Aeneid's Anger

Achilles questions himself, "Should he draw the long sharp sword slung at his hip, thrust through the ranks and kill Agamemnon now?--or check his rage and beat his fury down?" (108). Here, Hera has Athena intervene to keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, which shows how the gods control Achilles' destiny. The argument between Achilles and Agamemnon clearly shows that the two men have different opinions about the power of the gods, what is holy or unholy, and what is proper treatment of other men. These differences are one source of Achilles' rage.

However, Achilles also takes advantage of his rage and redirects it at the Trojans resulting in the tides of battle once again favoring the Achaeans, exemplifying the positive side of rage when controlled and directed at obstacles. After the death of Patroclus, Achilles redirects his rage from Agamemnon to the Trojans and “slaughter[s] on and on, never pausing, / killing Trojans and skittish battle-teams at once” (XXI.599-600). Achilles is portrayed as an unstoppable force that brings death to every Trojan he faces. Furthermore, Zeus calls a council of gods and permits the gods to interfere with the battle since Achilles “with his rage inflamed for his friend’s death, / [Zeus] fears he’ll raze the walls [of Troy] against the will of fate.”

Achilles’ path to redemption began when he freed himself of the anger and rage that

Virgil’s The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The poem details the journey of Aeneas and his men after they are forced to flee burning Troy and as they wander the seas in search of land suitable to found a new Troy. Throughout the many books, the Trojans suffer through the Trojan War, the loss of their home, fierce storms, horrible monsters, and the wrath of the gods. A major theme of The Aeneid is human suffering as the characters in the poem experience the full front of despair and pain.

Dominating human demeanors, reason and emotion are two inseparable concepts, distinct yet influencing each other drastically. As reason and emotion impact one to the same direction, they may make any task easy and pleasurable. Nevertheless, emotion seldom conforms with reason due to the relentless difference between expectation and reality; individuals usually have to choose reason over emotion in order to achieve greatest results despite their resentment and resentment. In Aeneid, one of Virgil’s greatest epics, Aeneas is forced to repress his sentiments and fulfill his public duty to establish a new city against his will due to his destiny and divine intervention while encountering the same situation. His emotions merely induce grief and regret throughout his journey rather than contributing positively to his

In book one of the Iliad, Homer debunks Achilles rage as both dishonorable and duplicitous. Achilles may demonstrate great courage and strength, but he is severely deficient in the other qualities of an epic hero: temperance, magnanimity, and a sense of loyalty. His rage masked all these essential attributes. Though he is known as the most skilled and strong warrior, that doesn’t make up for the fact that Achilles acts upon his emotions, not his mind. Think of Achilles as a pot of water on a stove; calm and still until interrupted. Agamemnon is the heater and what causes Achilles to boil. In attempt to restore his honor, Achilles “raged on... day after day he ground his heart out, waiting there, yearning…” (1.581, 585-586). Agamemnon refuses

Achilles absolutely mauls his enemies, completely desecrates the

Although Turnus, from Aeneid, is considered a “second Achilles”, he is unlike Achilles, from the Iliad, because he is ignorant of his fate, and his furor, or fury, is invoked by the Gods (Aen. 6.113). Aeneas is also different from Achilles because Aeneas shows pietas, devotion to the community, and he generally shows compassion, whereas Achilles puts his self-interests first and never shows compassion. However, Achilles and Aeneas are quite similar because their fury stems from feeling at fault for the deaths of their comrades, and this rage makes them lack sympathy while killing many opponents.

The epic The Iliad by Homer argues that Achilles reaction in many situations is rage. Achilles choice to respond in such a way is very significant. It shows that this emotion is very influential in his day-to-day life. However, there has been much discussion as to whether Achilles’s rage is a virtue or a vice. Other characters throughout The Iliad have commented on his rage, such as Athena, who says, “I came to see if I could check this temper of yours,” (Homer, 235) in a discussion she has with Achilles about his quarrel with Agamemnon. Athena’s comment suggests that it takes a lot of effort to put Achilles’s rage into check. Achilles seemingly uncontrollable rages creates a man throughout The Iliad who “like[s] fighting and war” (234). Most men in this epic longed to end the war; Achilles on the other hand yearned for more battle. Achilles drive for battle makes it evident that his rage and the manifestation of it in other characters as seen throughout The Iliad is not a virtue, but a vice.

After the fight with Agamemnon he gets so mad that he almost pulls out his sword. " Achilles chest was a rough knot of pain twisting around his heart: should he draw the sharp that hung by his thigh scatter the ranks and gut Agamemnon" (1.6). Then Athena comes. " I came to see if I could check that temper of yours, sent from heaven by the white goddess Hera, who loves and watches over both of you men."(1.7).

This writer believes that there is no question that Achilles is static character. Throughout the poem, Achilles fights only for self-centred purposes. There is no change to Achilles’s character whatsoever. Achilles remains bitter throughout the whole book and never yields any of his grudges. Achilles requests that the gods curse his allies’ men. The poem is also colloquially known as “The Rage of Achilles”. That name itself gives insight into how extraordinarily static the character is.

In the Greek society, Achilles has the role of the aggressive soldier. From the very first lines of the epic, we are introduced to Achilles’ murderous rage:

The epic poem The Aeneid, by Vergil adapts scenes, similes, and characters from the Odyssey written by Homer. The works of both authors include the simile of Artemis/Diana. Other characters do overlap in some of Vergil's scenes for instance, Aeneas and Odysseus encounter Cyclops. Both authors also reference the scene of the underworld. Although, Virgil adapts similarities from Homer's epic, each encounter has noticeable comparisons and/or differences. Vergil presents the epic of the Aeneid with a different purpose. At the beginning of the Aeneid, Aeneas leaves his home with other Romans after the Trojan War. Homer starts his epic with Odysseus wanting to return home form Troy.  The motives that guide each character differ from one another. Homers the Odyssey is more of the journey of a man longing to be home again, after the trojan war has ended. His actions are somewhat selfish at times. Virgil's main character Aeneas is driven by more of a scene of duty to the gods, because he is instructed to help build Rome for future generations.

“Remind him of that, now, go and sit beside hime, grasp his knees... see how mad he was to disgrace Achilles, the best of the Achaean” (1, 484-490). This pacifies Achilles’ rage briefly while he goes back to the ships and refuses to help the struggling Achaeans on the battlefield because Agamemnon hurt his pride. Another instance that highlights Achilles flaw of anger is when the great Trojan warrior, Hector, kills Achilles close comrade Patroclus. Achilles bursts from his sulking attitude out of the Achaean ships in a rage of passionate fury that even his pride cannot overcome. “My dear comrade’s dead... Hector’s battered down by my spear and gasps away his life, the blood-price for Patroclus, Menotius’ gallant son he’s killed and stripped” (18, 94-109). This signifies Achilles’ zenith of anger and represents the turning point in the epic, along with the transition into his dramatic reversal as a character.

Regardless of the time frame, Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s epic the Iliad share both a copious amount of similarities and differences. For example, many common themes such as heroism, fate, and destiny are apparent in both works. Within the Aeneid and the Iliad, it is seen that the wars going on during that time were glorious that is why the role of gods were significant in leading both Aeneas and Achilles and influencing fate. In both texts, it is clear from the beginning that the role of the gods is to make Aeneas and Achilles fulfill their journey The Iliad focuses on the end of the Trojan War and the damaging power, while the Aeneid is focused during the aftermath of the war and underlies the foundation for the new civilization. This paper will address and argue the comparison of the role of gods and how each of the authors representation of the gods have influence on the lives of mortals.