Juno Fear In The Aeneid

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In the first passage, Juno displeased by her inability to stop the trojans from getting to Italy, conveys her dismay through exemplification and position. At this point in the story, Juno’s plans to stop the Trojans from getting to Italy have all been futile. Juno mindful of the fact that Aeneas and his people are going to bring the destruction of the lands she favors most, Carthage, is desperate to stop them. At the beginning of the speech, Juno realizes that the fates refuse to let her stop Aeneas and his people from getting to Italy “mene incepto...Aiacis”(lines 4-6). Here the reader is able to see why Juno is in such a state of dismay. She is unable to use her power to help those who worship her the most, questioning her power as a divine …show more content…

The Queen proceeds to compare herself to Minerva, who was able to sink and drown an entire greek fleet on account of one man’s madness “Pallasne...acuto”(lines 6-12). Juno uses this example because Minerva, a goddess of lower stature and rank than herself was able to punish those that disrespected her priestess, once again questioning the power of the goddess. Yet Juno herself was not able to stop one man who will bring about the destruction of Carthage, making her question if people will come and honor her at her altars, or even respect her place among the divinities. In the second passage, Aeneas returns to find his family, with an inflamed mind “exarsere ignes animo”(line 1) and falls into a state of dismay when he lays eyes upon Helen. Realizing that Helen is the cause of all his misfortunes, Aeneas contemplates the action of ending her life. In the passage Aeneas notes that there is no fame for one who punishes a woman, but knows that he will be praised for punishing Helen, and that punishing her would calm his mind “feminea...satiasse meorum.’’(lines 10-13). Here the reader is able to see that Aeneas’ state of dismay is due to the fact that people dear to him are dying all around and while he can’t save them, he can rid the world of the person that caused the

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