Pietas
Pietas vs. Furor: Pietas
When it comes to fate, Lemony Snicket, an American writer, defines it best: “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” In book ten of the Aeneid, the protagonist, Aeneas, kills Turnus, his enemy. On its surface, this could easily appear as a crime of passion, because Turnus kills Aeneas’s mentee, Pallas. However, one can see that the theme behind the issues and decisions for Aeneas, is Duty vs. Passion. His whole life has been about the self-indulgence and pleasure over the greater good of fate and his civic duty. Turnus’s death can be classified as revenge because 1) he was Aeneas’s enemy and 2) because he killed Aeneas’s Mentee, Pallas, who was even like a son to him. To any other individual, those would have been reason enough. However, from the beginning, Aeneas is destined to establish Rome. It is his fate. He can’t fight his destiny and even the gods can’t intervene. In many situations, Aeneas has to ultimately do exactly what fate demands. He chooses his duty to fate and the greater good rather that his own desires. For example, his relationship with Dido is a perfect example of duty or Pietas, over pleasure. Deep down inside, he wanted to stay, but his duty was to the foundation of Rome. Aeneas is depicted to be an individual not devoid of sympathy even showing pity to a sailor ,who was an enemy of the Trojans, left by Ulysses on the island of Cyclops, Meaning Aeneas could have easily desided to show Turnus sympathy. The fact of the matter is, Aeneas is destined to establish Rome, and who ever stands in his way, friend or enemy, but be removed. It was Turnus fate to die at the hand of Aeneas, therefore, it was Aeneas fate to kill him. Turnus murder is a result of
When it comes to fate, Lemony Snicket, an American writer, defines it best: “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” In book ten of the Aeneid, the protagonist, Aeneas, kills Turnus, his enemy. On its surface, this could easily appear as a crime of passion, because Turnus kills Aeneas’s mentee, Pallas. However, one can see that the theme behind the issues and decisions for Aeneas, is Duty vs. Passion. His whole life has been about the self-indulgence and pleasure over the greater good of fate and his civic duty. Turnus’s death can be classified as revenge because 1) he was Aeneas’s enemy and 2) because he killed Aeneas’s Mentee, Pallas, who was even like a son to him. To any other individual, those would have been reason enough. However, from the beginning, Aeneas is destined to establish Rome. It is his fate. He can’t fight his destiny and even the gods can’t intervene. In many situations, Aeneas has to ultimately do exactly what fate demands. He chooses his duty to fate and the greater good rather that his own desires. For example, his relationship with Dido is a perfect example of duty or Pietas, over pleasure. Deep down inside, he wanted to stay, but his duty was to the foundation of Rome. Aeneas is depicted to be an individual not devoid of sympathy even showing pity to a sailor ,who was an enemy of the Trojans, left by Ulysses on the island of Cyclops, Meaning Aeneas could have easily desided to show Turnus sympathy. The fact of the matter is, Aeneas is destined to establish Rome, and who ever stands in his way, friend or enemy, but be removed. It was Turnus fate to die at the hand of Aeneas, therefore, it was Aeneas fate to kill him. Turnus murder is a result of