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The role of fate in the aeneid
Give me a reflection of Virgil’s Aeneid
The role of fate in the aeneid
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Aeneas is portrayed as a hero by Virgil in the Aeneid. He has earned this title because he was a Trojan prince who lead his people toward the founding of a new Trojan state (Rome). Aeneas served the gods dutifully and never lost focus of his mission, even if the odds seemed very much against him. He devoted himself to his family, and his country; but, was a flawed man with open feelings. Nonetheless, because Aeneas was the son of a mortal and the goddess Venus, which meant Aeneas received special protection of the gods.
Aeneas showed devotion to his son (when he ensured his son escaped the fall of Troy), making him an excellent father. Also, he is a very thoughtful son too. He respects his father, Anchises, greatly that he carried his father from the city of Troy as it fell to the enemy and assumed his reign. Even after his father died Aeneas made sacrifices to the gods and celebrates their glory and power via athletic games. Aeneas knew he had this responsibility to both his family and his people and didn’t take it lightly. It feels as if Aeneas had taken a love towards his people similar a parent would have over their children. There is definitely an emotional bond displayed concerning
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Aeneas also knew fate was on his side because of the prophecies given to him. But this fate is clear when Aeneas can accomplish arduous tasks that man might find impossible or extremely difficult. This is seen multiple times in the story, for example, in Book VI Aeneas faces many hardships, especially when he obtains the “golden bough” from a tree with ease. He also entered into numerous battles with men and monsters and is successful because this is all predestined by the gods. Aeneas was meant to survive all of this so he could ultimately build a great city and secure a future and safety for his
In both characters loyalty and dutifulness is a central ideal that they stick to. In The Aeneid Aeneas’ loyalty and sense of duty is seen in many instances, such as when they arrive on the shores of Italy and takes refuge Dido’s city of Carthage. While there, Aeneas and his people feast and live well, and Aeneas has the opportunity
Out of the two heroes Gilgamesh was the one who was most aggressive and pursued the more ambitious goal, though it was one near impossible to achieve. Gilgamesh wanted to have a power that only the gods possessed. He wanted to be immortal. Aeneas never sought such an unachievable task, and was not as determined as Gilgamesh was. Aeneas only had to find a place where the defeated Trojans could settle and found a new city. Once in the story he even had to be reminded of his destiny by the Jupiter when he was distracted by his love for Dido.
... wife and home as well as his place in Carthage in the name of the gods, in the name of a quest that does not directly benefit him. From this pursuit, he does not stand to gain spoils, and the most that could be said of his fame would be drawn from his descendents. It is this moral stance, this understanding of universal placement, of purpose, that sets Aeneas apart from other heroes.
To begin, both the leadership qualities and flaws of Aeneas and Odysseus must be examined in order to determine who the better leader is. Virgil presents Aeneas very differently than Homer presents Odysseus. They are both certainly heroes, but Aeneas seems more accessible and a stronger leader, due to the way Virgil presents him. Virgil illustrated Aeneas as a man that had to participate in many tests and tempering’s, and from that, his heroism was seen as flawless. The same goes along with Homers’ Odysseus, yet in a different, more astounding way.
While on their quest for home, Aeneas and Odysseus are delayed by women who love them. Dido loves Aeneas, and he is willing to stay and live the sweet life in Carthage (Virgil 1093). However, Aeneas has a duty to found a new city, and must leave Carthage and his beloved Dido. “Duty-Bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire to calm and comfort her in all her pain, to speak up to her and turn her mind from grief, and though he sighed his heart out, shaken with love, yet took the course heaven gave him” (Homer 1097). As expected of an ideal Roman leader, Aeneas will sacrifice his happiness for the greater good, the future Roman Empire.
For a year, Aeneas delayed his destiny and departure to Italy by settling down with queen Dido in Carthage. The gods deliver a message to Aeneas and to his dismay he must leave “the land of his love” and resume his destiny (Aen. 4.). Though his parting from Dido is emotional, and he leaves her broken and suicidal, Aeneas remains level-headed and strong-willed, a noble quality known as gravitas to the Romans. By Aeneas having to leave Dido, he is overcoming a very emotional obstacle; he is leaving despite a chance of stability and love, the first since the death of his wife.
