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Aeneas Duty-Bound In The Aeneid

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Aeneas Duty-Bound In The Aeneid
In the epic The Aeneid, Virgil refers to the hero Aeneas as “duty-bound”. Aeneas has been bound in multiple ways, one by Jupiter and one by his own self. He has bound himself to his shipmates and the task set before them. This task is to “carry aboard [his] ships the gods of house and home” that he and his men seized from enemy hands (Virgil, 60). Virgil states that “Aeneas is most of all devoted to his shipmates. . .[and] he moans for the losses” of his men (Virgil, 54). According to this, it seems as though Aeneas cares for his men which can be considered a fatal flaw by many. But how could something so good be considered bad? In war, caring for one’s fellow man can cause harm to himself with one selfless act to help or save another.
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