The Travels of Aeneas, Fall of Troy to the Founding of Lavinium
The travels of Aeneas, from the fall of Troy to the founding of Lavinium The travels of Aeneas, from the fall of Troy to the founding of Lavinium are very important myths by which the Romans modeled themselves, and from which they were able to derive a sense of past and 'who they were'. Archeological evidence shows that Aeneas and his story were well known throughout ancient Rome as coins and urns were found depicting Aeneas' myth. Some of these coins were found prior to the lives of Livy and Virgil proving that the myth had been told prior to the writing of both Livy and Virgil. The storybook version told by Virgil describes the escape and travels of Aeneas as blessed by the gods, where Aeneas puts his father on his shoulders, grabs his son by the hand and under the protection of the goddess Venus, escapes the city as it is being ransacked by the Greeks. As Virgil writes the storybook version, Livy's recount is much more historical, as Livy gives meaning to situations, such as Aeneas having friendship ties with the Greeks, who allowed him to leave the city unharmed. It is likely that much of the narrative is based on non-historical details which mean to portray a strong, just and blessed man as the founding father of Rome, however this essay will focus on How Livy's portrayal of Aeneas and his journey after the Fall of Troy to the founding of Lavinium correlates or differs from other sources and authors or archeological evidence of its time.
In the beginning of Livy's "Rise of Rome - Book 1", Livy portrays Aeneas and his journey after the Fall of Troy as a lucky escape from the ransacked city. "There is general agreement, first of all, that when Troy fell the Greeks punished the other Trojans mercilessly but refrained from exercising any right of conquest in the case of two men, Aeneas and Antenor, who were connected to them by long-standing ties of friendship and have always advocated the return of Helen" (Livy). Whereas the myth states that Aeneas escapes
In the beginning of Livy's "Rise of Rome - Book 1", Livy portrays Aeneas and his journey after the Fall of Troy as a lucky escape from the ransacked city. "There is general agreement, first of all, that when Troy fell the Greeks punished the other Trojans mercilessly but refrained from exercising any right of conquest in the case of two men, Aeneas and Antenor, who were connected to them by long-standing ties of friendship and have always advocated the return of Helen" (Livy). Whereas the myth states that Aeneas escapes