Major Themes

Fate
Fate is perhaps the overriding theme that governs the Aeneid. The action centers around
Aeneas's determination to fulfill his destiny - if not for himself, then for his son,
Ascanius, and for the generations of heroes who will succeed him. Although there are
many who attempt to sway Aeneas from his destined path - most notably Juno, the
goddess whose anger leads her to set countless obstacles to disturb the Trojans on their
journey - and some of them are successful in delaying the course of events, there is
nothing that can be done to prevent Aeneas from building the city that will one day
become the great oman !mpire.
!ven Jupiter, at the outset of "oo# $, chides the gods for attempting to meddle in the
affairs of mortals. Although they may alter the manner in which the events transpire,
they can do nothing to change what Jupiter has decreed will be. Throughout the Aeneid
there are many references to the inevitability of Aeneas's success. Two notable instances
are when Anchises ta#es Aeneas on a journey through the %nderworld and shows him
his great descendants, and when &ulcan builds Aeneas a shield that depicts the founding
of ome and the future of the oman !mpire.
The Gods
The gods in the Aeneid are, 'uite often, even more interesting than the mortals with
whom they appear so fascinated, having highly distinctive personalities and ta#ing
e(traordinary measures to see their wishes achieved. The gods' alliances drive the action
of the story. )odern readers may be more comfortable with the idea of gods who are
above the petty grievances of individual mortals, but &irgil creates supreme beings who
appear to have little more to do than discuss the intricacies of the lives of those below
them. Jupiter even calls a council on )ount *lympus to mediate between &enus and
Juno and to discuss the fates of Aeneas and Turnus. +nterestingly, although the gods do
have the power to manipulate the manner in which events transpire, they cannot change
the ultimate outcome, destiny is supreme -see Fate, above..
Os deuses em Eneida so, muitas vezes, ainda mais interessante do que os mortais
com quem eles aparecem to fascinados, tendo personalidades altamente
distintivas e tomar medidas extraordinrias para ver seus desejos alcanados!
"lianas dos deuses diri#ir a ao da hist$ria! %eitores modernos podem ser mais
confortveis com a id&ia de deuses que esto acima da queixas mesquinhas dos
mortais individuais, mas 'ir#il cria (upremo seres que parecem ter pouco mais
que fazer do que discutir os meandros da vida daqueles que esto a)aixo deles!
*+piter ainda chama um ,onselho no Monte Olimpo para mediar entre '-nus e
*uno e para discutir o destino de Eneias e de turno! ,uriosamente, em)ora os
deuses t-m o poder de manipular a forma em que transpiram eventos, eles no
podem alterar o resultado final. o destino & (upremo /ver destino, acima0!
1atriotism
&irgil 'uite clearly intended the Aeneid to appeal to the patriotic spirit of the omans,
documenting the origins of the great oman !mpire. &irgil's contemporaries, who
relished their belief that they were direct descendants of the mighty Trojans,
undoubtedly would have enjoyed a story portraying their race as one destined for
greatness. The epic often refers to the destiny of Aeneas's descendants, most
importantly, Aeneas's victory is inevitable because it is his fate, as well as the fate of his
son Ascanius, to lay the groundwor# for ome's shining future.
&irgil's patron, /aesar Augustus, is even directly mentioned twice in the epic. 0e
appears in the %nderworld, when Anchises points out the shade that will become
Augustus, and again when Aeneas sees the image of Augustus leading the +talians into
battle as depicted on &ulcan's e(traordinary shield. These references to Augustus would
have been particularly appealing to &irgil's contemporaries, portraying their leader as a
heroic man directly descended from the gods.
1ra2er
*ne of the most important values of &irgil's day was piety, or reverence for the gods.
