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The Aeneid: Virgil's Prevailing Hero

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The Aeneid: Virgil's Prevailing Hero
Virgil’s Prevailing Hero The heroic characteristics introduced in Virgil’s Aeneid are different in comparison to the Homeric epic characteristics. Unlike Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, Virgil depicts Aeneas, the Aeneid epic hero, in a modern way, making Aeneas more relatable and better understood by the audience. The three major differences between Virgil’s epic hero, Aeneas, and Homer’s epic heroes, Achilleus and Odysseus, from the Iliad and the Odyssey are the use of inner struggles within the epic hero, the compassion towards personal relationships, and situational self-awareness with oneself and ones fate with the Gods.
In the introduction of the epic hero, Virgil stage sets Aeneas in the middle of a storm at sea, created by Juno with the intention of killing Aeneas and his Trojan men. With the rage of the …show more content…
Piety, being defined as the obedience to the will of the gods, is a key element into understanding Aeneas’ motives for continuing his journey to discover the land which will become Rome. An example of Aeneas understanding his path in following his fate is through the end of the text when Aeneas is deciding the spare Turnus’ life. However, he notices the belt of Pallas and kills Turnus without hesitation. The killing of Turnus is the result of his fate and proof that his destiny cannot be hindered by his enemy, Turnus, and is convinced that he had fulfilled the destiny that had been prophesized. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilleus ignores the fate of the Gods and does what he feels is more acceptable towards himself and his pride. An example of this, is at the end of the text, Achilleus defies the Gods and murders Hektor with the knowledge that if he should do so he in turn would be slain. Overall, the decisions of the Gods played a large role in the choices Aeneas made throughout his
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