Achilles Vs Aeneid

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If you were to ask someone about classical epic poetry, you would most likely get a combination of three answers. Most individuals, even if they have never opened the pages themselves, have at least heard of the Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, along with the Aeneid by Virgil; and for good reason. These epic poems were read by all cultured Greeks and Romans, deeply internalized in order to grasp some of the deeper meaning that lay behind these ancient author's verses. The Iliad and Aeneid each wholeheartedly embodied the values and beliefs of the Greek and Roman worlds respectively, remaining a fundamental part of secondary education into the early twentieth century. Few literary works have had as profound an impact as these epic poems, evidenced…show more content…
The comparison of Achilles and Aeneas should start at their birth. Both men are similar in that they are no mere mortal men, they are both the offspring of divine powers. Achilles claims his birth by the sea-nymph Thetis and the mortal man Peleus, king of the island of Aegina. Similarly, Aeneas claims his birth by the goddess Venus (Greek: Aphrodite) and the mortal man Anchises, a prince from Dardania. Both men similar in that they were not born from two mortal parents, but different in that Achilles' mother was a sea-nymph rather than a goddess, who mothered Aeneas. Also, Achilles' father Peleus was a king while Aeneas' father Anchises was merely a prince. Perhaps the difference in “rank” between Thetis and Venus is countered by the difference in rank between Peleus and Anchises, however, the difference is trivial, as Achilles and Aeneas both are considered demi-gods by…show more content…
“Mother tells me, the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet, that two fates bear me on to the day of death. If I hold out here and lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, my pride, my glory dies...true, but the life that's left me will be long, the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.” (Illiad 9:497-505) Achilles knows his fate, all of the gods and goddess on Olympus know his fate, and there is nothing that can be done to change it. However, the divine gods, Thetis chief among them, wish to see Achilles give up lust for war, forgo his quest for glory and live out a long, boring life where he will die of old age. Death is imminent for mortals, mortal that Achilles is, but the emotional stress of losing a son is a trait felt even among the immortal

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