with much less travail. The Trojans are simply subject todisaster, for no reason whatsoever. The winds are specifically portrayed asbound furor for this reason; in Virgil's world furor is always present and canstrike at any time. At the moment, this is just a subtle difference, butfurther into the episode it becomes magnified. In the Odyssey, Odysseus meets Nausikaa and wins her over, earning passageinto the city. He then proceeds to Phaiakia and meets Athena in the guise ofa little girl. With Athena's guidance he makes his way to the palace, under amist which screens him from sight. There he stops to admire the courtyard andorchard, and pauses to form his thoughts before entering. He then finds Areteand beseeches her to help him. The corresponding scenes have been fused andaltered in the Aeneid. Aeneas first tries to scout the area and meets Venusin the guise of a Tyrian girl. With Venus's guidance he makes his way to thetemple/court, under a similar mist. While admiring the city builders, hestops and laments over some frescoes of the Trojans war. He sees Didodispensing justice in her court, and then sees his comrade Ilioneus winningher over. After observing this he reveals himself and thanks Dido for hersympathy and help. Here we begin to see the divergence between the episodes. Phaiakiarepresents the ultimate god-blessed society, so fortunate that it has nounderstanding of the suffering present in human experience. One is led tobelieve that they have never known hunger or thirst, since their palace has anorchard upon which "[f]ruits never failed"7; they feast on "abundant fare"8and have a clear fountain to serve "all who came for water."9 Nor have thePhaiakians ever known true conflict or division, as "[n]o grace or wisdomfails in [Arete]; indeed just men in quarrels [go] to her for equity"10 and"the power or [their] people stands"11 with Alkinoos. It is also certain thatthe Phaiakians have never known war, sinc...
