The Founding of the Roman Empire

An essay I wrote for my 'Great Books of World Literature' class which analyzes 'The Aeneid'. The translation of the book is by Robert Fitzgerald.

In Virgil’s The Aeneid, the heroic protagonist Aeneas finds himself on a journey of Jupiter’s will as he embarks from the smoky ruins of his homeland Troy after having been defeated by the Greeks; due to their deceitful infamous plan with the Trojan horse. Throughout the book, Aeneas discovers that his duty is to take the surviving Trojan refugees to Italy, where it is foretold that he will found the great Roman Empire, which will reign over the world for centuries. Though his fate is great, the journey towards full- filling this duty prove to be extremely difficult and many times Aeneas doubts the path he is told to take, as a result delaying his arrival in the Italy. However, despite the many obstacles that Aeneas must over-come, barriers brought on by himself, others and the Goddess Juno, he eventually finds himself and the Trojan refugees in Italy due to it being Jupiter’s will and therefore fate. Through this, Virgil was claiming that the establishment of the Roman Empire was the wish of the Gods and therefore Rome had divine right to succeed as a leading Empire, further, its rulers had divine right to reign. The Aeneid works as political propaganda to ensure a fruitful regime for Augustus after years of civil war in Rome, while it also expresses Virgil’s own positive and negative feelings towards his homeland. There is a darker subject that the text approaches by questioning the cost of Rome’s imperial excess and the means of which Aeneas and many others had to undergo to establish such a glorious Empire. In the Aeneid, Virgil assesses the strengths and limitations of the roles of fate and duty uses these to both glorify and question the foundation of the Roman Empire.

            In the world of Rome the will of the Gods played an essential role in the outcomes on mans life. Though fate was by definition the will of the most influential of all Gods, Jupiter, other lesser Gods had the ability to influence not the outcome of fate itself, but the means in which fate was achieved. The Gods chose to do their work through humans, using them as puppets to do their bidding, for this reason, it was the duty of man to obey the command of the Gods as it was in their best interest. Though one could attempt to stray from winds that pushed their sails towards ones destiny, doing so would be contradicting the desires of the Gods and resistance against the Gods would prove to be disastrous. The Aeneid reveals two fundamental aspects of the nature of fate that are needed to comprehend the message Virgil conveyed to celebrate the Roman Empire. The first is the role that the Gods had in destiny and the second is the consequences of not accepting fate. These two elements that Virgil is concerned with work together to prove that the founding of Rome was fate.

            As stated prior, Fate was the will of Jupiter and regardless of how this will was achieved; it would be completed in ones life. In the Aeneid, Jupiter expresses his desire for Aeneas to settle the Trojan refugees in Italy where doing so will secure the means for the Roman Empire to be later founded. However, though Jupiter wishes to see Rome built, the Goddess Juno does not long for its establishment for many reasons. Juno holds a grudge against Troy for the reason that Paris chose Venus as a more beautiful Goddess because Venus offered him the most beautiful woman on earth, Helen. Along with this reason, Prince Ganymede of Troy replaced her daughter, Hebe, as the Gods cup bearer. Lastly, it had been foretold that Rome would destroy Juno’s favorite city on earth, Carthage. For this basis, Juno develops a flaming anger towards halting Aeneas’ arrival in Italy. In book one, Juno bribes Aeolus, the king of winds, with the sea nymph Delopea, in order to have him send a raging storm on Aeneas’ ship. Despite her efforts, Neptune becomes furious by having another Gods hands on his realm and he calms the storm and Aeneas is able to continue on his journey. Once Aeneas and his refugees land near Carthage, Queen Dido welcomes them warmly. Juno conceives a plan to have Dido fall obsessively in love with Aeneas, praying that from doing so Aeneas will wish to stay with his new found lover in Carthage, rather then sail in the roaring tide of uncertainty towards Italy. While initially her tedious plan appears to have been successful, Mercury is sent to Aeneas to remind him of his duty. Aeneas sees how selfish his actions were and understands that it is time for what is left of Troy to once again make way towards Italy. Upon his arrival, through the last of her efforts, Dido convinces the Queen of Latium to wish that her daughter, Lavinia, marry Turnus instead of Aeneas, sparking a war between Troy and Latium which results in the death of Turnus.

