Roman Deities and Applications in the Aeneid

Greco-Roman deities are still relevant today, as we refer to their characterizations in pop

culture and even in daily life. Just as a few examples, the word “aphrodisiac” comes from Aphrodite, as well as the word “cereal”, coming from the goddess Ceres, and “jovial” from Jove, Zeus’ Roman counterpart. The Aeneid by Virgil is an epic Roman poem that contains references to Roman gods, and their characterizations.

Juno or Hera is the queen of the gods, and the wife of Jupiter, or Zeus. In the Roman

religion, she was the guardian Angel of women, specifically married women. She was also goddess of childbirth as Juno Lucina and served as a comfort for women (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2007). She had many identities, one being Juno Sospita, goddess of those in confinement, and another being Juno Moneta, goddess of the moon. In many cultures, femininity is associated with the moon because of the monthly cycle that both the moon and female body have in common (ex. Taoist yin-yang). She was the goddess of reminders, and presided over all aspects of womanhood.

It seems that as she was characterized, specifically in The Aeneid, her personality was

more closely associated with that of Hera. She was angry at the hero Aeneas because she loved the city of Carthage, which was prophesied to be destroyed by the later city of Rome, which Aeneas had a part in founding. In The Aeneid, she is described as “cruel” and “savage”. She also hates Troy because Paris chose Aphrodite in the beauty contest and not her. Here, we can see that Juno is described as vengeful and holds grudges. She is also fiercely protective, which perhaps displays the maternal side of her that characterizes her in the Roman religion. However, she manipulates Aeneas to land in Carthage and being in affair with queen Dido, saying, “allow her to be a Phrygian husband's slave…”. In particular, this statement by Juno about Dido shows that she is more concerned with destroying Aeneas than with saving Carthage. She made Dido fall in love with Aeneas in hopes of preventing his fate, and this seems quite out of character if we look at her from the perspective of the Roman deity. She valued marriage and the sanctity of womanhood, where the Juno of The Aeneid sees marriage as a tool to get what she wants. As a further example, she promises Aeolus marriage to Deïopea in exchange for rousing up the winds on the sea. She doesn’t seem to care about the well being of Dido or Deïopea. She uses them as tools, not necessarily revering the sacred bond of marriage, as she is supposed to.

She seems closer in this story to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s interpretation of her

character, commonly recognized as the “Queen archetype” of femininity (Ayesha, 2021). She is vengeful, often jealous, and takes charge when necessary. Juno is literally, the queen of the gods, devoted to her husband and does not tolerate those who she perceives as a threat to her crown. More specifically, when it comes to Dido, it is important to note the high likelihood that Dido was a caricature of Cleopatra. Cleopatra is known for being very much the Jungian “queen archetype”, as she was envious (killed her sister Arsinoe because she saw her as a threat), regal, and focused on propriety and duty for her people as well as asserting her power. Dido parallels Cleopatra in the simple sense that she was a queen from North Africa who is thought to be preventing Rome from fulfilling its destiny by way of seducing its hero (Cleopatra had relationships with both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony). Virgil describes Dido the same way Horace described Cleopatra, which can be reduced to the word “madness”, and lack of restraint. Another similarity is that they both committed suicide for the sake of preserving their dignity. (Benario, 1970). Neither wanted to live as victims, and chose death on their own terms. What is interesting specifically about this, is that Juno’s behavior towards Dido is one of almost contempt. The implication here is that the queen Juno does not take well to other queens, even though it is clear Juno is more powerful anyway and Dido was not a threat. We know this because Juno had the power to make her fall in love, and therefore could toy with her emotions, giving her the upper hand over Dido. So it is questionable to say that Juno was jealous of her, because there is nothing to be jealous of. Unless, perhaps Juno saw herself reflected in Dido and it disgusted her, because she is the only headstrong queen allowed. It is not surprising that Juno does not get along with other women, if one subscribes to Jung’s ideology. However, in the Roman religion, she is the goddess of women, specifically their protector. It seems that in The Aeneid, her protection of women is conditional, and it is only for women who play by her rules. It seems that Juno only protects proper Roman women, who know their place. Not women who are too beautiful, too passionate, or too strong. We can see this by her treatment of the Deïopea and Dido.

This being said, what can we take from this incongruity between the maternal Juno of

Roman religion and the ruthless Juno of The Aeneid? Number one, we can deduce that Greek mythology surrounding Hera had something to do with this. It is relatively common knowledge that The Aeneid was Augustan propaganda, and Augustus was interested in Hellenizing Roman art and literature. Likening Juno to Hera in personality was likely an attempt to draw the comparison between Roman and Greek deities in order to acclimate Romans to the idea of deities having personalities and stories of their own within literature. Reiterating the story of Dido, it is also possible that Juno’s cruelty was to make an example out of those who defied the will of supreme powers, specifically shaming Cleopatra because she defied the will of Rome by preventing their expansion into Egypt. Her aggressive personality was a way of exposing Aeneas’ Roman values as well as punishing those who went against them. Her place in the plot was to cause problems that would expose virtues or lack thereof in the characters. Because she is the main antagonist to Aeneas, she causes issues, and he overcomes them, making him a hero.

