Kids at Heart

Kids at Heart

Kids argue. Kids cry.  Kids hold grudges. When you think of a kid you don't necessarily think of Roman Gods. However, in Virgil's The Aeneid, they do just that. They argue. They cry. They hold grudges. You'd think since they are gods they would have a more developed maturity level than a five-year-old. While the gods are powerful beings and looked up to as superior to humans, they are not as eloquent as they lead their followers to believe because they are very petty,  and they interfere in the fate of the humans for their own selfish reasons.
Humans tend to be very emotional, impulsive, and passionate creatures. Although the gods in The Aeneid are regarded to be "better" than mortals,  there happen to be multiple instances of the gods making the same rash decisions as humans. For example, Virgil writes in book one, "No, not even now would the causes of her rage, her bitter sorrows drop from the goddess' mind. They festered deep within her, galled her still: the Judgement of Paris, the unjust slight to her beauty, the Trojan stock she loathed, the honors showered on Ganymede ravished to the skies."(1.33-36) Here we see that Juno attempts to destroy an entire nation because another god insulted her beauty. An emotionally mature and reasonable adult would not be so offended over losing a beauty contest that they try to wipe out an entire nation, yet Juno has so much rage and resentment within her that she tries to kill an entire race of people. That is a very immature thing for an adult, much less a god, to do.
Gods have reigning authority over the men and women in the world. This is understood by both the gods and the people. An act of superiority is not necessary. However, in book five Neptune, the god of the sea, says to Aeneas, the epic hero destined to found Rome, "So cast your fear to the winds. Just as you wish, he will arrive at Avernus' haven safe and sound. Only one will be lost, one you'll seek at sea. One life, for the lives of many men." (7.904-907) Here, Neptune is flaunting his superiority over Aeneas by telling him that he will help him but one of his men must be sacrificed to save the lives of the rest of the former Trojans. Neptune did not have to take the life of one of Aeneas' men just to show him that he is superior, that has already been established. Neptune is, in a way, bragging that he has all this power and he will only help Aeneas if he sacrifices a man of great importance. Bragging is a very childish thing to do and again you wouldn't expect such behavior from a god.
In The Aeneid, Fates are of a higher authority than the gods. Once a person's fate has been determined the end result cannot be altered. Juno, the queen of the gods, is unhappy with the fact that Aeneas' people are fated to seize the land over which she reigns. Even though she knows she cannot alter Aeneas' fate, she still tries to make everything she can a living hell for him. In book seven Virgil writes, "So the Queen of the Gods, Saturn's daughter swooping down from the heavens, struck the unyielding doors with her own hand, swinging them on their hinges, bursting open the iron Gates of War. (7.720-724) Juno cannot change Aeneas' fate. However, this does not stop her from making his life as hard as she possibly can. This approach to her lack of power is extremely childlike. Children would act out with violence if they knew they couldn't have their way; you wouldn't expect that from a very well respected god. You'd think that since the gods have all this power and control they can at least not act like they are hormonal teenagers. However, that is clearly not the case.
Kids argue. Kids cry. Kids hold grudges. Apparently so do Roman gods. They cry over losses in beauty contests. They brag about their immense power. They interfere where they are irrelevant. These are all actions expected out of children, not gods. Gods are supposed to be highly respectable and honored, yet here we are.