In a brief essay of 300 words, discuss the following question.
Compare Virgil’s Aeneid to Homer’s Iliad. In what ways are they similar and in what ways are they not? How does Homer’s “agenda” differ from that of Virgil? For comparison, cite examples from the excerpts of the Iliad and the Aeneid in our book.
the book is Janetta Rebold Benton and Robert DiYanni, Arts and Culure: An Introduction to the Humanities, Volume 1 (4th edition).
Answer preview
However, the two poems differ in various ways. To begin with, Aeneid is a patriotic poem, where Virgil describes how the city of Rome was built, by giving focus to its foundation. Another thing is that Aeneid hero, Aeneas, was helped by his gods in his mission. Also, Aeneas is portrayed to use his wisdom and battle skills when fighting his enemies. On the other hand, the Iliad is all about adventures made by individuals, where Homer gives focus to heroes. Unlike Aeneid, the Iliad mission was delayed by the hero’s gods (Benton & DiYanni, 2012). The poem also describes how the hero could use deception to fight his enemies instead of attacking them physically. For example, he pretended to be a beggar when he got to his homeland to monitor the situation.
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