The Aeneid is mostly set after the fall of Troy, occasionally going back to the day her walls were corrupted in flashbacks. The main featuring character Aeneas is a Trojan prince who had managed to flee and is trying to fulfil his destiny. Making the journey from Troy to the coasts of Italy, he would found the future Rome. Aeneas is a hard working character who strives to follow his beliefs and prophesied destiny, all the while looking after the welfare of any who choose to follow his guidance.
He has a very calm and reliable nature which in return allows him to assess situations he is put in and control his emotions the majority of the time. However he also showcases that heroes are not always heroic and just like everyone there are flaws in their making. These are what make him a good leader and a humanised hero. Aeneas’ motive to endure the journey from Troy to Italy is based around him following his destiny, which is prophesied to us (the audience) in book 1 of the Aeneid by Jupiter the king of the gods.
Aeneas has a very strong sense of religion and this drives him to follow his destiny through clues from the gods. However, because he is only receiving his destiny through the voices of dead cherished ones and signs from the gods, Aeneas only knows parts of what he is meant to do. This sometimes makes it hard for him to understand the concept of what he is meant to be doing and he is often led astray from his destiny through obstacles. An example of this is once he has regathered his thoughts on the night Troy falls, he knows he has to leave as he has been told by his former brother by marriage, Hector and ivine mother Venus. However, when he reaches his father who ‘refused to go on living in exile after Troy had been razed from earth’ (Aen. 2. ) he becomes bewildered and torn knowing that he will die if he stays, but also that is will be going against his own beliefs if he leaves his family. After minutes of decision he prepared to go and fight, abandoning his destiny for the sake of his father. By Anchises’ protest to relocate it makes Aeneas doubt whether he should be listening to his fate and he begins to question his own decision even though he had been so clear on them just minutes earlier.
Furthermore this lack of confidence and the vague details of his destiny made him easily influenced by others and although he had a sense of destiny the doubts put into his mind from peers did become an obstacle for him at points. Nevertheless he always manages to overcome the barriers and set himself back on track. His destiny to lead the survivors from Troy is the story that makes him a hero, but it is his own doing that allowed him to succeed this destiny.
Aeneas’ belief in ‘pietas’ is a big part of who he is, it is an indicator of his code of personal honor, we know that Aeneas is not confidently sure of what his full destiny is. This means that when Aeneas obeys the god’s, regardless of his own personal cost, it was strictly because he was following his beliefs of pietas, to look after his family, state and respect the gods. This is shown a numerous amount of times throughout the story, the most prominent in the context of Aeneas’ personal loss for his state and family’s gain being that of leaving his beloved Did.
While shipwrecked in Carthage, Aeneas takes a well deserved break and settles in with Phoenician Dido, where a strong relationship is formed through the doings of Venus and Juno. The king of the gods sends down his messenger from above to confront Aeneas of his destiny abandonment. Mercury’s message from Jupiter explains to Aeneas how it is his fate and destiny to go to Italy and set the foundations for Rome, not Carthage. In this he begs him to regather his thoughts, army and set sail, and that in doing so he would seek his glory.
Yet it wasn’t until Mercury’s last plea that Aeneas came to his senses. ‘Think of Ascanius, now growing up, and all that you hope for him as your heir, destined to rule in an Italy which shall become Italy of Rome. ” (Aen. 4. ) Aeneas’ feelings for Dido are without a doubt pure, however, as soon as Mercury mentions his son’s future Aeneas is ‘ardently wishing to flee from the land of his love and be gone. ‘ (Aen. 4. ) This shows his loyalty to his own beliefs because he is putting his own personal love for Dido aside to respect what the gods are asking of him.
From this, his realisation of how important his destiny is, becomes apparent to him again. By acknowledging this, because of the mentioning of his son’s future, it also shows that he is making conscious decisions to put his son above himself by compromising personal gains. In a later extract from the text, we can also verify that Aeneas has the Trojans best interests at heart when he gives them the choice to either continue of the journey with him or if they choose, to settle in Carthage.
