Leadership is one of the first qualities that Aeneas shows. His character shows pragmatism and enthusiasm. A Leader frequently arises in times of disorder and pandemonium. When Trojan forces lay siege to Troy, Aeneas rises up with great furor to take control. With Troy in flames, and fighting everywhere, he immediately prepared for battle. “So fury drove me, and it came to me that meeting death was beautiful in arms” (II, 425 – 426). Aeneas’ words show an innate sense of responsibility and true fervor for leadership. He steps up in order to defend the city and his comrades. Aeneas’s leadership quality is not limited to times of warfare. Once Aeneas had escaped to safety, the people of Troy recognized his leadership qualities. They look to Aeneas as their leader, for strength and for guidance. “Here I find, to my surprise, new comrades come together, vast numbers, men and women, joined for exile, with courage and with riches they are ready for any lands across the seas where I may lead them.” (passage from book II, Quinn,1968). This war, and the fact that the Trojans prevail is a large part of what makes Aeneas a heroic figure.
Aeneas is also is emotionally vulnerable, he does doubt himself. He is often circumspect of his future despite what the gods tell him. Aeneas' emotional strength in the face of adversity is revealed when he is forced to reluctantly betray the great passion of his life, his love Dido. Dido is infuriated. “You even hoped to keep me in the dark as to this outrage, did you, two-faced man, and slip away in silence? Can our love not hold you, can the pledge we gave not hold you?”(IV, 417-420). Nevertheless, Aeneas holds strong and acts unaffected by his decision to leave. He hides his true emotions. “Aeneas, though he struggled with desire to calm and comfort her in all her pain, to speak to her and turn her mind from grief, and though he sighed his heart out, shaken still with love of her, yet he took course heaven gave him and went back to the fleet”(IV, 546-551).
At the conclusion of the Aeneid, the gods decide that no deity shall help either side; each man will be responsible for his own fate in the ensuing battle(Quinn, 1968). Aeneas’s uses his own natural valor to succeed. Although many gods did influence Aeneas’s destiny, not all of the gods were supportive of him. Juno’s ire causes storms, abhorrence, and war, either in an attempt to stop Aeneas, or to make things more difficult for him. Venus in turn, does everything she can to counteract the obstacles that Juno contrives. Aeneas endures physical and emotional anguish, but his commitment to obey fate is stronger than coddling his own feelings (W. A. Camp, 1979). Although the gods play a major part in affecting Aeneas's life, Aeneas’ innate leadership skills, his emotional strengths, compassion, and true valor to face his destiny are what earns him the name “pious Aeneas”, and ultimately make him a heroic character in his own right and in the epic of the Aeneid.
W. A. Camp, W. A. Camps, Introduction to Virgil’s Aeneid. Oxford University Press; 1979
Quinn, Kenneth. Vergil's Aeneid, A Critical Description. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London; 1968.
Poschl, Viktor. The Art of Vergil, Image and Symbol in the Aeneid. Trans. Gerda Seligson, Greenwood Press; 1986.
