Divine Intervention In The Aeneid

One of the most important values that Aeneas embodies is pietas. Pietas is a nigh-untranslatable word that means great devotion and piety, the two words Lombardo uses most in his translation of the Aeneid to indicate this value. Randall Ganiban, in his introduction to the Aeneid states that “Aeneas is placed in such a difficult position because of his pietas – his duty towards his family, state, and the gods (Ganiban, p.15).” Aeneas struggles to balance his sense of duty towards all three and the fact that despite his immortal parentage, he is simply a human man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He possesses an almost supernatural sense of duty, which is why it is very strange that he finds some of his strongest opposition in the form of the divine. Juno, queen of the gods, violently opposes Aeneas’ quest for Rome. This is marked as strange by Virgil: “That she forced a man of faultless devotion / To endure so much hardship” (Aen. 1.14-15, Lombardo). Aeneas is known throughout the land for his

Anger can always incite irrational actions. The sight of Helen seeking shelter at the altar, causes Aeneas to remember the crimes she committed driving him to furious anger. This anger drives him to contemplate an ignoble and uncharacteristic act of revenge by murdering Helen as she sought protection from the gods. Despite being depicted as a virtuous hero, Aeneas’ strong, visceral reaction to seeing Helen shows that he is subject to the same passionate feelings all humans feel, especially when something raises his anger.

First of all, when Aeneas shoots down seven deer for his men after they are shipwrecked, this shows that he is both physically strong and selfless. Aeneas volunteers to find food for the men, and as they are presumably all tired and traumatized, it is noble of him to do this, as well as amazing that he still has the strength and stamina to do this after the shipwreck. In lines 189 - 194, it says,

Aeneas, the central figure in the Aeneid, personifies the Roman value of pietas. Pietas is one’s “respect for the gods, and dedication to both one’s family and community” (Lecture 10/20/17). Therefore, Aeneas starts the Aeneid very much unlike the traditional Homeric hero and as a consequence, unlike Achilles. In fact, the Aeneas closely resembles the Trojan prince Hector, the defender of Troy in the Iliad. He characterizes each of the qualities of pietas in his escape from Troy. During his escape, he states “take into your hands, Father, the sacred gods / of our country” because “it would be a sacrilege” if Aeneas had with his bloodied hands (Aen. 2.844 - 845) Aeneas is

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

Additionally, as an oriental queen, we must remember how Dido along with the other women from the old world, held little to no place in the vision of the new Rome. I believe the way in which Aeneas treats those who are not directly included in his prophecy; particularly in this scene, raises interesting ideas about Aeneas character. It is easy for the reader to forget that he is not born a hero like the epic heroes who came before him like Odysseus, rather he becomes one as the story progresses. He is therefore forgiven any human errors of judgement, including deserting Dido in favour of fulfilling his

In his journey, Aeneas encounters a multitude of trials and tribulations, each refining an integral characteristic of his role as a hero and leader. “Duty-bound Aeneas”, as Virgil regularly describes him, chooses to end his affair with the Carthaginian Queen Dido, appointing duty to a higher level of importance than love (I.519). The remorse displayed by Aeneas as he placates her spirit in the Underworld demonstrates his sincere regret for having hurt her. With regards to Dido, Aeneas chooses to fulfill his divine responsibility rather than succumb to emotion. However, in his struggle with the Latins, Aeneas displays inconsistent behavior and a lack of such a defined moral code, culminating in the killing of Turnus. Turnus pleads with Aeneas to return his body to his father , yet instead of honoring Turnus’ request for a proper

Aeneas is a person who holds his family and friends close to his heart, but doesn’t show care to people who he feels have done acts that harm his loved ones. Test of character that confront him are losing people that he loved to death, having to enter the Underworld, leaving Dido for his fate to travel to Italy, and facing Turnus in battle after Turnus killed Pallas. Aeneas passes all of test he is given with minor setbacks, like being able to leave the Underworld alive, but he carries the mourning of the deaths of his loved one through the entire myth. The temptations he resists are staying with Dido in Carthage, and letting the death of people he cared for stop him from his journey. Aeneas resist staying with Dido because his fears what the gods would do if he didn’t leave Carthage for Italy. He doesn’t let the death of loved ones stop his journey, because most of them wanted Aeneas to continue his journey and reach his destiny. Aeneas find the task of killing Turnus out of revenge for Pallas’s death irresistible, since Pallas was Aeneas’s friend and seeing Turnus with Pallas’s belt filled Aeneas with rage.