Throughout the epic, the virtuous characters send prayers to the gods as#ing for
assistance, whether in the form of sacrifices -such as Aeneas's sacrifice of the white cow
and suc#lings to Juno., celebrations -such as !vander's ceremony for 0ercules., or mere
re'uests -such as Ascanius's prayer to Jupiter for aid in #illing emulus.. Time and
again, &irgil reveals that prayer wor#s1 the characters who as# for the gods' help
fre'uently receive it, while those who disrespect the gods or claim not to need their aid
are punished. 2uring the battle between Aeneas and )e3entius, for e(ample, Aeneas
calls on Apollo for aid and is victorious, )e3entius, however, cries out that he does 4not
fear death or care for any god4 -5678., and he dies within moments.
3eli#ious 3ituals and Omens
Throughout the Aeneid, many of the characters ma#e offerings to the gods in order to
secure their favor or assistance. +ndeed, Aeneas appears to spend much of the boo#
ma#ing sacrifices to one god or another -even sacrificing a white sow and thirty white
suc#lings to Juno, the source of his trials.. espect for the gods was viewed as a great
virtue during &irgil's era, and &irgil fre'uently depicts characters engaged in ceremonies
for the gods in order to indicate the characters' essential goodness. For e(ample, the epic
first presents 9ing !vander engaged in celebrations honoring 0ercules, thereby
indicating that !vander is a morally upstanding individual.
The gods themselves fre'uently respond to mortal re'uests with omens, signs that they
are ta#ing an interest in and might intervene in particular human affairs. For e(ample,
&enus sends Aeneas a thunderstorm to indicate that he should indeed join forces with
the !truscans. *mens were a part of life among &irgil's contemporaries, and &irgil may
have included so many of them in his epic in order to appeal to his audience, who may
have been heartened by the idea that the gods listened to the needs of mortals and sent
them signs intended as guidance.
3espect for "ncestors
The most intimate relationships found in the Aeneid are those between fathers and sons1
Anchises and Aeneas, Aeneas and Ascanius, 9ing !vander and :allas, and even
)e3entius and ;ausus. +ndeed, it is more out of concern for Ascanius's welfare than out
of a true desire to achieve renown himself that Aeneas is determined to fulfill his
destiny and journey to ;atium.
&irgil's contemporaries placed great importance on these familial relationships, feeling
that respect for one's ancestors was one of the most important virtues. This perspective
can be seen in the deep and abiding respect that Aeneas has for Anchises - a respect that
continues even after Anchises's death. A particularly interesting e(pression of this bond
is found between )e3entius and ;ausus1 even though )e3entius is truly evil, &irgil
arouses the audience's sympathies for this character by revealing his deep sorrow over
the death of his son. ;i#ewise, Aeneas feels pity and regret when he is forced to slay
;ausus, because thoughts of his own father run through his mind.
4umanit2
*ne of &irgil's most e(traordinary s#ills was his ability to craft truly comple(
characters. !ven though the line between 4good4 and 4evil4 in the Aeneid is rather clear
-e.g., Aeneas is 4good4 and Turnus is 4bad4., even the most admirable character displays
flaws, and even the most heinous villain has moments where he seems somewhat
redeemed. Although Turnus is clearly the antagonist of the story, he displays a courage
that rivals Aeneas's own. !ven Aeneas, who fre'uently appears almost too perfect,
reveals that he, too, has human shortcomings when he is swayed off course by his
passion for 2ido, as well as in his panic#ed flight from Troy, when he loses his wife,
/reusa. &irgil was not interested in creating hollow shells into which he could pile his
values, he was interested in crafting real, multilayered humans to whom his audience
could relate.
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* principal papel dos deuses jogar na !neida < 'ue de pol=ticos - a'ueles imensamente
poderosos individualmente, mas limitados em sua capacidade de influenciar os
acontecimentos entre os mortais e, portanto, for>ados a negocia>?es e intrigas para
promover suas pr@prias agendas. 2e muitas maneiras - sentimentos, a>?es, emo>?es - os
deuses espelham os mortais, com uma diferen>a notAvel1 os deuses nunca cooperar uns
com os outros em 'ual'uer empresa, en'uanto os seres humanos fa3B-lo repetidamente.
