Heroes vs Villains
Heroes vs Villains
In Virgil’s The Aeneid, we see the story of Achilles’ enemy Aeneas unfold after he is forced to leave his beloved city of Troy. Juno, the queen of the gods, will stop at nothing to destroy the Trojan race, as they are fated to destroy her favorite people, Carthage. As the story continues, we see exactly what Juno is doing to keep her land in power, and while readers might interpret Juno as a “bad” god, we can also see how Juno and Aeneas are alike and how they differ. Enough evidence in the text suggests that Aeneas and Juno are not all that different, with some common characteristics, and neither one is a villain or a hero.
Juno is the queen of the gods, and she is also the wife to Jove, the king of the gods. In the very first book of The Aeneid, we see that Juno favors the land of Carthage and does all in her power to keep Carthage a strong nation, as Carthage is her favorite city and she is loyal to the city that is loyal to her. As Juno talks to herself, she says, “I must wage a war, year after year,on just one race of men” (1.57-58). This line means that Juno feels she must attack the Trojan race for as long as they exist since the Trojans threaten her nation’s strength and power. As the main god to the Carthaginians, Juno is obligated to protect and strengthen her people. While she could seem evil to the Trojans, she could also just be very determined and motivated to protect what is her’s, so to the Carthaginians, she is a hero. Readers are quick to say she is bad because she wants to destroy the Trojans, but the Trojans are also in a way out to destroy Juno and her land. The reality seems less like she wants to destroy them and more like she wants to save what belongs to her.
Juno and Aeneas share common characteristics, such as strong wills, a desire to save their people, and a duty to protect their home lands. While Juno could be seen as an evil character, how can we judge one’s character and not judge someone else's. Aeneas is not all good and holy either: “Aeneas will wage a long, costly war in Italy” (1.314-315). Aeneas also does what is best for his people by fighting in wars, and yet, readers interpret him as a hero and Juno as a villain. I believe that it is because of the mysterious fates who seem to put limitations on both the gods and the humans. Many references to the fates appear throughout the books, and it seems that the fates are the governing body to the gods and the humans. The fates have set out destinies for all the characters, but they have still given them free will to do as they wish. Working with the fates can bring you honor and glory, like we see with duty-bound Aeneas, or they can force you to be deceitful and conniving like Juno, who constantly goes against the fates to accomplish her goals. Aeneas is such a devout follower of the fates that when the fates and the gods tell him he must leave queen Dido, he does so immediately even though Aeneas seems to be in love with the queen: “The fates bar the way” (4.553). When queen Dido tries to stop him from leaving, the heavens block his ears to her cries. Although Aeneas still leaves Dido, that line shows he clearly cares for her. Another states, “Hail to the country owed to me by Fate” (7.133). Aeneas is clearly a loyal man who follows the gods and the fates and seems to be helped by the gods along his journey. However, queen Juno is the opposite, and she fights against fate whenever she can. Juno knows she is going against fate, and she doesn’t care, as she wants to stay in power and glory. She knows she cannot change fate, but she tries anyways. She explains, “I can drag things out, delay the whole affair: that I can do and destroy them root and branch” (7.368-369). Juno has to go and cheat people to help her with her bidding, and I think that’s because she is going against fate, and just like when we disobey our parents, there are repercussions. Juno is not rewarded by fate and instead she is burdened by it, doomed to eventually lose all that she holds dear. Thus, the difference between our hero and our villain is that one is a loyal follower, while one is a rule breaker trying to hard to get her way.
In this story, I believe it is obvious that we should all accept a higher authority in our lives. Whether we believe in one God or many gods, we all want some kind of authority. Clearly, Virgil was trying to tell us that we can get rewarded for working with the higher authority or we can make our lives difficult and hard by constantly fighting against the will of fate. In this story we can see how we look for the best in everybody, except those who we have already judged. It goes to show that when we think someone is a bad person, we do not try to see things from her perspective. Aeneas and Juno are not all that different, while to themselves they are both heros, who can truly judge what a hero is?
