the Aeneid

Running Head : the Aeneid

The Aeneid

p The Aeneid (Revised

Aeneid is an epic . The author , Vergil , has `painted ' it as self-conscious art . He worked on it for 11 years , 30-19 B .C , but could not finish it the way he wanted , and willed that it be destroyed after his death ( The ideas related to self-demolition and self-destruction are mind-level thoughts-the confused mind blocked at the spiritual frontiers . Augustus did not fulfill the command of the will and thus the work was saved for the benefit of humanity . Gods interfere often

in this epic which is only second to Bible from the popularity point of view . For those interested in Western Civilization and history of Middle Ages , this book is invaluable . Milton , Goethe , Dante referred to Vergil with great admiration

In reality , god (s ) actively intervene in many individual 's lives in the epic from the cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb . To understand this in the proper perspective , one has to reach the highest level of spirituality . Heroism is the watchword in this epic . When gods interfere and guide the lives of human heroes , the epic becomes worthy and interesting

Vergil grew up in a fully literate , intellectually sophisticated society ' Therefore , Vergil has the problems of the intellectual ! He constructed the national epic , and yet he was not satisfied with the output . In the epic of such a gigantic size , he has covered all that is relevant to the time , the political situation , and his reflections on politics , character , philosophy and humanity have been candidly explained . In epics Heroes are brought down and resurrected , and Vergil 's Aeneid is no exception to this golden rule . An epic must have all sorts of characters and sky is the limit for the extension of its canvas . Without the interplay of the pairs of opposites , the story of the epic , will not progress . It will not be interesting either . Many mansions fall , kingdoms destroyed and reconstructed , humiliating defeats and defeats converted into victories , the bloodshed and compassion , the valor of the soldiers , the heroism and treachery of the trusted generals---all these contribute to making an epic realistic ! That 's how Vergil makes it by chiseling his small and big characters

Virgil is a Western philosopher . Western philosophy is not concerned with actual experiencing , but mostly speculative . Western philosophers concern themselves with analyzing the objective world . They tried to explain things but were not able to answer the how , the why , wherefrom and what of things . They speculated with their intellect and offered various hypotheses and theories . Many of them have proved to be wrong Some , however , like Spinoza and Kant , who had some spiritual traits were able to dive deep into themselves and present philosophies which have traces of truth . The problem of Virgil was similar . The moment he encountered the intellectual roadblock , he looked forward for gods to provide solution , and to help continuance of the story . This is evident in the situation when Aeneas , the...