Aeneas as a Hero and Leader Essay

     Is Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, really an epic hero? An epic hero embodies several heroic traits such as; having superior or super-human strength; being intellectual and courageous; and being a strong and responsible leader. An epic hero struggles and is overwhelmed with difficulties. An epic hero is on a quest of self discovery, war or some sort of goal. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca after ten years of war in Troy. Odysseus, during his quest, is forced to venture through a merciless Cyclops, angered Gods, deeply obstinate Goddesses, the underworld, and determined suitors that are after his wife Penelope. Odysseus surmounts

in the Aeneid, Aeneas is meant to go to Italy, to reclaim a home for troy after the fall of the city. He falls in love with Dido and get the conflicts of listening to the gods command.

Who is the best example of a hero? Hercules. He is the mortal son of zeus. Hercules is the strongest hero of all time. Not only does he have incredible strength, but he is very caring of his family and mortals. Hercules is not just one of those basic, amatuer heros, he has so much experience since he had performed 12 labours. These are some of the reasons why Hercules is known as the greatest hero of all time.

In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, the ideal Roman hero is depicted in the form of Aeneas. Not only does Aeneas represent the Roman hero, but he also represents what every Roman citizen is called to be. Each Roman citizen must posses two major virtues, he must remain pious, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In the poem, Aeneas encompasses both of these virtues, and must deal with both the rewards and costs of them.

Many think being a hero is having super powers, but on the contrary it's more than that. A hero is one who is distinguished for their courage and bravery, and looked upon for their great deeds. A hero like this is not just found in modern society today, but in mythology as well. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus earns the title of a true hero by conveying many qualities such as: determination, courage and leadership.

After the winds called upon by Juno strand them on the coast and result in the loss of even more companions, Aeneas addresses the weary and discouraged men, saying, “Oh comrades - for surely we are not ignorant of troubles before - Oh men having suffered rather serious things, the gods will also give an end to this” ('O socii - neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum - O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem)

Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid describe the journeys of the two Greek heroes –Odysseus and Aeneas, as they struggle towards their goal through the crises and deadly situations caused by the wrath of the gods upon them. In the Odyssey, we see that Poseidon (god of the sea/earth shaker) has a grudge against Odysseus while Athena, god of wisdom, aids him throughout his journey. Similarly in the Aeneid, we see that goddess Juno dislikes Aeneas as he is destined to destroy the city of Carthage loved by Juno during his mission to find a new land- Rome, whereas Aeneas’ mother Venus aids him.

Throughout the beginning of the Aeneid Dido, the queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, son of Venus and leader of the Trojans have an intimate relationship that ends in death. The relationship begins in Book I when Venus, the goddess of love, has her other son Cupid fill Dido with passion for Aeneas, to ensure Aeneas's safety in this new land. "Meanwhile Venus/Plotted new stratagems, that Cupid, changed/ In form and feature, should appear instead/ Of young Ascanius, and by his gifts/ Inspire the queen to passion, with his fire/ Burning her very bones." (693) Venus did this to protect Aeneas and his son, in fear that Dido would have otherwise been cruel to them.

While the ending of The Aeneid might be seen to have multiple significances, I believe that Virgil ended the poem the way he did to make a statement about the use of power to achieve dominance and rulership: namely, that a lust for nothing but power will ultimately consume. The poem ends with Turnus and Aeneas facing each other one-on-one on the battlefield. However, it should be noted that there are fundamental differences between the philosophies of the two combatants which should first be grasped to fully understand the significance of Aeneas’s actions in ending the war. Before the battle between Aeneas and Turnus begins, the reader gets a glimpse of Turnus’s philosophy regarding the stakes of the battle. “Either I’ll send, with my hand, this deserter of Asia, this Dardan, / Down to the Pit of the Damned—and the Latins can sit down and watch while / My lone sword is refuting the charge of dishonor we all share; / Or you [Latinus] must share my defeat. And Lavinia must go as this man’s wife.” (12.14-17) Turnus believes that in war, there is no possible outcome but for one leader and his entire army to be wiped out in the other side’s pursuit of honor and glory. Aeneas’s views on the battle are displayed earlier in the poem, when he journeys down into the underworld and is instructed in Trojan battle philosophy by his deceased father Anchises. “You, who are Roman, recall how to govern mankind with your power. / That will be your special ‘Arts’: the enforcement of peace as

