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Mars And Human Free Will In Virgil's The Aeneid

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Human life is a moldable creation in the gods’ eyes. In The Aeneid’s last books, soldiers die on the warfront during final battle between the Latins and the Trojans. Bloodshed at all costs, yet ruthless Mars prolongs the chaos while being the source of it as well. The other deities sit in the halls of Jove, looking down on the mortals. They are “filled with pity”(X.898) while watching the mortals fight a battle manipulated by the gods themselves. Amidst the chaos, I will argue that humans only have a superficial free will because the choices they make always becomes ministerial, for the gods will always interfere for personal gains and entertainment; thus mortals are never at the liberty to choose their own paths. I will defend this claim by analyzing Virgil’s use of diction and how specific words and phrases are used to characterize the gods and the mortals. I will then to analyze the syntax Virgil utilizes, showcasing the arrangement of certain words, to draw the audience 's attention to the grander scheme of power roles presented in the Virgilian universe and how the unequal balance of power causes the lack of human free will. …show more content…
In book 9, Virgil explicitly writes about Mars interfering with the mortals’ emotions. “Mars, power of war, injects new heart and force in the Latins.” (IX, 813) The battle has already commenced. Mars’ act directly influences the Latins, for they are instilled with a newer and stronger urge to fight. The term “power of war” is placed in the beginning of the line. It shows that Mars, through the use of his grand powers, steers the mortals towards more chaos. Whether the soldier 's true desire was to continue fighting proves meaningless against the actions of a

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