Virgils Aeneid - Is Aeneas Really a Hero? :: Aeneid Essays

Virgils Aeneid - Is Aeneas truly a Hero? Thesis Despite his accomplishments and the idealisation associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the term of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him meet as untold grief as it does splendor. What is a hero? We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task. Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main reference of Virgils Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing. He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause twain good and evil. In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going along with what the gods want. besides then goes on to pave the way for the Roman Empire. His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it were not f or the gods. The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others. On the whole, the gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism. Without them, Aeneas would not be the hero he is. This gift does not come without a price, though he must endure the things heroes endure to become what they are. Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor. Aeneas is the son of genus Venus. This fact all brings about much of the hero in him. Venus, a concerned mother, forever looks out for her son. She does everything she thinks will help to ensure his safety and success. At the informant of his journey from Troy, she prevents his death at sea. Juno has persuaded King Aeolus to cause vicious storms, rocking Aeneas languish and nearly killing all of them. Venus then goes to Jupiter and begs him to help Aeneas Venus appealed to him, all pale and wan, With tears in her shining eyes My ecclesiastic who rule The lives of men and gods now and forever, And bring them all to heel with your keen bolt, What in the world could my Aeneas do, What could the Trojans do, to so offend you?