Ethan Taylor
Legacies of the Ancient World
Professor Stull
April 25, 2012
Blowin’ in the Wind
The opening scene of Virgil’s Aeneid alludes to an episode in Homer’s
Odyssey. Enraged, Juno requests that Aeolus, keeper of the winds, unleash a tempest
on Aeneas and his Trojans in an effort to destroy Aeneas’ fleet. Aeolus obliges and
sends the four winds to wreak havoc. The winds hit Aeneas hard and sink many
ships, killing some of his best men. This scene alludes to Odyssey 10 in which a bag of
winds given by Aeolus is opened causing a whirlwind that pushes Odysseus and his
men back out to sea. On one hand Virgil makes this connection in order to ground
his poem within an epic tradition that is both familiar and respected by his
audience. On the other hand, Virgil uses allusion to assert the superiority of the
Roman people over the Greeks. With the Odyssey in mind, a comparison of the
source of the gods’ rage, the characteristics of Aeolus, the circumstances in which
the winds are released, and the end results of the episodes, allows for a better
understanding of the themes of the Aeneid. Beginning the Aeneid with an allusion to
a specific scene in the Odyssey and its motifs effectively lays the groundwork for the
epic’s themes of the importance of lineage, the role of gods, and Aeneas as a vehicle
of fate.
In both epics a powerful god has grievances against the protagonist. Unlike
Poseidon, Juno’s rage is dominated by an event that has yet to occur. Carthage,
seated on the coast of Libya, is Juno’s most beloved city. She protects it with all her
ability and labors to make its greatness known across the world, but upon hearing
that “…a scion of Trojan blood / Would someday level Carthage’s citadel” she
becomes consumed with anger (Aeneid 1. 26-27). Aeneas is not directly responsible
for the destruction of Carthage. Instead, it is his future decedents that will level the
city. The contrasting sources of anger highlight the thematic differences of the two
epics. Poseidon is at odds with Odysseus because Odysseus blinded his son
Polyphemus. His anger is justified and a direct result of Odysseus’s actions.
The Odyssey focuses on immediate consequences of actions. On the contrary, the
majority of the action of the Aeneid revolves around the future, namely the
establishment of the Roman Empire. The far-distant consequences of an action are
heavily considered. Juno’s actions are aimed at preventing the fulfillment of a
prophecy. Juno is engaged in a futile battle with fate. Her anger also exemplifies the
significance of Aeneas’s destiny. Aeneas can be viewed as an individual character in
the novel as well as the embodiment of the Roman Empire, whereas Odysseus’s
homecoming only impacts his family and the small island of Ithaca. From Aeneas’s
lineage will sprout a powerful empire that will conquer Carthage. Venus alludes to
the power of the Roman Empire when she says: “They will continue Teucer’s
bloodline / And give birth to rulers who will hold / Earth and sea under their
dominion” (Aeneid 1. 278-280). Throughout the Aeneid there is a heavy focus on the
importance of Aeneas’s lineage. With Aeneas’s success so too comes the Roman
Empire’s. It is this lineage that Juno fears, not Aeneas himself.
The contrasting attention paid towards immediate and distant consequences
between the two epics as well as the significance of Aeneas lineage is illustrated in
the portrayals of the crews before the storm. Moments before the four winds are
unleashed, both crews are in high spirits and are sailing in their intended direction.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew are so close to home that they could see
“…men / Tending their fields” (Odyssey 10. 35-36). In the Aeneid, the moment is
described as: “Sicily had scarcely dropped out of sight, / And they were sailing
joyfully on the open sea” (Aeneid 1. 45-46). Both crews are joyous yet are heading in
different directions. Odysseus’s endeavor is to get home to Ithaca. Therefore, it
makes sense that they would be sailing towards the horizon. Aeneas is searching for
a new home and therefore it is appropriate that his crew would be cheerful as the
horizon is fading behind. This contrasting detail further emphasizes the idea that
Aeneas’s ultimate outcome is the establishment of Rome.
In both epics, Aeolus is similar in some aspects: he controls the four winds
and lives on an island. Virgil adds and omits a few details from Homer’s version of
Aeolus to create a character that represents the increased role of gods in the Aeneid.
In the Odyssey, Aeolus is portrayed with many human characteristics. He lives with
his six sons and six daughters, whom he married to each other, in a palace. Homer
details how they eat and sleep, both of which are human qualities, and refers to the
island as a “city” (Odyssey 10. 16). Aeolus is depicted as a ruler of men and keeper of
the winds. Virgil omits these human qualities. There is no mention about living with
children or how Aeolus eats and sleeps. He is described as living in a “vast cave” and
wielding a “scepter” (Aeneid 1. 66,71). He is more of an elemental force than a man.
His divine nature is illustrated when he says: “You grant me a seat at the table of the
gods, / and you make me master of cloud and storm” (Aeneid 1. 96-97). The human
nature of Aeolus in the Odyssey touches on the epic’s focus on human achievement
and the direct consequences of human action. The plot is primarily driven by
Odysseus’s actions, as opposed to the influence of the gods. Though, the gods are not
passive players. For example, Poseidon and Helios significantly delay Odysseus
homecoming while Athena protects and advises him until he rids his house of the
suitors. Rather, the god’s actions are in response to acts of Odysseus. Helios is
exacting revenge for the slaughter of his cattle and Athena favors Odysseus because
she admires his wits and cunning. The god-like nature of Aeolus in the Aeneid
suggests their increased influence on Aeneas, and hints at the strength of
supernatural forces as a driving force.
