Leadership In The Aeneid

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The leadership of Aeneas develops throughout the Aeneid in comparison to other ancient epics. Unlike other epic heroes before his time, Aeneas’ leadership skills do not come about until much later. He is not introduced as a hero of the war or an experienced leader. He is introduced as a strong survivor and perhaps not much more than that. In other popular epics, such as the Odyssey or the Iliad, the central figures are all heroes who are already leaders and face the test of time. In contrast, Aeneas is becoming a hero worthy of an epic. This is the story of his beginning rather than the concluding chapter. Aeneas is becoming a hero throughout the Aeneid with the development of his character as a whole. In the beginning he described as cowardly, …show more content…
“at your hand, in the fields of Ilium, and poured out my spirit, were fierce Hector lies, beneath Achilles’ spear, and might Sarpedon...” (Book I: Lines 98-101, page 16 ). One can see how rather than gather up the courage to lead his comrades to safety, he dwells on his own fears and cowardly desires. He wishes his own demise had come before with glory and honor rather than a wretched death at sea which would accompany the idea of failing the last of his people in creating a new Troy. The growth in which Aeneas experiences is vital to his development as a leader. As the epic continues, Aeneas is forced more and more to rely on himself and his own decisions to guide him on his way to Italy. These situations build up hero like qualities within him, creating a leader capable of spear heading the great Roman Empire. He does not begin as much of a hero or a leader. The Aeneid offers the unique experience of getting to follow Aeneas on his journey of becoming the hero worthy of …show more content…
He is persistent, kind, the offspring of a demigod, and a fierce warrior. He is great, but he is no leader at the beginning of the Aeneid. The first spark of leadership, naturally, begins with the very start of his journey to new Troy, “And here, amazed, I found that a great number of new companions had streamed in, women and men, a crowed gather for exile, a wretched throne. They had come from all sides, ready, with courage and wealth, for whatever land I wished to lead them to, across the seas. And now Lucifer was rising above the heights of Ida, bringing the dawn, and the Greeks held the barricaded entrance to the gates, nor was there any hope of rescue. I desisted, and carrying my father, took to the hills.” (Book II: Lines 796-804, page 65). At this point Aeneas had just lost his home, the love of his life, and the war he and his countrymen had been fighting for the past decade. Nothing but sorrow is weighing on his soul, but in this moment Aeneas realizes the hopes that all of his people and whatever was left of Troy in quite literally in his hands. Knowing this Aeneas pushes aside all feelings of sorrow and mourning to bravely begin to lead his people to the new Troy. This is the first flicker of leadership that Aeneas shows. The ability to shed away his own desire to run or simple just die, and lead people who are in a great need of a leader to a new home. As the journey continues so
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