Open Prompt 1981- November 11

Vergil's epic poem The Aeneid contains extensive allusions to myths and other works of literature. As Vergil's hero Aeneas travels around the Mediterranean, he encounters people, places, and monsters that are familiar from other stories. Through constant allusions to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and other well-known myths, Vergil hopes to put his hero on the same level as the heroes of those stories and myths. 

Vergil's main goal in writing The Aeneid was to justify the rule of Caesar Augustus. He intended to do this by writing a story about Aeneas, Augustus' supposed ancestor, making him seem almost god-like and thus justifying Augustus' bloodline. The heroes the roman readers would have been familiar with were the heroes of the works Homer and other myths, so Vergil tries to put Aeneas on their level by having him encounter and overcome many of the same difficulties. He does this by recreating events from those stories in allusions that are sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle.

      The entire first six books of The Aeneid allude to the Odyssey from their structure. For all of these six books, Aeneas sails around the Mediterranean and stops at various islands, just as Odysseus does in the Odyssey. Some of the places Aeneas comes to are exactly the same as those Odysseus went to. For example, Aeneas accidentally lands on the island of the harpies, whom Odysseus also encounters. Likewise, he finds the island of Polyphemus, where Odysseus landed. Finally Aeneas is also forced to sail through the strait between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. By placing Aeneas against the same obstacles that Odysseus and his crew faced, and having Aeneas overcome them in the same or even cleverer ways, Vergil makes Aeneas seem Odysseus' equal or even his better.

      Aeneas' wanderings also contain more subtle parallels with the Odyssey. The main example of this is his stay with Dido, the queen of Carthage. Aeneas stays with Dido for a time, and perhaps falls in love with her. But eventually, Hermes brings the message from the gods that Aeneas must fulfill his duty elsewhere, and Aeneas departs. This echoes Odysseus' stay on the island of Calypso. He stays there for a time, and his possible love for Calypso conflicts with his duties to wife and homeland, and he finally departs upon prompting from Hermes. With these more subtle allusions, Vergil intends to parallel Aeneas' character with that of other heroes, rather than his deeds. Aeneas' ability to overcome his personal feelings and do his duty shows his inner strength and service to the gods and other men.

     The second six books of The Aeneid allude to the Iliad just as the first six allude to the Odyssey. Once Aeneas reaches Italy, he must fight a war to gain control of the land. Ultimately he must defeat a man of superhuman strength, Turnus, whose physical prowess mimics that of Achilles and Hector. Throughout the conflict, Gods also appear and aid the combatants of both sides, which is a common occurrence in the Trojan conflict as well. By making Aeneas overcome such a mighty foe, Vergil puts Aeneas' strength in war, and thus that of Rome, on the same level as the heroes of the old stories. 

     The Aeneid also contains allusions to various myths besides the works of Homer. Throughout his wanderings, Aeneas encounters people and places that allude to other myths, such as the temple of Daedalus, and the descendants of Perseus and other heroes. His journey to the underworld also alludes to the feats of Hercules and Orpheus. Through all these adventures, Aeneas becomes the hero of all heroes, having experienced the equal of any of the most famous heroes of Greek and Roman mythology. 

     The allusions, both subtle and obvious, that are contained in The Aeneid all serve to impress the reader with Aeneas' feats. At the end of the book, the reader has seen Aeneas overcome all the most difficult obstacles in the world. This made Aeneas noble in worth in their eyes, elevating to  an almost god-like status. By doing this, Vergil's epic turned the popular opinion in favor of Caesar Augustus, who, as Aeneas' descendant, supposedly had the same strength, nobility, and courage.