Being a Hero - 1510 Words

Being a Hero Thesis: Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor. What is a hero? We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task. Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgils Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing. He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both good and evil. In these positions he†¦show more content†¦She goes to lengths that many mothers would not. This is not quite enough, though; average mothers concern alone does not make Aeneas a hero. A divine mothers concern makes him a hero. Without her willingness for personal sacrifice, Aeneas would never survive through the Aeneid. Occasionally, as is the case with most mothers, Venus judgment of what is best for Aeneas contradicts what fate and the other gods have in store for him. During the Trojans time at Carthage, Juno and Venus both agree that a union between Dido and Aeneas is in order. They use the attraction that Aeneas and Dido already have for each other and use it to cause them to fall in love. The intensity of this love is enough to cause Dido to break her vow of fidelity to her dead husband and she neglects her responsibilities to the development of the city. Jupiter disapproves of this union, and sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his responsibility to Rome: Approach the Dardan captain where he tarries Rapt in Tyrian Carthage, losing sight Of future towns the fates ordain. Correct him, Carry my speech to him on the running winds: Â… What has he in mind? What hope, to make him stay Amid a hostile race, and lose from view Ausonian progeny, Lavinian lands? The man should sail: that is the whole point. Aeneas is in love with Dido and would gladly stay with her, building up Carthage, but the gods know thatShow MoreRelatedEssay On Being A Hero957 Words   |  4 PagesA hero is not something that anyone can be. A hero stands for what is right in the world and fights agents what is wrong. They will always be there to stand up for those who cannot. The path that is taken to become a hero is not a path that can be taken by most. You cannot simply wake up and become a hero, you are born with it and raised to be one. They have to fight to fully become their full hero. The path to become a hero is a long and taxing task to be taken. A hero is someone who had a veryRead MoreBeing a Hero in The Histories of Herodotus Essay1662 Words   |  7 Pagesunderstanding, make a real hero. 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