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Inevitable Fate in the Aeneid

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Inevitable Fate in the Aeneid
The gods in The Aeneid are as much a part of the story as any of the mortal characters whom they try to manipulate. The God 's in the epic have very distinct characteristics, and their alliances and conflicts within Aeneas ' story do much to drive the actions of the mortals, and thus ultimately the entire course of the story. This action mostly refers to Aeneas ' quest to fulfill his destiny by travelling to Italy in order to establish a new city and empire for his descendants. Although many of the gods Endeavour to alter Aeneas ' course, it seems as though his end is fixed. To what extent does Aeneas have free will, or the gods power over his destiny? How resolute is the inevitability of his fate? It is logical then, to first examine the actions of Aeneas himself, in order to determine to degree to which his volition is any kind of contributing factor to the way in which events of the story unfold. Perhaps Aeneas alone is the one who chooses the path he shall follow, and it is his decisions that determine his own fate and that of his followers. It certainly seems as though he is in control of some situations. One example in book two is when he has the choice to rally troops and try to fight until a valiant death in Troy, but instead he opts to flee the city, upon the urging of his mother Venus.(II 580-95). Another instance is when he begins to court the Carthaginian queen Dido. He first chooses to stay and linger in Carthage, and then decides later to pack up and leave to Italy, again upon the urging of the gods(IV 343-48). If we examine these situations again, however, we can see that Aeneas really had no choice at all in any of his given situations. Were he to turn and fight in a valiant last effort against the assaulting Achaeans, however brave, it would have resulted in sure death for not only him but his family as well. His duty to his family, mainly to his son Ascanius, as well as to the gods, made it a necessity for him to leave Dido 's city. As


Bibliography: Homer. "The Iliad." trans. Richard Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951. Joe, Jimmy. "Aeneid." Timeless Myths. Nov. 16, 2008. Apr. 14, 2010. Virgil. "The Aeneid." trans. David West. London: Penguin Classics, 1991.
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