The Aeneid is an epic poem written by Virgil around 25 BC, in which the travels of Aeneas, the Trojan prince, after the fall of Troy are described. It details the events and people that may have led to the founding of Rome and its subsequent empire. The story is clearly a dramatization that is meant to create a rousing and value-centered portrayal of Rome’s precursors, in order to create a pride and interest in the Roman heritage as such. The primary hero, Aeneas, is meant to portray Roman values, especially his bravery and honor of the gods. Aeneas is brought up against many challenges in his journey from Asia Minor to Italy, from gods, especially Juno, famines, monsters, to diplomacy. The Aeneid creates a clear portrayal of Roman values and ancient culture that transports the modern reader to another time, with its emphasis on family, gods, and fate.
Fate is a common theme in the Aeneid. In the Roman pantheon, fate is guided by the Fates, the personification of the concept (This is common in Roman descriptions of things. Rumor has attached with it the same proper noun and personification, where Rumor is the being that has power over rumors). In the Aeneid, characters will act of their own volition but will ultimately be called to action in service to fate (Indeed, it seems like fate can be thwarted, but that nothing good could come of such a thing coming about). For example, Aeneas marries Dido, the Carthaginian queen, (partly due to influence from Juno) and considers staying in Carthage. However, his fate (their fate is often communicated to them via gods) to travel to Italy and found a new city calls to him, and he leaves by his own choice (leading her to commit suicide for the harm to her royal integrity that such an act creates). These diversions from fate are common throughout the Aeneid, but they are always brought into accordance with the way things are fated to be (which you sense as being the way things ought to be). However, no explanation is given as to why fate has to be a certain way. Why must you suffer? Fate makes it so. Why are you happy? Because the Fates make it so.
Despair is another common theme in The Aeneid. Throughout the Aeneid, people lose loved ones and their plans are foiled. What one notices in these moments is a despair and call to the world abroad. In their despair, people will curse the world and its ways, seeing it as a cruelty foisted upon them that they have no control over. This despair can be linked to the fate that people follow. In a world where you ultimately have no power, why wouldn’t you despair when something bad happens to you? You would properly presume that fate could visit upon you any tribulation and that you would be powerless to change or stop it. However, people don’t always completely despair. In many of these monologues of despair, they will call to the gods to aid them, whether such a call falls in line with fate or not, and people seem to gain strength and resolve when they call upon the gods and act in service to them.
The Aeneid creates a portrayal of the Roman value structure, with its emphasis on gods, family, and bravery, through the struggle of Aeneas in his journey across the Mediterranean. It portrays a grueling struggle that ends in triumph, victory, and a new home (suggesting that struggle can ultimately be worth the effort). The Aeneid is a trip through an ancient fantasy world which creates contrasts and parallels with our own world. Its writing is clear and interesting, even though the ending battle scenes can be tedious with the list of names you must constantly find references for, if you want the details, or skim over, if you just want the general story. Aside from the long list of seemingly superfluous names (names that were often used to inform the reader of the ancestors that were taking part in such important battles), the Aeneid generally creates a rousing and vibrant world of conflicts and resolutions. However, the nature of the conflicts and resolutions, in that they are fated, can make the story hit a little dry, in that there isn’t a sense of an open ended adventure. The reader already knows what is going to happen, so they have to take an interest in the journey up until that point. You’re more struck with the extreme struggles of the characters and an interest in how they ultimately resolve those struggles, even if you know the struggles will be resolved.