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What is Jupiter's role in the Aeneid?
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In "The Aeneid," Jupiter plays a crucial role as both a "fixer" and "mediator." As the king of the gods, he influences fate and human affairs, ensuring Aeneas fulfills his destiny. He intervenes by sending rain to save Aeneas's fleet and instructing Mercury to guide Aeneas from Carthage. Jupiter also mediates between Juno and Venus, ensuring the Trojans' future success, and promises a blend of Trojan and Latin cultures, securing peace.
As king of all the other gods, Jupiter has much power in the Aeneid, both in his ability to sway their wills and to take action in human affairs whenever he sees fit. Jupiter's ability to affect fate is absolute. Such instances happen throughout the epic story and shape much of its direction. Examples abound, including:
- Iris and her female followers set fire to Aeneas's naval fleet to keep him from traveling to Rome where he is destined to set up a new empire. His men are unable to extinguish the flames, so Aeneas prays to Jupiter, who sends rain to do the job. Destiny is put back on course.
- Jupiter sends Mercury, the messenger of the gods, to Aeneas in Carthage with the instruction to leave the city and carry on with his journey. Again, Jupiter works to maintain the destiny of chosen mortals like Aeneas, knowing that...
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- staying in Carthage would create issues.
- Venus, goddess of love, continuously asks for Jupiter's ear, warning him of Neptune and asking him to commute the suffering of the Trojans. Jupiter, always supremely confident in his plan, assures Venus he has things under control, that Aeneas will make it to Rome, and that his heirs will birth the world's strongest Empire. Jupiter eventually intercedes on Venus's behalf, preventing Juno's puppet Aeolus from tormenting Aeneas.
Essentially, without Jupiter's intervention, Aeneas would likely have failed on his quest.
Jupiter is both the "fixer" and the "mediator" in this epic poem. He fixes things for the Trojans by promising them a legacy. He steps in to fix the problems created by his wife and his daughter, who are at odds in Aeneas' legacy. He, literally, puts out fires and steps in to restore the promised destiny. After Aeneas and his crew finally arrive in Italy, Jupiter must order his wife (Juno) to stop interferring in the fate of these people. In order to secure her promise, Jupiter must compromise, and promise that the Trojan descendents will create a culture that incorporates the Latin ways. In other words, he mediates to make a peace not only with his wife, but with the two warring cultures.