)uito provavelmente, essa diferen>a decorre do fato de 'ue os deuses sCo imensamente
poderosos e imensamente com ciDmes de 'ual'uer tentativa de violar esse poder, 'ue a
coopera>Co implica, mostrando 'ue outro deus pode fa3er a mesma coisa 'ue eles. *s
humanos, por outro lado, estCo bem conscientes de suas limita>?es e, assim, os seus
recursos e habilidades, muitas ve3es para atingir seus objetivos. * resultado < 'ue os
seres humanos sCo bem sucedidos em suas empresas com mais fre'uBncia do 'ue os
deuses sCo.
*s deuses apresentam abundEncia de tra>os de carAter 'ue podem ser facilmente
atribu=dos a seres humanos. Juno < um e(celente e(emplo1 indignado com a
possibilidade de os troianos sobreviventes estabelecendo um novo imp<rio de sucesso
na +tAlia, o 'ue significaria menos ofertas de adora>Co para ela, es'uemas de Juno e
parcelas por trAs das costas de seu marido para evitar 'ue isso aconte>a, a come>ar por
subornar Aeolus com uma de suas filhas para liberar os ventos e afogar a frota de Tr@ia
e nunca parar at< 'ue o estabelecimento predeterminado de oma realmente ocorre. F
preciso notar, por<m, 'ue nem Juno nem &enus - 'ue, sendo mCe de !n<ias, <
fortemente interessado no sucesso da missCo dos Troianos - aplicar os seus poderes
diretamente aos eventos. !m ve3 disso, eles fa3em isso por meio de intermediArios, Juno
passando por outros deuses e &Bnus principalmente apelando diretamente ao seu pai,
JDpiter, rei dos deuses, jA 'ue ele era o Dnico 'ue predestinado sucesso final de !n<ias.
)esmo os deuses 'ue nCo tBm interesse nos eventos de 'ual'uer forma sCo 3elosamente
guardados sobre outras divindades de infringir em seu dom=nio. Getuno < um e(celente
e(emplo neste caso1 ele nCo favorece nem estA contra a e(pedi>Co de Tr@ia, mas ele estA
indignado com o 'ue ele vB como insolBncia de liberar os ventos sobre o mar de Folo -
dom=nio e(clusivo de Getuno. Ap@s este confronto, Getuno < um pouco de apoio do
sucesso de !n<ias, nCo por'ue ele tem alguma admira>Co, ou 'ual'uer cone(Co
linhagem para o mortal, mas sim a despeito de sua irmC Juno, 'ue teve a audAcia de
passar por cima de sua cabe>a em rela>Co a tudo o 'ue acontece em ou no oceano.
%ma outra diferen>a notAvel entre os seres humanos e os deuses < 'ue os seres
humanos, conscientes de suas pr@prias limita>?es e, assim, adia para os seres 'ue
controlam as coisas al<m do controle humano, a base a maior parte de suas a>?es sobre
a sua cren>a no destino. !n<ias e seus companheiros poderia ter desistido muitas ve3es
ao longo da hist@ria, considerando 'ue eles tiveram 'ue superar. Go entanto, eles
perseveraram por'ue foi predestinado por Jove para eles para resolver na +tAlia. *s
deuses, por outro lado, nCo vejo o destino como o fim de tudo - < tudo. +ntrigas de Juno
< um e(celente e(emplo disso.
The main role the gods play in the Aeneid is that of politicians - immensely powerful
ones individually, but limited in their ability to influence the events among the mortals
and thus forced into negotiations and intrigues to further their own agendas. +n many
ways - feelings, actions, emotions - the gods mirror the mortals, with one noticeable
difference1 the gods never cooperate with one another in any underta#ing, while humans
do so repeatedly. )ost li#ely, this difference stems from the fact that the gods are
immensely powerful and immensely jealous of any attempt to infringe on that power,
which cooperation would imply by showing that another god can do the same thing as
them. 0umans, on the other hand, are well aware of their limitations and thus pool their
resources and abilities often to achieve their goals. The result is that humans are
successful in their underta#ings more often than the gods are.
