Fate in "The Aeneid"

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It is consistently difficult to understand in old world literature, from Homeric epics to Virgil's work, The Aeneid, what the relation of fate is to the Pantheon of gods. There seems to be an ongoing debate within the texts discussing whether "fate" is the supreme ruling force in the universe and the controlling element of the lives of men, or whether fate is the will of the king of gods, Jupiter. In, The Aeneid, several situations and instances of the use of fate are presented to the reader. The direction and destination of Aeneas's course are preordained, and his various sufferings and glories in battle and at sea over the course of the epic merely postpone his unchangeable destiny.

The power of fate looms over and above the power the gods possess in the natural world. Often, fate is connected with Jupiter, the most powerful god. Jupiter's will overpowers the will of all other gods. The interference in Aeneas's life by the lesser gods (mainly Juno) who strive to advance their personal interests becomes the conflict within the story for Aeneas.

The story opens with a defeated Aeneas on his way home from the Trojan battlefields of the Trojan War. Juno, a goddess, has held a grudge against Aeneas for a long time, and is particularly vindictive in recent times, because of prophecies that her beloved Carthage will be destroyed. The goddess Juno demands that Aeolus, god of wind, conjure a great storm in order to deter Aeneas from getting home. The fierce, fiery storm is unleashed, and Aeneas and his crew must simply watch, and wait. In the middle of the storm, Neptune arrives, and, taking pity upon fated Aeneas, tells Aeolus (and the winds) that he must stop the storms and the winds, because he is overstepping his bounds of fat...

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...no's bowing to fate, shows that she finally, though reluctantly, will let Aeneas follow his fate, whatever it may be.

The development of characters in The Aeneid is shown in the readiness and trouble with which they confront fate. Juno fights destiny every step of the way, making the ending of the story a resignation to fate, rather than a conclusion of the fated actions. Dido also has trouble with the fates. She lusts after Aeneas, whom she can't have. She ultimately kills herself over the grief from the fate of Aeneas. Aeneas serves his fate by following it. He preserves his own life in an effort to fulfill the fate to which he has been predestined. By working towards his fated goals, Aeneas helps to bring closure to a story that has been told over many years. The formation of a new country is the ultimate resolution of fate, and that is exactly what Aeneas does.

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