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

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