Aeneid analysis

“I sing of warfare and a man at war…cruel losses were his lot in war” (Virgil 1.1-9). It would seem as though the man described in these lines would be anything but a hero, let alone one destined to found one of the greatest civilizations in history, commanding admiration and respect wherever he found himself. Furthermore, one would think that such a history of war would keep people from wanting to become close to him. On both accounts the opposite is in fact true and in the following essay I will examine the fate of those often unlucky people who came to care for the great warrior known as Aeneas and how their shared experiences help Aeneas grow and move closer to his fate. The first such relationship is the one between Aeneas and his late wife Creusa. While Aeneas is fleeing the ruins of the city of Troy he is accompanied by Anchises and Ascanius, his father and son, respectively, along with Creusa. In the mayhem of the battle however, he loses track of his wife. After the city has been evacuated Aeneas returns to search for his lost wife but to no avail. Instead he is confronted by her spirit who attempts to comfort him and urges him to go onward to Italy to create a new home and find a new wife. This is the first but certainly not the last time that one of Aeneas’ loved ones will become a casualty to his treacherous destiny. However, the fact that Creusa’s spirit tries to console him in the aftermath of such a tragic incident shows not only her sense of selflessness but perhaps an understanding of the gravity of 1.
Aeneas’ situation and the fact that to a certain extent anyone who chooses to become involved with him is thereby choosing to become involved with every aspect of the path of his chaotic life. This understanding by Creusa is also shared with Aeneas, while the fate of his wife was indeed a terrible one, her reinforcement of the prophecy of Aeneas’ founding of Rome simply reinforces the notion that he must continue on his path to