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Characteristics Of Virgil's Aeneid And Ovid's Metamorphoses

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In much of ancient Greek and Roman literature, the gods are important characters. They help to drive the plot along, either by being benevolent figures, helping the human main characters, or as vengeful monsters bent on obstructing the journey of the protagonist. The gods can have both human and divine qualities. Quite the same, the humans in these ancient texts can be portrayed as having divine qualities, especially protagonists. Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, while different in styles of storytelling, are very similar in their portrayal of gods as having human qualities, though Virgil’s earlier text seems to have more human characters with divine qualities. In Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the line between gods and humans is blurred, with gods acting like humans and humans having divine qualities. Juno, the goddess of marriage, is one of the most striking examples of a god who possesses human qualities. In Aeneid, Juno is a meddling antagonist. She is the patron goddess of Carthage and, having been warned that the descendent of a …show more content…

In his essay entitled “Juno in the Aeneid,” Banks Wildman wrote, “It [Juno’s speech] begins and ends with thoughts of self. The proud Queen of Heaven is strongly indignant at the thought of defeat and expresses her haughty pride in a monologue great in vehemence and force” (Wildman, Juno in the Aeneid, page 26). He also wrote, “Note, too, her feminine hatred of rivals; how the achievements of Pallas rankle in her heart, against which she pictures the humiliating position which she herself, wife and sister of Jove though she be, must hold, if she is unable to keep the Trojans away from Italy.” The author emphasizes Juno as a vengeful, humanlike character, filled with jealousy, hatred, and selfishness, all very human emotions. This further supports the idea that Juno was portrayed as

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Characterized as capricious, selfish, and often comical, the Greek gods and goddesses hardly served as moral precedents, as can be seen through Zeus’ various exploits and Ares’ violent and cruel tendencies (Whitmarsh 31-32). To this end, the Greek gods and goddesses served as symbolic manifestations of all aspects of humanity, embodying the urges, ingenuity, hardships, and faults of all people (31). Consequently, the Greek people tended to criticize divine elements in Homer’s and Hesiod’s works, undermining, questioning, and even parodying the adventures of the heroes (36). A significant instance of this can be found within the writings of Palaephatus, a skeptical Athenian. Regarding the mythological creatures known as centaurs, Palaephatus writes, “... it is impossible.

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When the poet Virgil wrote the national epic The Aeneid between 29 and 19 BC, all written works and conduits for creative expression were monitored by Roman ruler Augustus Caesar – a real-life contention between passion and control. Throughout the excerpt on pages 139 and 140 of Fagle’s translation (which covers themes such as fate, the gods, and divine intervention, and piety), Virgil explores the underlying theme of conflict between desire and duty, emotion, and reason. Exploring irony, the comparison of Dido and Aeneas’ traits, and pietas being a decision, Virgil shows Aeneas to be a flawed, enigmatic epic Roman hero who personifies the human conflict – passion versus control – of the Aeneid and the Roman empire itself. To begin with, it’s

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the goddess reaches / Aeolia…’Hammer your friends to fury / and ruin their swamped ships…” (Book I, 75-101). The imagery of Juno “burning, pondering” brings about a symbolism of her emotions as an uncontrolled fire that pushes her to hinder Rome’s imperial future. Virgil then presents a male force that is able to put out the fire he draws up for Juno as Neptune answers Aeneas’ prayers and calms the storm. This is followed by the

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For centuries, mortals have scoffed at the actions of the gods, often comparing them to little children arguing over toys. As Honer states, “We men are wretched things.” (Homer) However, what humans fail to realize, is exactly how similar the actions of the immortals are to that of man. The concept that allows readers and audiences to relate to the gods so fully is the fact that they are so similar to humans.

