Harsh Criticism Leveled Against the Character Aeneas

¶ … harsh criticism leveled against the character Aeneas is unjustified because the hurtful actions he often undertook were not done just for the sake of hurting others. They were instead done for the sake of fulfilling his destiny, which was to be the founder of Rome. He often performed these actions upon the urging of some of the gods.

Aeneas had to abruptly leave Dido upon the urging of Zeus because living in Carthage forever was not to be his destiny. In the Aeniad, Hermes is quoted as having relayed Zeus' message to Aeneas thus, "What means thy ling'ring in the Libyan land? If glory cannot move a mind so mean, Nor future praise from flitting pleasure wean, Regard the fortunes of thy rising heir: The promis'd crown let young Ascanius wear, To whom th' Ausonian scepter, and the state Of Rome's imperial name is ow'd by fate" (Virgil). Thus, he had to undertake this action despite his obvious fondness for her.

Aeneas' eventual marriage to Lavinia was not as a result of stealing her affections away from Turnus. As with all of his other actions, this too was guided by what was already preordained for him. Latinus, father of Lavinia, foresaw that she was to be wed to a stranger from another land as a quote from the Aeniad demonstrates, "Seek not, my seed, in Latian bands to yoke Our fair Lavinia, nor the gods provoke; A foreign son upon thy shore descends whose martial fame from pole to pole extends" (Virgil).

Also, Aeneas was shown as being capable of compassion towards others, as was revealed through his rescue of Achaemenides from the land of the Cyclops, despite the fact that the latter was Greek. As it is mentioned in the Aeniad, "Seiz'd with a sudden fear, we run to sea, The cables cut, and silent haste away; The well-deserving stranger entertain ... "(Virgil). Aeneas' actions thus cannot be criticized as being free of compassion towards others.