Euryalus' mother always stood out among the others. She left the other mothers behind to stay with her son while most of the women decided to live in Sicily instead of making the arduous journey. She was also highlighted in the battle in which her son died as she ran among the soldiers towards the front line to find Euryale's body as soon as the news reached her. Distinctions were made between her and other mourners of her son's very recognizable body by the speech she gave alongside him. This speech says a lot about the increased importance of sacrifice and self-sacrifice found in The Aeneid, compared to the Iliad or the Odyssey, through the sacrifices made for Euryale by her mother and the other people in his life and death. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay The entire presence of Euryale's mother in the poem The Aeneid seemed like a sacrifice for her son. Time and again, she puts her life before her own, a concept not found in Homer's epics. The speech she gives at his side when she sees him dead also speaks of his death. “Put your spears into me, Rutuli, if you can be moved,” she said to the men around her, and “send this hateful soul into the abyss,” she said to Zeus, begging them to take away her life (Aeneid 9.700-04). Her life was so centered around Euryale that it doesn't mean much to her without him. She risked her life to reach his body and deliver this moving speech after hearing by word of mouth that he had been killed, ignoring the fighting and going to the front of the battle for him (Aeneid 9.675-79). It was only after she selflessly left behind the other mothers, many of whom could have been her friends, when they decided to stop in Sicily and found Aethilla, so that she could continue with his son (Aeneid 5.825-8). This wasn't the case in The Odyssey, as familiar connections didn't mean much sacrifice. Telemachus rarely, if at all, defended his mother, thinking more of himself and his missing father. Odysseus refused the temptation to return home to his family, but this was unquestionably selfish as he lost the lives of his crew in often stupid, selfish and narcissistic ways, putting more effort into achieving his own goals than into s take care of himself. a whole crew of men. He caused the loss of many lives simply because his ego caused him to reveal his name to a Cyclops who he had previously refused to give his name to, thus showing that he knew some sort of danger involved in giving freely a name. Rather, Eneis worked to care for his crew and to truly lead. Instead of staying behind to mourn his lost wife, he continued to take part in her destiny. When the women were burning the ships, he could have easily left them there to die in revenge, but instead he took the time to help them and the elderly build themselves a city in which to thrive. He sacrifices much of his life to help fulfill a prophecy, leaving behind a queen he no doubt loved to commit suicide, crying when she turns away from him in the underworld. The speech that Euryale's mother gives to lament the death of her son shows the central theme of sacrifice throughout the epic. Her mother's love led her to care so deeply for Euryale and sacrifice much of her own life for his, but she was not alone. to do it. His father.