Virgil that Virgil seems to divide the "Aeneid" into two sections based on the poetry of Homer; the first six books were viewed as employing the "Odyssey" as a model while the last six were connected to the "Iliad". Book 1 (at the head of the Odyssean section) opens with a storm which Juno, Aeneas' enemy throughout the poem, stirs up against the fleet. The storm drives the hero to the coast of Carthage, which historically was Rome's deadliest foe. The queen, Dido, welcomes the ancestor of the Romans, and under the influence of the gods falls deeply in love with
Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey Hector in Book II that he was to leave burning Troy to found a new city. Throughout the rest of the epic, the gods include reminders that Aeneas is destined to find Italy and found Rome for future generations. Another thing Virgil replicates from the "Iliad" is the ekphrasis of Aeneas' shield. In Book VIII of the "Aeneid", Vulcan (the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus) forges a shield for Aeneas before he goes into battle. This is similar to Hephaestus creating Achilles' shield in Book XVII of the "Iliad". Both of the goddesses who mothered the heroes (Venus