The features of the Homeric epic are many and varied, but the key elements of the Odyssey and the Iliad can be reduced to two things main ones: a focus on one hero (Achilles and Odysseus, respectively) and the need for that hero to achieve kleos, and in the case of Odysseus, nostos. Virgil's epic draws inspiration from the epics of Homer, but because Virgil's motivations and goals are very different, the characteristics of his epic are naturally different as well. The hero of Virgil's epic, Aeneas, shares certain characteristics with the Homeric heroes but is distinguished in particular by the fact that he does not want to achieve kleos. Many of the qualities that characterize Homeric heroes are presented as evil in the Aeneid. These differences can almost all be attributed to the fact that empire plays a large role in Virgil's epic. He does this because Virgil is writing a “history” of the Roman people from the time of Troy to the Pax Augustus in order to flatter the Emperor Augustus. Additionally, because Aeneas' destiny is to found the city of Rome and establish the Roman line, this directs everything he does in a way not found in Homer's epics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay There is an element of fate in the epics of Homer and Virgil, but it does not become authoritarian in either the Iliad or in the Odyssey because the heroes of these two epics also concern other things. The gods tell Aeneas to leave the ashes of Troy to found a new city. Juno said: “Should the Trojans reign in Italy? So fate wills it” (I.57), showing the inevitability of Aeneas’ success. It's his destiny, and he couldn't escape it even if he wanted to. This is a heavy burden to bear, but Virgil makes it clear from the start that he will succeed by linking Augustus' Rome to Troy and the disciples of Aeneas. The whole poem is therefore extremely teleological. Virgil is writing from a point in Roman “history” that the reader knows will eventually culminate in Virgil’s Rome. Jupiter's speech in Book I also gives another reason why Troy's fall was regrettable but necessary: ​​"Troy will overthrow the Greek state and her conquering sons will exact sweet vengeance" (I.386-7), but this can only happen once the Roman Empire is founded and established. Aeneas' progress is therefore also incredibly goal-driven - so much so that he sacrifices his personal happiness with Dido to obey the gods and continue his journey to find a site for Rome. This is very different from the idea of ​​destiny expressed by Homer; Achilles knows that he is destined to die young and so he seeks to win Kleos in battle so that he will be remembered after his death. Odysseus's goal is to return home to Penelope in order to restore social order to Ithaca, but he is easily distracted; for example, he spends years on Calypso's island before the gods intervene to send him home. The demands of empire are clearly seen both in the fact that Aeneas must found Rome in order to begin the Roman Empire and in the fact that Virgil himself writes his epic as a way of glorifying the emperor Augustus and the peace he created from potential civil war. The optimistic school of criticism views the entire poem as a celebration and glorification of Rome and its empire, showing the need for Aeneas to put aside his personal wishes and found Rome. This is very convincing because Virgil glorifies the Rome he knew by explicitly linking it to the great epic heroes. O'Connell comments thatthe Aeneid can be read as “a simple apology for Augustus and the Empire” (p. 298). In Book V of the Aeneid, players in the funeral games are given the names of great Roman families from Virgil's time in order to flatter them into believing that their lineage went back to the Trojan heroes. Some readers see Aeneas as a personification of Augustus; they are both great leaders who successfully face the challenge of bringing peace and restoring social order after many years of unrest. Virgil's glorification of the Roman Empire by linking it to Troy poses an immediate problem: according to Homer, the Trojans lost the war. This means that the Greeks, presented as heroes in Homer's epics, must be transformed into enemies of Rome. The fact that they unquestionably won the war and razed Troy might be glossed over by Virgil, but this would not be convincing because Homer's epics were well known. Virgil attempts to show that the fall of Troy was a necessary evil so that Rome could be founded: a second Troy on the ashes of the first. Aeneas could not fulfill his destiny if the Trojans had won the war. This is where Virgil must deviate from the Homeric epic: the qualities that characterized the Homeric hero are shown by Virgil as bad character traits. Achilles' thirst for blood and the degradation of Hector's body, which he dragged "three times around the walls of Troy" (I.677), have no place in the character of Aeneas because he must personify the Roman virtues of moderation, self-sacrifice and composure. Likewise, Odysseus is scorned for his deception; the cunning and intelligence heroized in the Odyssey also have no place in the romanized epic of Virgil, because the Roman hero must be honest and win battles by being reasonable and reasoned, and not by trickery or the unleashing. “A more just lord, nor