The reason behind is because of the gods. Paris, the Trojan prince decided Venus as the prettiest woman instead of Juno and Minerva. Therefore, Juno and Minerva helped the Greeks to against Trojan in the Trojan War. When Troy fell, Aeneid fled as one of the Trojan warriors, and start his seven years wanderings. So, as the gods could interfere with human’s fate, should the god stay away and not to interfere with human?

It is consistently difficult to understand in old world literature, from Homeric epics to Virgil's work, The Aeneid, what the relation of fate is to the Pantheon of gods. There seems to be an ongoing debate within the texts discussing whether "fate" is the supreme ruling force in the universe and the controlling element of the lives of men, or whether fate is the will of the king of gods, Jupiter. In, The Aeneid, several situations and instances of the use of fate are presented to the reader. The direction and destination of Aeneas's course are preordained, and his various sufferings and glories in battle and at sea over the course of the epic merely postpone his unchangeable destiny.

Many may tell themselves, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”, William Ernest Henley’s, Invictus. Individuals often believe life is independent of outside forces; one does not often ponder whether situations that introduce decisions or experiences are controlled by fate and the gods. In Virgil’s The Aeneid, he introduces the notion that we are all subject to the workings of fate regardless of our will or desire; this is shown through the tragic romance between Aeneas, a Trojan, and Dido, the queen of Carthage. Their love and lives are a combination of free will, fate, and the work of the gods. We are all brought into the world without choice, thus lack the will to change our destiny from birth. In the end, however it

Although to remain pious and to remain loyal are virtues that every roman should possess, there are some costs that sometimes outweigh the rewards. By following his destiny, Aeneas was put in an enormous amount of danger, that he would not have been put in if he had not fled Troy, in search for Rome. When he first leaves Troy, he knows that he may have to put himself in dangerous positions, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to please the Gods. Also, Aeneas lost nearly everything that he once had during the course of the poem. He lost his father, his lover, and ultimately, he loses his identity. Losing your own identity is the greatest loss that anyone could suffer and Aeneas does experience that loss. These losses that Aeneas endures, greatly outweigh the rewards that Aeneas acquires in the end of the poem. Aeneas defeats Turnus and gains the Roman empire, but that is how the story is left. There are no celebrations, there is no wedding for Aeneas and Lavinia. It is just over. The reward is that he has accomplished what he set out to do, but the reader is not shown how or if Aeneas is rewarded in a physical way.

The role of the gods in the aeneid is clear from the onset: it is the journey aeneas must make to fulfill the will of the gods at the same time as enduring the fury of other gods in order to become founder of the roman race (find a quote). Aeneas is able to do this through his self-sacrifice and ability to resist temptations and own desires, whereas those that do not and resist the will of the gods die tragic deaths eg dido and turnus.

Thanks to Neptune, though, they are only thrown off course, and Venus assures that they will not be harmed in Carthage. At times in the Aeneid, it seems as if the story is less about the deeds of the mortal characters than about the bickering of the gods, who continuously disrupt or manipulate events on Earth. The one common theme, though, is that fate always comes true. Aeneas is destined to settle in Italy, and nothing can prevent this. Jupiter sees to it that his overall plan will come to pass by helping out Venus.

Homer used pride as the tragic flaw that Achilles learned to overcome, whereas Virgil used a sense of duty as Aeneas’s tragic flaw. Homer portrayed Achilles as arrogant because he allowed his men to fight a battle he knew they could not win without him. Achilles asked his mother for Zeus to favor the Trojans so that he could regain the honor that he felt Agamemnon stripped away. Aeneas’s tragic flaw unlike Achilles was his sense of duty, which in turn he encountered pitfalls during his escape from Troy. Achilles battled for personal glory and his own honor as a warrior whereas Aeneas spent his time attempting to fulfill his mission, which forced him to invade and conquer, a duty given to him by the gods. “Virgil unites and conjoins all the virtues in the formation of his hero: He gives him religion towards the gods, piety towards his country, tenderness and friendship towards his relations, and equity and justice towards all” (Rapin). On the contrary, Homer magnified the tragic flaw in Achilles, which cost him his sanity because he became obsessive with revenge. Although Aeneas’s flaw appears minor in comparison to Achilles, it led him to be an instrument of gods, which in turn destroyed innocent lives. Mercury appeared to Aeneas to remind him of his mission and told him, “Oblivious of your own world, your own kingdom…He [Zeus] and no other sent me to you…Think of the