In Virgil’s The Aeneid, we see the story of Achilles’ enemy Aeneas unfold after he is forced to leave his beloved city of Troy. Juno, the queen of the gods, will stop at nothing to destroy the Trojan race, as they are fated to destroy her favorite people, Carthage. As the story continues, we see exactly what Juno is doing to keep her land in power, and while readers might interpret Juno as a “bad” god, we can also see how Juno and Aeneas are alike and how they differ. Enough evidence in the text suggests that Aeneas and Juno are not all that different, with some common characteristics, and neither one is a villain or a hero.
Juno is the queen of the gods, and she is also the wife to Jove, the king of the gods. In the very first book of The Aeneid, we see that Juno favors the land of Carthage and does all in her power to keep Carthage a strong nation, as Carthage is her favorite city and she is loyal to the city that is loyal to her. As Juno talks to herself, she says, “I must wage a war, year after year,on just one race of men” (1.57-58). This line means that Juno feels she must attack the Trojan race for as long as they exist since the Trojans threaten her nation’s strength and power. As the main god to the Carthaginians, Juno is obligated to protect and strengthen her people. While she could seem evil to the Trojans, she could also just be very determined and motivated to protect what is her’s, so to the Carthaginians, she is a hero. Readers are quick to say she is bad because she wants to destroy the Trojans, but the Trojans are also in a way out to destroy Juno and her land. The reality seems less like she wants to destroy them and more like she wants to save what belongs to her.
Juno and Aeneas share common characteristics, such as strong wills, a desire to save their people, and a duty to protect their home lands. While Juno could be seen as an evil character, how can we judge one’s character and not judge someone else's. Aeneas is not all good and holy either: “Aeneas will wage a long, costly war in Italy” (1.314-315). Aeneas also does what is best for his people by fighting in wars, and yet, readers interpret him as a hero and Juno as a villain. I believe that it is because of the mysterious fates who seem to put limitations on both the gods and the humans. Many references to the fates appear throughout the books, and it seems that the fates are the governing body to the gods and the humans. The fates have set out destinies for all the characters, but they have still given them free will to do as they wish. Working with the fates can bring you honor and glory, like we see with duty-bound Aeneas, or they can force you to be deceitful and conniving like Juno, who constantly goes against the fates to accomplish her goals. Aeneas is such a devout follower of the fates that when the fates and the gods tell him he must leave queen Dido, he does so immediately even though Aeneas seems to be in love with the queen: “The fates bar the way” (4.553). When queen Dido tries to stop him from leaving, the heavens block his ears to her cries. Although Aeneas still leaves Dido, that line shows he clearly cares for her. Another states, “Hail to the country owed to me by Fate” (7.133). Aeneas is clearly a loyal man who follows the gods and the fates and seems to be helped by the gods along his journey. However, queen Juno is the opposite, and she fights against fate whenever she can. Juno knows she is going against fate, and she doesn’t care, as she wants to stay in power and glory. She knows she cannot change fate, but she tries anyways. She explains, “I can drag things out, delay the whole affair: that I can do and destroy them root and branch” (7.368-369). Juno has to go and cheat people to help her with her bidding, and I think that’s because she is going against fate, and just like when we disobey our parents, there are repercussions. Juno is not rewarded by fate and instead she is burdened by it, doomed to eventually lose all that she holds dear. Thus, the difference between our hero and our villain is that one is a loyal follower, while one is a rule breaker trying to hard to get her way.
In this story, I believe it is obvious that we should all accept a higher authority in our lives. Whether we believe in one God or many gods, we all want some kind of authority. Clearly, Virgil was trying to tell us that we can get rewarded for working with the higher authority or we can make our lives difficult and hard by constantly fighting against the will of fate. In this story we can see how we look for the best in everybody, except those who we have already judged. It goes to show that when we think someone is a bad person, we do not try to see things from her perspective. Aeneas and Juno are not all that different, while to themselves they are both heros, who can truly judge what a hero is?
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