Dido's Courage In The Aeneid

The protagonist of the Aeneid and known hero to many, Aeneas, was a man of many virtues. His courage and obedience towards the Roman gods is clearly shown all throughout the book, as well as his passion for justice. When he leaves his lover, Dido, at the bidding of the gods, he shows obedience even when it went against his own will. The time Aeneas travels into the underworld to find his deceased father, it shows great bravery. We can even see through the crew of Aeneas that he was an incredible person, judging by how loyal they were to him. But, even with all of these wonderful attributes, Aeneas wasn’t the entirely heroic person we believe him to be.

If we are to specify why Aeneas wasn’t as great as most believe, we must first

Aeneas and Dido got along well and eventually unified themselves through what appeared to Dido as marriage. When Aeneas is told by Mercury that he must leave to fulfill his destiny, he attempts to pack his belongings and prepare his men to leave quietly, but is unsuccessful. Not only was it cruel to try to leave Dido without informing her, it was cowardly. When Dido hears about what he plans on doing, she confronts him, and Aeneas confesses to her that he was, in fact, leaving her. Not only does he say this, but he appears to deny that they were ever married. He does as the gods tell him to, an act of obedience, but he really doesn’t even try to find a way to stay with Dido, and by doing so, breaks her heart. He thought that it wasn’t his fault, that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the gods from ordering him to leave. Then, when Aeneas eventually goes to the underworld, he happens to come across Dido’s spirit, Dido having taken her own life because of her grief at him leaving her, to whom he denies yet again that it was his fault, and shows a little amount of empathy towards her. Yes, he was being an obedient servant of the gods, but most can agree that he could have at least attempted to do something to stay. Perhaps he could have been more kind about his departure and admitted his fault for making their relationship appear realer than it apparently was. Such a strong marriage to duty can

He loses his ability to be empathetic, as we see in his event with Dido. He loses his strength and self-control, as we see when he goes on a killing rampage at the loss of Pallas. Not only this, but he loses his mercy and compassion. These are some of the most important attributes to the making of a hero. Yes, the stress and the savagery of war will change a person significantly, but Aeneas is no ordinary person. As said before, a hero is one who has outstanding achievements and noble qualities. Aeneas has outstanding achievements and some noble qualities, but he seems to lose them over time.

There is a proper balance between being a hero and having a few small faults, but is it possible that he could have upset the balance? Everyone, even heroes, has their flaws, so we must be careful when judging. Now, do not get confused and think that this is an attempt to prove that Aeneas is not, in fact, a hero, but understand that this is a simple statement saying that he is not as incredible and noble as we believe him to be. Our conclusion? It is that Aeneas is not perfect. He has his human flaws, as we all do. Even heroes can be