Aeneid 9

Battle breaks out heavily. I found interesting the description of the man who was killed that was a "friend of the muses," Cretheus. This served to give a human side to the Trojans who are being massacred in that section of the passage. The gods continue to mettle with with the outcomes of battles but are responsive to the prayers of the soldiers. Echoes of the Iliad resonate as Apollo goes down and assumes a human form. Lots of descriptions of gore mark a sharp contrast to the so far prosaic nature of the book. This is the first major battle.