He calls him “my captain, best of the men of Troy” (1.668).
To whom do these laudatory words refer? They refer to a great leader---a leader who himself practices submission to a higher authority. A leader who encourages his people and motivates them to choose the right path even when it is difficult. A leader who has a deep respect and reverence for human life. This great leader is Aeneas, the hero of Virgil’s Aeneid. Aeneas demonstrates the above characteristics essential for good leadership throughout Virgil’s epic.
Aeneas constantly shows his utmost respect for the gods by obeying their commands, invoking them in his prayers and offering sacrifices to them. Aeneas puts doing the will of the gods over even his own personal desires and wants. He tells Dido he must obey the command of Jove told to him by Mercury (4.446-450). In fact, he yearns to do what he is commanded (4.348) even though his heart is "shattered by his great love"(4.498) for Dido, and he leaves Carthage in anguish. Aeneas obeys the commands of the gods throughout the text; he is referred to as “duty-bound” (1.368) and “devoted to duty” (1.657). His duty, as decreed by the Fates, is to bring his people safely to Latium and there found what will become the city of Rome (1.309-317). Aeneas knows the decrees of the Fates because he is in constant prayer to the gods for their guidance. Aeneas prays to Apollo for direction, asking what he and his Trojans should do next: “Whom do we follow? Where do we go? Command us,/ where do we settle now?” (3.107-108). Aeneas begs for help from Jove when the Trojan women--influenced by Juno--set fire to the fleet (5.757-761), and when prayers are answered he gives thanks with joy (6.227-228). He also offers sacrifices to the gods with diligence (3.332-333) and libations in gratitude (7.149-151). These prayers and sacrifices affect his followers: “...shipmates/ gathered around [Misenus’] body and raised a loud lament,/ devoted Aeneas in the lead” (6.208-210). Aeneas sets a good example for his people and he urges them to bear hardships with fortitude.
Aeneas constantly shows his utmost respect for the gods by obeying their commands, invoking them in his prayers and offering sacrifices to them. Aeneas puts doing the will of the gods over even his own personal desires and wants. He tells Dido he must obey the command of Jove told to him by Mercury (4.446-450). In fact, he yearns to do what he is commanded (4.348) even though his heart is "shattered by his great love"(4.498) for Dido, and he leaves Carthage in anguish. Aeneas obeys the commands of the gods throughout the text; he is referred to as “duty-bound” (1.368) and “devoted to duty” (1.657). His duty, as decreed by the Fates, is to bring his people safely to Latium and there found what will become the city of Rome (1.309-317). Aeneas knows the decrees of the Fates because he is in constant prayer to the gods for their guidance. Aeneas prays to Apollo for direction, asking what he and his Trojans should do next: “Whom do we follow? Where do we go? Command us,/ where do we settle now?” (3.107-108). Aeneas begs for help from Jove when the Trojan women--influenced by Juno--set fire to the fleet (5.757-761), and when prayers are answered he gives thanks with joy (6.227-228). He also offers sacrifices to the gods with diligence (3.332-333) and libations in gratitude (7.149-151). These prayers and sacrifices affect his followers: “...shipmates/ gathered around [Misenus’] body and raised a loud lament,/ devoted Aeneas in the lead” (6.208-210). Aeneas sets a good example for his people and he urges them to bear hardships with fortitude.
Aeneas always motivates his people, exhorting them with rousing speeches to have courage and press forward, even in the most dire of circumstances. When the Trojans are exhausted after a harrowing journey at sea, Aeneas tells them, “My comrades, hardly strangers to pain before now… Call up your courage again… A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this” (1.233-239). When Troy burns and Aeneas is struggling to escape with his wife and son, he goes to find his father, Anchises, and discovers that Anchises has given up, resigned to dying in the ruined city. Aeneas implores him to come with them, telling his father that he must not desert his family (2.806-820). Aeneas highly values human life and will not allow his family to just give up and die.
Aeneas not only shows his respect for life as it pertains to his family, but often weeps for lost comrades and the fate of Troy as a whole. He shows his respect for the dead by honoring their remains according to the proper customs (3.74-82;6.208-213). When Aeneas and his Trojans arrive on the shores of Libya, they believe that several of their ships have been lost at sea and Aeneas deeply grieves along with his men: “Aeneas most of all, devoted to his shipmates,/ deep within himself he moans for the losses …” (1.260). Later, when the Trojans arrive in Carthage at Venus’ bidding, Aeneas and his right-hand man Achates see picture representations of the Trojan war crafted by the Carthaginians. Aeneas looks on these and weeps upon seeing depictions of friends who died fighting the Greeks: “groaning low, the tears rivering down his face … he knows them at once and sobs …” (1.564-568). Aeneas shows deep feeling and respect for human life— a reverence synonymous with humility.
As a leader, Aeneas has the wisdom to humble himself before a higher authority; he has the generosity to encourage those who despair and he remains humble in his respect for human life. For these reasons, Aeneas’ followers love him and are eager to follow where he leads. They willingly risk their lives for Aeneas because they know that Aeneas would never risk their lives recklessly. They have seen him acting in accordance with the will of the gods and pleading for help and guidance on behalf of his people. They have seen him mourning the dead and performing their rites. They know that their lives are important to him because they have witnessed his dedication to all of his people time and time again. Many people may have the responsibility of being a leader for reasons such as need, rank, or promotion, and people may follow them out of necessity, duty, or just to keep their jobs. But people will follow a great leader like Aeneas because they want to follow him. As military strategist and author Sun Tzu says in The Art Of War: “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valley; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.” May The Aeneid exhort all who read it to become the type of leader who would inspire this level of loyalty in their people…a leader like Aeneas.
Aeneas not only shows his respect for life as it pertains to his family, but often weeps for lost comrades and the fate of Troy as a whole. He shows his respect for the dead by honoring their remains according to the proper customs (3.74-82;6.208-213). When Aeneas and his Trojans arrive on the shores of Libya, they believe that several of their ships have been lost at sea and Aeneas deeply grieves along with his men: “Aeneas most of all, devoted to his shipmates,/ deep within himself he moans for the losses …” (1.260). Later, when the Trojans arrive in Carthage at Venus’ bidding, Aeneas and his right-hand man Achates see picture representations of the Trojan war crafted by the Carthaginians. Aeneas looks on these and weeps upon seeing depictions of friends who died fighting the Greeks: “groaning low, the tears rivering down his face … he knows them at once and sobs …” (1.564-568). Aeneas shows deep feeling and respect for human life— a reverence synonymous with humility.
As a leader, Aeneas has the wisdom to humble himself before a higher authority; he has the generosity to encourage those who despair and he remains humble in his respect for human life. For these reasons, Aeneas’ followers love him and are eager to follow where he leads. They willingly risk their lives for Aeneas because they know that Aeneas would never risk their lives recklessly. They have seen him acting in accordance with the will of the gods and pleading for help and guidance on behalf of his people. They have seen him mourning the dead and performing their rites. They know that their lives are important to him because they have witnessed his dedication to all of his people time and time again. Many people may have the responsibility of being a leader for reasons such as need, rank, or promotion, and people may follow them out of necessity, duty, or just to keep their jobs. But people will follow a great leader like Aeneas because they want to follow him. As military strategist and author Sun Tzu says in The Art Of War: “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valley; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.” May The Aeneid exhort all who read it to become the type of leader who would inspire this level of loyalty in their people…a leader like Aeneas.
No comments:
Post a Comment