The Aeneid, Virgil’s epic tale of the travels, trials, and triumphs of Aeneas and his men, has entranced readers for thousands of years with its marvelous tales: we read of the fall of Troy and see through Trojan eyes a war of mighty men and powerful gods, we read of long voyages and terrible monsters, of a journey to Hell and back, of great battles and the founding of the Roman Empire, yet The Aeneid is more than just the recounting of a mythical adventure. It was written as a piece of cultural propaganda and became to Romans what the Odyssey was to Greeks: a sure example of how to lead a moral and honorable life. Not merely a piece propaganda The Aeneid is an excellent work of literature containing many life truths that given the work a profound depth and the life philosophy that Virgil presents in The Aeneid still resonates with people today.
Being highly influenced by Stoic philosophy the aspects of honor in The Aeneid included courage in the face of death, skill in warfare, generosity, verbal eloquence and physical beauty, the respect of one’s peers, stoic self-control and adherence to duty, as well as having the favor of the gods. The cohesive moral code formed by these complimentary virtues provided a standard by which Roman individuals could achieve honor. Most of this code of honor we can agree with as Christians.
Virgil begins the story in media res with Aeneas and his men struggling with their ships in a terrible storm. Saved from utter destruction by the gods they arrive at Carthage. Virgil then wastes no time in beginning to form his honor code in the minds of his readers with the events and actions surrounding Aeneas’ arrival at Dido’s court.
When Aeneas is lead by his mother Venus to Dido’s court in a cloud of fog, Virgil shows us the importance of physical appearance. As Aeneas steps out of the cloud to address the Queen, the narrator tells us that “Princely Aeneas, / Stood and shone in the bright light, head and shoulders / Noble as a god’s” (1.799-801). His physical beauty and obvious strength are important for several reasons. Virgil, or at least the narrator and the characters in this story, holds the understandable but partially erroneous and potentially dangerous idea, seen in countless works of literature from the dawn of time to the present, that a people’s physical form is an outward symbol of the strength and character of their spirit. Thus because physical beauty has a meaning beyond the purely physical realm, it is an important part of honor: Aeneas’ physical beauty and prowess go hand in hand with his courage, skill, and ability to lead, and it speaks to those around an honorable man and draws them to him.
In this same passage we also see the importance of hospitality and generosity. When Aeneas captains straggle into Dido’s court from their ships which were scattered along the coast, she listens graciously to their pleas for refuge for their men and in generously offers to send them on their way with plenty of provisions, or for them to settle there saying, “The city I build is yours; haul up your ships; / Trojan and Tyrian will be all one to me.” before she even meets Aeneas (1.768-779). Similarly after Aeneas makes his appearance and accepts her offer to stay there in Carthage she Dido throws a lavish feast for Aeneas and his men (1.865-69). In thanks for her hospitality Aeneas tells one of his men “to fetch gifts” of gold treaded clothing, jewelry, and a scepter from the ships (1.882-92). Thus Virgil shows the importance of generosity, particularly for leaders.
When at the bequest of Dido and her court, Aeneas tells of the tragic fall of Troy we see again the principle of courage in the face of death. Though woken from a deep dream Aeneas says “To arms was my first maddened impulse—not / That anyone had a fighting chance in arms” (2.420-421). When the alarm is raised Aeneas’ first impulse is to rush into battle, heedless of death. He says that as he fought “it came to me / That meeting death was a beautiful thing in arms” (2.424-425). Realizing the Trojans’ utter defeat Aeneas is not afraid to die a valorous, and thus glorious, death in a last defense of his king and country: “Come, let us die,” he says to his friends “/ We’ll make a rush into the thick of it. / The conquered have one safety: hope for none” (2.470-72). This belief that it is glorious to die in the midst of some great deed or in adherence to duty; this value of courage in the face of certain death, is seen throughout the epic from the ships in the storm, to the trip to the underworld, and the battles that ensue during the conquering of Italy.
Almost synonymous with this ideal of honor in a glorious death is valuing skill in warfare for courage in battle is good, but a man must have the skills needed to survive in battle to even be alive to claim the honor of being brave. Thus this skill and aspect of honor is twofold: it includes not only the skills in personal combat that enable a man to survive many encounters, but also the skills of strategy and command that are gained, in part, through the experience of living through multiples battles. In lines 523-527 of Book I Aeneas and his men disguise themselves in Greek armor turning the element of surprise against their enemies and fighting valiantly they vanquish almost every foe that comes against them. In this passage we see that it is not only because Aeneas and his friends were so skilled in hand-to-hand combat that they were able to cut their way through the hordes of Greeks, but also because of Aeneas skill as a strategist and commander.
Another skill that brings Aeneas honor is verbal eloquence. Whether he is talking with his mother, comrades in arms, important gods and spirits in the underworld, or his enemies, Aeneas’ eloquence shows that he is an educated and refined man, intelligent and thoughtful. His skill with words impresses those to whom he speaks bringing him greater honor. We see this as Aeneas tells of the fall of Troy and his travels thus far and speaks with such craftsmanship that not only the cupid-struck queen and her court who have not yet heard the tale, but even Aeneas’ own men—who lived the story—are enthralled by the his words. Virgil tells us that “The room fell silent, and all eyes were on him, / As Father Aeneas from his high couch began.” (2.1-2)
In these two short lines Virgil concisely and cleverly shows us that an honorable man has the respect of his peers. Aside from showing the rapt attention of the people to Aeneas’ words Virgil gives us two other signs of the high regard which those in the hall—and the narrator—hold for Aeneas. Aeneas is called by “Father” and this sign of veneration, used multiple times through the passage by the characters and the narrator alike, is followed by the statement that they have placed Aeneas on a “high couch” likely raising him above the level of all others but the queen.