The gods e(hibit plenty of character traits that can be easily attributed to humans. Juno
is a prime e(ample1 incensed by the possibility of the surviving Trojans establishing a
new successful empire in +taly, which would mean fewer worshipful offerings to her,
Juno schemes and plots behind her husband's bac# to prevent this from happening,
beginning with bribing Aeolus with one of her daughters to release the winds and drown
the Trojan fleet and never stopping until the preordained establishment of ome actually
ta#es place. +t is necessary to note, however, that neither Juno nor &enus - who, being
Aeneas's mother, is strongly interested in the success of the Trojans' mission - apply
their powers directly to the events. +nstead, they do it through intermediaries, Juno
going through other gods and &enus mostly appealing directly to her father, Jove, #ing
of the gods, since he was the one who preordained Aeneas's ultimate success.
!ven the gods who have no interest in the events either way are jealously guarded about
other deities infringing on their domain. Geptune is a prime e(ample in this case1 he
neither favors nor stands against the Trojan e(pedition, but he is incensed by what he
sees as Aeolus's insolence of releasing the winds upon the sea - Geptune's e(clusive
domain. Following this confrontation, Geptune is somewhat supportive of Aeneas's
success, not because he has any admiration for or any bloodline connection to the
mortal but rather to spite his sister Juno who had the audacity to go over his head in
relation to anything that happens on or in the ocean.
*ne other notable difference between humans and the gods is that humans, aware of
their own limitations and thus defers to the beings that control things beyond human
control, base the bul# of their actions on their belief in fate. Aeneas and his comrades
could have given up plenty of times throughout the story, considering what they had to
overcome. Gevertheless, they persevered because it was preordained by Jove for them
to settle in +taly. The gods, on the other hand, do not see fate as the end all - be all.
Juno's scheming is a prime e(ample of that.
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* principal papel dos deuses na !neida < dos pol=ticos - imensamente poderosos
individualmente, mas limitados em sua capacidade de influenciar os acontecimentos
entre os mortais e assim for>ado a negocia>?es e intrigas para promover suas pr@prias
agendas. 2e muitas formas - sentimentos, a>?es, emo>?es - deuses espelham dos
mortais, com uma diferen>a notAvel1 os deuses nunca cooperarem um com o outro em
'ual'uer empresa, en'uanto 'ue os humanos fa3em tCo repetidamente. :rovavelmente,
esta diferen>a decorre do fato de 'ue os deuses sCo imensamente poderoso e
e(tremamente ciumento de 'ual'uer tentativa de violar esse poder, 'ue coopera>Co
implicaria, mostrando 'ue o outro 2eus pode fa3er a mesma coisa 'ue eles. *s seres
humanos, por outro lado, estCo bem cientes de suas limita>?es e piscina assim, seus
recursos e habilidades muitas ve3es para atingir seus objetivos. * resultado < 'ue os
seres humanos sCo bem sucedidos em suas empresas mais fre'uentemente do 'ue os
deuses estCo.
*s deuses apresentam muitos tra>os de carAter 'ue podem ser facilmente atribu=dos aos
seres humanos. Juno < um e(emplo1 irritado com a possibilidade dos sobreviventes
Trojans 'ue estabelece um novo +mp<rio sucesso na +tAlia, o 'ue significaria menos
&enerAvel oferendas a ela, es'uemas de Juno e parcelas nas costas do marido, para
evitar 'ue isso aconte>a, come>o a subornar Aeolus com uma de suas filhas para liberar
os ventos e afogar a frota Trojan e nunca parar at< o estabelecimento predeterminado de
oma realmente ocorre. F necessArio observar, no entanto, 'ue a Juno nem &enus - 'ue,
sendo mCe de !n<ias, < fortemente interessadas no sucesso da missCo dos troianos -
aplicar seus poderes diretamente aos eventos. !m ve3 disso, eles fa3em isso atrav<s de
intermediArios, passando por outros deuses e principalmente apelando diretamente ao
rei dos deuses, pai, JDpiter, &Bnus, desde 'ue ele era o Dnico 'ue predestinado o sucesso
final do Aeneas de Juno.
