Father-Son Relationships in the Aeneid
The concept of fatherhood is emphasized with more than a dozen references in Book I with the motif established with the line "From whence the race of Alban fathers come," (I: 26) which establishes the power of the unnamed who would sire the Roman people. But the father figure is not benign, and is referred to as "And heav'n would fly before the driving soul. In fear of this, the Father of the Gods" (I:118). We are given a tapestry of Fatherhood, that touches upon Aeneas, our main hero, who is not only a hero and survivor, but destined to become the Father of Rome.
Not only is he a father, he is also a son, and his special human relationship to his own father, Anchises, influences much of his thinking and his actions. His father dies on the odyssey he undertakes, but the spirit of his father guides Aeneas through all of his decisions. Aeneas, of course, will not only be the father of Rome, but he has also fathered Ascanius, a young, handsome and brave son who will help Aeneas found Rome.
Against this first level of father-son dynamics, also have the father-son relationships at the God level. The Father of the Gods was Saturn, who was also King of Olympus until his son Jupiter overthrew him. Jupiter's hold on power, however, is threatened by Apollo, his son, who was God of Sun and light, and who was protector of the Trojans.
Some critics complain that the Aeneid seems as if the story is less about the deeds of the mortal characters than about the bickering of the gods, who continuously disrupt or manipulate events on Earth. The poet, it seems, gets around this problem by using the God's actions as antipodes to the earth beings. The relationship and respect between and among Anchises, Aeneas and Ascanius is positive and uplifting, while the relationships between and among Jupiter, Saturn and Apollo are negative. Book I primarily establishes these themes, and in Book II, mor...