Response paper Questions for Virgil, Aeneid - Essay Example

Ritual declarations of the fallen soldiers as agents of victory to the gods are also said. Turnus, however, contrasts this philosophy: he never holds the ritualistic offerings for fallen soldiers as important. The Book depicts a Trojan soldier as being glorified for falling in the battle (61). The society held such fallen soldiers in high esteem. This is evident when Evander comes across the parade that carries his fallen son. He becomes grief stricken when he learns of his lifeless son, but the painful experience is tempered by his recollection of the remarkable achievements that Pallas made in fighting closely with Aeneas.

By being regarded in high esteem in death, the essence of courageous stance in the war and the sacrifice of one’s life earned the Trojan soldier a place in the annals of history because their achievements will not be forsaken by the future generations. According to Virgil, the immortal nature of the fallen soldiers is best conveyed by Opis, who, as a messenger of the goddess Diana on a mission to protect Camilla, promises the maiden fighter that her loss of life will mean a lot (63-67). Additionally, an honorable death does more than catapulting the soldier to the history.

As the Aeneid's deep narration of ancestral values attests, honorable dying is treasured not only because it presents the fighter’s virtuous call and chracter, but because it wins his family a good name within the society. Question#2 Epic similes were used in the ancient Greek mythology to compare events and situations. For example, in “The Odyssey,” Homer avers that “then let some foreigner lops my head off if I failed to march right into Odysseus' royal halls and kill them all,” is a very important epic simile that conveys the prevailing conflict within the society (114-116).

This idiomatic expression is important to the period as it provides an account of what was expected by the society: the society expected casualties in the suitors’ ranks. Moreover, this is a clear depiction of Homer's use of foreshadowing in the literature. This epic simile promotes the plot because it is demonstrates that Odysseus is nearing the final offensive where his community and superiors expect him to eliminate all of the enemy combatants. Question #3 In the Aeneid, Virgil depicts Camilla of the Volsci as a trusted and courageous feminine warrior who helped King Turnus of the Rutuli to fend off an attack by the Aeneas and the Romans in the conflict triggered by the wooing of Princess Lavinia for a marital commitment (357).

Camilla fights bravely against the Trojans in the battlefield, but when she succumbs to the Trojan’s stalking in her offensive for Chloreus, the enemy kills her because she becomes inattentive. Camilla’s error of being inattentive results in her killing life on the battlefield while she is deeply engrossed in tracking Chloreus down. According to Virgil, Camilla’s bravery and swiftness on the battlegrounds against the enemies is depicted in the statement that women in the military too have the capacity to protect the community against external attacks (358).

Question #4 In the final part of the poem, Aeneas kills Turnus because of ideological differences. Turnus seems to be an overzealous warrior, whose past experiences and successes have