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Metamorphoses begins with Ovid’s prayer to the gods, asking for inspiration and guidance as he starts to write his poem. He begins the poem with four words: in nova fert animus. The “novelty [of the poem] is implied in these four words,” demonstrating Ovid’s approach to a brand new type of epic poem (Griffin 61). These words mean that his inspiration is taking him in a whole new direction, emphasizing his goal to write something unique and unlike anything else. Ovid ends the introduction with the phrase, “from the world’s beginning to the present day” (Ovid 652).

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The Resemblance of Gods and Humans Throughout all religions, gods have always been seen as superior in every way possible. The division between humans and gods has always been prevalent and prominent. However, when the actions and motives of these gods are truly analyzed, it will become evident that the gods of Greek Mythology merely behave as humans with supernatural powers.

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In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.

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On the recommendation of Aeneas’s mother, the goddess Venus, Aeneas travels to Carthage, the city-state preferred by Juno and destined to fall to Rome, the city-state Aeneas’s descendants founded. After falling in love with Dido, Aeneas must continue on his fate-driven journey - though it is shown by Virgil to be the opposite of what Aeneas wants: Duty-Bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire To calm and comfort her in all her pain, To speak to her and turn her mind from

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In many societies, ancient and modern, religion has played an important role in shaping people to pursue their destiny. In books two and four of the Aeneid by Virgil, the Trojans and Aeneas do exactly the same. Through the epic of book II , Aeneas goes on to explaining the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. Book IV focuses on Queen Dido and her deep love for Aeneas and the importance of god 's word to Aeneas, which is problematic for for Dido. Virgil proves how in the Roman culture the Romans put god in front of themselves and what they believe.

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Juno proves love is power, but later love is abused through romance. In the beginning of Book II, Aeneas is very willing to discuss his past with Dido. Dido listens patiently to Aeneas, while he reveals his past. Aeneas even mentions a beautiful vision of his mother, “my gracious mother stood there before me; and across the night she gleamed with pure light, unmistaken goddess, as lovely and as tall as she appeared” (Virgil, Aeneid 2.795-298). Aeneas throughout Book III is still talking about his encounter with the Trojans.

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They are allowed to interfere with humans in certain ways to certain extents, they have rules, and by punishing/rewarding humans, they create an order of morals/hierarchy so they serve a purpose as well. This presentation of the gods reveals that the Greeks see them as powerful, smarter, and "magically" significant beings. I think that the story shows that they see the Gods to be like us, but with power and authority.

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The Odyssey, gods like Athena and Poseidon interfere with humans to satisfy their own desires, showing that they are just as imperfect and flawed as the mortals that they rule over. Athena favors Odysseus since he reminds her of herself. He portrays the same cunning, guile, and intelligence as she does; Athena had confided to him that “two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both,” comparing how similar they are. “Of all men now alive,” she says, “you are the best in plots and story telling.

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The Iliad, written by Homer, is an ancient Greek epic about the Trojan War, which the divine certainly influences. Unlike how most gods might act or behave in books nowadays, the gods in the Iliad share some uncommon traits. For example helping their favorite morals, the idea of justice and harmony is surely excluded in the portrayal of Greek gods. The divine in the Iliad are characterized as very emotional and somewhat manipulative. Regardless of what occurs, it 's all the doing of the gods.

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Gods are represented as superior leaders and humans look up to them. Human were also destruction to earth in the god’s eyes. Gods have also thought humans were very different than them. Unfortunately gods/goddesses had very human flaws. Although human saw gods has perfect people, gods had very human flaws such as fear, jealousy, and being narcissistic.

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It was not uncommon in Ancient Greek and Roman myths for gods to transform humans into animals or objects, or to alter parts of their mortal bodies in some way shape or form. It’s easy to think that end result of these transfigurations was always hurtful or that they were only used as a type of punishment, because who would want to be turned into a flower? However, Ovid demonstrates that these transformations did not always have the detrimental outcome you think they would; he tells stories where transformation can be both a beneficial and a harmful incident. In Metamorphoses, Ovid relates myths in which transformation is used to both take away the identity of an individual and to restore it in order to portray transformation in both a positive and negative light.

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