            Juno’s revengeful anger and attempts at preventing Aeneas’ arrival in Italy being futile prove that Rome’s establishment truly was fate. Regardless of another Gods interference it was Jupiter’s wish rather then chance or luck that brought Aeneas to Italy. Readers of Virgil’s story in his time period would have felt a sense of closeness and security to their Empire knowing that the lungs that breathed the air around them, the buildings they built, the lands they conquered, were all the wish of the Gods and therefore Rome had Jupiter’s favor and would continue to be prosperous. Branching from the idea that Rome was Jupiter’s will, one can see this not only through interference from other Gods proving useless, but through the consequences that Aeneas faced when he chose to delay his fate or question it and the divine forces that aid him towards the right road.

            Aeneas questions his ability to undergo Jupiter’s will as he questions if it is the path he truly longs for. Though he is heartbroken from witnessing the destruction of his beloved city and the death of his wife, what carries him onward is his duty to fulfill his fate. However, there are times throughout his journey when he seems to forget duty and wander from his purpose. In book II, Aeneas recounts the tragic war that brought him to Carthage. While sleeping soundless after falling asleep with the deceitful knowledge that the Greeks had surrendered, the fallen Trojan Hector informs Aeneas that the city is under attack. Upon waking in the night, he found the walls of his city to be smoking in death towards the heavens. The next sign from the Gods comes from his mother Venus, as she informs him that the fall of Troy is the fault of the Gods, not the beautiful Helen, of whom Aeneas wishes to slaughter. Upon failing to convince his father Anchises to abandon the city, two signs appear to his father to inform him that he must leave, a flame upon his forehead and a falling star. Once having fled but realizing his wife was separated from them, Aeneas returns to find her shade, which tells him to go on because he must find a new Empire in Hesperia. Divine interference saves Aeneas and allows him to escape the city with a band of refugees and he is informed that fate calls for him to go to Italy.

            Later on, after having landed elsewhere, Aeneas sees what waits for him if he chooses not to do his duty. Some Trojan refugees have established a miniature version of Troy and it is a sad sight. The people live in the past and mourn deeply, holding onto what has already been lost. This sight causes Aeneas to understand that if he continues on with his duty then he can forget the pain he feels towards the loss of Troy, for the amor he feels for his fallen city. Duty is the only thing that can distract one from the destructiveness of such misery. Throughout his expedition more divine assistance aids Aeneas to allow fate to unravel itself, proving that destiny is calling Aeneas to Italy. Though Aeneas is internally suffering, witnessing his life if he chooses not to fulfill destiny causes him to strive to reach it. When Aeneas sails elsewhere it proves to be disastrous. The interference of other Gods not impacting the outcome of Rome’s establishment along with the danger Aeneas encounters when not accepting his fate and the divine influence that aid him on his path all follow what the Virgil’s Rome believed the be the nature of fate, assuring readers of the importance of Rome and overall celebrating the Roman Empire.

            Full- filling fate is a part of ones duty, however it is not the only aspect of duty that Romans placed such high importance on. Duty meant putting the needs of the Gods, family and society above the needs of oneself. Duty was meant to overcome emotions, which Virgil describes as destructive in the text. Furor and Amor in particular play an essential role, as they are the two strongest emotions that man can feel, as they can be the most disastrous. While there are many benefits to emotions, Virgil chooses to focus on the consequences of giving into emotion. Juno’s furor plays a vital role in Aeneas’ fate, however, her own furor eventually brings on what Juno feared the most. Upon trying to keep Aeneas in Carthage, Juno causes Dido to fall in love with him; however, once he leaves her she commits suicide after stating-

“This way, this way, a blessed relief to go

Into the undergloom. Let the cold Trojan,

Far at sea, drink in this conflagration

And take with him the omen of my death (120).”

