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The Hero In Virgil's The Aeneid

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In Virgil’s The Aeneid, Aeneas is cast into the main role as the leader of what’s left of the Trojan people. Many people in his position are presented as heroes like Odysseus and Hercules, accomplishing and doing great deeds, but can Aeneas be considered a hero? Taking into consideration the parts of the Aeneid, book six and book twelve, can give some insight and examples into why Aeneas may just be an indirect hero and a pawn used by the gods.
When first reading book four I saw Aeneas in a negative light. They way he left Dido, breaking her heart, to go to Italy after they had been married (in Dido’s eyes) just seemed cruel and uncalled for. Though, after finishing The Aeneid I see Aeneas as neither a bad nor good man. The gods were the driving force of everything that happened behind Aeneas’s actions. Take for example Dido and Aeneas’s marriage. Juno, the wife of Jupiter had looked down and saw that Dido was fond of Aeneas and decided to have them married “in order to …show more content…

Until the Rutulians saw “the tawny eagle of Jupiter in the red sky morning…seized a noble swan in his pitiless talons…and [with] the weight of his prey…[dropped] it out of its talons into the river” (book 12, 271). They took this as an omen from Jupiter to continue the battle with the Trojans. It was the once again the gods who set the actions of men back on tract to fulfill their needs.
During the fight a spear hit Aeneas giving him a wound that his healer could not fix. He shouldn’t have been able to go back on the battlefield to fight and kill Turnus, but his mother, Venus, saved him. After reading book four and twelve of The Aeneid, it is determined that Aeneas is neither a good or bad character or considered a hero. He is just caught up in the will of the gods with them intervening in every step he makes. Being born on Venus he just happened to be the perfect pawn to do the gods

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Aeneas is a very virtuous and loyal character. In the Aeneid, Aeneas is off to fulfill his destiny of finding Rome in Italy after living past the fall of Troy. Aeneas goes about fulfilling his destiny by giving in to the fate that the gods have laid out for him, instead of fighting his fate like many others. This is very heroic and attracts a reasonable favor by the gods. Aeneas also upholds the dignity of the family, has compassion for others, and puts his wants and emotions on the side.

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A hero is someone who is revered for his or her exceptional achievements and bravery. Anyone who puts themselves before others not for recognition or an award, but because it is the right thing to do, is a true hero. In "The Odyssey," written by Homer is an epic poem about a man named Odysseus and his crewmates competing against the power of the gods to return to their homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, he loses almost all of his men, but Odysseus finally arrives home, concluding his prolonged twenty-year voyage. Odysseus must battle the suitors that have taken his wife Penelope, and may soon kill his son Telemachus.

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Aeneas is seen as a model of piety, but he is living in a sinful relationship with his mistress Dido, the queen of Carthage. In The Confessions, St. Augustine tells of his spiritual journey from his adolescence when he had no interest in virtue or Christianity

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One “choice” Aeneas “makes” is to not only cut off his budding relationship with Dido, whom he allegedly loves and respects, but then cooly dismisses their marriage and heads off to found Rome; their relationship symbolizes the opposing forces of pietas and furor, as well as the Grecian concepts of fate and eros. So, Dido seems to be the personification of furor (acting selfishly, on impulse or out of anger; acting without thinking, often through fury or violence) – and therefore the opposite of pious, calm Aeneas. It’s important to consider that current modern, American ideas and perspective are vastly different from the Romans, who prized moderation, level-headedness, and a strong sense of duty and responsibility; so it’s easier for present-day audience to be more prone to side with Dido, because our society’s prioritized values drastically differ from the Romans’. However, Aeneas’ denial of the marriage seems cruel and immature, given that he 's spent the whole winter with Dido and knows how much she loves him. “Nor did I once extend a bridegroom’s torch or enter into a marriage pact with you.”

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Throughout Virgil’s Aeneid, Turnus and Aeneas become rivals. They both become leaders but have different ways of conducting their troops. Aeneas displays leadership and trustworthiness by following what is best for his troops. He makes decisions based on what he thinks could be the right choice. Turnus on the other hand does none of this.

