THE SHIELDS OF AENEAS AND ACHILLES

One similarity involves the production method of the shields. In the Aeneid, Virgil writes that “Now Venus, as a mother sorely frightened, / and with good reason, /…turned to Vulcan” (Aen. 8: 491-494). Similarly, Homer writes in the Iliad, “Thetis of the silver feet came to the house of Hephaestus” (Il. 18: 369). Venus (the mother of Aeneas) and Thetis (the mother of Achilles) both ask a god to forge arms

The shield of Aeneas is unique from that of Achilles. “There the Lord of Fire [Vulcan], / knowing the prophets, knowing the age to come, / had wrought the future story of Italy, / the triumphs of the Romans.” (Aen. 8: 848-850). Illustrations of stores that have not yet come to pass cover the shield of Aeneas. There were no ‘Romans’, only exiles of Troy. Since the stories are from the future, Aeneas himself does not understand it. Indeed Virgil writes “All these images on Vulcan’s shield, / his mothers gift, were wonders to Aeneas. / Knowing nothing of the events themselves”(Aen. 8: 986-989).

By analyzing the shield scenes of the two epic poems, the Iliad and the Aeneid, many similarities as well as differences can be distinguished. Two main similarities stand out: the mothers initiated the building of the shields, and the same god made the shield for both heroes. One major difference discussed was the difference in eras. The shield of Achilles showed the era of the present, while the shield of Aeneas showed the era of the future. The scene of Aeneas’ shield is both a tribute to the Homeric style (by imitating it) and an attempt to better it (through the differen

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