The Aeneid ~ Final Discussion

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Scott
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The Aeneid ~ Final Discussion

Post by Scott »

Do not read any further unless you have finished reading the Aeneid.

Now that you've finished the entire book, what do you think of it as a whole? Are you glad you read it?

The final part of the book deals with the war in Italy. A lot of people in the book died during the war. I think the saddest deaths were of the deaths of Nisus and his love Euryalus. What do you think?

What do you think of the use of single combat in the book? I like how it ends with a single combat showdown between Turnus and Aeneas?

Do you think it was honorable of Aeneas to kill Turnus while Turnus begged for mercy? I can sympathize with his anger, but I do not think it is good leadership to act out of vengeance. What do you think of the ending of the Aeneas?

Are there any passages that you especially like? Do you have any questions to pose to the other readers?
Last edited by Scott on 07 Sep 2007, 19:31, edited 1 time in total.
"That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another's. We see so much only as we possess." - Henry David Thoreau

"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
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LoveHatesYou
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Post by LoveHatesYou »

You have to compare A.'s battle to the Greeks in Troy and the Trojans in Italy. The Trojans’ intention to settle in Italy and found what will become an empire, they are claiming land, not a woman. When the Greeks seiged Troy, it was reclaim a woman, and when they had Helen, they sailed home. A. has no where to go, and must claim rather than reclaim a land, so he and the Trojans must justify their invasion of Italy by proclaiming the superiority of his race and culture by warfare. There is also the driving factor of Fate- Jupiter, and the plans of the Gods- Rome must be established. T. has to die- becuase he has been fighting fate the whole time- also as a point of honor- he had Pallas' belt as a trophy and that enraged A.- it is also the will of the gods and brings completion to the hero (A.). There will be no more stife for leadership."They g]ore one another, bathing necks and humps
In sheets of blood, and the whole woodland bellows. " The 2 are evenly matched- yet opposites- but A. has the favor of the gods...
"Just so Trojan Aeneas and the hero
Son of Daunus, battering shield on shield,
Fought with a din that filled the air of heaven" A. had always gone along with fate where T. fought it, and now the struggle for leadership is over- Also Juno has been appeased being promised that LAtin will be spoken in the city.
"I am a slave to the wonders of the imagination and the cage of creativity." -E. Maggard
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LoveHatesYou
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Post by LoveHatesYou »

Oh- there is also the idea that the enemy has to die to complete the hero's journey...
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RebekaV
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Post by RebekaV »

Honestly, I read it for my schoolwork, but for some reason it tired me endlessly. I found myself drifting off or thinking about something else on every second page. I did not enjoy the story much either...
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Post by winecellarlibrary »

Of all the books I read in school and in college, this was my favorite of the classics. It's been a few years since I've read it, so the details aren't fresh in my mind, but I found it extremely entertaining.
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
-Emily Dickinson
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Post by Thea Frederick »

I think the saddest death was Pallas.
But I don't think it was right of Aeneas to kill Turnus. A leader should rule with mercy and justice, not anger or revenge.
-Thea M. Frederick
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Post by Abdulwahab Maryam »

It's been a few years since I've read it, so the details aren't fresh in my mind, but I found it extremely entertaining. lovely read!
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