The Aenid

Aeneid

Virgil's hero in the Aeneid is, in many ways, modeled upon the Homeric ideal of the hero, as embodied by persons such as Odysseus and Achilles. However, there are also fundamental differences that may initially detract from the status of Aeneas as a true hero in the Homeric sense. Nevertheless, the Aeneas' development throughout the story can be seen as crediting him with greater hero status than might initially be acknowledged.

In Book I, for example, the reader meets Aeneas at a low point. He is portrayed as the victim not only of his circumstances, but also of the gods. This contrasts him directly with heroes like Achilles, who has the favor of at least some of the more powerful gods on his side. Indeed, the Homeric hero is usually favored by the gods in such a way as to fulfill their destiny, or at least overthrow the immediate enemy.

In the case of Aeneas, however, the gods are against him in such a way that he has no defense. The very elements appear to be against him. His reaction to this is also hardly worthy of a hero. He longs to have at least died in his capacity of deciding his own fate; as a "hero" fighting for Troy. In his current situation, he is in mortal danger, but there is no heroic element; he is the victim of elements and gods against which he has absolutely no power. He does not even have the power to mentally defy the elements or the gods.

2) When he joins Dido for dinner, Aeneas recounts his story. Although he places himself at the central point of the events. This account tends to smack of self-glorification, especially after the cowardly display at the violence of the storm that brought him to Dido's world. Indeed, Aeneas has shown absolutely no heroic qualities, and any claim to heroism that he makes appears to be inflated at best and false at worst.

The question is however whether there could be some extenuating circumstances to Virgil's hero, which homer's heroes did not have to contend with. No Homeric hero for example had to cope with the targeted anger of a god, specifically aimed at destroying him. Juno does everything in her power to destroy Aeneas; yet he survives. The Homeric heroes had the luxury of divine help to complete their heroic missions.

Another important factor is Aeneas' family. Aeneas' first loyalty was to his family. Despite all the odds against their survival, Aeneas makes nothing short of a heroic effort to save his family from the violence of the conflict they face. He succeeds in saving his father and son, but his wife is lost. While he is unable to complete the self-assigned tasks of saving Priam and destroying Helen, he is nonetheless able to recognize and accept good advice when it is presented to him. It is not personal weakness that disables Aeneas to save his wife or prevent Priam's murder. It is simply the circumstances that surround him and to which he must submit. The same is true of Juno's rage. Aeneas has no power, because his circumstances and the gods do not allow it. Nevertheless, these events teach him important lessons, which he later uses to become a true hero, and perhaps even a better hero than Achilles or Odysseus.

3) During his time in Carthage, Aeneas does become a true hero. He is no longer the whining victim the reader was presented with in the first book. In Book VIII and XII he becomes more than he was, even in the face of Dido's love for him. Despite her declarations of love, her warnings of vengeance, and her pleas for him to stay, Aeneas insists on being a hero by fulfilling his destiny.