The Iliad and the Aeneid ostensibly convey two analogous albeit distinct stories depicting the mythical Trojan War. The Trojan War is the cynosure of the Iliad unlike in the Aeneid in which it takes a lesser although still paramount role but primarily focuses on Aeneas, a Trojan hero who flees during the siege of Troy. The Iliad was written in the eponymous Homeric Greek, which itself was a derivative of Ionic Greek and other languages while the Aeneid was written in Latin. The Iliad also solely concentrates on the war itself withal the ending is still ambiguous as the war does not end in the epic poem. However, the Aeneid intimately tells about the fall of Troy and ensuant Greek victory which galvanizes Aeneas to flight. The Iliad is among …show more content…
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led a campaign of Achaean troops to Troy and began to besiege the city because of Paris' affront. Thus, the Trojan War formally commenced. However, the inner machinations of the gods and goddess are the true catalyst for the conflict and the pantheon manipulates and influences both parties involved in the battle. The Trojan War finally concludes after ten years when the mighty city of Troy falls to the ruse of the Trojan Horse, as depicted with great detail in the Aeneid. "The horse, standing high on the ramparts, pours out warriors, and Sinon the conqueror exultantly stirs the …show more content…
Odysseus is depicted as heroic and clever in both the Iliad and subsequent spiritual sequel, the Odyssey. Odysseus was also the one who devised the stratagem of the Trojan Horse, which allowed for the Achaeans to sack Troy. However, in the Aeneid, Odysseus is portrayed as conniving and villainous. "We ran past Laertes’s kingdom, Ithacas’s reefs, and cursed the land that reared cruel Ulysses." (Virgil). The Greeks admired cunning and deception in warfare while the Romans, who believed themselves the heirs of Prince Aeneas of Troy, believed that these qualities were without honor although their antipathy evidently did not last