Virgil's Influence Of The Gods In The Aeneid

COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE PORTRAYAL OF THE GODS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID AND OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. There is a significant difference in the treatment of the gods in the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, even though both authors were writing in the epic tradition. Virgil wrote his Aeneid in the last ten years of his life, between 29BC and 19BC, after the Battle of Actium, in 31BC, which was significant, as it established Octavian as the sole emperor, Augustus, of Rome. The Aeneid is a celebration of Augustus' achievements and rejoices in the development of Rome. There is a great sense of political propaganda, as well as an historical element, as it illustrates the origins of the Roman people.

     A comparison between Virgil's hero, Aeneas, and the Homeric heroes, Achilles and Odysseus, brings up the question concerning the relevance of the difference between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas. The differences in the poets' concerns are explained by the fact that Virgil lived many years after Homer, giving Virgil the advantage of a more developed literary and philosophical society than Homer had at his disposal. But the question remains: how are the differences between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas relevant to the epic at large? This question will be answered by first pointing out the differences between Greek and Roman society, then explaining

Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of

Many people seem to be under the impression that the Aeneid is a celebration of Roman glory, led by the hero of fate Aeneas. I find these preconceived ideas hard to reconcile with my actual reading of the text. For starters, I have a hard time viewing Aeneas as a hero at all. Almost any other main characters in the epic, from Dido to Camilla to Turnus, have more heroic qualities than Aeneas. This is especially noteworthy because many of these characters are his enemies. In addition, Aeneas is presented as a man with no free will. He is not so much bound to duty as he is shielded by it. It offers a convenient way for hum to dodge crucial moral questions. Although this doesn’t necessarily make

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 protagonist of the Aeneid and known hero to many, Aeneas, was a man of many virtues. His courage and obedience towards the Roman gods are clearly shown all throughout the book, as well as his passion for justice. When he leaves his lover, Dido, at the bidding of the gods, he shows obedience even when it went against his own will. The time Aeneas travels into the underworld to find his deceased father, it shows great bravery. It is even seen by the example of the crew of Aeneas that he was an incredible person, judging by how loyal they were to him. But, even with all these wonderful attributes, Aeneas wasn’t the entirely heroic person we believe him to be.

Are the deeds of mortal characters in the Aeneid controlled by the gods or by fate? Aeneas must fulfill the will of the gods, while enduring the wrath of other gods, all the while being a worthy predecessor of Augustus and founder of the Roman people. Of course, the Trojan is successful because he gives himself up to these other obligations, while those who resist the will of the gods, Dido and Turnus, die sad deaths.

Later, Aeneas decides to return to the path molded for him: “in spite of all he obeys the gods’ commands and back he goes to his ships.” (Virgil, p. 141) Aeneas ignores his passion for Dido and continues on his path of obligation to Troy. It was not the decision of the gods, nor the doing of fate; Aeneas’ decisions are his own. However, if Aeneas would have strayed towards his desires, he would have continuously ended up within the line of his destiny because regardless of our wants we ultimately walk within the parameters Fate allows. Virgil

Aeneas shows great commitment to the Gods throughout his mission in “The Aeneid”. He believes this devotion and trust in the divine is the meaning of “the good life”. He is so devoted to his duty that he introduces himself to strangers by stating his service to the Gods. He states,

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

Virgil’s portrayal of Aeneas can arguably be based off of Augustus. His characterisation and values he is shown to possess demonstrate that of an ideal Roman citizen; the value most referenced and recognisable in the text is his piety. This refers to his religiousness and his ability to put duty before his own wants and needs. An example of this is him leaving Dido (Virgil Aen, 4.393-394). This abandoning of Dido, although tragic, shows his pietas to the will of the gods, his followers and to his son Iulus. Although a modern view of this part of the story suggests Virgil is pitying Dido and the Carthaginians and presenting Aeneas as cold and unsympathetic, to the Romans of the time Aeneas is performing his duty to the future state. Also, the Roman’s prized moderation and self control therefore Dido’s reaction to Aeneas leaving would be seen as excessive and over-dramatic which would reinforce the idea of non-Romans being barbarians and also demonstrates Virgil’s propagandistic intentions. Virgil successfully uses the Dido affair to strengthen and develop this idea of piety.

“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.

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,

It is chiefly the duty to the gods, as well as to country and family, all of which Aeneas is shown to display throughout the story. As the purpose of writing the Aeneid was to give the roman empire an illustrious founding, it would make sense for the hero to be of a pious and dutiful nature, which all Romans should aspire to. Yet there are moments when Aeneas strays from this depiction, for example, when he sees Helen and longs to get revenge for the fall of his country despite knowing there is no honour or fame in punishing a woman [2.568-589]. There is divine intervention here when his mother appears to show him that there are more important things he needs to do than kill a woman. Nonetheless, a short while later, when he learns of his wife Creusa’s death, Aeneas says he ‘stormed and raged and blamed every god and man that ever was’ [746-7], which goes directly against the notion of pietas. And yet he displays it again when he has to give up Dido in book 4 to carry on his journey.

How about Virgil’s? Let see the function of the gods in the Aeneid. According to Dorothea (1930), the existence of gods in the book is to symbolise the human struggle for and against fate. That seems to become necessarily to have the gods intervene in human’s life as it is the purpose of writing. For example, Aeneas and his fellows needed to fight for their lives in the tempest because of the instigation of Juno. Readers could see how brave and tough Aeneas was and he possessed the characteristics that a hero should have. That makes the story reasonable as readers might not see Aeneas a hero if they could not feel the hardship he had