What Does It Mean to Be a Hero in the Aeneid?

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In the story of the Aeneid by Virgil we see the continuation of the Iliad by Homer through the eyes of a Trojan warrior. Each of these stories focus around a particular warrior and their journey to becoming great heroes. While these two stories are similar because of this, the heroes depicted vary in many ways. The types of heroes that we see in these stories are unlike in the fact the qualities required by the hero in each story are different. The easiest difference between the heroes is that Homer's hero, Achilles, is a self-centered warrior, while Virgil's hero, Aeneas, is obedient warrior. In the Iliad Achilles repeatedly asks his mother and other gods for help and receives it. On the other and in the Aeneid Aeneas receives only the help the gods and goddess see fit. Another difference is that Achilles allowed self-pity and anger to overcome him and cloud his judgment, while Aeneas faced his situations head on. While the heroes are very different they are also similar. Starting with the fact that Aeneas and Achilles are both human with a human father and a goddess for a mother. They are both known for their great pride, and their leadership and fighting abilities. At one point in each story the hero stops fighting, although each for different reasons. In both the Aeneid and the Iliad the idea of destiny is an important theme. While both heroes know their destiny they do not share the same one. Achilles is doomed to live only a short life while Aeneas future is not in his own hands; Achilles will die in battle and Aeneas will found Rome. In each story we see the gods and goddesses intervening in ways to stop certain destinies from happening and to ensure them. Throughout the Aeneid we see Aeneas listen to the gods instructions without any second thoughts. In the beginning of the Aeneid we see Aeneas asking why he could not have died on the Trojan

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