Eumenides

A detailed Summary of Eumenides

"The Eumenides" was, overall, one of the most interesting and intriguing stories I have read in a literature class. Most stories are hard to grasp and don't make much sense in modern-day times. "The Euminides," however, caught my attention and never let go. It tells the story of Orestes, who killed his mother in order to avenge the death of his father. Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, kill Agamemnon--then Apollo urges Orestes to kill her as a form of revenge. Orestes feels the need to avenge his father's death, but he also feels the guilt of murdering his own flesh and blood. He choose to murder his mother because it followed reason.

The fact that Orestes was plagued by the decision between duty and guilt made his character seem to be in a very human-like predicament. his duty is to avenge Agamemnon's death. The dilemma is that his own mother is the one who murdered his father. The rational side of himself says that he must do what is right--avenge his father's death, no matter who the murderer is. The guilt that Orestes feels is natural when you put yourself in his shoes. Both perspectives have their own validity. No matter which one he chooses, he would have been punished.

In "The Eumenides," Apollo and the

I found the origin of "The Aeneid" to be very interesting. Rome was founded in 753 B.C. Roman power then spread to govern the area of the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire had more influence than previous empires before it. Augustus was the first Roman Emperor, and a very successful one. Rome was more successful than Greece politically and militarily. Romans, however, felt that their culture was inferior to the Greek culture. Wanting to increase the Roman Empire, Augustus called in a poet, Virgil, to write poetry that would celebrate Roman character and virtue. This is when "The Aeneid" was written.

"The Aeneid" is like Greek literature, such as "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," in many ways. A major change, however, is that the Trojans are heroes, not the Achaeans. "The Aeneid" is an epic poem concerned with a nation. Much of the basis of Greek literature surrounds the Trojan War--"The Aeneid" also includes some elements of this. "The Aeneid" the story of Aeneas and his journey from troy to Italy. Like "The Odyssey," "The Aeneid" involves a journey. And like "The Iliad," it involves a war to determine the establishment of a people. Virgil creates a shift by saying that Rome was founded by survivors of the city of Troy.

In "The Aeneid" the gods go through name changes. Zeus is now Jupiter, Hera is Juno, Aphrodite is Venus, Ares is Mars, Athena is Mineva, and Hermes is Mercury. Like Achilles, Aeneas is the offspring of a mortal and a goddess. Juno is Aeneas' adversary. This stems from the fact that Rome is destined to achieve dominion in the Punic Wars with Carthage, a favored city of Juno. Another reason for Juno's hatred is that Aeneas is a Trojan and she lost Paris' judgment to Venus. She makes several attempts to hinder Aeneas on his journey.

When Aeneas journeys to Carthage, he encounters Dido. She is the leader of Carthage and is in the process of establishing her city. Her husband had been murdered and she vowed never to re-marry. At this point we get a Trojan perspective on the Trojan War. Aeneas becomes the first person narrator and tells the story of the Trojan Horse. Aeneas tells of how he survived: Hector came as a ghost to him and told him he must leave the city and establish another place. That's what lead him on him on his journey. Venus and Juno both conspire to unite Aeneas and Dido.

In the story of "Trojan Women," the author Euripides' sympathies lie with the Trojans. Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra, and Helen are the "Trojan Women" in the story. Helen was the only one who got off and wasn't taken as a slave f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Orestes Furies, Agamemnon--then Apollo, Knowledge Oedipus', Aeneas Dido, Aeneid Aeneas, Virgil's Homer's, , Virgil Homer's, Aeneas Trojan, Trojans Paris, trojan women, trojan war, murder mother, aeneas journey, paris chose aphrodite, father's death, sense duty, gods played, story trojan, defense jury, dido's weakness passion, helen trojan women, tells story,

Approximate Word count = 1744
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English