ABSTRACT
The Aeneid has been understood by many influential scholars to present Aeneas’ ascent toward a new Roman paradigm of manliness, a shedding of atavistic modes of action and perception. At the same time, the poem is animated by the vivid portraits of powerful female characters such as Camilla, Dido and Juno. This chapter examines how Aeneas’s interactions with these figures and others like them articulate his journey toward a new Roman heroic ideal.