Jupiter, or Jove is the Roman counterpart of Zeus. He is king of the gods and the Romans

looked to him for protection (Wasson, 2014) in times of both war and peace. He was known to have a sometimes violent disposition similar to Zeus, but was fair in dealing punishment. In The Aeneid, this characterization seems relatively consistent. He disagrees with his wife Juno often, and it seems through his actions that he is bringing the masculine ideas of order and rationality to counteract her chaos and impulsivity.

Wilson (1979) makes the case that Jupiter’s character was not simply a carbon-copy of

Zeus, as there were things he said and did that did not align with Zeus. This goes to show that Virgil did not seek to simply Hellenize Roman gods for the sake of imitating Homer, as he truly did want to give Jupiter a characterization of his own. Wilson (1979) exemplifies this case in his council with Venus and Juno, where instead of Zeus closing with an authoritative statement, Jupiter allows the war to continue and pledges impartiality. He is taking a back seat, which seems uncharacteristic of a kingly figure. However, Wilson (1979) also acknowledges later in the article that this is not the abnegation of responsibility or the failure to be a decisive king. This is rather his way of making his kingship felt rather than heard, allowing the warring parties to fight for themselves, and put his will in motion. He is walking the path of wisdom instead of trying to control the situation, because he knows that it is better to let the rightful victor emerge than quell the issue artificially. In this way, we can see that he is more of the archetypal father. His lack of intervention in itself is a strategy, not a weakness in his character.

Hejduk (2009) argues that Jupiter’s benevolence towards Aeneas was simply to assert

his own power. Jupiter gives a speech to Venus where he prophecies Rome to be a place of peace. Hejduk explains that in Homeric writing, as well as Virgil’s other works, peace is associated with both agricultural and female fecundity, pleasure, and abundance, where Jupiter in The Aeneid simply calls it the absence of war. The implication here is that Jupiter’s forecast is rather bleak and cruel, and so that begs the question as to what his motives for helping Aeneas were if not for prosperity and abundance. One take is that Jupiter’s words may not have been “bleak”, but rather a very honest observation and acknowledgement that Rome is not accustomed to arts and other humanities, they were a relatively conquest-driven place. The Hellenic ideals of arts and humanities had not taken hold in Rome too much at this point, and if Jupiter had focused on these ideas when he discussed the concept of peace, Romans may have had a hard time relating. This acknowledgment may have simply been Virgil trying to relate to Romans more. Augustan peace was being communicated to the Romans through this text, as the comparison of Jupiter’s speech was to that of Rome at the time, which was just starting to enter a period of peace after civil strife, war, and the end of the republic. He also tells Venus that “Trojan Caesar” will arise to gain imperium and fama, or command and reputation, which Julius Caesar (but this also may be referencing Augustus Caesar) was known to have, and something that Romans respected about him. In this way, Jupiter’s attitude serves to promote Aeneas’ actions in the story as well as Augustus aspirations for the intended audience. Many think of Jupiter as a benevolent father, and he was, but his portrayal may also have been written with ulterior motives in mind in The Aeneid. Jupiter understood that Aeneas was meant to fulfill a destiny. He is presiding over the events of the story so that Aeneas’ strength and heroism can shine through.

Jupiter in The Aeneid is a wise king. In Roman religion, he is a fatherly presence,

providing and protecting. The difference here is that The Aeneid’s Jupiter is not a protective father, in the sense that he does not micromanage his subjects. He takes the place of mediator, in which he doesn’t necessarily tip the scales in Aeneas’ favor, but is not complicit in his sabotage because he knows that fate must run its course. Surely the idea that Jupiter himself believed that Rome was a product of fate boosted the morale of the Roman public. Much of the Aeneid’s success came from the fact that it was truly relatable to Romans, and was truly inspired by Homer's style, capturing its essence while remaining culturally relevant to Rome. This characterization of Jupiter is no exception, because while he was not the “perfect” archetype of the Roman deity, his behavior was what Romans needed to see from his character in order to have the impact that the story had. If Jupiter did damage control at every turn, and reversed Juno’s actions, or truly resolved the crisis with decisive action, there would be no Aeneas. What I mean by this is that Aeneas would have no challenges to overcome and therefore would not be able to exemplify his values and become a hero. There is nothing epic about a person who never beats the odds, and there is nothing interesting about a story in which the main character never encountered a problem. Therefore, Jupiter’s role was to be an indirect proponent of Rome, allowing fate to decide.

Neptune, often referred to by his Greek counterpart Poseidon, was originally god of

freshwater, but eventually became the equivalent of Poseidon and became god of all water bodies. Neptune at this time also was the god of horses and horsemanship. Neptune in Roman myth was said to form the contours of the sea floor (Abel, 2021). Since he was added to Roman theology a bit later than other gods, he didn’t have much influence or an overwhelming presence in Roman religion, and for this reason is not overly characterized and was simply considered the equivalent of Poseidon when it came to his personality. His character was known to be unpredictable, with violent tendencies as well as very pronounced sexual appetites, as he was the god known to violate Medusa while she was praying to Athena, thus gaining her ability to protect herself by turning men to stone.

