Pietas? Dharma? Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off!

Pietas? Dharma? Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off! Written in 29 B.C.E. by the famous poet, Virgil, The Aeneid tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan warrior who travels to Italy to find a new home. As Aeneas makes his way across the ocean, he encounters a plethora of complications. In the face of all this adversity, Aeneas continues to exhibit the principal Roman virtue, pietas, which comprises the concepts of piety, public virtue, and duty. The idea of pietas bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hindu value, dharma. After a careful examination of The Aeneid and The Ramayana, it is evident that Aeneas and Rama both exhibit the true mark of a hero: the ability to sacrifice one’s most profound desires in order to uphold the highest ideal of one’s culture. Aeneas’ most significant display of pietas occurs during Book 4 of The Aeneid when he falls deeply in love with Dido, Queen of the city of Carthage. After noticing that Aeneas has begun to stray from his duties as a result of his adoration for Dido, Jove sends his messenger, Mercury, to remind him of his duty to reach Italy and establish his rule. Although conflicted as a result of his devotion to Queen Dido, Aeneas “burned to go, to flee this pleasant land; / God’s word, God’s great commands had struck him hard. […] As he weighed the matter this seemed the better course: / he called Sergestus, Mnestheus, Serestus the brave: / ‘Not a word! Prepare to sail! Call out our people!” (281-289). Aeneas ignores his passionate desire to stay in Carthage with his love in order to fulfill his duties as a future ruler. By subordinating his longing to remain with Dido, he exemplifies this truest meaning of pietas and therefore shows himself to be a genuine hero. Although written in a vastly different time period and setting, The Ramayana’s protagonist, Rama, also illustrates the key qualities of a hero. In Hinduism, the main religion of India, dharma means code or sacred duty and is roughly the equivalent of pietas.