Imagine you were a well- recognized noble; you had everything you could ever possibly want. Then imagine sudden defeat. You are no longer a noble, but a fugitive. There seems to be no victory in the future, and you have lost all hope. Right when everything seemed lost, you overcame obstacles and were finally back on top. Anthony Esolen gave a simple statement on how astonishing the losses of Aeneas really were. “Virgil

The second time Aeneas is saved is when Apollo encourages Aeneas to challenge Achilles. Aeneas was reluctant at first, “Why press

In book eleven, Virgil stresses the protagonist’s views on unnecessary violence when Latin envoys are sent to Aeneas to beg for a truce so they may collect their dead to which Aeneas replies “I would wish for those that were killed to have left this battle alive and I would wish not to have come here, if the fates had not given me this place and this home. Nor do I wage war with this race. It was the King who abandoned our friendship and trusted more in the weapons of Turnus” . Here we can see clearly that Aeneas was reluctantly forced into this war, not necessarily by the Latins but rather by the fates. It is possible that Virgil wished to communicate his own opinions on war to his audience in a subtle and stylistic manner by using Aeneas as his mouthpiece. Aeneas is the hero who we have all grown to love by this point in the epic and so expressing ideas via him would be the best approach as they will be more easily accepted when suggested by a well liked character. This technique could also allow Virgil to convey his personal thoughts in such a way that it would still be in keeping with the rest of the story. Virgil further suggests that an intense desire for combat is unhealthy and not particularly admirable by portraying Turnus, the enemy, as the embodiment of such a characteristic. After being manipulated by Allecto, Virgil states that the “love of the sword raged

What would you do if your homeland was destroyed and you were forced to seek another home in a faraway country? Would it test your leadership skills? Would you become timid in the face of such a tremendous task? Well, this is exactly what is faced by Aeneas in the epic poem, The Aeneid. Except on top of every other obstacle in his way he is also responsible for getting all of the other survivors to their new homeland. However, the whole story is overshadowed by a battle for power between the Gods that Aeneas is caught in the middle of. While much of what Aeneas does throughout the poem shows great leadership skills, he is still a human and has flaws. We see many of the Army’s core values as we look at Aeneas’ leadership style. It is these values that we will be talking about today. First I will be talking about how duty affects Aeneas’ leadership style. Secondly, I will discuss how respect affects his ability to lead his men through the trials and tribulations which they must endure throughout the epic. Thirdly, I will talk about how we can see selfless service demonstrated through his actions. Fourthly, I will be discussing how his honor dives his whole life and how we can see this demonstrated throughout the story. Fifthly, I will give examples of how Aeneas’ Integrity shaped his leadership style. Sixthly, I will talk about how personal courage is shown by the whole group of Trojans that embarked on the journey. Finally, I will give a brief overview of how all of these

Aeneas’ growing concern for his family is evident in lines 847-882. The idea of losing someone or multiple people is discussed “Vel quae, Tiberine, videbis funeral, cum tumulum praeterlabere recentem!” This is Anchises asking, “ O Tiber when shall thou glide by the fresh made tomb?” Anchises also asks what funeral rights there are. This stresses that the characters are concerned with death and may even be foreshadowing a death or multiple in the near future. Additionally, this concern for death obviously demonstrates the care Aeneas has for his family. Family is often directly discussed in this passage as well, specifically Anchises, the father of Aeneas, who says, “ tum pater Anchises lacrimis ingressus obortis” / “Then, father Anchises began rising with tears” Virgil introduces Anchises, Aeneas’ father into this passage because Anchises goes on to discuss the journey Aeneas is on, the dangers of it, and that

“The Aeneid” by Virgil is a story about true heroism in times of war. Wars have always offered many opportunities for heroes to prove themselves. Most of the characters in the Aeneid are seen entering the war enthusiastically in the hope of honoring and glorifying their names. However, Aeneas demonstrates heightened responsibility toward the people he leads. At no point does he show selfishness in the wish for his name to be glorified and honored at death. In essence, Aeneas is committed to the destiny of his people. This uniqueness makes Aeneas an epic hero unlike previous heroes such as Odysseus. Aeneas is duty-bound and he follows nothing but fate. Consequently, he is prepared to suffer any loss or harm as long as he reaches where fate directs him to go. Aeneas is an epic hero because he is a dutiful servant to fate, he performs his duties patriotically, his instills confidence in his people, and he is highly responsible for his family and his people.