The stories of Sundiata and Aeneas are individual stories, but there are some similar themes in both accounts. Both Sundiata and Aeneas have their homeland taken over, are then exiled, and must go on a quest to achieve their goal to reestablish a land for their people. Along the way, both experience the death of a parent, and must learn to grow as an individual and mature in order to finally complete their tasks.
After the city of Troy is taken over, Venus comes down to tell Aeneas that he must leave the city. Anchises is finally able to convince him, and so Aeneas takes his family and attempts to flee. However, his wife is unable to escape (Aeneid II. 800-840). Apollo tells Aeneas and Anchises to go “to the land of their ancestors.” Anchises takes this to mean that they should go to Crete (Aeneid III.
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125-150). Afterward, the gods come to Aeneas in a dream and tell him that they need to be traveling to Italy instead of Crete (Aeneid III. 465-475). They reroute to Italy, but along the way Anchises dies (Aeneid III. 915-920). After Anchises passes away, more pressure is put on Aeneas to finish the task of getting to Italy to establish his people again so that they can begin to thrive and rebuild their city. Aeneas still faces many challenges along his journey, and has to go through a maturation of living life without the guidance and assistance of his father. Aeneas must decide whether or not it is best to stay in Sicily safely and at peace. Near the end of his journey, Aeneas travels to the Underworld to speak with his father. During their conversation, Anchises explains to Aeneas why it is so important for them to get to Italy, and what will happen in the future once they do settle at Italy (Aeneid VI. 1000-1180). The tale of Sundiata, after his father dies, Soumaoro took over as king.
Shortly after taking over, Sundiata and his mother are exiled from their homeland (Sundiata 27). While they are away, Sundiata’s mother gets sick and eventually passes away (Sundiata 47). After this Sundiata must go through a maturing stage, and with the assistance of Moussa Tounkara learns how to be a king. Moussa teaches him many things, and after a few years makes him his Viceroy (37). After Sundiata had fully grown, his mother said to him “do not deceive yourself. Your destiny lies not here but in Mali” (38). So it was obvious that at some points Sundiata would need to return to his homeland and face Soumaoro. When he returns to face Soumaoro, it says “Djata was strong enough now to face his enemies. At the age of eighteen he had the stateliness of the lion and the strength of the buffalo” (47). The most important aspect of Sundiata’s exile was that he needed time to grow up and prepare himself for his return. Another important aspect of his exile was the relationship he formed with Moussa. This relationship enabled him to return home with half of Moussa’s army to battle
Soumaoro. In both stories, the hero faces exile from their land must travel a great distance. Both heroes experience the death of a parent while out on their journeys. I feel that both heroes become individuals and mature greatly while on their journeys. Both heroes are in charge of reestablishing their people, in either a new land or retaking their homeland. Aeneas is in charge of his troops as they make their way to Italy, and is in charge for a year or so without his dad’s help before he goes to the Underworld to talk to him. After Sundiata’s mother passes away, he continues to grow older and stronger, and when he feels ready, gathers his army and goes to war against Soumaoro and takes back his homeland. It is also important to note that each hero had a strong relationship with their parent. Then as the stories progress and the parents die, the reaction of both men was to keep moving forward when the easy option would have to been to give up. I believe it shows tenacity for both of the heroes to overcome the adversity, and continue working towards their goals even without their parents. Both heroes have to overcome much adversity in their journeys after being exiled. The two heroes are greatly assisted in their journeys by their parents, but must also accomplish a lot on their own as well. Both heroes must overcome the death of a parent, and go reestablish themselves for the sake of their people. Throughout the journey, I feel as if both go through a maturation process that ultimately leads to their success in their individual goals.
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
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The trials of Aeneas and Gilgamesh were very similar. Both led tragic lives and suffered from the wrath of the gods. Aeneas witnessed his family die, his home city burned to the ground, and was victim to the goddess Juno’s plots throughout his fated journey to Italy. Gilgamesh had seen his best friend die from the gods’ vengeance and was emotionally crushed by it.
Odysseus and Aeneas are very alike in some ways and very different. They are both epic heroes except that one is Greek and the other is a Trojan. Odysseus is from the Greek tale The Oddessy, which was written by the famous Greek poet Homer. His quest is to find his way back home after a long journey. Aeneas is from the roman tale The Aenied, written by Virgil a famous Roman poet. 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.