Aeneas feels great pride and energy regarding his role in history and is anxious to continue on his journey. The gods are trying to convince Aeneas to value duty to his city and family, a kind of affiliation or relation by virtue of descent as-if from a parent, above duty to a lover by mere affiliation, or arbitrary association. This perspective on an appeal to authority still hinges on a relationship between Aeneas' desire for affiliation and public authority as the authority of filial priority. We learn early on in this epic that Aeneas is a very important character because of his divine parentage. After all, his mother is the Goddess Venus and his father's brother was the King of Troy.
Many view Aeneas as a symbol of pietas, which is one’s duty to his parents, fatherland, and gods. Others do not feel this way, and believe that he fails in some of his duties. One such criticism is that Aeneas succeeds as a warrior, but he fails as a husband and a father. If Aeneas truly disregarded his
Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.
The main way in which Aeneas is shown as a paradigm of virtue is by being a model for the Roman character. Aeneas’ specific mission is stated when Anchises is guiding Aeneas through Elysium, which is where he says, “‘Your mission, Roman, is to rule to world. / These will be your arts: to establish peace, / To spare the humbled, and to conquer the proud’” (Aen. 6. 1016-1018).
... prominent source of his weighty troubles. They are helpless to withstand the gods, restrain Aeneas from advancing towards Italy, and burn at women’s torches. Yet, his ships are invaluable to the overall success of his journey and the expression of his character. Aeneas is a ship, chugging toward western shores and providing refuge for his people. However, this extended analogy has greater importance to Virgil and the rest of human society. After the destruction of Troy, Aeneas has no country to protect or call his home. The cargo and soldiers aboard his ships are the remnants of his past civilization, but they are also the seeds for a new empire. Aeneas, just as his ships, is the invaluable carrier and protector of one of the greatest empires in all of human history – Rome.
... attempts they do just the opposite. With Venus’ many interventions, Aeneas is prevented from making mistakes and is guided to his fate, from not killing Helen [book 2] to leaving behind the old and the weak for Italy [book 4] . He is shown enough times to be the puppet of their play: from obeying the will of the gods while enduring the wrath of other gods, all this in order to set the wheels in motion for the far off future Roman race. However, there are also times when he is also shown to be exerting his won free will. For example, in book 12, killing Turnus when he is begging for mercy, something not heroic and which Susanna Braund debates the positive and negative aspect of in her essay on Virgil and the Meaning of the Aeneid [1.17-18]. nonetheless, this act demonstrates that even the gods and the fates require his cooperation to fulfil his destiny.
Aeneas was never held captive by any of the gods as was Odysseus. Aeneas got help from Venus (Goddess of love), his mother. She convinced him to stop fighting because she wanted him to rescue his family which was a lot more important. Jupiter also helped him because Aeneas’s wife told Jupiter that Aeneas was going to kill himself, so she wanted him to send Aeneas a sign telling him not to kill himself. Aeneas was going to do this because he found his father almost dead and decided to take his own life.
In Book I, we learn that Aeneas will be facing many obstacles on his journey because Juno (Hera) “in her sleepless rage” does not favor him (1.7). An issue Odysseus also had to deal with. The difference here is, unlike Odysseus who has angered Poseidon by blinding his son, Cyclops, Aeneas has not done anything to provoke this rage. Juno holds a grudge against Paris for not choosing her in a beauty competition against Minerva (Athena) and Venus, “that suffering, still rankled: deep within her, / Hidden away, the judgment Paris gave” (1.39-40). She also knows what is to come of Carthage, “That generations born of Trojan blood [Aeneas] / Would one day overthrow her Tyrian walls,” a city “[Juno] cared more for…/ Than any walled city of the earth” (1.31-32, 24-25). We know that Aeneas is set to build Rome so she will try her hardest to make him fail on his journey. In the case of Odysseus, Athena interc...
For the Romans, being a man included being able to do the things that either are the most painful or those which no one else will do. To Aeneas leaving his city and his people behind while they were under attack, was one of the toughest things he had to face. By like everything that Aeneas faced in The Aeneid, he