Aeneid By Virgil
The Aeneid, by Virgil, is an epic that attempts to give the Roman Empire an
illustrious founding. As the story progresses, Virgil presents two very real
human emotions: pietas, and impious furor. Pietas is duty towards the Gods,
country, and family. Impious furor, in contrast, is the feeling of fury and
passion. These two emotions are consistently at odds with each other. Many
characters within the epic, such as Juno, are consumed by their own fury, a
trait which Virgil sheds negative light on. Aeneas, the hero and central
character, on the other hand, is a man who is presented as pious and dutiful. He
obeys the Gods and journeys to Rome. However, at the end of the novel, Aeneas
himself is overtaken by rage, and he kills out of vengeance. Virgil’s goal in
writing the Aeneid is to present Aeneas as a pious individual, and thus giving
Rome a glorious founding. By closing the novel with an act of rage, however,
Virgil portrays Aeneas as a ruthless killer. The ending is inappropriate because
it casts doubt on the very reason for which Virgil wrote the Aeneid. Aeneas is
presented as someone who is the model of pietas. A Roman must show piety towards
his family, his country, and above all, piety to the Gods. When Aeneas visits
Carthage, he falls in love with Queen Dido, and plans to remain there for an
indefinite amount of time. However, he is quickly reminded of the more important
task at hand. Are you forgetful Of what is your own kingdom, your own fate?
remember Ascanius growing up, the hopes you hold For Iulus, your own heir, to
whom are owed The realm of Italy and land of Rome. (Aeneid, 4:353-369) Mercury,
the messenger god, is scolding Aeneas for remaining in Carthage. Mercury reminds
him that he must remember his “fate,” and that he should leave for Italy
immediately. He also reminds Aeneas of his son Ascanius, and that he should
leave for Latium so that his son can eventually rule over the “realm of Italy.”
Aeneas now must make a decision, does he stay with Dido, the woman he loves, or
does he continue his journey to found Rome? Even though Aeneas “longs to soften,
soothe [Dido’s] sorrow” (Aeneid, 4:540) because he cares for her, “pious Aeneas
carries out the gods’/instructions” (Aeneid, 4:544-545). Pietas is love for Gods
and putting aside your own heart to comply with the will of Gods. Therefore,
Aeneas gives up Dido and instead chooses Rome and its glorious future. He is
being dutiful by following the words of Mercury, who in turn represents Jove,
God of Olympus. Virgil clearly intends this to be seen as a commendable trait.
In addition, Aeneas is explicitly referred to as “pious” within the text. This
description of Aeneas is appropriate, because by choosing the Gods over Dido, he
has now become worthy of the term piety. Virgil is attempting to make a
distinction between Aeneas and the other characters of the Aeneid. While other’s
may indulge their anger, Aeneas has control over his emotions. One different
point of view that can be presented against Aeneas’s piety is his killing in the
war against the Latins.
Aeneas kills many of Turnus’ men in the course of the
battle. However, Aeneas, in his battle with Lausus, feels compassion for the man
he has beaten. “Poor boy, for such an act what can the pious/ Aeneas give to
match so bright a nature?/ Keep as your own the arms that made you glad;/ and to
the shades and ashes of your parents I give you back-” (Aeneid, 10:1132-1136).
Aeneas has mortally wounded the man, but he still shows compassion towards him.
Instead of taking Lausus’s weapons, Aeneas allows him to keep them, and he gives
the man his blessing. For this reason, Aeneas displays piety, even when he takes
the life of a man. In contrast to pious Aeneas, Juno, Goddess of marriage, is
someone who is overtaken by her own anger. She does not want the Trojans to
reach the site of Rome, and her dislike of them is recounted early in the epic.
And Saturn’s daughter- remembering the old war… the causes of her bitterness,
her sharp and savage hurt,… for deep within her mind lie stored the judgment of
Paris and the wrong done to her scorned beauty, the breed she hated. (Aeneid,
1:35-43) This description illustrates to what extent Juno loathes the Trojans.
Juno is extremely upset because Paris denied her the golden apple. For this
reason, she harbors “bitterness” against the people, and she plans to make their
journey to Italy long and arduous. Virgil also uses strong words, such as “hate”
and “savage,” to describe Juno’s anger towards the Trojans. Her rage only
continues to grow, and Juno asks Aeolus, god of winds, to destroy the entire
Trojan fleet in one great storm. “You Aeolus-/…Hammer your winds to fury/ and
ruin their swamped ships, or scatter them/ and fling their crews piecemeal
across the seas” (Aeneid, 1:95-103). Juno’s anger is so great that she wants
Aeneas and his men, the only surviving Trojans, to be annihilated. She plans to
destroy the entire Dardan race. Despite her attempts, the Trojans survive the
attack and continue their journey. Finally, even when Juno realizes that she
cannot win, she still attempts to deny the Trojans of their fate. “I cannot keep
him from the Latin kingdoms:/ so be it, let Lavinia be his wife,/as fates have
fixed. Virgin,/ your dowry will be Latin blood” (Aeneid, 7:415-421). Juno is
openly admitting that the fates are going to give Latium to Aeneas.
Nevertheless, she is still persistent and plans to create a conflict between the
Trojans and the Latins in which “Latin blood” must be shed. Juno has been a
vengeful character from the start, but in this passage she reaches the height of
her anger, and she challenges even the fates. Thus, Juno’s actions represent the
climax of impious furor.
