Throughout Virgil's The Aeneid, fate is a central theme and one of the most important forces that is represented. Fate is the concept of a fixed order of events or the inevitable outcome of certain events. Neither man nor divine intervention can change those outcomes. Jupiter, the king of the gods, preordains the direction and destination of Aeneas's course. Jupiter's will is identified with fate and for that reason his plan comes to pass. Various gods interfere in Aeneas's life to advance their own personal interests, but they cannot change fate. Their interferences do however impede him on his journey to fulfilling his destiny.
             As the son of the goddess Venus, Aeneas benefits from her divine protection. He is destined to survive the fall of Troy and to establish the foundations of the Roman Empire. Jupiter, the king of the gods, chooses him for this great endeavor. Aeneas's fate as Rome's founder drives the entire epic and he serves as the vessel through which fate is carried out. As a born leader, Aeneas respects the gods and their prophecies. Although he knows what he is destined to accomplish, he still must make choices that conflict with those fated duties. Those choices normally come at an emotional, and most often a tumultuous price. Aeneas must lose those people who are precious to him, such as his wife Creusa and then later Dido. He also faces the many dangerous obstacles that Juno places before him on his journey. Aeneas is a man of duty and piousness. No matter the heartache and turmoil he must face, he accepts his fate and the role he must play without unnecessary protest.
             The epic opens with Virgil asking a Muse to explain the anger of Juno, the queen of the gods. Juno harbors a deep anger and resentment against Troy because Paris, another Trojan, chose Venus over Juno as the more beautiful goddess. She also resents Aeneas because it has been prophesized that his descendents will one...