The Aeneid By Publius Virgilius Maro - 1712 Words

The Aeneid was written by Publius Virgilius Maro, also referred to as Virgil. He was a Roman man born in northern Italy, in around 70 B.C.E. Virgil, who known for his poetry, especially his earliest work, wrote The Aeneid which was known as his greatest work. His gained his knowledge from studying Greek and Roman authors. Although Virgil studied both cultures his work was more so influenced by the Greek culture, his work was written with the use of common themes that Greek writers used for so many years. He was especially known for writing method in which he borrowed from Homer. The Aeneid, which was unfinished at the time of Virgil’s death, was crafted from an existing tradition surrounding Aeneas that extended from an ancient Greek poet.†¦show more content†¦For the purpose of this paper, the heroes that will be discussed are Achilles and Aeneas. Although they have similar backstories they have different personalities in many ways. Through the readings, one would kn ow that both Achilles and Aeneas are the sons of a Goddess. Achilles was the son of Thetis who is the Goddess of the sea, while Aeneas is the son of Venus, also known as Aphrodite, who is the Goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility (Sayce 35). Making both of them sons of goddesses makes them perceived at a higher standard than others would be. It also makes one feel that they should act a certain way because of the fact that they are slightly superior to other characters within the stories. Aeneas understands this more than Achilles does and carries himself different. Aeneas is illustrated more so as people person while Achilles is more so the individual. Aeneas has more ties to others besides himself, especially when he lands in Carthage. Aeneas meets Dido, Queen of Carthage, and they both fall in love with one another. Even with the hesitation with their relationship, it was destined that they would get together, especially considering â€Å"Dido resembles Diana, [and] Aenea s resembles Apollo: thus Dido and Aeneas are thereby shown to be both of equal status and equally matched to each other† (Sayce 31). Even before met he, during the Trojan war, Aeneas had his father and his son to motivate him in everything that he didShow MoreRelatedEdmund Spenser vs. Virgil and Ariosto Essay1986 Words   |  8 Pagesto read and understand poets such as Ariosto and Virgil, both of whom his works are frequently compared to. Born in 70 BC, Publius Virgilius Maro ranks among the greatest Roman poets who ever lived. With only a few Latin poets attempting to write an epic before him (Naevius and Ennius), Latin literature reached its peak wit the publication of the Aeneid shortly after Virgil’s death. His epic heavily influenced succeeding poets throughout Western literature. Ever since people have compared