In The Aeneid there are rich implemented principles such as fate, discipline, and competition which greatly influenced the Roman empire causing it’s rise from obedience to the principles as well as it’s fall from disobedience. Virgil lived during the dawn of the rising sRoman empire, and his book was a catalyst to the greatness that grew within the nation. The Aeneid focused around the principle that fate’s power and dominance overrule human life, which in turn would bring indolence or proactivity depending on the individual’s capacity. Although fate can easily be ripped down as a belief it did many great things for the Romans whether it is real or not. Unfortunately the themes of deceit and trickery also crept into the book’s contents, which
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...
Aeneas’s piety and stoic nature are evident throughout The Aeneid. The fate that has been bestowed upon him necessitates suffering, as he must renounce his own personal desires for the future of the Roman people. Though there are many instances of Aeneas’s piety and stoic heroism throughout the poem, when the gods withdraw from intervening in human affairs, Aeneas’s piety is no longer evident and he bequeaths the heroic ideals that once guided him.
Jesse Monday
Dr. Key
Comp 2
9 May 2014
Title
Looking at Greek Mythology we tend to encounter the gods of that time. Sometimes they work in the background of the human part of the story, but in epics like The Odyssey the gods play a very large if not central role in the main developments of the story.
In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, a picture is painted of a very virtuous roman hero who remains pious and loyal to his people. This is the picture of Aeneas’ life. It is shown in the poem, that the costs that come with holding these virtues greatly outweigh the rewards. The rewards, although small, are on the inside of the hero and the costs are large and are on the outside. It is critical to follow your destiny no matter what it is, but that is a virtue that not only Roman heroes, but also all Romans must possess.
... 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.
In Greek mythology as a whole, fate does have a sizeable role in most tales. However, the definition of fate for the ancient Greeks extends from the common definition. The definition of fate that is familiar to us is anything that happens for an unknown reason and is out of our control. But in Greek mythology fate also involves divine intervention from the gods of Olympus. They are able to change outcomes and alter situations to the point where what occurs might not have happened without them. In The Odyssey, gods have a very prominent role. But you cannot just discuss fate by itself. Free will is also a factor. Free will is mankind’s ability to make decisions control the aspects of one’s life. In The Odyssey life is the individual’s responsibility.
“Am I to admit defeat/ Unable to keep these Trojans and their kings/ From Italy? Forbidden by the Fates, am I?” (1.50-52). Knowing the outcome doesn’t sway the decisions of Juno at all is overcome with rage. It is keen to note that rage is one of the most important themes of The Aeneid and is showed from the poem starts till it ends. Juno and Dido are the two major characters that are affected by this rage. It is Juno who allows Dido to believe that she and Aeneas are married; with hopes that Aeneas would not leave to the build the city of Rome. The intervention of the gods shows how they can easily sway the lives of their mortal men for their own personal desires. For example, when Juno incites rage on the Trojan women allowing them to burn their ships. Virgil clearly shows that aren’t no women of rationality all women are controlled by their emotions. It is clear from the start that Juno is on a man hunt to put an end to the Trojans reign; as result Aeneas becomes a subject of Juno’s rage. Virgil depicts Juno as vengeful Antagonist who tortures a pietious man,
Fate has a place in the Greek world but its place is not the same as it is in other scenarios or worlds. It is important to understand the word before we discuss it. Fate as far as Greek mythology goes is not just fate. By most standards fate means that things occur for an unknown reason that no one has any control over. However, in the world of Greek Mythology fate does not just happen. The gods engineer fate and they interfere to make things happen that might not otherwise have happened. Since the players do not always know of the gods' involvement, things may actually appear to be fate but in reality be engineered happenings.
We also see in the story what someone must sacrifice in order to fulfill their goals. Though Aeneas's destiny was much more grand than many of our own, we still must make choices that can sometimes hurt others. I really thought that Vergil captured our inner emotions with the affair between Dido and Aeneas.