In Virgil’s The Aeneid, there are many parallels found in Homer’s The Odyssey. In each epic, the heroes, Aeneas and Odysseus, are on a journey “home.” Aeneas is on the search of a new home for he and his companions to settle since Troy has been destroyed, Odysseus on the other hand is attempting to return to his home he left years earlier to fight the Trojan War. They both have Gods against them and helping them, both Aeneas and Odysseus are both held back by women, both voluntary and involuntarily, and they both have experiences visiting the Underworld. Despite these similarities, there are differences between the two characters and it reflects their values and the society they live in. Aeneas relies on his strength as a warrior, where as Odysseus uses his deception to survive which reflects how Aeneas is truly Roman is versus Greek.
are followed and proper respect given the gods, it is possible for man to live
The roles of Aneas and Turnus are reversed as the Aeneid progresses. The erasure of Aneas' free will accounts for his triumph and success. Time and time again, Aneas' courage, loyalty, and will are tested in the Aeneid. Through seemingly endless journeys by sea, through love left to wither, and through war and death, Aneas exhibits his anchored principals and his unwavering character. "Of arms I sing and the hero, destiny's exile... Who in the grip of immortal powers was pounded By land and sea to sate the implacable hatred of Juno; who suffered bitterly in his battles As he strove for the site of his city, and safe harboring For his Gods in Latium" (Virgil 7).
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.
In many ways, judging and comparing Vigil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses is inevitable because each of the writers lived at roughly the same time in history, both sought to create a historical work that would endure long past their mortal existences, and while each man was ultimately successful in their endeavors, they achieved their desired goals in vastly different ways. That being said, the epic poem by Ovid is superior because unlike Virgil, whose epic poem utilized a character centered narrative steeped in historical inferences and a theme that celebrated the moral virtues of Greek and Roman society, Ovid defied tradition by creating an intricate narrative that looked
Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid represent their cultures very well, but they express different ideas on what one should strive for in life. There are also different forces that pushed both epics to be written. The Aeneid expresses the Roman idea of pietas which means to show extreme respect for one’s ancestors. We see this in Aeneas when he is pictured caring his father away from burning Troy. He has pietas because he cared so much for his father that in fleeing from Troy he took up his father over his shoulder to save his from certain death. This is not the only major idea in the Aeneid. There is also a very political focus. The Roman were very interested in politics which comes through in the Aeneid. The Odyssey has the Greek idea of arete trapped somewhere among the many themes. Arete is a strive for perfection in both mind and body. It is a much more personal and individual idea than the Roman pietas. In the most basic seance the Aeneid and the Romans have a much more political focus and duty to the state ( republic ) than the Greeks who honor tradition , family , and arete.
For hundreds, even thousands of years, society has taught us at an early age to do what is “right”. If we didn’t do the right thing, we are faced with consequences such as imprisonment or even death. Three pieces of literary art, written in different eras couldn’t tell us better of Society’s teachings.The Odyssey by Homer tells Odysseus’s long, perilous journey home after the trojan war. Chapter two of The Aeneid by Virgil tells the story of the Trojan Horse from the perspective of Aeneas, a trojan who goes on to found Rome. William Golding’s Lord of the flies is about the clash between two “tribes” of british boys stranded on a deserted island, left to govern themselves. These works of literature reinforce that all actions lead to certain
...er allowing his life to interfere with his destiny, if indeed he truly believed in it, for judging by his master piece, I must simply believe that he, in all of his expert wisdom on battle and virtue, failed to understand the complications of love and passion. As a man who has lost much, constantly pondering the ambiguity of love, I cannot deny that the road to happiness is a long, uncertain path, but, just like my loss of companionship, I can’t help but to think what would have happened if Aeneas would have just forsaken his path and cradled Dido until the grave, yet one cannot deny the fate of passion, in all of its uncertainties and unseen truths.
Although both epics justify a status quo, codify a national mythology, preserve cultural memories, and establish literary tropes, they are united by sensibility and are traditionally poetic. They both almost have the same exact core values such as in the end, but project influence into a number to areas of cultural identity. Once more, after analyzing both texts, it is possible to conclude that Aeneas is the better leader, and The Odyssey is the greater epic. Knowing that this is the proper proposition made, this affects the readers of both well-known stories.
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.
When he fled he took his father, and his son Ascanius with him (Ott 102). Aeneas’s wife became lost during the evacuation. When he fled he also took “penati, the family gods, the most important and only specifically Roman divinity” (Ott 102). To Aeneas, it was an important part of his “identity, origin, and past” (Ott 102) that he needed in order to make sure that his fate was fulfilled when he set out to find new people. Like Romulus and Remus, Aeneas traveled the lands looking to fulfill his fate. It is said the ghost of his wife, who became lost at the battle of Troy, told him to go West to where the Tiber River flowed (Anderson 1). Aeneas traveled to Thrace, Sicily, and Crete before a storm pushes him ashore in Northern Africa (Anderson 1). Once there he fell in love with and married Dido, the Queen of Carthage (Ott 102). Soon Aeneas is reminded by Mercury that his destiny was to reach Rome, causing him to leave Dido who killed herself out of longing (Anderson 1). “Aeneas’s character as portrayed by Virgil is not only that of a heroic warrior. In addition, he guides his life by obedience to divine command, to which he sacrifices his own natural inclination” (Anderson 1). Although Aeneas is not Greek, his is “immortalized as a valorous citizen, brave soldier, respectful son, loving father, and caring husband…” (Ott 103). The Greek God Poseidon