Aeneas is described as a hero who is dedicated to his country and people, and stays loyal to his responsibilities. He heroically sacrifices his happiness and his love to Dido to the sake of his duties before gods and his people. He accepts responsibility of bringing about his preassigned fate. Even though he is deeply in love with Dido, he leaves her, against his free will. Moreover, Virgil describes Aeneas as a faithful to Dido, whereas in comparison to Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus is described as a wife cheater. Aeneas is also a hero in terms of being good son to his father as he loves his father and greatly respects while he was alive and even after his death. He proposes sacrificial offerings in respect to the memory of his father after one year of his death. Another aspect of Aeneas heroism is being generous and merciful to his people and enemies as well.
However, there is one reason I cannot treat him as a hero. Aeneas is a brave and fearless warrior, but he never accomplishes any task totally by himself. During all his journeys his goddess mother Venus and other gods help him out by either giving advice’s or fixing the problems he has. For example, Venus makes an effort to get Dido to love him, and pleads Neptune to help to get Aeneas safely to Italy. During the war, Venus helps Aeneas to get new weapons and armor, and even at the final battle with Turnus, Venus helps Aeneas to win by weakening his rival.