Being A Hero Essay Research Paper Being

Being A Hero Essay, Research Paper

Being a Hero

Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life,

Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this

god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.

What is a hero? We would like to think that a hero is someone who has

achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a

great task. Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with

nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas, is

such a person, it is not by his own doing. He encounters situations in which

death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both

good and evil. In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going

along with what the gods want. Only then goes on to pave the way for the Roman

Empire. His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it

were not for the gods. The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him

misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others. On the whole, the

gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism.

Without them, Aeneas would not be the hero he is. This gift does not come

without a price, though; he must endure the things heroes endure to become what

they are. Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life,

Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this

god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.

Aeneas is the son of Venus. This fact alone brings about much of the

hero in him. Venus, a concerned mother, always looks out for her son. She does

everything she thinks will help to ensure his safety and success. At the

beginning of his journey from Troy, she prevents his death at sea. Juno has

persuaded King Aeolus to cause vicious storms, rocking Aeneas’ fleet and nearly

killing all of them. Venus then goes to Jupiter and begs him to help Aeneas:

Venus appealed to him, all pale and wan, With tears in her shining eyes:

“My lord who rule The lives of men and gods now and forever, And bring

them all to heel with your bright bolt, What in the world could my Aeneas do,

What could the Trojans do, to so offend you? Jupiter then assures Venus that

he will keep his promise to allow Aeneas to live on to set the stage for the

coming of the Romans. In this case, without Venus’ watchful eye and concern,

Aeneas would have no kind of protection or security as he made his way to

Italy.

Another instance in which Venus uses her influence to assist Aeneas is

during the fifth book. When Aeneas and the Trojans leave Sicily, Venus fears

that Juno will attempt to kill Aeneas again, and so asks Neptune for safe

passage over the ocean: Beset with worries, Venus turned to Neptune, Unfolding

from her heart complaints and pleas: “Juno’s anger, and her implacable heart,

Drive me to prayers beneath my dignity. ? But as to what comes next, I beg you,

let them Safely entrust their sailing ships to you” Once again, Aeneas would

have to deal with the wrath of Juno on his own, if it were not for the divine

influence of his mother.

In book eight of the Aeneid, with war between the Trojans and the

Italians imminent, Venus once again fears for the safety of her son. To ensure

the well-being of Aeneas, she cajoles her husband, Vulcan into making a suit of

armor for Aeneas: “Most dear husband, I never wished to tax you, make you toil

In a lost cause, however much I owed To Priam’s sons, however long I wept Over

Aeneas’ ordeals. Now, however, ? I do come, begging your sacred power For arms,

a mother begging for her son.” Venus is willing to put on this facade of extreme

passion for her husband in order to help Aeneas. She goes to lengths that many

mothers would not. This is not quite enough, though; average mother’s concern

alone does not make Aeneas a hero. A divine mother’s concern makes him a hero.

Without her willingness for personal sacrifice, Aeneas would never survive

through the Aeneid. Occasionally, as is the case with most mothers, Venus’

judgment of what is best for Aeneas contradicts what fate and the other gods

have in store for him. During the Trojans’ time at Carthage, Juno and Venus

both agree that a union between Dido and Aeneas is in order. They use the

attraction that Aeneas and Dido already have for each other and use it to cause

them to fall in love. The intensity of this love is enough to cause Dido to

break her vow of fidelity to her dead husband and she neglects her

responsibilities to the development of the city. Jupiter disapproves of this

union, and sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his responsibility to Rome:

Approach the Dardan captain where he tarries Rapt in Tyrian Carthage, losing

sight Of future towns

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