648 THE NATURE OF ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
between the Latin allies and the Trojans Aeneas killed Turnus in single combat.
At this point the Aeneid ends.
This bald outline hardly reveals the extraordinary power of Vergil's poem.
Writing in the epic tradition of Homer, he created a new kind of Roman epic.
We illustrate three of his innovations—his use of Jupiter and prophecy to com-
bine myth and Roman history; his creation of a different kind of hero, in some
ways like Achilles and Odysseus, but differing completely in the Roman nature
of his pietas (a virtue that includes a sense of duty and service); and finally, the
prominent role he gives to Dido.JUPITER IN THE AENEID
In the Aeneid the traditional Olympian figure of Zeus-Jupiter becomes identified
with destiny or fate. Therefore his prophecies are especially important, and
through them Vergil links mythology and Roman history to make the destiny
of Rome both noble and inevitable.
In Book 1, Aeneas is driven to land near Carthage by a storm raised by Juno
and Aeolus, and Venus complains to Jupiter of the sufferings of her son. In re-
ply Jupiter foretells his glorious destiny and that of his Roman descendants. Here
are a few lines from this prophecy {Aeneid 1. 267-279):
But young Ascanius, who now has assumed the additional name of lulus...
will complete thirty mighty cycles of the rolling months as king, and he will
transfer his kingdom from its place at Lavinium and will found with much force
Alba Longa. Here the family of Hector will rule for three hundred whole years,
until the royal priestess Ilia, pregnant by Mars, will bear twin children. Then
Romulus, rejoicing in the tawny covering of the skin of the wolf (his nurse), will
succeed as ruler of the race and will found the city of Mars and call its people
Romans after his own name. For them I give no limits of events or time: I have
given them empire without end.This sense of high destiny, in which the traditional myths serve a historical
purpose, is repeatedly emphasized by Vergil, in Aeneas' visit to the Underworld
in Book 6 (see Chapter 15), in the description of his shield at the end of Book 8,
and in the final prophecy of Jupiter in Book 12 (830-840). By these means Vergil
preserves the Homeric figures of the Olympian gods, but Jupiter is a more pow-
erful figure than Zeus, while the other gods play their traditional roles, favor-
ing one side or the other. Juno is hostile to Aeneas and favors those who would
divert him from his destiny, notably Dido and Turnus, while Venus consistently
favors her son and intercedes with Jupiter for him.AENEAS: A NEW EPIC HERO
Aeneas is motivated by pietas, which leads him to leave ease and comfort to pur-
sue a destiny of which he does not become fully aware until after his visit to the