Virgil drives this point home by putting a twist to the end of his episode.
Odysseus emerges from his ordeal defeated and far from home, but Neptune saves
Aeneas and his crew. Neptune, who is the Roman version of Poseidon, senses the
disturbances of the water and surfaces to assess the situation. He sees the turmoil
that Aeneas and his crew are in and scolding the winds shouts:
You won’t get off so lightly next time.
Now clear out of here! And tell your king this:
The sea and the trident were allotted to me,
Not to him. His domain is the outsized rock
(Aeneid 1. 163-166)
Neptune then clears the skies and calms the seas by his own will. He is substantially
more powerful than Aeolus, which suggests that Roman gods, and therefore Roman
society, are superior to Greek gods and society. There is no mention of any
crewmembers praying to Neptune, he merely acted on his own accord. Neptune has
no personal investment in the outcome of Aeneas, like Venus and Juno, yet he
intervened. This marks a departure from the behavior of the gods in the Odyssey and
signifies the increased influence of gods in the Aeneid. His actions also represent the
significance of Aeneas’s lineage. Aeneas is a symbol of the Roman Empire, which is
so momentous that Odysseus’s enemy voluntarily came to Aeneas’s aid.
The different circumstances in which the winds are unleashed introduce the
theme that Aeneas is a vehicle of fate. Juno comes to Aeolus as a “suppliant” and
bribes him (Aeneid 1. 81). She offers him beautiful Nymphs and promises that: “The
most radiant of which, Deiopeia, / I will pronounce your wife, to have and to hold”
(Aeneid 1. 89-90). Odysseus gets his bag of winds in an opposite manner. Upon
arriving at Aeolia, Odysseus tells tales of Troy and the Greek army to the amusement
of Aeolus. Aeolus entertains Odysseus for a full month and then gives him a parting
gift. He gives Odysseus a bag full of the winds and lets the West Wind out to swiftly
carry Odysseus and his crew safely home, but as Odysseus recalls: “It was not to be.
Our own folly undid us” (Odyssey 10. 33). Odysseus falls asleep and just as their
home is in front of their eyes the crew gives into their greed and opens the bag. The
winds rush out and push them back to Aeolia. In the Odyssey, the winds were
released as a direct result of human action. Odysseus used his charm and wits to
acquire the bag of winds, and then as a result of his poor leadership, his crew
unleashes the winds. In this way, Odysseus is an active player in determining his
fate. Aeneas is overcome by the four winds as a result of a god’s actions. This
represents a recurring theme of the Aeneid: Aeneas is a vehicle of fate. Outside
players, like gods, are largely responsible for his future. Ironically, the storm safely
brings Aeneas to Carthage, where the seeds for political tension between Rome and
Carthage are subsequently sewn. In Juno’s attempt to thwart fate she affirmed
Carthage’s destruction. Further examples of Aeneas as a vehicle of fate are seen later
in the poem. In Aeneid 3 Apollo tells Aeneas: “Seek your ancient mother” (Aeneid. 3.
114) and after Aeneas’s father, Anchises, fails to correctly interpret the message,
Aeneas is explicitly told by the gods to go to Italy. Aeneas is pushed towards his fate
and is not allowed to stray from the path for long. In Aeneid 4 Mercury appears to
Aeneas in a dream to tell him to leave Carthage and continue his journey to Italy.
Aeneas obeys and inadvertently causes Dido’s suicide.
Winds sweep Odysseus indiscriminately, but they bring Aeneas to Carthage.
Virgil makes this distinction to represent the superiority of Roman civilization. The
four winds symbolize the obstacles that a society face and Aeneas, Odysseus, and
their respective crews represent the two different societies. Ancient Greece was
comprised of many independent city-states. These city-states had no uniform policy;
a common language only connected them. As a result, the wind scatters Odysseus’s
crew randomly without direction. The Roman Empire has centralization and
organization. Consequently, the wind only pushes them towards their fate. Similarly,
Virgil uses his allusion to exemplify that the Greeks are static and the Romans are
dynamic. The Odyssey is the story of one man’s homecoming: his journey to restore
order to his household and bring things back to the way they were before the Trojan
War. Aeneas’s and his people journey to establish a new civilization. They strive to
create something new, and travel from place to place encountering both familiar and
novel before finally settling. Aeneas represents the Roman Empire, which was at its
height during the time of Virgil. The increased role of the gods in the Aeneid and
theme of Aeneas as a vehicle of fate demonstrate the significance of the Rome. Many
gods come to Aeneas’s aid and despite Juno’s efforts he establishes an Italian City.
Virgil paints a picture of the unstoppability and divinely ordained nature of the
Roman Empire. Through a heavy use of episodes and motifs from the Odyssey, Virgil
gives Rome a culturally rich history whilst asserting its dominance.