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This is a 3 page paper that provides an overview of Aeneas' abandoning Dido. The issue is explored from both moral and political perspectives. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFaeneid.doc
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listed below. Citation styles constantly change, and these examples may not contain the most recent updates. Moral and Political Content in Virgils "Aeneid" , 11/2010
--properly! One of the primary assets of the Aeneid as a work of art, is that it presents morally ambiguous situations
that reveal much about all sides of the human character, especially in personal and political aspects. For instance, there is the matter in the narrative of Aeneas abandonment of Dido.
Many critics interpret this issue as reflecting poorly on Aeneas character, but the issue is not so simple as that, which Virgil recognizes. By looking at the values of the
Roman culture which informed the work, one perceives certain nuances that explain the institutional "inevitability" of both Aeneas and Didos actions. In
particular, the issue is the contest between ones personal desires and ones duty to ones country. Aeneas doesnt personally desire to leave Dido, but ultimately does so because he is
commanded to do so by the gods, and because the action is necessary for the defense and development of his country (Virgil 1995). Additionally, the other members of Aeneas family
also depend upon his leaving Dido, so its not entirely a matter of nationalism (Virgil 1995). Dido, for her part, reflects the opposite side of this issue - she neglects
her duty to her country of Carthage by desiring to stay with Aenead, and despite what a sympathetic position this might be, it cannot be divorced from the nationalistic perspective
(Virgil 1995). That said, while Aeneas leaving of Dido might have been inevitable, it is certainly true that he could have conducted himself in a much better manner than
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