We must agree that any artist, however talented, cannot altogether avoid the influence of his age. He is to take into account the characteristics of his age. In other words, having his root in contemporary times, he is to express the thoughts and feelings of his mind.
So is the case with both the epics The Iliad of Homer and The Aeneid of Virgil. Undoubtedly, these two literary works are the two masterpieces of the world’s epic literature. Despite having many things in common in structure and theme, Homer and Virgil differ widely, and thus The Aeneid is considered a national epic.
The Time of Composing The Iliad And The Aeneid
It is strange how these two epics connect the incredible story of Troy’s destruction, although there is a gap of many centuries between composition. The Iliad dealt with the war between the Achaeans and the Trojans and ended in destroying the wonderful walled-up city. On the other hand, The Aeneid deals with the after-effects of this war.
Because of this big-time gap, the two epics are the products of different cultures and societies. The Iliad represents the pictures of society, still in the state of pre-literacy and heroic by nature, while The Aeneid represents an organized, cultural, and literate society.
The Purpose of Composition The Iliad And The Aeneid
We must remember that The Iliad is an oral epic intended to be sung at the royal courts to entertain the Kings and the Princes. It also contains much of the cultural history and folk wisdom.
Conversely, The Aeneid, less stark than oral, is intended not to be read-only as a source of pleasure but to be perused and followed by a nation because this embodies the hopes and aspirations of a great nation, i. e., The Romans.
The Narrative Differences between Oral and Literary Epics
Confirmed that all epic poetry has a severe theme narrated on the grand scale., aiming at the heightened understanding of human nature and the meaning of life. However, the literary or the national epic is more sentimental and didactic. It has a more sophisticated poetic style and subordinates its human characters and affairs to its philosophical and moral theme.
The oral epic, like The Iliad, is usually narrated in a simple, realistic, and objective manner. In contrast, the literary epic uses many elaborate subjective devices, such as symbolism, allegory, and allusions to other poetic or philosophical literature. The literary epic is more studied and precise than the spontaneous, lovely, organized oral epic.
Aeneas’ National Duty Versus The Iliad‘s Heroic Exploits
The Aeneid is not a personal epic about Aeneas but a national epic. It is the glorification, exaltation, and destiny of Rome and its people. Unlike The Iliad, which describes heroic exploits, The Aeneid is not concerned with the life and adventures of its hero, Aeneas. Nonetheless, it deals with the part he played in founding the Roman state.
It shows how Aeneas embodies the most remarkable Roman personal qualities and attributes, particularly the Roman sense of duty and responsibility. These qualities, Virgil thought, have enabled Aeneas to build up Rome and its civilization. Virgil was a patriot in a unique sense. He had a spiritualized, idealistic and aspiring conception of Rome, which he viewed as majestic and sacred, or claimed by destiny and providence to rule the world.
Virgil’s Didactic Purpose Versus Homer’s Individualism
Virgil believed that superhuman forces control all human affairs, and it naturally followed that gods must have ordained that Rome should attain the greatness he sings. He thought of a new golden age of human life brought about by Augustus, his friend, and emperor of Rome. He saw its beginning in his reign.
As a result, The Aeneid is designed to exalt Rome, show the hand played by the divine in its establishment, and glorify its virtues and most delicate features by their personification in Aeneas, an epic hero. He is meant to represent the archetypal Roman.
However, the writer of The Iliad had no such didactic purpose in singing his episodes. His attitude to life was astonishingly objective. He sings in praise of the greatness and nobility of rugged individualism. All that happened in The Iliad lead to the fate of a great city. Without having any definite purpose like Virgil, Homer tells a tale of Troy and all the events involved with it.
Homer does not describe the national hopes and aspirations, nor does he dream of any national aggrandizement or golden age. Although The Iliad is sometimes regarded as the ultimate authority for information about morality and the early history of the Greek people, it is never a national epic in the sense that The Aeneid is.
The Iliad Depicts Self-Centric Honor And Social Prestige
The Iliad depicts how the people, especially kings, chiefs, aristocrats, and their interests in life. The main interests were warfare and hunting, and those were the only ways to gain honor and prestige in society.
We find in The Iliad that the heroes set the acquisition of honor and fame as the most crucial goal in their lives. The Iliad began with the wrath of Achilles and ended with the death of Hector. However, nowhere in the epic, he tries to set the rules of a good life for the Achaeans.
The Iliad indeed had many important lessons, but these are only a by-product of the story of Achilles, and the story itself is the main reason for the poem’s existence. The nature and qualities of heroes are universal rather than national. The story in The Iliad unfolds itself naturally without any super-imposition. In contrast, in The Aeneid, sophisticated techniques have been used to confirm the activities of Aeneas to glorify Rome.
The Aeneid Outweighs Personal Honor with Divine Destiny
Apparently, The Aeneid is an exciting and well-told adventure story dealing with the exploits of a great hero, the wanderings of his people, a savage war, and a passionate romance. However, Virgil is not merely a storyteller, and likewise, The Aeneid is not just a story.
It is more than just a story. Virgil meditated earnestly on many of the significant, timely issues in his most significant works. He presented his views on these issues. His poem enumerates the most worthwhile features of both Republican and Imperial Rome, treating the two together as if they were a single, intertwined unit.
During his wanderings, Aeneas undergoes many hardships and makes many personal sacrifices. In every instance, the hero can console himself by remembering the great destiny of the nation he is fated to found. In his appeal to the Muse, he makes his purpose clear that he wants to track back the foundation of Roman to Aeneas. Essentially, The Aeneid has become a national epic in its theme, while The Iliad was quite the opposite.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we must admit that The Aeneid, apart from being a literary masterpiece, became what was, perhaps, the strongest intellectual bulwark of the Roman Empire. Contrary to this, The Iliad deals with a broader theme concerning the question of human existence in the world. Nevertheless, it is enough to point out that both the epics have stood the test of time and are countable among the finest works of poetry ever composition.
