Trojans Wars Book 7: The Force Awakens
Virgil’s Aeneid is a Latin epic poem following Aeneas after the Trojan War as he journeys
to Italy to found Rome. Book VII marks the long awaited arrival of the Trojans to their
promised land. Despite King Latinus’ initial hospitableness towards Aeneas, a devastating
war breaks out between the Trojans and the Latians. Juno, the queen of the gods, creates
the war and solicits Allecto, one of the furies, to instill insanity throughout Latium. The
Aeneid characters are depicted as having limited free will; their destiny is pre-chosen for
them, and the prophesied war is a direct result of Juno’s spite. However the war manifests
itself as a result of the destruction of social order, leading to the supernatural chaos and
disarray that tears apart Latium and divides men and women.
When Juno chooses Allecto, the most evil of the furies, she escalates the conflict and
guarantees that the prophecy will play out in a way that will inflict the most harm to
Aeneas. Although it is already Aeneas’ destiny to marry Lavinia, King Latinus’ daughter,
Juno plots to create a war in order to delay fate and afflict misfortune onto the Trojan
people. Upon witnessing a short-lived alliance between the Latians and the Trojans, Juno’s
uncontrollable anger personifies itself in the form of Allecto: “Even her father, Pluto,
loathes the monster, / even her own infernal sisters loathe her since / she shifts into so
many forms, their shapes so fierce, / the black snakes of her hair that coil so thickly”
(VII.383-386). The destruction of familial bonds shown by Allecto serves Juno’s intent of
creating a war. Because Allecto lacks the powerful bonds that unite individuals, she is far
from being emotionally humanoid and is an easy pawn for Juno.. In the process of creating
this war, Allecto removes the rationality and humanness from her victims. She can
effortlessly pit brother against brother as a result of the fact that her own family despises
her. She is not one complete being; her hair has an evil quality of its own, demonstrating
that her malicious nature extends beyond her own body. Moreover, her ability to shapeshift
further highlights her inhumanity and absence of righteousness due to the absence of
physical cohesion: she is not afraid to became the worst possible version of herself. Allecto
perfectly stirs up trouble by remorselessly attacking the Latian people and successfully
fashioning conflicts between them and the Trojans. Her victims lose their humanity and
