How Does Virgil Create Sympathy In The Aeneid

Leaves of Grass. Kebra Nagast. Popol Vuh. Daredevils of Sassoun. These titles represent some of the most respected works of their cultures. On a quest to compose a story that would become the great epic of Rome, writer Virgil created The Aeneid, a poem following the journey of Aeneas, an epic hero. In “Book II” of The Aeneid, Virgil portrays the Trojan War in such a way that makes the Trojans appear less foolish than what The Odyssey, its Greek predecessor, depicted. Virgil emphasizes the Trojans’ good character, love, and sympathy while exposing the Greeks deceitful and untrustworthy ways. “Book IV” describes Queen Dido’s inability to find love after the loss of her beloved husband. After escaping the Greek’s attack on Troy, Aeneas

arrives in her kingdom, and Dido instantly falls in love with the great warrior who washed up on her shores. Faced with a decision, he must choose to stay with his love, Dido, or fulfill his duty of returning to Italy. Withstanding plights that seem impossible to overcome can force one to make difficult decisions by balancing the need for personal happiness and upholding obligations. Through Aeneas’s constantly changing behavior, Virgil shows how emotions can be powerful, but, ultimately, duty prevails.
To start, Aeneas shows great sympathy towards an abandoned Greek warrior when confronted with his stories.

When it begins to seem as if the Trojan War will never end, a large wooden horse appears outside the walls of Troy, and the people of the city become skeptical of the mysterious statue. The Trojans have little trust for the Greeks because of their cunning attacks and deceiving war tactics, however, they place a great deal of pride in the fact that they do not cheat their war opponents and place their moral values before everything else. In “Book II”, Virgil opens with Sinon, a Greek warrior, announcing his abandonment by the Greeks to the people of Troy saying the rest of his men retreated back to Greece; “Unblamed may I break the oath of Greek allegiance, unblamed hate them and bring all to light that they conceal; nor am I bound by any laws of country” (Virgil, Aeneid: Book II 168-169). Aeneas begins to feel pity for the poor man pleading for acceptance as one of their own and starts to contemplate letting him into the city. Sinon continues to elaborate that the wooden horse was a gift to the goddess Minerva, who had turned away from the Greeks due to the desecration of one of her temples. Denying the statue’s entrance to the city and leaving it to the power of the weather would consequently infuriate her. Considering showing their values of kindness, trustworthiness, and respect for the gods, Aeneas allows the horse to enter Troy and accepts Sinon’s plea for

