Fate In The Aeneid

In the epic poem the Aeneid by Virgil, Rome is at the midpoint of the poem. The city of Rome, which will later be found by Aeneas, and the Empire that will stem from it will be the destination of Aeneas’s fate. Aeneas learns of Rome through his father, Anchises who describes it to him on their voyage to the Underworld. The city of Rome will come to symbolize not just a city he created, but rather the high point of his overall achievement. For Aeneas and his troops, Rome will be seen as their new home and hope as they seek to rebuild a community where he along with his people can be at one with their gods and to look forward to new beginnings, instead of clouding their memory with images of their previous home in Troy. Throughout …show more content…
In accepting his fate, Aeneas realizes that a lot is at stake and that he will be truly be free from his sufferings. Aeneas, the son of Venus benefits from her divine protection. His destiny is to survive the fall of Troy and form the Roman Empire. His fate as the founder of Rome is centered on the entire epic and serves as a means through which fate is accomplished. While Aeneas is not fully aware of what his destiny calls him to do, he is still cognizant of the fact that he has to make some tough choices that will contradict with his predestined duties. These choices are typically burdened by emotional traumas and comes at a great cost. Aeneas must understand that with these new roles and responsibilities that are placed upon him, he must lose people who he cherish such as Creusa, his wife, Dido and later in the poem his father Anchises. Aeneas also faces many life-threatening barriers that Juno casts before him on his journey. Aeneas is a character that remains obedient and devoted even though he is quite aware of the tumultuous journey that he must take on and the risks that are involved. Nevertheless, Aeneas embraces his fate and what is expected of him to