They Like Gods (And Also No One LIkes Dido, Apparently?)
Breanna Poole
While reading through book six of The Aeneid, a very specific set of lines stuck out to me. When Aeneas is talking with Sybil about visiting his father, one of the first things that she says to him is a chastise -- he must pray to the gods and worship them before any of his requests will be entertained. This right here was what I would consider the most important line in the whole of book six, at least from social/historical standpoint.
It reaffirms that their heroes too had to pay respects to the great gods of Rome, much like everyone else. It reinforces the idea of piety and worship that was compulsory in the Roman empire, and shows just how powerful these gods are throughout the whole book. This line is a call not only to Aneis to pray before he begins his next task, but also a subtle reminder to the people of Rome that no one -- regardless of if they were warriors or heroes -- is exempt from this compulsory worship.
And also, when Aeneas is talking about visiting his father in the underworld, like Dido don't even get a shout-out from him? Like I know they ended on some bad blood and like war and stuff and she cursed him and stuff, but like Aeneas don't feel NOTHING at all or at least not enough to be like -- "she's dead too"? That just rubbed me the wrong way, even though a part of me knows it wouldn't have made sense for him to have mentioned her. And like, he sees her when he goes to the underworld and says some stuff implying he cares but at the same time? Like, he couldn't care enough to care about her dying too before? After everything that happened?
P.S. I commented on Will and Kayla's posts.
While reading through book six of The Aeneid, a very specific set of lines stuck out to me. When Aeneas is talking with Sybil about visiting his father, one of the first things that she says to him is a chastise -- he must pray to the gods and worship them before any of his requests will be entertained. This right here was what I would consider the most important line in the whole of book six, at least from social/historical standpoint.
It reaffirms that their heroes too had to pay respects to the great gods of Rome, much like everyone else. It reinforces the idea of piety and worship that was compulsory in the Roman empire, and shows just how powerful these gods are throughout the whole book. This line is a call not only to Aneis to pray before he begins his next task, but also a subtle reminder to the people of Rome that no one -- regardless of if they were warriors or heroes -- is exempt from this compulsory worship.
And also, when Aeneas is talking about visiting his father in the underworld, like Dido don't even get a shout-out from him? Like I know they ended on some bad blood and like war and stuff and she cursed him and stuff, but like Aeneas don't feel NOTHING at all or at least not enough to be like -- "she's dead too"? That just rubbed me the wrong way, even though a part of me knows it wouldn't have made sense for him to have mentioned her. And like, he sees her when he goes to the underworld and says some stuff implying he cares but at the same time? Like, he couldn't care enough to care about her dying too before? After everything that happened?
P.S. I commented on Will and Kayla's posts.
“The story then that came to me was true ... I could not believe that I would hurt you / So terribly by going.” Aeneas didn’t know with absolute certainty that Dido was dead—he had heard stories of it, but maybe he just refused to believe them. It could have been the fact that the rumor mill spins like crazy on a ship with poor access to news, or it could have been blunt denial that his insensitive means of departure would drive someone he sorta-kinda-loved to do that.
ReplyDeleteNow, after he tries to apologize to Dido’s shade in the Underworld and gets ignored, he still seems to shake that off and forget about it fairly easily. So there’s that, as well. I’m sure he’s got a lot on his mind, what with the annihilation of his home and his divine calling to establish the greatest kingdom in the world, but still... I somehow doubt he was a terribly romantic dude.
Their concept and idea of humility to the gods is definitely very interesting. They have a similar view to Christianity that there aren't any major plans we should make or go through with without first praying about it. I do find it weird however just how much influence they believe they have on the god's choices. Especially with how irrational and unpredictable their gods can be.
ReplyDeleteI feel what you are saying about the relationship between Dido and Aeneas. Neither of them really wanted to be around the other when she was in the underworld. I know, personally, if I was close to a person at any point in my life, I would feel some type of way if I saw them as a spirit in the underworld (which would realistically never happen).
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