This high level of respect for Aeneas is held by others is because of his reputation which is formed by several key elements: remembrance of his accomplishments, the strength of his person and the integrity of his character, and the favor of the gods.
When Aeneas still shrouded in cloud explores Carthage we see that word of great deeds travels fast and is remembered forever in the way in which the Phoenicians not only already know the story of Troy’s fall but have rendered it in pictures upon the walls of their temple to Juno (1.615-622). One of the major reasons Aeneas’ name is remembered by people the world over is because of his accomplishments in the war: other people see him as worthy of their attention and admiration because he has done great things that prove he is above average and worthy of their regard.
Similarly Aeneas’ incredible strength of will and unwavering moral integrity sets him apart as being worthy of honor and adds to his reputation so next Virgil begins to show us the aspects of his honor system—control of one’s emotions and desires, and adherence to duty—that are drawn straight from Stoic philosophy and how these effect man man’s reputation and honor. As time passes Aeneas and Dido both grow completely obsessed with each other to the detriment of her kingdom and the hindrance of his destiny and they both begin to lose honor in the sight of the gods and men. The narrator tells us that Jupiter “turned / His eyes upon the tower and the lovers / Careless of their good name” and then sends Mercury to rebuke Aeneas for being a kept man saying “Is it for you / To lay the stones of Carthage’s high walls, tame husband that you are, to build their city?” (4299-301, 361-635). In the following scenes Virgil makes it quite clear that Aeneas not only does the right thing by following the direct order of the gods to sail away and leave Dido, but that Aeneas regains any of the honor he lost through the way in which he leaves Dido. Aeneas “by Jove’s Command held fast his eyes / And fought down the emotion in his heart” and tried to comfort Dido by telling her that he did still love her but that he must leave and obey the gods (4.456-499). Whereas Dido shows herself a fool as she rails at him and allows her violent emotions to destroy her, Aeneas gains greater honor by following the Stoic philosophies of reason over emotion and duty over desire to remain in complete control of himself, not allowing his emotions to stop him from doing what is right.
The last aspect of Aeneas’ honorable reputation is his having the favor of the gods, which in itself is multifaceted. Being a demigod, the son of Venus herself, Aeneas inherently has a certain amount of favor from the gods which is clearly seen in the special destiny given to him by Venus and Jupiter. This special calling on his life has two effects on the people around him. One is that as the gods work in his life, providing, protecting, encouraging, and rebuking him as needed, he gains even greater honor in the sight of others: if he is such a great man that even the gods pay attention to him, then surely he is worthy of their respect. The second effect is that it gives his men, and all those who know him, a special reverence for and trust in him: because Aeneas has a calling greater than that of average men, because of this special favor of the gods, they can count on him to be successful in his endeavors and thus they are given an even greater reason to follow him.
Yet Aeneas’ favor with the gods is not due to his birthright alone; just as any other man may, Aeneas shows himself through his actions—particularly through his stoic self-control and adherence to duty—to be a man of integrity and valor worthy of honor, and so the gods show him favor, guiding him through life so that he might accomplish the destiny that has been set before him.
The idea that any man’s actions can cause the favor or displeasure of the gods is clearly part of the honor code proposed by Virgil as demonstrated by what Aeneas sees in the underworld. In the underworld there is a direct correlation between a person’s actions and where they spend eternity. The innocent are vindicated and the guilty punished (6.218-23, 365-66). Those who are wicked and deceitful, traitor, liars, and cheats, those who maltreated their parents or servants, are placed in a inescapable dungeon of horrid suffering at the hands of Monsters and demons but and those who lead an excellent life are placed in a sort of heaven, in a green and sunlit land that contains all the best things of mortal life and none of the bad (6.451-476, 493-528).
Looking at Virgil’s code of honor we can see that little has changed in the western man’s honor system over the past several millennia, that there is something inherently part of being man, something ingrained so deeply into us as human beings that we cannot help but see and value many of these same traits regardless of race, culture or creed. While as Christians we may take issue with placing such a strong emphasis on physical beauty (just as scripture warns us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light, good looks does not necessarily mean a person is noble or righteous) there is much we can agree with when studying Virgil’s literary master piece. Since we are to see ourselves merely as stewards of what the Lord has given us, and not owners, generosity and hospitality should be two of the first marks of a Christian to nonbelievers. Skill in speech, or arms, or leadership, or anything else, should certainly be sought and valued by believers as Scripture tells us to do all thing heartily as unto the Lord. We should seek excellence in all we put our hand at so as to best represent our Lord to the world. Courage as well should be the mark of any Christian; if we truly believe that God is watching over us then we have nothing to fear, especially when it comes to standing for what is right and sharing our faith with others. This goes hand in hand with adherence to duty: we are called to serve Christ above all and to do what is right no matter the cost and this often requires courage and self-control. James and many other authors of the Bible repeatedly tell us to control our tongue and actions, and to guard against rash actions made why in the heat of emotion, whether anger or lust. While it must be clearly stated that since God created us with these emotions they cannot be completely evil as the Stoics would tells us, it also must be acknowledged that we must learn to control them so that we do not allow them to cause us to sin. If we as Christians can learn to follow these principles of life that we see in both Scripture and Virgil’s Aeneid there is little doubt that we will not only receive honor from our fellow men, but honor and eternal rewards from God.
Works Cited
Lawall, Sarah. “The Aeneid.” The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. New York: Norton. 2006. 930-1023.
© Andrew J. Goggans 2008
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