The Aeneid is a Roman poet that tells of the journey of Aeneas the Trojan prince to Italy, and then the founding of Rome. It was written by Virgil. The epic is sometimes compared to The Iliad & The Odyssey (works often associated with Homer), but stylistic similarities and thematic differences are evident. Robert Fitzgerald writes in his “Postscript” to his translation of The Aeneid that “Virgil” not only re-created a Homeric Hero in the Homeric Age, but also intentionally echoed Homer’s narrative style and conventions in many details. However, his purpose was entirely un-Homeric. He wanted to enfold in The Aeneid’s mythical action. This “un-Homeric” narrative is what Virgil uses to weave the theme love into the tale, demonstrating his uniqueness and as an author. You can interpret love in many ways, from platonic love to familial, platonic and even bloodlust. It is the most violent form of passion, as it can take many forms. Virgil uses these love stories to show how the literary theme of The Aeneid affects mankind’s duality as both a yielding or unyielding power, which simultaneously exposes weakness and brings power. The poem also touches on themes of fate and grieving. The poem presents both volatile and sentimental forms of love. This allows readers to see the connection between war and love. Aeneas’ relationships are shown as a cyclical, with Ascanius and his father Anchises being passed on from one generation. Aeneas remained respectful to his father Anchises after his death. He also made efforts to honor him on the anniversary. This he said while executing and celebrating Anchises’ funeral rites. It is an example of how love endures, how it doesn’t give up, and how it perseveres through grief (The Aeneid 5.105-110): “I greet and bless your sacred father, blesse you,Ashes, shade, and soul, paternal spiritI vainly saved once. It wasn’t given to meWith your help, I could not explore the Italian coastsand plains, nor discover Ausonian Tiber.
Aeneas becomes Ascanius’ protector patriarchal figure when he teaches him. Aeneas mentions Hector as a fallen leader of Trojan army and acknowledges his importance in Ascanius’ life. The following excerpt is taken from The Aeneid 12.556-602. Aeneas reminds Ascanius that he faces hardships, and he mentions Hector and Aeneas as the men who will be there to help him. This message of transferring knowledge and continuing to practice filial devotion throughout generations signifies that love can continue to flow through family relationships. Learning from others is good fortune. Let your Aeneas and Hector fathers stir your heart.
Virgil, however, depicts romantic love in a way that gives a completely different meaning to love. Beginning with the tragic love story between Aeneas & Dido the Carthaginian Queen, Virgil describes this as something akin a fire. A deadly passion that eats away from Dido’s inside. The clever acts of Venus, Aeneas’ mother, the goddess of love, as well as her son Amor, in trying to stop Aeneas from reaching Italy are to blame: “The internal fire eats / The internal wound bleeds on silently.” (The Aeneid 5.93-94). Dido’s metaphorical wound takes shape when Dido dies by Aeneas’ knife after she learned that Aeneas would be leaving Carthage. This final act of self sacrifice shows how love can be manipulated by fate. […]I do not know how to die’, she replied. “But, I will die” This is the way, this is how you can get a blessing from the undergloom. Let the Trojan frigate, far at sea, consume this conflagrationAnd share with him my omen of death!
Also, the sad story of Euryalus’ and Nisus’ love is a tragic example of romantic love. Even a skilled and brave warrior like Nisus can’t save Euryalus when their escape from the Rutulian camp is ruined. The lovers’ captors took Euryalus’ head and carried it on their spears to death. The Aeneid 9.605-661 will confirm that love can bring us down, especially in times of grief and fear. Me! Here I’m! It was possible! Rutulians, takeYour swords! All of the deception was due to me. He couldn’t do anything because he didn’t dare to. Heaven’s my witness. And the starsThat watch over us, all they did was careToo muchfor a poor friend.”
Finally, love emerges from an unconventional approach. It is bloodlust and a desire for violence and war. Aeneas’ victory is within reach when Turnus pleads to his father for mercy. Aeneas appears to be satisfied with his bloodlust. He will move next to mercy. This would surely have added compassion and forgiveness into the mix. Turnus is not pleased when Aeneas notices Pallas wearing a swordbelt around his shoulders. Aeneas becomes more determined to execute Turnus. Aeneas’ last words will show that love, at its core, is still based upon human emotion. It can therefore blind us to logic, rendering us uncaring, unfeeling, and unable to care about rationality. This is Pallas’s offering. And from your criminal blood, his due.
Virgil’s Aeneid is, in conclusion, more different than the Homeric works preceding it. This is due to Virgil’s stylistic and thematic choices. The Aeneid, a story of the power and complexities of love can have a profound effect on Virgil’s characters, as well as the themes of grief and fate. This is evident from Aeneas’ deep paternal ties with Ascanius his father, Aeneas’s love for Dido, Aeneas’s passionate feelings for Dido, the tragic relationship between Nisus and Euryalus, as well the need to vengeance and bloodshed that Aeneas had with the Rutulian Prince Turnus. These three forms are examples of the three outcomes of love. Virgil effectively illustrates the rich and varied thematic qualities that love can be as a catalyst for further actions, including destruction, inspiration, or any other.
