Repetition in the AeneidSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Ancient Rome relied heavily on repetition; a repetition of Greek architecture, a repetition of the gods of Olympus and even a repetition of Greek literature. This is not to say that Roman culture was a cheap copy of Greece, as the Romans strove not only to match the rich Greek culture, but also to rise above it. Virgil's Aeneid is a great example of how the Romans sought to glorify Rome by imitating Greece. The theme of repetition is crucial in Virgil's poem, particularly in Book VI, where history, myths, and tales repeat or predict an event. Near the beginning of Book VI, we enter a temple dedicated to Apollo, and as we enter, our narrator reiterates: the story that gave rise to this temple. It is significant that the history of a county is described so meticulously, and early in the book, in a way that interrupts the reader and Aeneas (as he stops to admire the gates) from continuing the story. Not only does this give the notion of history great importance in the poem, but it insinuates that everyone must yield to history, even a great hero like Aeneas. This brief story begins with the story of inventor/artist Daedalus, who escapes from the kingdom of Minos using a pair of artificial wings. As soon as he landed, he built this temple and dedicated it to Apollo. The temple gates also have many sculptures telling their history. What is most peculiar about this story is that it does not relate directly to Apollo or the location of the temple, but to an entirely separate story and myth. The historical tale of Daedalus begins with the death of King Minos' heir, Androgeos. Upon the death of Androgeus at the hands of the Athenians, King Minos punished the citizens of Athens by demanding the sacrifice of seven young men and seven young women each year. The concept of blood sacrifice appears several times throughout the Aeneid, as each book mentions at least one blood sacrifice performed to the gods. However, the sacrifices performed by Aeneas characterize him as a pious and grateful servant of the gods because they are performed in honor of the gods. King Minos' human sacrifices are not performed in honor of the gods, but to ease his own sorrow and feed a monster conceived by sin. By demanding these annual sacrifices to satisfy himself, Minos not only reveals himself to be a cruel and brutal leader, but rises to (or seeks to elevate) the status of an angry god. The scene of the "seven bodies" (Book VI, ln. 31) of the Athenian boys destined to feed the hungry Minotaur alludes to an earlier episode in Book I where Aeneas hunts seven deer to feed his starving crewmen. The language of the poem describes the deer as "seven giant bodies on the ground" (Book I, ln 267-8) and reveals that the deer were not only sacrificed to appease the hunger of his men, but also to "appease ] their melancholy hearts” (Book I, ln. 275). The request for the sacrifice of seven lives occurs once more while Aeneas is still in front of the carvings at the door of the temple of Apollo. Here, Deiphobus demands that Aeneas sacrifice seven oxen "from a herd that the yoke never touched" (Book VI, ln. 55). This claim refers to the carving of Athenian sacrifices, as the individuals sacrificed were young - like the oxen - and perhaps even too young to truly participate in hard manual labor. The carvings on the temple door continue with the story of Pasiphae. and the Minotaur. The story of Pasipha,.