Fate in the Aeneid
Fate in the Aeneid
In the world of the Aeneid, fate serves as the predictor and guardian over the outcome of Aeneas’s journey to Italy and the eventual founding of the Roman Empire by his offspring Romulus. Starting with the prophecy of Aeneas’s future that is revealed by the god Jove that states: “ Aeneas will wage / a long, costly war in Italy, crush defiant tribes/ and build high city walls for his people there and found the rule of law,” this prophecy sets the tone for the epic (Virgil, 56). No matter what happens between now and the moment that Rome is eventually built, all of the forces of the Fates will conspire to get Aeneas to reach Rome. Fate is so powerful that even the gods recognize that Aeneas's ultimate fate cannot be tampered with. However, it is not decided how the events will unfold until this fate is reached. Throughout Aeneas’s journey from Carthage to Italy, he has certain gods on his side such as Venus and Jove that work to help him reach Italy, while the main opposer of Aeneas’s fate to reach Italy is Juno. Ultimately, Fate limits the gods’ power to control the lives of humans, but still the gods are able to cause suffering to mortals and delay Fate. The gods serve their own personal agenda and do not care about any collateral damage that is caused to the lives of humans. This essay will mainly examine the Jove’s influence on the founding of the Roman people, the God’s involvement in Dido’s life and her suicide, and Juno’s emotional journey regarding Aeneas.
Jove predicted Aeneas’s Fate from the beginning of the epic and there was no avoiding the war between the Trojans and Carthaginians. Jove had planned it, as evidenced by the line: “Did it please you so, great Jove, to see the world at war, the peoples clash that would later live in everlasting peace?” (Virgil, 371-372). Jove wanted Rome to be the biggest and best empire as described, “mixed with Ausonian blood, one race will spring from them, and you will see them outstrip all men,
In the world of the Aeneid, fate serves as the predictor and guardian over the outcome of Aeneas’s journey to Italy and the eventual founding of the Roman Empire by his offspring Romulus. Starting with the prophecy of Aeneas’s future that is revealed by the god Jove that states: “ Aeneas will wage / a long, costly war in Italy, crush defiant tribes/ and build high city walls for his people there and found the rule of law,” this prophecy sets the tone for the epic (Virgil, 56). No matter what happens between now and the moment that Rome is eventually built, all of the forces of the Fates will conspire to get Aeneas to reach Rome. Fate is so powerful that even the gods recognize that Aeneas's ultimate fate cannot be tampered with. However, it is not decided how the events will unfold until this fate is reached. Throughout Aeneas’s journey from Carthage to Italy, he has certain gods on his side such as Venus and Jove that work to help him reach Italy, while the main opposer of Aeneas’s fate to reach Italy is Juno. Ultimately, Fate limits the gods’ power to control the lives of humans, but still the gods are able to cause suffering to mortals and delay Fate. The gods serve their own personal agenda and do not care about any collateral damage that is caused to the lives of humans. This essay will mainly examine the Jove’s influence on the founding of the Roman people, the God’s involvement in Dido’s life and her suicide, and Juno’s emotional journey regarding Aeneas.
Jove predicted Aeneas’s Fate from the beginning of the epic and there was no avoiding the war between the Trojans and Carthaginians. Jove had planned it, as evidenced by the line: “Did it please you so, great Jove, to see the world at war, the peoples clash that would later live in everlasting peace?” (Virgil, 371-372). Jove wanted Rome to be the biggest and best empire as described, “mixed with Ausonian blood, one race will spring from them, and you will see them outstrip all men,