Passage to support Prompt #5

In the first book of The Aeneid there is a passage where Venus is talking to her father Jupiter about why he let Aeneas get hit by a storm. (I forgot my book at home, so I am using online editions where the line numbers are not as clear). This passage starts around line 235 and begins with Venus tearfully speaking to Jupiter about why Aeneas’s fate is not following through. We know that Aeneas is the son of Venus and her worry could be viewed as a motherly love and care for her child. We do get this from the tone of her dialogue. However, upon further investigation, we can see a different reason why Venus is sad about Aeneas being hit by a storm. When read carefully, Venus’s diction does not show her worry about her son dying, but rather him not being to be at the throne of Rome when it is supposed to be discovered. Her son’s safety was not promised, but rather Rome was promised to Venus by Jupiter.

The reason she cares so much about Rome being created is because she wants to be recognized. If her son founds Rome and it becomes one of the greatest states, she too will be part of that greatness since she was the mother of Aeneas. Her relationship with Aeneas can be viewed as more of a mutually beneficial relationship rather than a mother-son relationship; she ensures that he is safe, and he continues on his journey to found Rome. This kind of relationship covers over the themes of city-building, politics, fame, and love or the lack of it.