The following paper discusses the
problems with a literary
analysis of "The Aeneid" as it presents itself with some problems
not present in a similar
analysis of Homer's inspiring works. Although the actual status of Homer as either a poet or a collective name of several poets is uncertain, Homer's works formed the basis of virtually all of Greek classical literature. The writer contends that "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" became the cornerstones of Greek culture, something all Greeks could refer to as a common source of moral values, of rhetoric, and of mythological history. However, this paper claims that as the work of a single individual at a fixed and relatively later point in time and culture, "The Aeneid" does not have a similar quality of assembled stories, but of a work of more clear design than its Greek predecessors do.