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Examine the role of the gods in Virgil's Aeneid
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Very likely question in the classics A-level exam - achieved A* grade
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Examine the role of the gods in Virgil’s Aeneid.As with all epics, the gods play a massive part in The Aeneid. Ranging right from Homeric Epic, where we
have the regular interference of various gods and goddesses and minor deities throughout the action – for
the actions of heroes cannot go ignored by those up on high – it is quite obvious that they play a startlingly
important role within this piece. However, while their presence to make the poem an epic is obviously
important, there are also other aspects that summarise their roles. They figure as mouthpieces of fate,
larger-than-life, but then they also are remarkably possessed of human qualities. They have all of the same
flaws that we do, yet they have the power to kill through these flaws. Just as the Greek gods weren’t, these
gods are not meant to be moral examples – and so they are essentially free to do whatever they may
please. Through this, we can see clearly that the gods are extremely important in The Aeneid as an epic and
in general, and so can be explored in much detail.
1. Necessary to make it an Epic – to mimic Homer
All Epics have the gods in them – from Homer, who is essentially the blueprint for Epic, to the other lost
Epics, such as The Titanomachy, the gods are, if not the main focus, certainly a major presence within the
piece. Therefore, in order to put himself at the same level as poets such as Homer, and to make his poem
an epic one, Virgil must include the gods – and this is exactly what he does. In fact, I would certainly agree
with Kenneth Quinn in his assertion that ‘Virgil keeps Homer’s divine machinery’, and this is precisely what
emphasises it as Epic. The fact that the gods have constant involvement in the action - such as Venus when
she consistently helps Aeneas, or Juturna when she helps Turnus, or Juno, who tirelessly works against
Aeneas’ preordained destiny to try and prevent fate from happening - elevates this work to Epic, and gives
us parallels to the other two poems within the Epic cycle.
Furthermore, the presence of the gods obviously makes Aeneas a hero in the Homeric sense, because
without godly favour, he would not be a traditional Epic hero. He needs Venus to favour him and Juno to
pity him in order to keep him as this Homeric hero, and so the involvement of the gods emphasises this,
and again elevates Virgil’s work to that of Homer.
2. Typical theological idea that the gods aren’t moralising forces
There is also further theological examination within the poem when we look at the fact that the gods are
not moralising forces. This was typical of Greek and Roman theology, because the gods were not looked
upon as role models, and rather shown to have human flaws. For example, Jupiter was a highly dislikeable
figure, having raped various people, and the gods were shown as fickle, because any personal insult would
cause the death of a mortal. There was no sense of forgive and forget.
However, in The Aeneid, the gods are slightly different to how they are in Homer, because they seem to be
at least slightly more level-headed. There is a clear sense of fairness towards the Romans – despite Juno’s
opposition – and Jupiter seems to figure as the ideal Roman statesman. In fact, in a simile in book one
which describes Neptune’s calming of a storm as the calming of a mob by a statesman, many critics have
suggested that this implicitly links Augustus to Neptune, and thus makes the gods become more of moral
forces, perhaps. With a new emphasis on piety from the new Augustan regime in contemporary Rome, the
gods perhaps had to be somewhat more likeable than those from Greek Epic, because they could not be
spurned.
3. Very close to life – a lot of human traits surpass the divine boundary, such as a mother’s love for
her son, or jealousy at being spurned, or care for your brother, or anger at injustice
As well as this, the gods are also shown as very close to life, in that they share many human traits and
mannerisms. For example, Venus obviously shows great human emotion in her love for her son, even
though we can argue it is somewhat hindered by her position as a god (Aeneas himself complains that she
always visits him in disguise, and does not seem to care all that much about him), and this would be greatly
understood by an audience who, in the new Augustan age, put a great emphasis upon the importance of
family. We then have Juturna, too, who shows deep care for her brother and who wants to rescue him
from his fate, and, when she is finally told that she cannot get her way, furiously disappears into her river
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