HOW EFFECTIVE A LEADER DO YOU CONSIDER AENEAS TO BE?

HOW EFFECTIVE A LEADER DO YOU CONSIDER AENEAS TO BE?

On meeting Aeneas for the first time, he appears to be in a very

vulnerable situation as he is the middle of a storm. This is

emphasized the phrase, “his limbs grew weak” as it puts forward the

fact that Aeneas, despite his power and status is like every other

normal human being. My first speculation on whether or not Aeneas is a

good leader comes from the use of the word “I”. In his first speech he

says, “Why could I not have fallen to your right hand and breathed out

my life on the plains of Troy”. Here, although Aeneas is in suffering

with all his men, he is selfishly regretting the option of dying a

heroic death in the battle of Troy, as it would lead to him to be a

figure of great history. This in my opinion does not qualify Aeneas as

a good leader, as his actions can be perceived to be self- centred.

Contrary to my first perception of Aeneas, is his sense of

dedication. Through this, a positive sign of leadership is presented

to us on his arrival “on the coast of Libya”. At this point, he takes

it upon himself to search for his missing men. “Aeneas climbed a rock

to see if there was any trace of the storm-tossed Antheus”. “Capys

perhaps or the Caicus” armour.” Virgil emphasizes Aeneas’ desperation

to find his men and his great compassion by the use of the word

Perhaps. Similarly, Aeneas proves himself to be a very comforting and

reassuring character to his men in times of loss.

In his sufferings, he makes it his duty to fend for all his men by

finding food for them. “He did see three stags wandering; he stopped

in his tracks and snatched his bow” and then "he took down three

leaders”. Aeneas quick thinking is made evident here by the use of the

verb, snatched as it conveys his abilities to make quick logical

decisions, a feature which makes him stand out amongst others. Virgil

goes further on to tell us that Aeneas has killed “seven huge

carcasses, one for each ship”. This gives an in-depth into Aeneas’

sense of organisation and well structured nature.

Self- sacrifice is another quality that Virgil builds in Aeneas’

character, which qualifies him as a good leader.” “He showed them the

face of home and kept his misery deep in his heart”. Here Aeneas is

able to put his men’s emotions and feeling first in line at the

expense of himself as he is aware of their needs at this moment; a