By doing this he seems honourable for carrying on the journey because it makes us think of the treacherous encounters the Trojans have already been put through for such little success in finding their way. It also makes us realise that Aeneas is recognising the dangers and is not willing to force his people to face these dangers with him. Virgil often makes emphasis on Aeneas’ physical strength and intelligence in the Aeneid. Much like Odysseus, Aeneas uses his strength and intelligence in confrontations of battle to seek victory to either outsmart and outmuscle his opponents.
This is shown in book 2 after Aeneas leads his companions to victory against a unit of Greek attackers. ” We must exchange shields with the Greeks and wear their badges” (Aen. 2. ) This shows his intelligence and war strategy skills. It allows him and his loyal companions a safe travel into the enemy lines where they can do more damage to the opposing side. By having this intellect in war it makes Aeneas seem, in a way, admirable. Both Odysseus and Aeneas show this type of skill and intellect in the battlefield and embrace the modern term of’work smart, play harder’.
This term to me, means that if you think things things through and work smartly to get more done, you will be able to achieve more, faster. This is shown after Aeneas and his companions use disguises to betray the greek eye. We strode on, mingling with Greeks and submitting to alien deities. In utter darkness we were often plunged into conflict and whenever we fought we dispatched many a Greek to the land of the dead’ (Aen. 2. ) This second extract from the text shows evidence on how Aeneas used his intelligence to make it easier for him to defend his city and achieve higher success in battle, with less fatality suffered is own side.
This evidence also starts to steer away from his intellect and tap into his own physical strength. While his plan to defend from behind was a significant advantage for the Trojan attackers, if he was not able to back this up with muscle he would have only made little difference. It would take a massive amount of physical strength and energy to participate in combat like this, there was very little basic technology to do all the hard work or to avoid close range disputes (like we use today).
From this we have to believe that Aeneas had immense physical strength, skill and fitness abilities to allow him to constantly be plunged into conflict behind the enemy lines and still come out victorious. Despite having his warrior mentality, Aeneas often shows a very mellow and humanised nature. This adds an element of complexity to Aeneas’ character and separates him from many other heroes, including Odysseus. By having a softer nature to Aeneas, it makes him a very relatable character, we begin to understand why he is feeling certain ways and it is very easy to become emotionally invested in him.
This is often demonstrated in the first chapter of the book. Our first glimpse of Aeneas is him crying for help PG 30 example This is the first introduction of Aeneas the true, hero and founder of Rome. Yet he has fallen to his knees with no hope in the world, asking why he was not lucky enough to have fallen alongside Troy. This contradicts the typical stereotype of an ancient hero, yet at the same time humanises Aeneas. It shows him struggling to carry on and seeking comfort instead of boldness and courage, which is generally how we see heroes overcome their problems.
This representation of Aeneas is more realistic to an audience as people often do not know how to boldly overcome their problems and leave everlasting statements of how their mental strength could not be broken, because more often than not, it is. After the ordeal of the storm, again Aeneas is found in a position he does not want to be in. Shipwrecked and with his people looking up to him he endeavours into a speech in order to revive hope and encourages his people to stay in high spirits and preserve themselves for better days.
Conversely his actions and his mindset do not match his words. PG 33 example In this extract Aeneas shows a heroic manner but in a fragile state of mind. He seems enthusiastic and confident when talking to his people but concealed deep within him his hope is running out and he is being overcome with sorrow and doubt. Although this is often seen as a weakness in heroes, I strongly believe that this is one of the most heroic qualities an individual can possess, mental strength.
It exerts an incredible amount of energy to wake up in the morning when you are mentally stressed or feel that there is no point. Aeneas would be feeling this immense pressure on himself, especially with all eyes lingering on him and waiting for him to make the next move. Not only that but because he knows that he is meant to be in Italy founding his own city, not shipwrecked in an unknown place he would have high expectations on himself that he perceives himself of not currently meeting.
He has every excuse for his depressive thoughts and Virgil makes us question whether we would have been strong enough to put our own anxieties to the side for the sake of keeping another person’s anxieties at bay. Virgil incorporates, and embraces the idea that Aeneas does have emotions, which sometimes do get the better of him. Nonetheless, this makes him who he is and shows us that even at rock bottom obstacles can be overcome and that there is a difference between weakness and showing emotion.