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Odysseus: Hero or Not? A hero can be defined as a person who has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is a respectable and well-followed leader. The Odyssey chronicles the poem’s epic hero, Odysseus, on his journey home to Ithaca with his men. En route, he encounters many obstacles and challenges but is able to overcome them using his own military knowledge and with help from the gods.

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Many people think he is not a hero because of his mistakes, but those are mistakes and making mistakes does not make anyone less of a hero. Odysseus is more than a hero. He is a very humane hero who makes mistakes just like anyone else, but in the end was still a hero. This is shown by Odysseus’ leadership when he won the Trojan War, when he saved his men from staying animals forever, and going to the underworld to face his fears and stay brave. Not every hero needs to be perfect.

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In the Bible and Virgil’s The Aeneid, the pursuit of honor and glory is complex, and it does not come without serious consequences and hardships. However, while Jesus and Aeneas both strive to achieve a certain goal due to divine intervention and both overcome certain adversities, their underlying motives and their ultimate outcomes are starkly different. Although it would appear that neither Jesus nor Aeneas would be motivated by personal fame or glory—as they were sent on godly missions, this is not the case in The Aeneid. Jesus acts completely selflessly as he teaches others about the Kingdom of God and how to live their lives, whereas Aeneas is working to win greatness for his ancestors as he was sent by the gods to settle and create an

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Madison McDonald Dr. Travis Montgomery ENGL 2213-02 16 March 2018 Violence in The Aeneid The Aeneid is bursting with violent acts from the beginning to the end. The main character, Aeneas, constantly faces conflict from both humans and gods. Aeneas is a Trojan hero and prince who embodies pietas, driven by duty, honor, and devotion, which makes him an example of an ideal Roman citizen. Aeneas was called by the gods and determined to be a successful founder of Rome, but he faced complications along the journey. In each conflict along the way, Aeneas dealt with fighting and violence and could not find peace until the end.

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Aeneas takes solace in the fact that his heirs will continue to fight bravely, as shown on the shield. Furthermore, he knows that if he does not fight bravely for Rome, there will no longer be a Rome for his descendants to fight for, which inspires him. The shield also instills a certain confidence in Aeneas because he is shown several victories of Rome, including a battle that should not have been necessarily won. Venus’ gift to her son most definitely gives Aeneas the added drive he needs to greatly achieve in

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Aeneas was a level headed person, a good leader and he actually listened to the gods for once. Odysseus was a self-centered glory hungry fool that ultimately wasted his life in search of fame. For example when Odysseus while him and his men were still under attack by the blinded cyclops he makes a point to tell the giant the name of the actual person that blinded him was. Aeneas reflected a law bidding Citizen almost a pawn of the gods. Far as the themes of the Aeneid there is love, death and a constant underlying theme throughout the course of the story which is duty to the state and his

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He tells a sob story of the fall of Troy and how he must create a new empire to bring back his honor. This is moving the blame from himself onto Fate to not make Aeneas look bad. Before this had happened, Fate was blamed in Book II in less than fifty lines from the beginning. The book says, “Knowing their strength broken in warfare, turned Back by the fates” (Virgil Aeneid: Book II 18-19). This is saying that the fate had figuratively laughed in the Trojans’ face.

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Aeneas being a decedent from Troy and thus is he seen as an associate of the royal house of Troy. In the Iliad Aeneas is an important warrior in the Trojan war. However, Aeneas most significant role is through Virgil’s Aeneid, where Virgil made the arrival and settlement of Aeneas in Italy the main theme in his story. Aeneas was born near to tear, on mount Ida, he was given to his father Archallis at the age of five. During the Trojan war he lead the troops of Dardanian, but still under Hectors demands.

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He has little care for his comrades, with the exception of Patroclus. Contrasting this, Aeneas is a placid and disciplined warrior. In the Aeneid, Aeneas is a venerable leader and a benevolent Roman. Homer’s did not idolize Achilles by turning a blind eye to his very human flaws, his actions have clear consequences. The raw, emotional depiction of Achilles is almost the polar opposite of the sober Aeneas.

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