Essay Example on Aeneid: Examining Roman Identity, Gender Roles & Assimilation

Introduction

Written by Vergil, the Aeneid poem is used to describe the roman identity, to pinpoint the physiognomies of Romans, to reinforce gender roles, and serve to provide a warning on surpassing of specified limits. The poem also highlights on the issue of incorporation and assimilation of foreign cultures into the Roman way of life. On the higher end, the poem serves to acknowledge the roles of women in the society and describes the consequences if these roles are misguided. This paper will focus on gender roles and specifically on how Aeneas is connected to the life and death of Dido and Camilla.

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Aeneas

Aeneas, who is a survivor of the Troy siege, is also the central character of the poem. He is a fearsome soldier with leadership qualities that enables him to motivate his troops in facing a dangerous situation. Aeneid also demonstrates a high level of respect to the gods' will and is ready to adhere to their commands. His call is to found the Roman Empire in Italy. However, his involvement with some powerful women in society brings some unfortunate results, including their death.

Aeneas and Dido

Dido was the ruler of Carthage, a metropolitan in North Africa. She had left Troy after the death of her husband, who had had been killed by her brother, Pygmalion. She led a big city but found herself in conflict with the gods in their efforts to decide Aeneas fate. Dido had made a promise not to remarry and had since declined proposals from other sovereigns. Before the arrival of Aeneas to Dido's life, her focus was exercising full authority on the empire and ensuring equality and fairness.

She even pledged to Aeneas that the decision not to remarry was a political one with political insinuations. However, her interaction with Aeneas distracted her, and she began to lose her commanding power in the empire as her love for him started to grow. Dido was carried away by love for Aeneas to the extent that she could not exercise her full authority on the ground. Compared to Camilla, Dido was more a more dangerous threat to Aeneas as she could interact with him on a daily basis, and she almost convinced him to throw away his nation-building duty. According to Vergil (Book IV 121-4)) "towers, half-built, rose no farther Men no longer trained in arms or toiled to make harbors and battlements impregnable. Projects were broken off, laid over, and the huge menacing walls with cranes unmoving stood against the sky."

With the continued interaction with Aeneas, Dido even broke her chastity vows and surrendered her passion to this warrior. She even considered her relationship with Aeneas as marriage and no longer a secret affair, an element that demonstrated how her mind was being corrupted. Though she knows the behavior is quite immoral, she tries to convince herself that it is something right for herself.

Even though love plays a vital role in bringing people together, it also plays a similar role in destroying more. Though hoping for a lasting relationship, Dido was caught off-guard when the messenger god, mercury, reminded Aeneas that his fate was not in Carthage and was commanded to leave for Italy. In showing respect to the gods, Aeneas had no otherwise but to go even though he felt pain in leaving Dido. So furious of being left by his lover, Dido was so depressed that she even cursed Aeneas. Being left was not only a personal blow but also left her in a shaky political situation. In trying to overcome this pain and shame, Dido committed suicide.

Aeneas and Camilla

Camilla was the leader of warrior maidens, the Volscians. The lady rubbishes the actions and roles of women as she ends up behaving and assuming men responsibility to become a soldier. Being an experienced warrior, she leads her troops to join powers with Turnus, who is preparing to fight against his fated challenger, Aeneas, the Trojan. Compares to Dido, who seeks love, Camilla is well informed of her roles in the army and is also determined to complete these duties. In efforts to win the battle, Camilla is involved in slaughtering and decimation of Aeneas troops. Her primary focus in the army is to see that Aeneas does not win and that he even gets killed.

Although Camilla does not face Aeneas directly in the combat, she was at the forefront, strategizing on how to ambush Aeneas and his troops. After killing many of Aeneas troops in the battle, Camilla attention is driven onto a stunning Trojan warrior named Arruns. Her entire mindset changes, and she begins to track him with the desire to either flaunt the golden bootie or fit in his luxurious Trojan gear (Book 11, 1. 1061). She ran her pursuit recklessly to a point where Arruns notices her and takes advantage of the situation. Blinded by lust for the attire, Camilla does not realize a spear thrown at her, and unfortunately, it hits her to death.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the women in both scenarios denote a threat to Aeneas in reaching his destiny. Dido and Camilla are women leaders who are blinded by love and lust, respectively, in the Aeneid. Though they have established strong positions in society, they are easily distracted to an extent they lose control of themselves, thus contributing to their deaths.