Calamity In The Aeneid

The Aeneid was written with a clear purpose; that is, it was commissioned by Caesar Augustus to not only legitimize his supreme position of power but also to construct a piece of poetry which would emphasize the magnificence of the Roman Empire through its complementary substance and proper genius. In order to portray Rome in an absolutely virtuous sense, Virgil would have to uphold primary aspects of Roman excellence, such as duty, piety, and clementia. Virgil seeks to accomplish this feat through the adaptation of the character Aeneas, who at this time is well known as the legendary founder of Rome and a Trojan hero from Homer’s Iliad. It could be argued, however, that Aeneas does not fully capture or embody the virtues vital to Roman society …show more content…
Yet, Pious Aeneas does not question Apollo’s oracle and is able to avoid utter calamity by the hands of these menaces, in which he differs from another hero in Greek mythology. Indeed, Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey also is warned about similar risks, and yet, Odysseus fails to save himself and his crew from mishaps and death. In regards to Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus foolishly decides to engage in battle with them, although Circe explicitly tells him the result will be fatal. Odysseus specifically callously challenges these sea beasts because of his own selfish pride and is the cause of the untimely death of four of his men. Similar things can be said about his interaction with the Cyclops. In this sense, Odysseus does not harbor the same form of duty to his men and piety to the gods that Aeneas has. Yes, Pious and Dutiful Aeneas, both regarding the gods and disallowing petty hubris to endanger his troops, eludes these hazards. Nonetheless, Aeneas is not always perfectly pious and dutiful. There are circumstances in which the hero forgets theses virtues, behaving in an antithetical