a nobler warrior, never drew the sword: observing the right, religious in his word” (I.768-9): this shows at the same time the moderation which lacked in the “impious Achilles” (II.118) and the truthfulness that Odysseus lacked when he practiced the “fallacious arts” (II.118). All the things the reader has come to associate with the heroism of the Homeric epic (bloodlust, combat power, strength, intelligence, etc.) are attributed to fury. by Virgil, which is detrimental to the achievement of goals and something only Aeneas' enemies possess. Aeneas briefly succumbs to "inhuman rage" (II.810) when he sees Helen in the ruins of Troy, but is quickly restored by his mother. The Aeneid can be read as a "correction of decadent Greek models in favor of Roman pietas and imperium." (O'Connell, p.298) Turnus is a very Homeric character, and is therefore an enemy of Aeneas and Rome. He has an aristeia (rampage) and is full of bloodlust. He ignores the combat contract and "discards the wretched corpse then tears off the shining belt" (X.690) from the dead Pallas, which later leads to Aeneas' righteous anger and refusal to show mercy. Virgil makes it clear that Aeneas' murder of Turnus was only provoked by Turnus' fury. If he had shown pietas and allowed Pallas' body to be returned without being plundered, Aeneas would not have seen the golden belt and would not have felt the need to kill him. Aeneas is the epitome of Romanness; he behaves moderately and with pietas at all times, except when temporarily seduced by Dido. The need for Aeneas to leave Dido and continue his quest to restart the Roman dynasty illustrates the demands of empire; Aeneas puts the good of his disciples and descendants before his personal desires by leaving Dido. It is very easy for us readerspost-romantics, to criticize Aeneas for his treatment of Dido, but this cannot be Virgil's intention: he never explicitly criticizes Aeneas' decision because what he did was good for Rome. Dido would have been considered a barbarian queen and an enemy of Rome, and her attempts to prevent Aeneas from fulfilling his fatum can only be considered false; she is too passionate and possessed by fury. This is demonstrated by the fact that she is an excellent queen who "dispenses laws...she divides tasks equally" (I.713) until a "secret fire" (IV.4) burns inside her and she falls in love. with Aeneas, causing the construction of Carthage to stop: “the neglected walls are short of the promised height” (IV.127). This can be seen as Virgil's direct criticism of the leader who allows passion to overcome reason and do good to the people. Dido is also criticized for her other non-Roman qualities: the Roman people would have expected her to remain single after the death of her husband and not to act on her feelings for another man. Love is the antithesis of history, because it is timeless; it is the supreme anti-historical force, seeking to halt the progression of events or initiate a completely different sequence of events, dictated not by divine providence but by the individual. desire." (Gransden, p. 45) Love clearly shows the demands of empire on Aeneas and, to some extent, on Dido. The idea that Dido is controlled "not by divine providence but by the individual desire” is what separates her from Aeneas does not allow himself to be governed by his desires. Odysseus is lucky that his wishes coincide with his destiny; him so that he can restore order But Aeneas' wish to stay with Dido cannot be realized because he stops the construction of Carthage and delays his mission to found Rome "City" (from the Latin "civitas"). symbolizes an entire civilization, belonging to a nation and a sense of Roman identity; therefore it is imperative that Aeneas puts aside his own desires and lets Dido found Rome. All the characteristics of the Homeric epic are unchanged. by the demands of the empire Virgil wanted to surpass Homer but owed him too much to completely distance himself from Homeric qualities. The first six books of the Aeneid can be read much like the Odyssey: a similar journey, similar adventures and temptations along the way, and a final sort of nostos when Aeneas arrives in Italy. Books seven through twelve are very iliadic in that the Trojans as an invading force parallel the Greeks of the Iliad, and the final duel between Aeneas and Turnus resembles that fought between Hector and Achilles. The Aeneid follows a hero in much the same way as the Odyssey and the Iliad: other characters are mentioned and sometimes praised, but the narrator and the gods focus primarily on the eponymous hero. As a character, however, the demands of empire make Virgil's hero very different from Homer's heroes, as explained above. In terms of literary characteristics, the very nature of the epic requires Virgil to follow Homer's example to some extent because the epic poems did not change much. between the times of Homer and that of Virgil. The use of epithets ("pious prince" 1.146), cataloging and comparisons (1.65) are common to all three epics, as is the use of classical language. It is difficult to comment in detail on the language of each of these epics because translations vary greatly. The main linguistic difference is that Virgil refers to all the gods by their Roman names rather, 1997.