A Comparison of The Aeneid and Metamorphoses :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Comparison of The Aeneid and Metamorphoses Both Vergil and Ovid imbedded underlying meanings in their epics The Aeneid and Metamorphoses. In this makeup I will focus on the underlying meaning in the Underworld scene in Vergils The Aeneid (lines 356 through 1199). I will withal focus on three scenes in Ovids Metamorphoses. Both epics contain a larger message about the importance of the Roman past for its inclose and future under Augustus. The story of Aeneas in the Underworld can be interpreted as a brilliant rendition of the story of capital of Italys past, present, and future. When Aeneas descends into the Underworld, he is escorted by the Sibyl (lines 347 - 349). This gives the readers a clue that what is to happen in the upcoming schoolbook is a foretelling of Roman future because the Sibyl was a prophetess (Course Packet, p16). As Aeneas enters the Underworld, he sees numerous horrible sights Grief, Disease, Old Age, Fear, Hunger, and several others. (Lines 356 - 379) These unsettling and dark words demand difficult images to the readers mind. These lines foretell that there will be difficulties while Rome is in its infancy through phrases like lonely night and ghost kingdom. Rome did indeed have difficulties in its infancy in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE it was ruled by Etruscan kings and was only ... a pocket-size hill town. (Short Histories, p20) Lines 390 through 549 in The Aeneid deal with the crossing of the River Styx. This represents a grand transition period in Rome. It symbolizes the founding of the Republic. The multitude of rushing and swarming community (Line 402) represents those that suffered the internal turmoil in the early stages of the Republic. (Short Histories, p21) When Aeneas mentions, ... and by what rule must some keep off the bank ... (Lines 419 - 421) he may symbolically be referring to the Struggle of the Orders that the early Republic experienced. (Short Histories, p22) As Aeneas wa nders through the Underworld, he notices Dido wandering about. (Lines 593 - 626) He tries to talk to her, but his words serve no purpose she flees from him. He then sees the souls of those who died in battle.