So That Makes More Sense... Kinda

I found it really interesting to watch the fall of Troy from the opposite side. In the past I always wondered why in the world they would just see this random horse on the beach, assume it was from the gods, and haul it in. At the time they put so much stock in signs, that if snakes from the sea consumed the sons of the only man against the horse, they knew it must have been a sign. But still, it’s interesting how when under stress they were much more likely to throw reason to the wind. They never really stopped to think. How often do we over-extrapolate or overthink things when we are under stress?

Fate and Free Will

One thing I (finally) picked up on while reading The Aeneid was the idea of the finality of "fate". In all of these ancient epics, if a person's fate was foretold, nothing could stop them from coming to a different end. Aeneas was fated to settle Italy and settle Italy he did. Even when seemingly insurmountable obstacles were put in his way, some of which were direct blows from one of the most powerful goddesses know to the romans, Juno.

So, under the greek and roman gods, did people have free will? It seems that if Zeus/Jupiter decided you were going to do something, you were going to do it regardless of what happened to you along the way. There was no way to get out of your destiny. I don't really know what I'm trying to get at here but I think it's along the lines of whether or not this ancient religion acknowledged free will and, if it didn't, how can all of its great heroes like Odysseus and Aeneas be credited with their triumphs?

P.s. I commented on Jeremy's post

History

From what I've read about the Æneid, Virgil is filling in gaps to create a tale for the founding of Rome. Yes Æneas is mentioned in the Odyssey. So Virgil took those mentionings and some other information from the Iliad and other writings and concocted this little Latin myth. I think it's pretty gnarly that the Romans, who had so much pride in their own particular identity, felt the need to give an homage to their Greek influences. This work came to become recognized canon as part the education of Roman citizens even into Christian times. As a child, I would have had to memorize this. Just as Greek children memorized their epics. 

P. S. J. Bea's post currently hosts my remark. 

The Odyssey vs. The Aeneid part 2

I'm adding to Kelli's idea: THERE ARE SO MANY SIMILARITIES.  Venus is disguising herself just as Athena did.  I'm still trying to figure out how Aeneas recognized his mother as she walked away...  That seems odd.  As I discussed in my comment on Kelli's, there are similarities in the actions of the soldiers as they land at Carthage and those of Odysseus' men.  Both feast and drink!  Along with those, Aeneas and Odysseus have keen similarities.  Both are solid leaders and have the trust of their men.  Why is the story line of the the Odyssey so closely related to the Aeneid? What was Virgil trying to accomplish or prove by this?  I think it could be that he wished he were Greek.

P.s. - Kelli's

The Odyssey vs. The Aeneid

I went into The Aeneid expecting it to be similar to The Odyssey, and it is in the fact that it's a piece of Ancient literature surrounding the times of the Trojan War. The differences were very striking to me though. The change of the gods's names from the Greek to Roman, the differentiation in phrasing, the constant reference to words that I don't know what they are because I never saw them with Homer. I mean, it took a lot of context clues to figure out that unlike in Odysseus's journey where we sailed around a happy map figuratively, the story was actually referencing the real map as we understand today. So I looked up some background information and learned Virgil actually wrote the Aeneid about Aeneas, a character mentioned some six hundred years earlier in The Illiad. Aeneas eventually becomes the ancestor of the Romans, but the story is about his travels and conquers of Italy.

ATTENTION

Hey guys! Just a friendly reminder that blogs aren't due until Wednesday night so don't panic if you haven't got it finished yet. Also, we still need your ten dollar contribution to the honors fund. You can bring it to class on Thursday or feel free to run it by room 202 in Faulkner Hall second long. If we aren't there to answer the door, slide it underneath with a note on the chalkboards stating your name. It's really important that you guys get this to us quickly because it funds the play and it also helps with parties that we will have in the next semester. Thanks!

Attention!

Remember there is no blog this week due to the Exam on Tuesday and Groups 3 & 4 presenting on Thursday!