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Will Of The Gods In The Aeneid

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Will Of The Gods In The Aeneid
Would you leave someone you loved because a deity told you to?That’s exactly what Aeneas does in Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid.When Aeneas finds himself in Carthage shortly after the Trojan war, Queen Dido falls madly in love with him. However the Gods have different plans for Aeneas, and when Mercury tells him he must leave Carthage to found Rome, he resolves to give Dido the slip.Virgil uses Aeneas’ inclination to leave Carthage to found Rome to show that the will of the Gods is more important than love.
Virgil first shows the strength of divine will when, by the will of Juno, Aeneas and Dido are brought together.It is because of Juno that Aeneas even makes it to Carthage in the first place, as is explained by Anna during her counsel with her sister Dido.“surely by dispensation of the gods and backed by Juno’s will, the ships …show more content…
Even so Juno has such power as mortals can only dream of. It is with will alone that she forced the ships of Ilium into the ports of Carthage, thereby shifting future power.With this Virgil displays the immeasurable power of divine will. It is not by the power of love that Aeneas is drawn to Carthage, but rather by the gods.Virgil exemplifies the power the gods have again when
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