Aeneas is the king of the Trojans, who is also the son of Anchises and Venus. His fate is that he would build the land of Rome. This fate is tested by the interference of the gods, Juno in particular. Juno is the queen of the gods and held in high respects in the city of Carthage. As Juno holds a desire to “establish Carthage as the reigning city, [she] pits herself against fate itself, which ordained that the descendants of the Trojans will conquer Carthage and rule the world” (Syed, 108). The one to lead the descendants from Troy that would build Rome was Aeneas. This created Juno’s distaste in him and does anything in her power to prevent Aeneas from fulfilling his fate of building Rome. However, this is only one of the several reasons why Juno strives to stop Aeneas’ fate. Originally from Phoenicia, Dido was exiled from this city after her husband was killed by her brother. Even though Dido became exiled from her homeland, she excelled and built Carthage, where she reigns as queen. There are many more characters mentioned and discussed in “The Aeneid” that affect the direction that love should be geared towards, but these are who are affected the most by any sway of that direction of love.
From the beginning of “The Aeneid” by Virgil, it is noticeable that love becomes a large theme throughout this epic poem. It is also noticeable that love should not be directed towards a certain individual but something that should be directed towards the prosperity of one’s country. Within “The Art of Love” written by Ovid, love is portrayed to be great and wonderful and something that should be experienced by every man. In contrast, “The Aeneid” describes love that is guided to an individual to be tragic and painful but if focused on one’...
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...e is chosen. If Aeneas had chosen to stay with Dido, then his future would have looked similar to Mark Antony and Cleopatra. If Dido had chosen her vow to Sychaeus, then her future would not have held an unhappy, painful, tragic love story. It may not have also involved her suicidal death.
Works Cited
Gransden, K W, and S J. Harrison. Virgil: The Aeneid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.
Ovid, and Rolfe Humphries. The Loves, The Art of Beauty, The Remedies of Love, and The Art of Love. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1957. Print.
Smith, Alden. The Primacy of Vision in Virgil's Aeneid. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. Print.
Syed, Yasmin. Vergil's Aeneid and the Roman Self: Subject and Nation in Literary Discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. Print.
Virgil, and Robert Fagles. The Aeneid. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.
During their travels the Trojans often played games and had competition, this principle of honor and competition would develop a type of mastery within the nation. But even so competition is a catalyst for anger and hatred that can boil men’s blood, so did it build or break the Roman empire? In either case it happened, which did improve the men’s strength from athletic competitions and grew the culture immensely, but also inspired a competition that had the ability to ruin the people’s love for each-other. In addition this competition has inspired western culture even today with the Olympics and sports. Aeneas’ men were inspired and motivated in their competition which led them to pushing and working harder than their normal capacity would allow, so this competition helped the people work harder than thought possible. Although the side-effects of things like this could be problematic the good that comes from it outweighs the problems, and it is a principle for nations to seek out correctly. In conclusion the competition of the Romans inspired men and women to go beyond their natural capacities and do great things for their nation, proving that it acted as a type of masterful competition against one’s
P. Vergilii Maronis. Aenidos. N.d. The original, Latin version of the Aeneid of unknown publication, cited by Steven Farron. Liber Quartus.
Braund, Susanna Morton. “Virgil and the Cosmos: Religious and Philosophical Ideas.” The Cambridge Companion to Virgil. Charles Martindale, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. 204-221.
11: Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. and ed. David West, Revised Edition; Penguin Books, published by the
* Scully, J & Herington, C.J., Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound (Oxford University Press, New York 1975)
Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.
The "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed.
Silvestris, Bernardus. Commentary on the First Six Books of Virgil's Aeneid. Translated by Schreiber and Maresca. University of Nebraska Press. London, 1979.
Lawall, Sarah N. “The Aeneid.” The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 612-652. Print.
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
Can a simple emotion such as love be regarded as one of the greatest weapons to create or attain power? It’s a renowned fact that human beings are by nature designed to need, crave, and even require love as part of their survival mechanisms. It comes to no surprise that one of the first accounts of antique poetry maintains love and the craving for it as its main theme; thereby, reinforcing the deep importance that it upholds in the lives of many individuals. Sappho’s “Deathless Aphrodite” clearly epitomizes the suffering and bitterness that arises from an unrequited love. In Sappho’s case, which portrays the case of many, she constantly finds herself in loneliness and despair for though she tries repeatedly, she is only let down recurrently as no one reciprocates the love she gives. It is only the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who holds
Gill, N. S. "The Underworld Adventure of Aeneas - Vergil (or Virgil) and the q
Tracy, H. L. "'Fata Deum' and the Action of the 'Aeneid'" Greece & Rome 11.2 (1964): 188-95.
Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies, music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being. In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts.
We have read two myths of great heroes this semester, Virgil’s The Aeneid and Homer’s The Odyssey. In both of these tales we get to go along with two great heroes on their journey home and all of the troubles that they face. Although these stories tell us about two great heroes and their journey there are a lot of differences. In this paper I will compare and contrast scenes from both myths and suggest a reason that this borrowing was appropriate for what Vergil was trying to do with his version of the myth.