In The Aeneid, he is a peacekeeper. Towards the beginning of the poem, 15 lines are

dedicated to him calming the sea storm that Juno created. He is displeased that the winds stirred up his domain (the sea, which is patronage of is likely a result of Hellenization in Augustan Rome). He doesn’t necessarily admonish Juno, though. This can convey a fear of her, respect for her, or simply just the understanding that it is not worth wasting his breath because she is hellbent on destroying Aeneas. Regardless, we can see that he is an intuitive and peaceful figure, unlike Jupiter and Juno. He instinctively knows it was Juno, but he promises that the wind and Aeolus will be punished, therefore we know he is the type of person who stays in his lane, and we can infer that possibly he will let Jupiter handle his wife.

However, in Book 2, he helps Juno tear down the walls of Troy. This is a display of his

unpredictable nature, as it is unclear where his loyalties lie, and all we know up until this point is that he does not want unrest in his sea. It is also worth mentioning that Laocoon, a priest of Neptune (patron god of horses), is the first one to warn the Trojans about the large horse from Greece, and throws his spear at it. He ends up dying while offering a sacrifice to Neptune, as he was strangled by two sea monsters. It is doubtful that this amount of symbolism is an accident. His death is a punishment for destroying the Horse, and we can take from this that Neptune is likely on the side of Greece. Laocoon was trying to protect Troy, but in the same token he threw a spear at something representing Neptune’s patron animal, and it may be symbolic that Neptune believed Greece was fated to win, and Laocoon was trying to step in the way of fate. Therefore, Laocoon’s reverence for Neptune could not save him because fate simply was not on his side. Troy was supposed to get destroyed as the catalyst for Aeneas’ character development. In Book 5, he assures Venus that Aeneas will have a relatively safe voyage and calms the sea, and one can infer he does not do it because he particularly cares about Troy, but because he is the great pacifier and will not allow unrest in his domain. From the beginning of the book, we can see that Neptune is upset because of the incidents in the sea, and quells them because he holds dear the sovereignty that he has over water bodies.

Neptune, though relatively gentle in his personality, only showing a reasonable amount

of displeasure for Juno’s actions, has a dramatic entrance. His presence in the plot is not extremely large, but when he does appear, his actions are symbolic and telling of his character . His placating of the sea is likened to Augustus’ nature, especially in line 148 when Virgil compares this to a “riot arising in a great people”. In the same stanza he is also referred to as gravely pious. Augustus' reign had an agenda when it came to restoring religious piety, as well as building temples and other public works. It can be argued, and is argued in Fratantuono (2015) that Neptune’s behavior is crafted to analogise him to Augustus, a pious peacemaker. Specifically, Fratantuono (2015) sees this behavior as a parallel to Augustus placating civil war in Rome and the scene where he calms the sea conjures the image of the Battle of Actium. His character is an example of Roman virtues which Augustus wanted to promote, and it seems he may have also wanted to display that even the gods had a hierarchy, and they ought to show respect where it was due, such as when Neptune did not take his anger out on Juno. Neptune wants peace in his domain, and Augustus’ reign reflected that, in the period called,the Pax Romana. We see a hint of unpredictability in his character, and once again this is associated with his Greek counterpart Poseidon, and that equivalence was a strategy for reconciling Hellenization of culture and using existing characterization to bolster the credibility of the story. However, Virgil was careful not to take this personality trait and run with it, as he knew that the structure of the story was more important, and let Neptune’s role serve a larger purpose.

Overall, we can see a common thread in the way that these three deities were presented

in The Aeneid regardless of their role in Roman religion. Juno’s opposition to Aeneas was a fit of rage and passion, far from the maternal figure that Romans worshipped. Neptune was heavily associated with Poseidon as god of the ocean, and Jupiter was dominant and independently willed, which is expected of a kingly figure, but also not necessarily the protective, paternal figure we see in Roman religion. Overall, Roman deities were much less humanized than Greek deities because they were a bit behind in their mythology. Therefore, adopting the characterizations of the Greek deities allowed Romans to read consistent narratives across literature. However, the artfulness in which Virgil did this made the Aeneid special. Juno’s Hera-like ruthlessness served the purpose of uncovering the Roman values that Aeneas had. Neptune’s unpredictability was very much on-par with Poseidon, but he was not in the struggle for dominance and served as a caricature of Augustus, thus promoting the agenda that was historically relevant to Romans at the time. Jupiter was a proponent of Rome due to his relative nonintervention. He was kingly like Zeus, but humble enough to take a back seat and let fate decide. This empowered the Roman people after the long period of unrest they endured, as they felt that Rome was still worth fighting for. Virgil incorporated Greek deities’ personality traits as they benefited the narrative of the story, meaning that it had the intended effect on the intended audience.

Sources

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Wilson, C. H. (1979). Jupiter and the Fates in The Aeneid. The Classical Quarterly, 29(2), 361–371. http://www.jstor.org/stable/638103

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