“Heroes of Aeneid”
The struggle between good and evil have been the focus of countless works of literature through out history. No matter where one’s from, stories of heroism are present in every culture. In The Aeneid, Virgil tells the stories of Aeneas, a Trojan’s travels to Italy in a quest to rebuild his empire. One of these stories is one of Hercules, an adventurous hero and his battle against Casus. In order to effectively deliver the epic tale, Virgil uses many literary devices such as characterization, imagery and vividness to fully engulf the readers in his tales. Through the utilization of literary devices, Virgil effectively establishes the divide between good and evil, capturing the full attention of his audiences. Virgil first accomplishes this through the introduction of the hero Hercules, and the villain Casus.
Virgil uses characterization to make characters seem more real and relatable for audiences and readers, giving audiences a clear picture of good versus evil. Take Hercules for example, Virgil uses Hercules’ bravery to coerce the audience into liking him and siding with him. The author shows Hercules’ bravery in many ways. One of these ways is by up playing the viciousness of his enemy Cacus. By doing so, the readers can compare the evil of Cacus with the heroism of Hercules. In this passage, “here, deep in the vast recesses of the rock, was once a cave which the rays of the sun never reached. This was the home a of foul-featured, half-human monster by the name of Cacus” (Virgil 8.193-5), Virgil depicts the monster’s home as a cave where the light never reaches (8.193), somewhere not a single decent human being will ever want to live. This plants the idea that Cacus is a monster, not a person in the readers’ mind before Virgil even says it. This depiction of the monster’s home gives readers a back ground on just how horrible Cacus is. Virgil implies that the home of Cacus reflects the character himself. Since darkness is usually associated with dread, evil and other unpleasant things, this passage entices the audience to think, if a creature can live comfortably in such sinister conditions, what other vile things are they capable of? After giving the readers an unsettling feeling with the description of Cacus’ home, Virgil goes on to describe the horrid physical appearance of Casus. He describes Casus as a “foul-featured, half-human monster” (8.193), reinforcing the audiences’ dislike for Casus. By showing the monster’s vile nature and awful physical appearance, Virgil demonstrates Hercules’ bravery in taking on Casus as a foe. This passage also sets up the stage for Hercules’ introduction.
After Casus creates the image of a horrifying monster in the readers’ mind, he introduces Hercules, the brave hero. “Long did we pray and in the end we too were granted the help and the presence of a god. For the great avenger was at hand” (Virgil 8.200-2), Hercules comes to the rescue “exulting in the slaughter of the triple-bodied Geryon” (Virgil 8.200). Virgil starts off by showing the people’s despair as their prayer for a god. The people in the village know they need a hero; only someone brave like Hercules can save them. Virgil’s depiction of the villagers’ despair once again hints to the readers of Hercules’ bravery; while everyone cower from the beast Hercules comes to them as the great avenger. Succeeding the establishment of Hercules’ bravery, Virgil goes on to proving it by mentioning one of Hercules’ past conquests. Hercules’ victory against the triple-bodied Geryon (8.200) confirms that Hercules’ bravery is not only a myth; he is worthy of the title as well. This comparison of the vile beast Casus and the victorious Hercules create the clear line between a brave hero and evil villain in the audiences’ mind. Virgil uses characterization to establish a bond between his audience and Hercules, so the audiences’ desire for good to triumph also to discover what becomes of their hero engulfs them in the story.
Additionally, Virgil uses imagery to appeal to the readers’ physical senses, making the story more intensity, and further supports the central idea of good versus evil. The use of vividness in this episode not only adds intensity to the story, it supports the heroism of Hercules as well. “The floor of the cave was always warm with freshly shed blood, and the heads of men were nailed to his proud doors and hung there pale and rotting” (Virgil 8.195-7). The sentence captures the essence of the vile monster Casus by using very descriptive language. “Warm”, “freshly shed blood”, “the heads of men”, “nailed”, “hung there” and “pale and rotting” (8.195). Every word in this stamen is meant to tackle the audience’s senses and emotions. Most people are aware of what blood smell and feel like; they know what the heads of men look like. They can also imagine the pale faces of the cut off heads and the rotting smell. Virgil manipulates the knowledge and imaginations of the readers by using graphic depictions; he triggers an unpleasant feeling in his readers’ mind. When reading this passage, the audiences smell, feel and picture the fresh blood caked one layer on top of another, covering the cave floor. They see the heads hanging on the door. The shock value of the passage makes it almost impossible for readers to not pay attention. On top of adding shock value, this reinforces Casus’ evil traits to the readers. Not only does Casus hunt humans for food, he hangs up their heads at his doorway as trophies. Thought this passage, the readers add another layer of hatred for Casus, because not only does Casus kill innocent people, he likes doing it. That is the most evil of all; the enjoyment of other people’s pain and suffering. Through the use of vividness in the passage, Virgil evokes a reaction of sharp disgust from his readers. Not only does he capture the attention of his audience, he firmly roost the idea of Casus’ evil in the readers’ mind, giving a contrast to Hercules’ heroism.
Virgil uses also uses tension to add excitement to this episode, giving the audiences something the cheer for. This also illustrates good always triumph over evil. After a few unsuccessful attempts at entering Casus’ cave, all hope seems to be lost. However, Hercules finds a big mass of flint and decides to use that to break into Casus’ home. “He rocked it, loosened it, wrenched it free from its deep base and then gave it a sudden heave, a heave at which the great heavens thundered, the banks of the river leapt apart and the river flowed backwards in alarm” (Virgil 8.238-241). At this point Hercules un-roofs Casus’ house leaving Casus scared. The process of Hercules rocking the piece of flint slowly builds up tension. Instead of saying “Hercules rocks, loosens and wrenches it free”, Virgil breaks the sentence up into small components. “Rocks it”, “loosens it”, “wrenches it” (8.238), and with each component, adds another lay of tension. Also, by breaking this sentence up, it speeds up the pace of the story. Readers can’t help but add more feeling and speed at each divide in the sentence, building up the tension to the eventual impact of Hercules breaking down Casus’ roof.
Not only does the process of Hercules breaking down the roof add tension to the episode, the impact of the rock physically breaking do as well. Hercules gives the rock a heave at which the heavens thunders, the banks of the river leaps apart and even the river flows backwards in alarm (8.239). The great impact of the rock breaking away from the cave is so extraordinarily loud it rocks the earth. Virgil wants the river to mirrors the reaction that is expected from the audience. After building up all the tension, the enormous thud that the breaking of the rock creates breaks all the tension causing the audience to jump back in fear and surprise of Hercules’ great strength. The building of tension also gives the audience an incentive to cheer for their hero. Hercules accomplishes a seemingly impossible task, after much struggle, the hero triumphs over evil. The audience, seeing their hero over come obstacles, rejoices at the victory and further engages themselves in the story. By using tension, Virgil not only ensnares his readers in the plot of the story, he also reinforces the idea that good will be victorious no matter the obstacles.
In this passage, Virgil uses literary devices to immerse his audience in the story, proving that good will always prevail over evil. In this episode, Hercules is victorious in his battle with Casus, a foul monster. In the book, Aeneas over comes obstacle after obstacle to achieve his destiny of rebuilding his empire. No matter how desperate and hopeless a situation may seem the heroes always pull through. Whether with the help of other heroes, women, or unnamed individuals, Virgil’s heroes always find away out of a sticky situation. Giving the people hope that virtuous people will always come out a any situation untainted.

Work Cited * Virgil, . The Aeneid. England: Penguin Books, 2003. Print.