What is the role of prophecies and/or fate in The Aeneid?
In The Aeneid, prophecies and/or fate played both a beneficial and detrimental role in this epic poem. In book 1, it is already told that Aeneas will rise as the man “whom the Romans will arise to”. However, we are surprised as readers to see how much of a struggle it was for that to happen. It is detrimental how the rest of the 12 books, shows how much Aeneas has to suffer and sacrifice both emotionally and physically to fulfill his prophecy. On the other hand, prophecies also played a beneficial role to Aeneas character. We got to see how the character matured each book after overcoming every obstacle that was thrown at him. This showed how strong and heroic he is by not only respecting his fate, but also accepting it and never giving up.
I agree with you on this for sure. Aeneas clearly understands his fate, and fulfills his commands from the gods. The prophecies definitely help shape Aeneas as a character throughout the book. The influence it had on him definitely did surprise me.
I also wrote about role of prophecies and/or fate. I feel as though without Aeneas’s fate the epic poem would go on forever. The role of prophecies and/or fate is just as, if not more, important than the main charters.