First off, let me give you a sum of the epics. The
Iliad was about the Trojan battle over Helen. It starts with the meeting of Hektor and Andromache before Hektor went off to battle. They show their love for one another and you get the impression that Hektor is a very good guy. During the battle, Hektor kills Achilleus's nephew, because he thought he was Achilleus. Achilleus confronts Hektor and demands to fight (Achilleus is fuming mad). FYI, Hektor is the great warrior for Troy and Achilleus is the best warrior from Greece. After unsuccessful talking from Hektor, they're about to fight but Hektor starts running away. The gods are watching this and they each cheer for a side. Any-who, Hektor gets trick to fight and so they battle. He loses :(. Andromache is crushed and she sees his corpse being dragged around. (They eventually get his body back, and he's given a proper funeral.)
Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad
The
Aeneid was about a Trojan warrior, Aeneas, who meets the Queen of Carthage, Dido (a widow). She is struck by cupid's arrow and falls deeply in love with him. She is consumed in her love and she's not getting anywhere as queen. So, the god, Juno, marries them and they are happy. Until Aeneas is reminded he needs to go found Rome. (Gods are all involved in these reminders and such.) So he makes a plan to sneak away but she catches him and begs him not to go. He refuses to stay no matter what so Dido is left to her sorrow. She then kills herself. Yeah, I know, tragic stuff. Though, there is other little bits that I'll mention later, but I'm just giving you the sum now.
Image from http://watchingtheworldwakeup.blogspot.com/2009/02/darwin-aeneid-and-days-of-our-lives.html
Those are the two epics, and now it's time to find their traits! Do both of these start in the middle? Yes! The
Iliad starts in the middle of the war over Helen between the meeting of the couple. The
Aeneid starts with the meeting of Dido and Aeneid, who retells how he came to Carthage. Next question, are their settings all over the world? No and Yes! The
Iliad just takes place in Troy, so it's an exception! The
Aeneid is because he has traveled from Troy to Carthage, and later to Rome. That was a lot of traveling back then! Do they have heros who are greater than the average person? Yes! The
Iliad has Hektor and Achilleus who were both great heros, depending on which side you were for, who were seen as god-like. Achilleus was even said to have been dip in god-liquid and that's why he was so great! The
Aeneid had Hektor who once carried is father on his back to safety. Another heroic trait people saw of him was that he went to start Rome instead of accomplishing his own needs with Dido. Do the epics include gods or super natural elements? Oh my goodness, yes!! Gods were interfering so much in the lives of the characters! Athene was the goddess who trick Hektor to stop running and fight Achilleus, I believe she knew he would die. In the
Aeneid, the god, Juno married the two; later another god came to Aeneas and reminded him to found Rome. And are the pieces written in a formal language? Yes! They are both poems that are written lavishly. Here are examples from each:
Iliad- "But what pleasure is this to me, since my dear companion has perished."
Aeneid- "Sorrow too deep to tell, your majesty/ You order me to feel and tell once more."
In conclusion, the
Iliad and the
Aeneid are epics because of the traits listed above. I found these epics to be depressing and everything I didn't want happen, happened. If you would like to know more about the
Aeneid, there is a RWLD on this
website. My reflection on the RWLD will be in the next paragraph.
I felt the Virgil was a very good writer and he influence people a lot. This surprised me a little that it happened in the artwork because I didn't think the two connected at first. I found it interesting that my mom knew him from inspiring works of art. I found the paintings and sculptures to be really pretty and they definitely captured the feeling. Though, the pieces seem to display it in a better/ more beautiful light, and not in the sad and depressing manner. There was only one art piece I can remember seeing that was of Dido crying. Anyway, the RWLD was interesting and I enjoyed the chapter even if I didn't like the pieces.