acceptance despite the fact many of the city’s inhabitants do not agree with the idea. One of the men of the city declares, “...hurl this deceit of the Greeks, this suspect gift, into the sea, or set fire to it from beneath” (Virgil, The Aeneid: Book II 36-37). Although a majority of the citizens saw the statue as a danger and wanted to rid of the suspicious wooden horse, the sympathetic emotions and values Aeneas possess temporarily interfere with his duty to protect the city. Aeneas soon realizes the grave error he made in allowing his heart to dictate his emotions and attempts to turn the situation back around by reassuming his obligations as a leader.
Once Aeneas realizes the mistake he has made, his sense of duty kicks in to protect the people of Troy. Virgil highlights the Greeks’ duplicitous approach to war when the reader realizes the massive wooden horse contains all the Greek troops Sinon claimed had deserted him. ”Sinon stealthily lets loose the imprisoned Grecians from their barriers of pine” (Virgil, Aeneid: Book II 272-274). Armed and ready for battle against the unknowing Trojans, the Greeks quickly cause Troy to fall to ruin. Hector, a slain leader of the Trojan army, startles Aeneas in his dream when he comes to alert him of the bloodbath happening outside his home. “They invade the city that’s drowned in sleep and wine, kill the watchmen, welcome their comrades at the open gates, and link their clandestine ranks” (Virgil, Aeneid: Book II 284-286). Aeneas’s emotions quickly evolve from sympathy for Sinon into outrage towards the phony man he chose to believe. When feeling as if he has lost all control of something he assumed he had total command of, a sense of urgency to redeem himself appears. Aeneas and his men rush to the scene of the battle and attempt to disprove their ignorance towards the purpose of the horse. As a form of damage control, Aeneas counteracts his sympathetic actions by completing his duty to protect Troy and leading the battle against the Greeks to show his loyalty to his city. When faced with adversity, duty prevails and triumphs over emotional decisions.
Much like his duty to protect Troy, Aeneas feels obligated to return to his city as ordered by the gods while in Carthage. Many suitable men have come forward, pleading for Queen Dido's hand in marriage, however, Aeneas is the first man she has been able to feel any affection for since the death of her husband. Soon after, the goddesses Venus and Juno coerced the couple into a cave to informally wed them. From Dido’s point of view, the ceremony is as official as any other wedding while Aeneas feels that it does not mean anything. Their conflicting perspectives proceeded to cause an issue in their relationship. When Apollo confronts Aeneas and advises him to journey to Italy, he forces Aeneas to choose between leaving the woman he loves or to risk angering the gods and disappointing his people. “I never held the torches of a bridegroom, never entered upon the pact of marriage” (Virgil, Aeneid: Book IV 467-468). Aeneas attempts to make his sudden leaving seem more reasonable to Dido while also seeking to anger her, causing her to want for him to leave. While he fails in his pursuit to reason with Dido, he does an excellent job in infuriating her. Aeneas revealed his final decision to her stating, “I should look after Troy and the loved relics left me of my people” (Virgil, Aeneid: Book IV 984-985). Putting his duty before the emotions of Dido proves that obligations trump feelings in most situations. Aeneas prioritizes his loyalty to his city before his feelings towards Dido, even though he loves her just as much as she loves him. With love obstructing his decisions, it takes divine intervention to remind Aeneas of the task he must complete.
Though written in 19 BC and revolving around the life of a man unlike many in modern times, The Aeneid causes readers to ponder the morals of people in ancient times and how these morals appear in today’s society.

In “The Prioritization of Moral Duties”, physician and philosopher Alex Scott explores the ways in which morals differ. Scott states that moral duties or obligations “...are requirements to perform actions in order to comply with given principles of morality.” It is a necessity to appease these duties so one may fulfill moral standards of society. Executing “...actions that are advised or recommended but not necessarily required or obligatory” (Scott) are known as moral prescriptions. Virgil shows Aeneas making both moral duty and prescription choices in The Aeneid. Once he recognizes that his moral prescription choice to let Sinon in hindered his job as a leader, Aeneas switches gears to accomplishing his moral obligation of defending Troy instead. In short, he lets his emotions get in the way of completing his job even while realizing that his responsibility is to help protect Troy. Scott explains, “the amount of blame that may be properly placed on persons for noncompliance with moral duty may also be determined by whether they actually recognized their moral duty.” Aeneas’s dilemma is not that he does not know his duty is to protect Troy, but more along the lines of his ignorance as to what could possibly happen by letting Sinon enter. Disregarding

known tasks and disastrously applying emotions to decisions leads to catastrophic results in the case of Aeneas. The realization that he has a job to do causes Aeneas to ultimately accept the fact that obligations hold precedence over the emotions he experiences. As for people today, achieving moral duties and prescriptions come easily to those who have grown up with them. A relative or other member of society must plant moral obligations in the minds of those around them. The values a person acquires over time cause one to form moral prescriptions of their own. Through losses, struggles, and experiences, one develops their own judgement as to when it is necessary to apply emotions to a situation, but accomplishing their moral duty will preponderate.
Virgil plainly illustrates how emotions can often be compelling, but, sooner or later, obligations rise to supremacy. The Greeks’ cunning plot to get into Troy, the unexpected battle, and Queen Dido’s infatuation for Aeneas cause him to contemplate his choices carefully. Whether ending terribly or pleasantly, the choices Aeneas makes are a balance of his values, beliefs, and morals, depending on what the situation entails. Accomplishing a set job can be a seemingly difficult task for some when emotions and stress levels are at a high. In ancient times and even today, encountering emotional actions and decisions is not uncommon, however, the need for acting upon assigned duties rapidly emerges to become a priority.