Aeneas on the couch

By all accounts Aeneas deserved the life of luxury he was living in Carthage. He had survived the destruction of Troy, led the surviving Trojans through the storms of the Mediterranean, and had been targeted for torment by Juno the wife of Jupiter. Finally, he and the Trojan refugees were safe and sound in Libya. He had found comfort and companionship with Dido the queen of Carthage. But that was the problem. He had become comfortable. He had a greater destiny than the life of comfort in Carthage. We will let Mercury the messenger of the gods carry the story from here:

“So now are you laying foundations for the high towers of Carthage and building a splendid city to please your wife? Have you entirely forgotten your own kingdom and your own destiny? The ruler of the gods himself, by whose divine will the heavens and the earth revolve, sends me down from bright Olympus and bids me bring these commands to you through the swift winds. What do you have in mind? What do you hope to achieve by idling your time away in the land of Libya? If the glory of such a destiny does not fire your heart spare a thought for Ascanius as he grows to manhood, for the hopes of this Iulus who is your heir. You owe him the land of Rome and the kingdom of Italy.” (Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 4, p. 76-77, Penguin Classics, 1991)

The problem is that Aeneas’ greater destiny was to go to Italy and found Rome. He was comfortable. He had the love and respect and a good job helping to build Carthage, but building Carthage was not his destiny or task. He had become distracted. Mercury’s job was to alert and redirect Aeneas to his destiny and his task. To challenge him to leave the comfort of Dido’s couch, accept further challenges and hardships, and fulfill his destiny.

This story challenges us to ask ourselves, “What tasks am I neglecting because they are challenging and I have become comfortable?” Aeneas was doing a good task, but it was not his task. Sometimes we are caught up in many good tasks because we are comfortable and good at them, but these might not be the tasks we should be doing. This story challenges us to think about our longer-term goals. We have to ask if what we are doing now distracts us from achieving those goals. Every day Aeneas spent in Carthage was one day he took away from fulfilling his destiny and providing long term stability and security for his son Ascanius (also referred to as Iulus).

Maybe you are where you are supposed to be. Maybe you are struggling to build Rome and not on Dido’s couch. This story challenges you to take on the role of Mercury. Whom do you know who needs to be redirected to their proper goals in life? Whom can you help with priorities? Whom can you challenge to get out of the comfort zone?

The final lesson from this episode in the life of Aeneas from the Aeneid by Virgil is that life is hard. It is full of challenges and as we work to fulfill our goals in life, we will struggle. Aeneas was comfortable while he completed tasks that did not move him towards his goals. When he left Carthage to do what he should be doing, the struggles began. Challenges are not necessarily an indicator that we are off track. Comfort is not necessarily an indicator we are on track. We must use other criteria to determine if we are on the right track and sometimes we need a Mercury in our lives to help.

Myths, fables, and other ancient wisdom literature can help us with life. Over the next few weeks, I am going to be sharing a new episode and what we can learn from it. Next week we will find Odysseus on the beach.