Virgil " by Aeneid
Vigil, in his epic, Aeneid, tells of a story where he sets out to build Rome. He is particularly interested in the city and hence willing to go through all the hustle just to reach his destiny. As Aeneid travels through land and sea to accomplish his mission, he is met with good and bad people, who are all important in ensuring that his destiny is successful. He is well informed about the ancient Rome civilizations, which he uses to invoke favor. He travels with a group of faithful men around him just after the fall of their city (Panoussi 74). The epic was written at a time when the Roman Empire was the admiration of the whole world. It was the biggest and the strongest empire in the world, which was believed to have control over most of the world’s resources.
Being associated or connected to the Roman Empire was the most admirable thing, which made many leaders like Aeneid, to undertake the rather challenging journey. Aeneid’s connection to the Roman Empire is experienced when he is ready to pay allegiance to their gods and telling stories of the great successes that have been executed by roman leaders. Aeneid feels inadequate at the fact that he was not able to sustain his former city and instead it fell, leading him to seek some inspiration. The biggest dream of any king at the time or the one who was aspiring to be king is to build a city. Unlike the modern times when finances were required for such establishment, all that was needed were strong connections and men who would stand by the vision.
The epic journey from Italy to the final destination was not an easy one, and the men that travelled with Aeneid, were fully aware of the challenges they would meet. It was a life and death experience where each traveler knew, including the king, that he might either arrive or die on the way. Apart from the wrath of the supernatural beings they experienced on their way, harsh climatic conditions as well as communities who were ready to fight to protect their territories also encountered them. Aeneid, together with his men encountered all such challenges including opposition from within. On such an epic journey, one had to know their enemies and their friends to ensure success of their journey.
The strength of any city or empire was related to gods and goddesses that the people served. The roman empire was known to have many gods and goddesses, which the people would pray to for their success. Physical battles among gods and even with great leaders were common, as each was determined to strengthen the city. The desire for Aeneid to travel to Rome was birthed by the need to be associated with the roman leaders for the purpose of invoking the needed favor to build the city. A king or rather a leader that required a higher status in the society had to go on an epic journey, which was considered to be a moment of discovery and rebirth (Cobbold 88). Fighting, and especially with supernatural beings and gaining victory was one of the ways through which the leaders sailed through upper ranks.
In the journey of adventure and rediscovery, one had to be cautious enough to know whom he was fighting. The journey could bring blessings either to the leader or curses. For instance, some leaders fail to recognize the gods and goddesses they need to respect and in turn engage in fights with them. Such incidences invited curses as well as making such a leader to face revenge attacks. Vengeance was also part of the ancient Rome and Greek culture. Revenging on past enemies was a way of acknowledging the respect the community and the leader had towards those who were wronged, whether alive or dead. Since acquiring new territories involved fighting with the current occupants, cases of ancestral vengeance were common in the land.
Whenever a community was defeated in war and the city overthrown, it implied that they lacked strong supernatural powers to intervene on their behalf. The strongest of the cities were considered to have stronger goods and committed members, which facilitated their subsequent victories (Putnam 56). It is hence for this reason that Aeneid purposed to take up the challenge and travel to Rome, just to acquire some of the supernatural gifts that would facilitate the building of a new city. Along his journey, he knew he had to be good to the leaders who had already established their cities by drawing his associations to the Roman Empire. Although the poem does not mention whether he fulfilled his dream or not, it was clear that the journey had many lessons. The lessons he learnt taught him that building a city, was not just an overnight affair but required commitment and sacrifices. However, attempting the journey was a good foundation that was laid to ensure that whoever takes over will have lesser challenges to face, just as true as the saying, Rome was not built in a day.
Works cited
Cobbold, G. B., Aeneid. Vergil’s Aeneid: Hero, War, Humanity. Unspecified Publisher, 2005. Print.
Panoussi, Vassiliki. GreekTragedy in Vergil’s “Aeneid”: Ritual, Empire, and Intertext.Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.
Putnam, Michael C. K. Aeneid’s Aeneid: Interpretation and Influence. University of North Carolina Press, 1995. Print.
