The different character motivations between these two heroes, Turnus and Aeneas, show the distinction in virtues between that of the Greeks and the Romans. Virgil, who wrote The Aeneid for Caesar Augustus, disliked the Greeks self serving demeanor and created the more ideal selfless Augustan hero Aeneas. He used the character Aeneas to show the superiority of the Roman philosophy of “piety” to that of the self serving and warfare loving Greek heroes. “Labor” in the words of Virgil was also seen as a pillar for the ethics of a strong and stable society. Bees represent “labor” in the The Aeneid

In fact, most of his decisive moves have only been initiated by the consent of the gods. Virgil proves this theory true when the ghost of the hero Hector comes to Aeneas in a dream and advises him to leave Troy as soon as possible. Aeneas does not obey Hector’s command, “Yet his first instinct - as indeed that of a brave warrior would naturally be - is toward defense, not flight” and leaves when he is told to do so by the goddess Venus (Adelaide, 125). Aeneas proves his devotion to the gods once more during his relationship with the queen of Carthage Dido in Book IV. Dido had fallen madly in love with Aeneas and offered him her kingdom along with all the glory and riches received of a king. As Aeneas is just becoming comfortable in this new found relationship and home, the god Mercury comes to him in a vision and in spite criticizes Aeneas “You, so now you lay foundation stones for the soaring walls of Carthage!” (Virgil, 628). This reminder from the gods is all that Aeneas needs to hear for him to remember his true mission of founding Rome. It is from this point on that there is no doubt in him as to whether he will leave Dido and carry on his mission but, how fast he can be on his way. Many readers have detested this act of Aeneas to create this ultimate turmoil for the already traumatized character of Dido. Dido had already been through tremendous struggle in her life with the murder of her husband by her