At< mesmo os deuses 'ue nCo tBm interesse em eventos de 'ual'uer maneira sCo
3elosamente guardados sobre outras divindades infringir no seu dom=nio. Getuno < um
e(celente e(emplo neste caso1 ele nCo favorece nem fica contra a e(pedi>Co de Trojan,
mas ele < irritado pelo 'ue ele vB como a insolBncia de Aeolus, libertando os ventos em
cima do mar - dom=nio e(clusivo de Getuno. Ap@s este confronto, Getuno < um pouco
favorAvel do sucesso do !n<ias, nCo por'ue ele tem alguma admira>Co por ou 'ual'uer
cone(Co de linhagem para o mortal, mas sim para irritar sua irmC Juno 'uem teve a
audAcia de ir sobre a sua cabe>a em rela>Co a 'ual'uer coisa 'ue acontece na ou no
oceano.
%ma outra diferen>a notAvel entre os humanos e os deuses < 'ue os seres humanos,
conscientes das suas pr@prias limita>?es e, portanto, adia para os seres 'ue controlam as
coisas fora do controle humano, a base a maior parte de suas a>?es na sua cren>a no
destino. !n<ias e seus companheiros poderiam ter desistido muitas ve3es ao longo da
hist@ria, /onsiderando 'ue eles tiveram 'ue superar. GCo obstante, perseveraram por'ue
ele foi predestinado por 2eus para eles resolver na +tAlia. *s deuses, por outro lado, nCo
vejo o destino como o fim de todos - < tudo. !s'uemas de Juno < um e(emplo disso.
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As for>as sobrenaturais em a>Co na narrativa <pica de &irg=lio sCo sucintamente
apresentadas nas linhas de abertura.
2ivine interventions were a traditional staple of epic, conferring status upon the
human events portrayed and evo#ing a world where gods and men were closer to one
another. The most famous statement of this effect is of course in ;ivy's preface.
+nterven>?es divinas eram um grampo tradicional da <pica, conferindo estatuto sobre os
acontecimentos humanos retratados e evocando um mundo onde os deuses e os homens
estavam mais pr@(imos um do outro. A mais famosa declara>Co deste efeito < claro no
prefAcio de Tito ;=vio1
'uae ante conditam condendamue urbem poeticis magis decora fabulis
'uam incorruptis rerum gestarum monumentis traduntur ea nec adfirmare
nec refellere in animo est. datur haec uenia anti'uitati ut miscendo
humana diuinis primordia urbium augustiora faciat, et si 'uoi populo
licere oportet consecrare origines suas et ad deos referre auctores, ea belli
gloria est populo omano ut, cum suum conditoris'ue sui parentem
)artem potissimum ferat, tam et hoc gentes humanae patiantur ae'uo
animo 'uam imperium patiuntur.
'ue < mais bonitos contos, po<ticas da cidade, antes da funda>Co condendamue
sCo entregues aos tDmulos, a coisas incorrupt=veis 'ue ele fe3 para afirmar nem refutA-
la, nem mesmo na mente. !sta < a permissCo das origens divinas da antiguidade humana
para se misturar das cidades de grande3a para eles, e se tem, 'uando sua licen>a <
concedida para as origens do os autores para se referir aos deuses, e seu, sua fama na
guerra < o povo romano, 'ue, desde 'ue o pai de seu fundador opta por representar
)arte, assim como o pai, as na>?es do humano para 'ue nCo sofrer o mesmo n=vel de
coragem do 'ue de seu dom=nio.