what is the difference between achilles shield as that of aeneas
shield?Why were they both significant?

Hello Cynnryan,
Before I go on to the analysis of the shields, let me give you a
little backgrounder on shield insignias in ancient times. Shields were
emblazoned with personal symbols and devices to identify the shield’s
wielder. Sparta is thought to be the first military to use uniform
shield designs to tell apart friend from foe. In the Iliad and Aeneid
however, shields of the heroes were used as symbolic devices, carrying
messages about the stories they were in.


SOME REFERENCES ON GREEK SHIELDS AND ARMOR

LEGION XIIII. Ancient Greece Brought to Life...
http://www.legion-fourteen.com/greeks.htm

Classical Greek Shield Patterns
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/se/~luv20009/Greek_shield_patterns_1.html


AENEAS’ SHIELD
Comments on the Aeneid from Brooklyn College website
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classic/wilson/core/aeneid8.htm

Paper by Dominic Benincasa: The Aeneid’s Politics and the Odyssey’s
Family
http://www.skidmore.edu/~d_beninc/cl200.htm

Content of Aeneas’ shield:
- Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf
- Sabine women
- Sea battle of Actium, Augustus versus Antony and Cleopatra


ACHILLES’ SHIELD
The Shield of Achilles by Nagy, from Harvard website
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~chs/HPJ/cybershield2.html

Fifth-Century Athenian and Augustan Images of the Barbarian Other
http://www.ucd.ie/~classics/97/Hardie97.html

The Shield of Achilles - Preview of article from Academic Library
http://www.academiclibrary.com/view.php/English/Roman%20Culture/The%20Shield%20of%20Achilles.txt

SMCnet - Academics - An artist’s illustration of The Shield of
Achilles
http://smcnet.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/collegiate_seminar/achilles.html

The Iliad - Book 18 - The shield of Achilles - analysis
http://pages.cabrini.edu/jzurek/Homer/iliad18.htm

Analysis of Auden's "Shield of Achilles" poem, which uses the shield
description from the Iliad
http://megafiore.tripod.com/archives/id7.html

Content of Achilles’ shield:
- Two cities having feasts and marriages
- Dispute by two men over the death of another man, and they seek
judges to preside over the case.


ANALYSIS
What I could say basically about the differences:
- Theme: Aeneas shield paints a picture of glory for Rome. Achilles’
shield paints a gloomy picture of doom and suffering.
- Aeneas’ shield depicts a glorious achievement in the “future” of
Rome. As you may know, the Aeneid was commissioned to Virgil by Caesar
in order to celebrate the recent victory of Actium. Achilles’ shield
is more of a “nutshell” depiction of what was going on in the Siege of
Troy, showing that war is hell, and the happiness in cities is
short-lived, etc. The marriages and feasts depict Helen’s taking and
marriage to Paris. The dispute of the two men represents the duel of
Achilles and Hector after Patroklus’ death.
- Aeneas’ shield is about the future, and it’s the future of Rome
only. Achilles’ shield is about the present, but the message of its
scene can be applied to all times.
- Aeneas’ shield caters to the Roman delusion that their empire will
last forever. Achilles’ shield represents the reality that cities and
empires will rise and fall when war consumes them.


The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History 
by Philip Bobbitt
http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/pbobbitt/shieldofachilles/
- This book is an application of the thesis that Achilles’ shield can
depict war in any era.

I also hope you could pick more analyses from the websites I listed
above.

Google search terms used:
shield Aeneas
shield Achilles
ancient Greek shields

I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you have any problem
with it, do please post a Request for Clarification and I shall
respond. Thank you.

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Request for Answer Clarification by cynnryan-ga on 11 Jul 2003 07:19 PDT

why was the shields so important? Do they represent status? Thank you
so much for helping me...

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 11 Jul 2003 08:47 PDT

Cynnryan, 
I don't think they actually represented the status of the heroes who
carried them. They were already well revered even before receiving
their special items. But of course being the heroes, the main objects
of the story, they get to carry the symbolic stuff that is integral to
the message of the story. For example, if Achilles were not to carry
the shield that Hephaestus made, you would not immediately be able to
make the connection between his duel with Hector and the dispute
depicted on the shield. You could see the symbolism of the dispute too
when compared to the duel. The battle is like a court hearing, the
outcome of which will determine the course of the war, and the gods of
Olympus are the judges. As you know, Troy later lost to the Greeks,
and Hector's defeat at the hands of Achilles is a kind of prophecy of
this event.

From another point of view, if you play Warcraft 3, you could say
Achilles and Aeneas are like Heroes - only they are meant to hold the
powerful items. ;) I guess that's a common device in making fantasy
stories like the Iliad and Aeneid.

Is that clear enough? If there's anything else, you can post another
request for clarification. Thank you.