The Aeneid has little influence from comedy, except in that it has a happy ending. There is obviously a great deal of influence drawn from epic, however. The character of Aeneas consciously imitates that of both Odysseus and Achilles. One might make a case that Virgil is trying to outdo Homer by creating a hero who is both a great adventurer who rivals Odysseus and an invincible warrior who outdoes Achilles. The fact that his mission is more profound than that of either—laying the foundations of a mighty empire—consolidates his position as the greatest of all epic heroes.

The Aeneid also shows the influence of tragedy in the story of Dido. Once again, the tragedy has ramifications beyond the personal. Dido's death and the curses she calls down on Aeneas are the mythological basis of the great rivalry between Rome and Carthage.

All these influences, along with the other literary influences from history and other genres, differentiate Virgil's epic from the Odyssey. The Odyssey is an authentic or primitive epic, which is to say that it is not originally the production of a single known author. It is traditionally attributed to a blind bard named Homer, but "Homer" really is only a placeholder name. It has no discernible literary influences from any genre, coming from the time of oral tradition.