Aidan Mitchell-Boudreau

“Aeneas’ behavior is dominated by furor more than by the values of piety in book 11.” How far do
you agree with this point of view? Support your answer with references to book 11.

Aeneas is a hero whose behaviour isn’t flawless. Like many other character sin the Aeneid, Aeneas is
sometimes weak to the overwhelming furor that is often the downfall of a hero. Farron even argues that
Aeneas is the most brutal example of furor in the Aeneid compared to all other characters. Furor is the
state when a person is in a crazed frenzy of anger, one that blinds them and doesn’t allow them to think
rationally or with regard to piety. However, Aeneas is also known for being pious, and it is even one of
his most common epithets. One of Aeneas’ great qualities is that he can step back from his battles and be
reflective. In Book 10, Aeneas was enraged by the death of Pallas and was taken over by furor. He killed
countless men, and had no regard for piety or what may be the right thing to do. In Book 11, we see
Aeneas after he has calmed down from his rage. He is in his more reflective state, and is much more
pious. Due to Aeneas’ attitude towards his comrades both dead and alive, the envoys who come to
supplicate him, and his explanation of why he is fighting the Latins, Aeneas is far more dominated by the
values of piety than by furor.

Book 11 starts with Aeneas being absolutely gutted by the death of his comrades, but Virgil makes a point
of showing his incredible piety to the gods and his people despite his unfortunate situation. On lines 3-4,
Virgil writes “distraught as he was in mind at their deaths, at the first light the victor was paying his vows
to the gods.” This shows that the blinding mist of furor has lifted and his first thoughts are not even of
himself and how he is feeling, but how he can supplicate and do good by the gods. This is incredibly
pious and falls back in line with his regular behaviour, of putting his fate and the gods above his own
feelings and desires, even if he is heartbroken from death or love. He then gives a speech to his people,
and gives it a very positive spin despite how emotionally raw and hurt he is from all of the people that
have died. He puts not only his people, but his duty as a leader of his people first by choosing to try and
inspire them and be a good leader. On lines 18-19, Aeneas says to them “Fill your minds and your hopes
with the thought of warm so that no man shall hesitate or not now what to do when the gods permit us to
pull up our standards and lead the army out of camp.” Aeneas is giving them more hope for what is to
come, and even more piously, mentions the gods and implies that however they proceed, they must do so
with the approval of the gods and what they deem to be correct. He then tells them that they must first
bury the bodies of those who have died. Performing the proper rituals and rites for funerals and burials is
very pious, especially because is ensures that they are able to go to the underworld without being held up
due to the lack of a burial. He is so respectful and appreciative of those who have died, and his dedication
to making sure his comrades benefit from his leadership continues even after they have died. Aeneas’
piety is questionable in the way that he deals with Pallas’ funeral rites. Aeneas, in his furor, had captured
humans to be sacrificed at Pallas’ funeral, presumably to try and give him an incredibly special funeral
that shows how deeply he feels the loss of his friend. However, this was looked down upon at the time,
and though Aeneas’ intentions may be in the right place, the act is not entirely pious or good. Though
Aeneas’ way of dealing with Pallas’ funeral is questionable, there is no doubt that his behavior overall is
dominated by piety and his desire to do right by the gods, and his people, both dead and alive through his
dedication to his duty of being a leader.

When envoys come from the city of the Latins to supplicate Aeneas, he is incredibly pious towards them.
While it would be easy for him to slip back into his mindset in book 10, and hate them because they took
away Pallas, he doesn’t. He offers them a truce so that both sides can bury their dead, which is very pious
and respectful. This is clearly not dominates by furor, since when he was dominated by furor, in book 10,
he gloated over his enemy and said that he would not get a proper burial. His change in mindset has
shown that he is more than willing to allow everyone who has died on either side a proper and pious
burial. His explanation of why he is fighting is also pious, because he says that he is only fighting because
the fates have brought him here. This shows that he is following the orders of fate, which is very pious
Aidan Mitchell-Boudreau

indeed. He follows the orders of the gods even when it may put himself and his comrades in danger, and
they must fight on foreign land.

To conclude, Aeneas’ behavior in book 11 is very pious, especially when compared to his furor in book
10. Hs attitude to the envoys is pious since he cares for the burial of people on both sides, and he explains
that he is fighting only because of his dedication to the gods and fate.
Though Aeneas’ way of dealing with Pallas’ funeral is questionable, there is no doubt that his behavior
overall is dominated by piety and his desire to do right by the gods, and his people, both dead and alive
through his dedication to his duty of being a leader. Overall, Aeneas’ behavior is far more dominates by
the values of piety than by furor.