Examples Of Pietas In The Aeneid

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Pietas translates from Latin and its simplest form means duty. For the Romans this meant an inherent duty to one’s country, family, gods, and the community. Pietas is a reoccurring theme throughout The Aeneid. This signifies how much this is valued in Roman culture. A strong example of this is in the moment where Aeneas carries his father on his back out of the carnage of Troy. He does this while leading his son and carrying out their household idols. Once they are safely out of the city Aeneas goes back to search for his missing wife. In this scene Aeneas is carrying out his pietas on many fronts, not only to his father but to his family and the Gods as well.
Aeneas fulfills his pietas to his father by carrying him out of the wreckage of troy . Even After his Father says, “ if the gods on high had wished me to live on, they would have saved a palace for me here.”(793) Because his father is elderly, he would be unable to walk by himself for long distances. Aeneas decides to carry his father on his back to remove him from the danger. Aeneas is Protecting his father by taking him to a safe place. Aeneas fulfills Pietas to his father because it is Aeneas’ duty to protect his family. By carrying his father out of the city, Aeneas is fulfilling pietas to his father. …show more content…

Letting any harm come to the vessels would have been sacrilegious and could have invoked the wrath of the gods. There are examples throughout The Aeneid of the gods lashing out if harm comes to their idols. Aeneas himself even refuses to touch the idols due to blood on his hands, “I must not handle the holy things - it’s wrong- not till I cleanse myself…” (894). By protecting the God’s idols Aeneas is fulfilling his pietas to the gods by ensuring that no harm come to their sacred

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