Is Aeneas a Good Warrior?

2897 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How aeneas is presented as a hero

Is Aeneas a Good Warrior?

'I sing of arms and of the man, fated to be an exile', begins Virgil, and it is on precisely the issue of this man of arms that critical debate in recent years has tended to centre. Scholars continue to disagree on whether or not Aeneas is presented as a good soldier, although the question itself is certainly far from black and white, complicated by the culturally relative nature of terms such as 'conflict' and 'courage', as well as by the rather oblique definition that 'good' itself holds. In this essay I will attempt to resolve these complexities and ambiguities by juxtaposing Aeneas against the Roman and Homeric ideals of the warrior, exemplified by Aemilius Paullus and Odysseus respectively. I will argue that Aeneas meets the criteria set by neither model and that, ultimately, he is an emotionally unstable, morally dubious and even an incompetent military leader.

However, the very fact that he is the protagonist needs to be stressed: his character is necessarily sympathetic, dynamic and intricate. My intention is not to assert that Aeneas is a villain or a coward; he is quite obviously neither of these things and such an interpretation of the Aeneid, a text rich and ambiguous in meaning, would be nothing short of reductive. And in this way he must, and does, have some positive, somewhat redeeming features. K. W. Gransden notes that, 'Virgil created in Aeneas a new type of Stoic hero'1, a point that is perhaps most evident in Book Four when Aeneas leaves Carthage. His speech to Dido is indicative of his determination to suffer both silently,

Aeneas did not move his eyes and struggled to fight down the anguish in his heart. (Bk. 4, p.91) and willing:

Do not go on causing distress to ...

... middle of paper ...

...43-58, 215-231

1 K. W. Gransden, Virgil: The Aeneid, CUP 1990, p. 95

2 Plutarch, Roman Lives, trans. Robin Wakefield, OUP 1999, p. 73

3 Homer, Odyssey, trans. Stanley Lombardo, Hackett 2000 , 19.227

4 Gordon Williams, Technique and Idea in the 'Aeneid', Yale University Press 1983, p. 43

5 Plutarch, Roman Lives, trans. Robin Wakefield, OUP 1999, p. 58

6 Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. David West, Penguin 1991, pp. 215-216

7 Aeneas' gibes must be remembered in the context of Book Six, in which the unburied, such as Palinurus, are unable to cross the Styx and thus gain entrance to Elysium.

8 W. A. Camps, An Introduction to Virgil's Aeneid, OUP 1969, p. 28

9 Jasper Griffin, Virgil, OUP 1986, p. 288

10 Plutarch, Roman Lives, trans. Robin Wakefield, OUP 1999, p. 65

11 Homer, Odyssey, trans. Stanley Lombardo, Hackett 2000 , 22.380 ff

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Reconstruction

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Reconstruction Period

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... and slavery left millions of newly freed African Americans in the South without an education, a home, or a job. Before reconstruction was put in place, African Americans in the South were left roaming helplessly and hopelessly. During the reconstruction period, the African Americans’ situation did not get much better. Although helped by the government, African Americans were faced with a new problem. African Americans in the South were now being terrorized and violently discriminated by nativist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Such groups formed in backlash to Reconstruction and canceled out all the positive factors of Reconstruction. At last, after the Compromise of 1877, the military was taken out of the South and all of the Reconstruction’s efforts were basically for nothing. African Americans in the South were back to the conditions they started with.

    Read More

  • Vergil's Ending In The Aeneid By Ariosto

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Does Turnus pose a threat? From one point of view, Aeneas seems to always have the military upper hand, and Turnus seems physically inferior, thus not threatening. However, from a different perspective Turnus is deceptive, thus menacing. When he thinks h...

    Read More

  • The Aeneid: Virgil's Heroic Underworld

    3216 Words  | 7 Pages

    Virgil's heroes bear a strong resemblance to the heroes of the earlier works of Homer, however there are some differences that are not merely the result of differences in character. Virgil is depicting his ideals through the traits of his heroes and villains, and some of these traits are different from the Greek traits from The Iliad and The Odyssey. The best way to identify the specific traits that Virgil is trying to plant in the mind of his readers is to look at the main hero, Aeneas. Through Aeneas we see a slightly different variation on the Greek hero. Aeneas is strong and deadly in battle, but fa...

    Read More

  • Odysseus and Aeneas Similar with Important Differences

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aeneas also went to fight in the Trojan War. He also was a national hero. He was a great warrior. Both Odysseus and Aeneas were trying to head home.

    Read More

  • Comparing Aeneas from Aeneid and Gilgamesh from the Epic of Gilgamesh

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Odyssey And The Aeneid

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Odyssey portrays the victor, the mighty Odysseus. His story is about a man who has everything, a loving and loyal wife, an ambitious son, a devoted kingdom, and most of all a victory. By the end of Odysseus’ story he has an ideal life. On the other hand, The Aeneid is told through the eyes of a defeated soldier. Early on in the epic Aeneas has a comfortable life. It seems as though he is happy and complancent with his life in Carthage with Dido. Aeneas chooses to leave this life behind in order to fulfill his destiny. The Trojans were defeated in the war, however, Aeneas perceivers and fights for the future of his people. Through Aeneas’ story, Virgil demonstrates the resilience of the Roman culture; he shows just how much they value a sense of

    Read More

  • Compare Aeneas And The Odyssey

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Authority In The Aeneid By Virgil

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Dark Reading of the Aeneid in Aeneas and Dido’s Relationship

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    P. Vergilii Maronis. Aenidos. N.d. The original, Latin version of the Aeneid of unknown publication, cited by Steven Farron. Liber Quartus.

    Read More

  • Love and Duty in Virgil’s Aeneid and Augustine’s Confessions

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.

    Read More

  • Virgil's Aeneid - Is Aeneas Really a Hero?

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is a hero?  We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task.  Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing.  He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both good and evil.  In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going along with what the gods want.  Only then goes on to pave the way for the Roman Empire.  His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it were not for the gods.  The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others.  On the whole, the gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism. Without them, Aeneas would not be the hero he is.  This gift does not come without a price, though; he must endure the things heroes endure to become what they are.  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.

    Read More

  • Role of the Gods in Virgil's The Aeneid

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Compare Aeneas and Odysseus as Heroic Figures

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Free Will vs Fate: Analyzing the Character of Aeneas in 'The Aeneid'

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    When discussing the fate of Aeneas, a thought provoking question is posed that is commonly debated. If Aeneas is commanded by fate, does he have free will? It is important to approach this question with a solid understand of fate. There are two common sides to the debate of whether Aeneas had free will or not. One view believes Aeneas had no choice but to follow his destiny because he was commanded by fate, and prophesied to found the race that will one day build Rome. The other side states Aeneas did indeed have free will, and even though his fate was set, room is available within his fate for events to change. One can argue Aeneas makes some of his own choices, but no particular detail of his life is untouched. Destiny determines that the Trojans will found a city in Italy, but it does not stipulate how that will happen. This is where room is left for free will. After much research and considering the views of many commentators and the proof they showed, the answer can simply be found by going back to the text of The Aeneid.

    Read More

More about Is Aeneas a Good Warrior?

Open Document