The Aeneid-the Role of Fate
Fate is the essential idea of The Aeneid, but more importantly, the underlying force throughout the text. Fate cannot be changed; it is the set of events with the inevitable result. Virgil uses the idea of fate to narrate and advance through his epic poem, but perhaps also to illustrate that the gods had originally intended for Rome to become a great and powerful empire. The king of gods, Jupiter, has chosen Aeneas and his preordained path to destiny, by leading the Trojans and creating the foundations for the Roman Empire. However, a variety of gods interfere with Aeneas’s direction of fate in order to satisfy their own desires, only to discover that Aeneas’s fate can be manipulated, but never overturned.
Aeneas is born from the gods as a leader of the Trojans, therefore respects the gods and their desires. The gods and goddesses frequently appear to Aeneas, reinstating his fate and the obstacles he must overcome to succeed. Although Aeneas knows what he is destined to achieve, he must make choices and emotional decisions that are incompatible with his fate. Unfortunately, these choices have a negative impact on those closest to Aeneas. For example, if it wasn’t for fate, Aeneas and Dido would have lived out their lives together in Carthage, therefore never founding the city of Rome. However because of fate, Aeneas and his fleet leave Carthage in the middle of the night causing Dido so much despair that she takes her own life.
Juno, the queen of the gods, holds a great resentment toward the city of Troy. Particularly due to the fact that Juno knows that her favorite city, Carthage, will one day be destroyed by the descendants of Aeneas. In addition to the destruction of Carthage; Paris, a Trojan, had also elected Venus over Juno as the most beautiful goddess. Juno possesses a great deal of anger toward the Trojans because of this and will stop at nothing from preventing Aeneas from his awaited fate. Once Aeneas and his fleet begin to retreat from their city of
Aeneas is born from the gods as a leader of the Trojans, therefore respects the gods and their desires. The gods and goddesses frequently appear to Aeneas, reinstating his fate and the obstacles he must overcome to succeed. Although Aeneas knows what he is destined to achieve, he must make choices and emotional decisions that are incompatible with his fate. Unfortunately, these choices have a negative impact on those closest to Aeneas. For example, if it wasn’t for fate, Aeneas and Dido would have lived out their lives together in Carthage, therefore never founding the city of Rome. However because of fate, Aeneas and his fleet leave Carthage in the middle of the night causing Dido so much despair that she takes her own life.
Juno, the queen of the gods, holds a great resentment toward the city of Troy. Particularly due to the fact that Juno knows that her favorite city, Carthage, will one day be destroyed by the descendants of Aeneas. In addition to the destruction of Carthage; Paris, a Trojan, had also elected Venus over Juno as the most beautiful goddess. Juno possesses a great deal of anger toward the Trojans because of this and will stop at nothing from preventing Aeneas from his awaited fate. Once Aeneas and his fleet begin to retreat from their city of
Cited: Virgil, The Aeneid of Virgil. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum, 1981. Print.