<p>In the traditional Greek epic there is an oft-repeated theme of the confrontation or clash between valour(ανδρεια) on the one hand and stratagem(μηχανη) and prudence (φρονησι&b.sigmav;) on the other, where Odysseus usually stands for the latter, cf. Il. 19. 148-237, Schol. B. E., Od. 8. 77 etc. The fatal contest for Achilleus' arms between Aias and Odysseus also seems to be a variation of the same theme, cf. Pindar, N. 7 and N. 8. Now the opening verses of the Aeneid could be understood in the traditional background of such a theme, if the much-discussed avma virumque is to be interpreted as a hendiadys meaning virum armatum i. e. virum armis insignem (ci. Ovid, Trist. 2.533 f.) ; Virgil may have modelled the opening of the Aeneid on that of the Odyssey in order to bring out the heroic qualities of Aeneas which are clearly opposed to the ανδρα πολυτροπον=virum versutum (Livius Andronicus). This view is made probable through the following observations : 1. Aeneas is noted not only for his pietas but for his military prowess(1.544 f., 6.403., 11.291f. etc.), and especially in the second Book the valour of Aeneas and the Trojans makes a sharp contrast with the treacherous stratagem of the Greeks. Thus arma virumque and insignem pietate virum(1.10) , forming a complementary pair, can be understood as indicating Aeneas at the very start of the poem as a hero who embodies in himself the fundamental virtues of the Romans (cf. 6.768ff., 878 ff. etc.). 2. Compared with the prooemium of the Homeric poems, the opening of the Aeneid shows closer resemblance to that of the Odyssey(1.1-21)both in structure and in contents. In the Iliad the prooemium(1.1-12a)retrogresses into the past (menis→eris→cholos of Apollon) and then the narrative, beginning with the hikesia of Chryses, progresses in the reverse order (cholos of Apollon→eris→menis); in the opening of the Odyssey and the Aeneid, however, such a pattern is not to be detected, while more attention is paid to the earlier events (Troy's fall, the causes of Juno's wrath) and the situation of the hero just before the start of the narrative. Further, the theme of the Aeneid, i.e. the founding of Lavinium=Rome(1.5 f.) , is, as in the Odyssey(1.5), shown as a goal to be attained bythe hero, which then reveals itself as the nostos of Aeneas and the Aeneadae(3.94 ff., 163 ff., 7.239 ff., 8.36 f). It may be said that Virgil, while modelling the theme of the Aeneid on that of the Odyssey, expressed his intention to rival Homer's poem(and Livius' Odusia, v. infra). 3. There existed, in parallel with a legend making Aeneas the founder of Rome, another tradition that Ulixes=Odysseus had founded the city. Livius' Odusia, a first Latin epic and not a mere translation, appears to have been instrumental in making this tradition take root in Italy. Thus Virgil, taking upon himself to sing of Aeneas as the founder of Rome and ancestor of Augustus, may have confronted his arma virumque(=virum armatum)not only with ανδρα πολυτροπον of Homer but also with virum versutum of Livius(cf. Ennius, Ann. fr. 326 f., where the contrast with the opening of Odusia could also be observed). This Aeneas who is quite different from an Achilleus or an Aias in being fato profugus(i.e. in his pietas erga fata), is an entirely new creation of Virgil. In short, in the opening words of the Aeneid literary debt is acknowledged, and at the same time originality within the tradition is proclaimed(cf. the opening of Choirilos' Persika, Ennius' Annales etc.). In this sense arma virumque cano is the sphragis of an epic poet who introduces a new hero in the Augustan Rome. The "ille ego……" verses, on the other hand, show a sphragis of Virgil's poetic career and, as such, cannot be placed side by side with arma virumque cano which proclaims originality within the epic tradition. It seems very likely that someone who was not</p><p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>