Question

passage 1: the aeneid, by virgil
introduction: in disguise, the goddess venus speaks with her son aeneas, a trojan soldier who has just arrived in the city of carthage after surviving the destruction of troy along with a difficult and violent voyage.
\o goddess, if i told you
all from the first beginning, if you had leisure
to listen to the record of our trouble,
it would take me all day long. from ancient troy,
in case that name means anything, we come
driven over many seas, and now a storm
has whipped us on this coast: i am aeneas,
a good, devoted man; i carry with me
my household gods, saved from the greeks: i am

the next two questions go together. first, answer part a. then, answer part b.
part a
one theme in epic poems is that deities often interfere in the lives of humans. how does the author develop this theme in passage 1?
○ by comparing aeneas’s mother to venus
○ by having aeneas describe his difficult voyage
○ by revealing aeneas’s joy at seeing his mother
○ by describing how venus protects aeneas from harm

Explanation:

To determine how the author develops the theme of deities interfering in human lives, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Comparing Aeneas’s mother to Venus. But Venus is Aeneas's mother (in the myth), so this isn't a comparison to develop interference. Eliminate.
• Option 2: Aeneas describing his difficult voyage. The voyage itself doesn't show deity interference; it's about his journey, not divine action. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Revealing Aeneas’s joy at seeing his mother. Joy at seeing mother doesn't show interference in his life (just an emotional moment). Eliminate.
• Option 4: Describing how Venus (a deity) protects Aeneas (a human) from harm. This directly shows a deity (Venus) interfering in a human's (Aeneas's) life by protecting him, which fits the theme.

Answer:

1. by describing how Venus protects Aeneas from harm