Cupid Fate

Fate is shown in the text as an force that cannot be stopped. It is fated and the will of Jupiter for Ainieas to begin the civilization that will later become Rome. So that is what will happen. Any resistance to Ainieas achieving this fate is thus deemed useless. Thus, my argument is: Fate being likened to an un-stoppable force downplays the roles of others who are foes of Ainieas, and thus the presence and actions of characters such as Juno and Turnus are essentially useless to the text. Virgil does this intentionally to present fate as a force that is the sole driver of a plot, and overcomes anything that hinders it.

The love that Dido has for Ainieas keeps him from fulfilling his destiny to establish a kingdom in Rome. “Cupid” shoots an

arrow through Dido and she instantly fall in love. They both start developing his feelings for each other, and Ainieas discusses the story of the Trojan horse and the greek betrayal. This “love” stops Ainieas from reaching Rome. He spends countless days with Dido, until the gods remind of him of his task to found a new city. Ainieas immediately listens to the will of God’s and makes his way for Rome. Even though it pains Ainieas to do so. In this instance Aineas puts the will of the gods above his own pleasures (being in love). Now the question that maybe raised is that: Why does Ainieas immediately sacrifice and give up his own pleasure, and submit to the will of god? The answer is that because he knows that fate is inevitable, and Jupiter will make sure that he establishes the city of Rome no matter what. So there is no point in fighting with the God’s, because he loves Dido. Ainieas has to accept what the will of Jupiter is, and follows. Fate cannot be stopped, and is unchanging. That is why Aineas submits and leaves dido, however much painful it may be to do so(because he loves dido, to go and set the foundation for what will be Rome!
Juno is a figure that is posed as an enemy for Ainieas.

She hinders Ainieas’s travels as he turns Turnus against Ainieas. As a result Aineas fights a war with Turnus. But even Juno knows that her efforts will only hinder Aineas’s efforts to establish Rome. Juno laments at the beginning of the text that “Am I, defeated, simply to stop trying, unable to turn back the Trojan king from Italy?” She responds to herself by saying “No Doubt”. Juno accepts that she cannot stop Ainieas from Establishing. Both Juno and Ainieas view fate in the same way: as being inevitable! This unlikely parallel between Aineas and Juno, ironically shows the striking similarities that exist between these two characters. Ainieas and Juno both accept what the will of Jupiter is. This shared acceptance between these two characters amplifies my view that Fate cannot be stopped. Juno’s actions are deemed worthless in the eyes of the reader. Juno has no end goal in mind to stop Ainieas from going to Rome, because it is not possible. She can only “hinder the way”, because fate and the will of Jupiter has the ultimate authority of the text. Thus, the war that Juno incites is useless in the grand scheme of things. Because fate will find a way too come out on

top.