Gods In The Aeneid

The Aeneid, a long poem written by Vergil, focuses on the journey of the Trojan Aeneas and his men as they travel to found Rome. Vergil’s intricate and carefully planned writing provides a background to each character and place that the heroes encounter on their travels. In Book One, three gods; Juno, Aeolus, and Neptune; give speeches that give insight into their personalities. Juno is the queen of the gods who fears and dislikes Aeneas because he has the potential to overthrow her beloved city of Carthage. Aeolus is the god of the winds who assists Juno in attempting to throw Aeneas off course. Neptune is the god-king of the sea who stops Aeolus from disturbing his domain with the winds. All three of them interact with each other in ways that show their power and might as gods above humans. Although all of the …show more content…
Each of the gods are rulers of their respective realms. Juno is the official queen of the gods while Aeolus and Neptune are kings of their respective realms. This gives them all a commanding power over others. The commanding power that the gods have is translated differently in each character. Juno keeps this power hidden from Aeolus in order to get what she wants while Aeolus uses flattery instead of commands to get what he wants. Neptune, very different from the previous two gods, uses his commanding power to the fullest to get what he wants. Each god wants something different for themselves which is shown through their speeches. Juno wants Carthage to be safe from the Romans. Aeolus wants to have the status of a powerful god. Neptune wants the ocean to be free from the influence of others. Vergil carefully chose specific words, verb tenses, and poetic devices to form each of the gods which is a huge feat of linguistic mastery. His use of the Latin language to give insight into the gods show a great deal about the dynamics of his