Articles
Homer's First Battle Supplication and the End of Virgil's Aeneid
Published:
2022-09-01
https://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2022/4
Author
View
Keywords
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How To Cite
Selected Style:
APA
Fratantuono, L. (2022). Homer’s First Battle Supplication and the End of Virgil’s Aeneid. Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 58, 53-66. https://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2022/4
Abstract
One of the less appreciated literary influences on the Virgilian depiction of Aeneas' decision to slay Turnus at the end of the Aeneid is the first battle supplication scene in Homer's Iliad, the encounter of Adrestus with Menelaus and Agamemnon. Close consideration of Virgil's response to the Homeric scene sheds light on the poet's concerns in his presentation of the choice his Trojan hero Aeneas confronts in light of Turnus' appeal. Acrostics at the end of the Aeneid invite further reflection.