            Upon wishing for revenge against Aeneas, Dido chooses for their people to forever be enemies. Upon this request, Dido is erasing any hope for Rome to show mercy towards Carthage in the future, once its empire has been established. Rome has already been foretold to be founded, and now once Rome is founded Carthage will be subject to being enemies with the mightiest Empire that the world had yet to see. Juno’s furor caused Carthage to establish Rome as its enemy before it was founded, in a way Juno was destroying the very city she loved by her means of preventing it from happening.

            Amor is the other emotion that is in mans nature. While Amor is seen by many as something beautiful, Virgil describes it as destructive on many occasions. When Dido begins to feel affection for Aeneas she describes her feelings towards him as “I recognize / The signs of the old flame, of old desire (96).” By using a flame as a metaphor for love, Virgil is saying that love is a flame and while it can give one warmth, it can also burn at their flesh and is uncontrollable, having the potential to spread quickly beyond ones control. Fire is something seen as dangerous, it is not a positive metaphor in which to describe love. These same flames that ignited passion within Dido cause the death of her. As she dies the scene is described by the line “Flames billowed on the roofs of men and gods (120).” Virgil connects his usage of love as a destructive flame by making that flame apparent and destructive in Dido’s suicide. The flame birthed her love and ended it as well.

            Though Virgil celebrates the Roman Empire, the poet also touches the subject of the consequences that came with establishing the Empire. The problem with accepting that ones duty is to undergo his or her fate is that one is subject to the God’s and must act as a puppet to their desires. Events in the Aeneid prove that many innocent must suffer due to the wrath of fate. Though where Troy resides is not the true homeland of the Romans, thousands are slaughtered in the destruction of the great city. As Aeneas escapes and embarks on his journey, Juno causes Dido to fall in love with Aeneas, resulting in her suicide when Aeneas leaves her. Once Aeneas strikes war with Turnus, once again, a bloody battle occurs that kills a countless number of individuals.

            In the book XII, the final book of the Aeneid the story ends with Turnus begging for mercy from Aeneas who considers doing so for a moment, but after having seen the belt of Pallas around Turnus’ shoulder he proceeds to kill him to avenge his fallen friend. The book ends here, with no telling of the outcome of Aeneas’ life. While at first this ending may seem to not illuminate the majesty of the Roman Empire, Virgil’s exclusion of writing a traditional happy, resolved ending causes readers to feel that the celebration of the ending was not Aeneas’ life, but rather what resulted from him doing his duty, which was Virgil’s Rome and the people whom he intended to read his book. The ending celebrates the Roman Empire as a whole as opposed to celebrating its founder. However, the ending of the Aeneid also brings about a darker subject to be reflected on: human nature. The Aeneid was a book that was written to celebrate the Roman Empire, however, it was also a means in which to educate Augustus and future Emperors on how to govern the Empire. Virgil uses examples of Furor and Amor as means of destruction to highlight the dark side of mankind, the nature that is instinct within all of us. Virgil warns that while Romans placed high importance on fulfilling duty, one could not ignore nature. The Aeneid was written to reach out to inhabitants of Virgil’s Rome after such a long period of civil war and uncertainty and to try and praise the Roman Empire, while setting grounds for improvement as well. Though there are some criticisms towards his Empire, Virgil’s tone overall remains hopeful, as he believed Rome has the blessings of the Gods and the will to succeed as a nation. Despite Juno’s attempts at stopping Aeneas’ arrival in Italy and the internal questioning of his own duty, the Trojan refugees are able to undergo the means necessary for fulfilling fate and establishing the foundations that are needed to found the Roman Empire.