The Symbolism Of Fire In The Aeneid

In The Aeneid, fire is a common symbol and it carries multiple meanings through the epic. Fire is usually seen as a destructive force that can ruin entire cities, as seen in Troy. However, in The Aeneid, one important meaning of fire is the connection between destructive emotions and fire. Symbolic fire can reside in the emotions of the characters and symbolize the fury and passion in their hearts. These emotion are clearly conveyed through Dido and Juno as they make impulsive decisions concerning Aeneas. The Aeneid begins with Juno’s “unforgettable rage” (I.4) towards the Trojans. Juno’s rage is a constant problem for Aeneas as he journeys to Italy. Juno’s rage is seen physically when she manipulates Trojan women to set their own fleet on

fire. Her rage is not settled until Jupiter compromises with her. As for Dido, she begins with a “love [that] burns” (IV.101) for Aeneas. Dido’s passion soon turns to fury when Aeneas confesses he must leave Carthage to follow his fate. This rage ultimately leads to Dido’s death consumed by fire. Even though Dido’s emotions change from passion to fury, they are always connected to fire imagery. Virgil expresses through these two characters the important connection between destructive emotions and physical fire. Juno, a vengeful goddess, and Dido, a passionate lover, are subject to intense rage and passion that Virgil illustrates through fire imagery.
Juno, with “her heart aflame” (I.

50),” manifests her rage though the physical fire set to the Trojans ships by the women. Juno’s divine wrath against Aeneas stems from two events; the first being Paris choosing Venus as the fairest women compared to Juno and Minerva. The second being the Trojan descendants are fated to destroy Juno’s favorite city, Carthage. Juno understands she cannot stop Aeneas from reaching fated Italy, but she still does everything in her power to make the journey difficult. Juno’s burning rage is most clearly seen when she sends down her messenger, Iris, to convince the Trojan women to burn Aeneas’ fleet. Aeneas and his crew had just landed in Eryx and held festivities to honor Anchises. As the men are distracted by the games, Iris impersonates Beroe and persuades the women to light “burning torches” (V.635) and ignite the ships. The women act on their emotions and are easily persuaded because they want to stop traveling and stay in Eryx. Iris is “the first to seize destroying flame” (V.641) and throw it onto the ships. The women “watched in horror” (V.643-4) but soon join the attack. The “raging fire didn’t slaken” (V.680) until Jupiter intervenes and releases a “rage of pouring rain and thunder” (V.694). Juno’s internal rage is demonstrated though the external fire set by Iris and the women. The destructive fires and the manipulation of the women’s emotions emphasize the rage Juno feels that is only be smothered by Jupiter’s

storm.
Jupiter’s storm extinguishing Juno’s fire on the ships is parallel to Juno ending her vendetta against the Trojans. The rain-fall of Jupiter foreshadows the ultimate compromise between Juno and Jupiter in Book XII. Jupiter has witnessed Juno’s limitless “anger in her heart” (XII. 831) and asks her “what’s left to do” (XII.793)—she already knows the inevitable outcome for the Trojans. Juno is supposed to be a powerful goddess; however, she eventually falls into weakness as the plot progresses. Her weakness is choosing to mettle in mortal’s lives for her own benefit when she knows her actions would make no difference in fate. Juno finally relinquishes her rage and compromises with Jupiter to stop the fighting in Italy. Jupiter promises “the Trojans will fade out” (XII. 835) and the result will be “one Latin people, with one language (XII. 837). This represents the final fall of Troy for Juno; Juno’s fiery rage is inevitably settled by Jupiter.
The most obvious and convincing display of fire as a metaphor for emotions is seen in the character Dido as “her love burns” (IV.101) for Aeneas.

Dido is portrayed as a strong and independent character through her successful founding and ruling of Carthage. However, Venus commands Cupid to “breathe [his] flame of poison” (I. 688) on Dido. Dido develops a passion that is “an unseen flame gnaw[ing]” (IV.2) at her. The flame illustrates the intense emotions Dido feels for Aeneas. Aeneas and Dido consummate their love in a cave, causing Dido to assume they are married. Unfortunately for Dido, Aeneas must follow his fate to Italy and leave Dido in Carthage. “Now [Dido] must called [Aeneas] guest instead of husband” (IV. 324). However, Aeneas declares he “never made a pack of marriage” (IV.339) with Dido. This fuels her hatred of him even more. Dido does not have the emotional stability to live without Aeneas. During his confession, Dido admits “hot madness” (IV.376) consumes her and the connections between fire and fury is

clear.
Dido’s fiery passion transforms into rage, which results in her impulsive decision to plan her own death. She believes her life is not worth living without Aeneas by her side. Dido tricks her sister Anna to build a fire to burn Aeneas’s belong. The fire is Dido’s ultimate funeral pyre she unto after stabbing herself with Aeneas’ sword. The pyre burns much like the raging emotions that consume Dido’s heart and mind. Her funeral pyre is a crucial moment in the epic because it relates physical fire to Dido’s internal flame of fury. “There was no fate or justice in Dido’s death” (IV.696) only the traumatic end to the fiery emotions that resided in Dido. In the end of Dido’s life, she is quite literally consumed with rage, which in this context is the physical representation of fire.
Dido and Juno begin the epic as powerful characters but are eventually overcome with their emotional rage. The development of Dido and Juno’s stress Virgil’s connections between fury and fire. Unlike Juno, Dido’s fiery emotions are out of her control and the result of Venus’s “frenzied flame” (I.660). This flame overtakes Dido’s independence and develops into a rage that results in her death. On the other hand, Juno has complete control over her irrational rage towards Aeneas. Juno sees nothing wrong with her vendetta until Jupiter proposes the merger of the Trojan and Latin race. Her emotional rage is connected to physical fire when she manipulates the women to burn the fleet to stop Aeneas from reaching Italy. Dido embodies the essence of fire as she is consumed with Venus’s flame, while Juno more literally portrays her burning emotions by convincing the Trojan women to set fire to the ships. Although, Juno and Dido embody fury and fire in different manners, they essentially convey the connection of emotional fury and physical flame.