but Aeneas, when we come right down to it, has not the faintest idea of what he is doing, historically. for augustus, it is clear that cleopartra and antony are 'enemies to the state', but aeneas has no state, and insofar as his state can be equated with the goal of founding a state, deciding who is an enemy can be tough.
Think you are absolutely right on this point- and Virgil emphasises in book 8 that Aeneas is ignorant of the scenes on the shield, but rejoices anyway. Aeneas' problem is to figure out who his enemies are and to deal with them.
clearly turnus, but what
about, for example, dido? is it fair to call her an enemy in the same sense that antony and cleopatra, or turnus are? or maybe that's just it--the old adage, all is fair in love and war. but then what about aeneas himself?
I think the Dido episode shows how a friend can become an enemy- but in essence, Virgil was showing "why" Rome and carthage had been enemies. Convenient to do so a century after the Punic Wars ended, but then also remember the statement by Ovid that Book 5 was the best read book in the ancient world. The people liked that sort of story.
he is, in some way, his own enemy. and if for vergil we
must battle those who are enemies to our goals, which i think may be correct, then the distinctions between hero and villain disappear.
I don't know about that- how do you explain the death of Turnus at the end of book 12? That was an act that could have been avoided if Aeneas had shown the clementia of either Caesar or Augustus, yet he did not- perhaps it is the battle within Aeneas to conquer himself. I have great problems equating Aeneas with augustus because of this last passage- I think Virgil may well be giving the new ruler a lesson in this scene, but I'm not really sure....
Jim Stewart
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