Hercules' and the Cacus.

The first part I want to talk about is how each story actually goes in depth on the physical and characteristic traits of Hercules. For Example, Livy lacks the detail on Hercules' traits and the back story behind the whole thing. Vergil goes into very deep detail. For example Livy states "as Cacus tried to prevent him by force from entering the cave, he was killed by a blow from Hercules' club". There is not much detail said about Hercules' feelings and what went on before this happens. As Vergil states "Hercules arrived in tearing passion, turning his head this way and that, scanning every approach, and gashing his teeth, hot with rage, three times he tried the stony doorway in vain". This quote mentions the eternal thoughts and emotions going through Hercules' head while he is about to enter the cave. Providing much more detail than Livy. Virgil also describes that battle that Hercules goes through with Cacus and himself. "with unaccustomed howling and rained boughts and giant blocks of stone at him". As Livy mentions virtually nothing on this topic. Virgil however, concentrates more on the aspect on the conflict with Hercules and Cacus, and not so much how it started as Ovid and Levy are stronger in information on this topic. Ovid and and Levy both describe Cacus in different sense. By reading both, they defiantly portray Cacus as a totally different person. Livy portrays Cacus more as a peacfull shepherd living near by where Hercules. As Ovid sais "over the entrance hung human arms arms and skulls, and the ground whitened bones". Ovid also uses the term "fierce Cacus". This shows that conflict between Cacus and Hercules may have been foreseen more with Ovid, and also may have been more intense. It also shows Hercules less of cold blooded creature and may have had reason to confront cacus. As Livy portrays Cacus and more as an innocent figure.

I believe that the reason Livy wrote the story that he wrote was not so much to include as much detail as possible. The main reason was to get a message across and make people make a connection. He mentioned Remus and Romulus so people could make a connection between Hercules and Cacus and relate that to both the internal and external conflict with Remus and Romulus and also them being abandoned in the forest and then getting rescued again, then Romulus creating Rome and making it powerful. By Livy putting to much detail in the Hercules it would not accurately portray the story people know about Romulus and Remus. I could not make a connection with Romulus and Remus in Ovid and Virgil. Livy also mention the overseeing and counting of the birds flying over head witch makes another connection with Romulus and Remus. He portrays this as an omen because it ultimately led to the death of Remus in the Romulus and Remus. Livy's story is and in essence, a fairy tale with in a fairy tail. By understating Hercules and Cacus, we better understand Romulus and Remus by the sense of what conflict went on in both stories.