Aeneid Aeneas Is a Complex,

Aeneid

Aeneas is a complex, multi-dimensional character. Much of Virgil's Aeneid details his conduct in a romantic affair, which allows depth of expression for Aeneas's personality. Were he only depicted as a warrior, the reader might not understand the full extent of Aeneas's weaknesses. Aeneas's most obvious character traits include his pride in being a leader, and his keen ability to lead an army. He accepts his destiny, and does not demonstrate the kind of hubris that other heroes might. However, a closer examination reveals that Aeneas is not nearly as courageous as he appears. Although he is a brash warrior who can handle physical discomfort, he lacks emotional courage and struggles with moral integrity. He fails to respect Dido -- and perhaps all mortal females. The final scene of the Aeneid shows that Aeneas also lacks mercy, signaling the type of political ruler he might be if he were to guide the Trojans. The primary traits that distinguish Aeneas include temperamental passion, blind acceptance of fate, and lack of emotional courage. Those traits do not actually change much throughout the epic. However, Aeneas starts out in defeat and becomes a victor; he shifts his identity from being a Trojan to being the founder of a new Latin nation; he becomes more emotionally hardened; and more in charge of his destiny as a political leader.

At the onset of the Aeneid, Aeneas plays the role of a noble yet defeated warrior and at the poem's conclusion he plays the victor. The nature of Aeneas's heroism changes qualitatively. At the beginning of the Aenead, the title character is depicted as "anxious life in endless cares, / Expos'd to wants, and hurried into wars!" (Book 1). Although he seems no less anxious by Book 12, Aeneas may no longer have such "endless cares" and may no longer be "hurried into wars." The ending contains a good sense of plot closure that suggests Aeneas will not suffer defeat anymore. His role has changed from that of the defeated Trojan to the victorious Latin. The transformation from a defeated warrior to a victorious leader commences in Book 7 when he is welcomed by King Latinus. However, new troubles brew as Turnus challenges Aeneas in battle. Aeneas is not fully free from his troubles until the conclusion of Book 12, when he lays the final blow.

Aeneas shifts his identity from being truly Trojan to being willing to Latinize his culture. When he visits the oracle at the Temple of Apollo, Aeneas verbalizes his vision of the future. He says to the god, "Heav'n has promis'd to my fate, / to conquer and command the Latian state; / to fix my wand'ring gods, and find a place / for the long exiles of the Trojan race." The Trojan race are a people without a land; that much does not change until Book 7. In Book 7, Latinus understands the importance of Aeneas's arrival on his soil. He refers to Aeneas as the "foreign prince," who was "by fate decreed / to share his scepter, and Lavinia's bed." Latinus also notes that the Trojans were the "race that sure portents foreshew / to sway the world, and land and sea subdue." Finally, Lantinus seals Aeneas's fate as a future Latin by commenting on how the Trojan will bring peace. The king states, "peace is made when I behold him here." Aeneas's being welcomed with genuine warmth into Latinus's home and homeland signal a tremendous transformation in the title character of the poem. Aeneas is no longer just a Trojan, and he is no longer a Trojan without a homeland. Now Aeneas will inherit the kingdom and start a new lineage of Latins.

Aeneas becomes more emotionally hardened as he matures, although he is no less passionate of a man. His experience with Dido illustrates the shift in his emotions. Aeneas is known for his emotional stoicism, referred to in the epic as piety or temperance. Yet Aeneas's temperamental passion is one of his core character traits. He falls in love readily, and cannot communicate his feelings to Dido. Although he suppresses his feelings, his emotions guide many of his actions throughout the poem. His vengefulness is part of his passion, as he kills Turnus instead of showing mercy. Therefore, Aeneas is no less passionate in Book 12 than he is in Book 1. In Book 1, Aeneas is described as having an "anxious life in endless cares, / Expos'd to wants, and hurried into wars!" His life is no different at the conclusion of the poem, and he is equally as resolute to fulfill his destiny. His emotional hardening is particularly evident in his treatment of Turnus, which was an act of Aeneas's own free will rather than influenced by the gods. Aeneas does not always conceal his emotions, either. Book 6 begins with him weeping as the crew sails for Italy. In Book 8, Aeneas is "floating in a flood of care." He only becomes truly anger-filled after the death of Pallas in Book 10, when Aeneas becomes "glad with sight of hostile blood."