(256) Here we can visualize, as Aeneas does, the importance of everything that is about to occur and has occurred in his life. By putting on the armor, he is asserting himself and accepting his duty as a Roman warrior. This is also a symbol of Aeneas taking charge of his destiny. He does not back down from this challenge, which makes us admire him.

One example of Aeneas' sense of family is seen when he turns away from Dido. He clearly falls in love with her but Mercury reminds him of his sense of duty and his responsibility to his family and his duty as a warrior. We read that Aeneas is "duty-bound" (110) and that he struggled with desire and "though he sighed his heart out, shaken still/With love of her, yet took the course heaven gave him/and went back...

Here we see how duty trumps love and Aeneas realizes that he is a part of something bigger that is about much more than he is.
The Aeneid is a masterpiece and within the pages of this great tale, we find a man that comes into his own. The Aeneas we meet at the beginning of the epic is a completely different person than the Aeneas we find at the end of it. Aeneas confronts challenges with a positive attitude and though some decisions break his heart, we see that he is a man that is devoted to his sense of duty and family. Through Aeneas, Virgil emphasizes what he believes to be essential characteristics of a true Roman warrior.

Works Cited

Virgil. The Aeneid. Fitzgerald, Robert, trans. New York: Random House, 1983.