Women: a fixture in the Roman march of destiny The poem Aeneid is a story that offers many surprises. Women are rarely mentioned in poems, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, when they are mentioned they seem weak and shy. Yet in the Aeneid women play a greater role. They highlight alternative rates for Aeneas on his journey to create the foundation for posterity. Two women in particular show the possible outcomes of Aeneas' life; these two are Creusa and Dido. These women in these scenes are likely destined to endure for eternity to show alternative outcomes for Aeneas' life. Both have different reactions to its continued march towards its final destinations, but without either where would we be? Virgil's important depiction of women highlights the many possible paths on which a person's life could be forged. The first example is at the beginning of the poem, during the sack of Troy in book 2. The scene begins with the Greeks sacking the great city of Primus. Aeneas advised by his mother; he decides to take his family with him and leave the Trojan city. Carry the father.. “Then come, dear father, climb on my shoulders, I will carry you on my shoulders. (Aeneid 2. 880-881). At his side are his son and wife, "little Iulus, walk at my side, and you, my wife, follow me from afar, in my footsteps" (Aeneid 2, 884-885). During the evacuation Aeneas loses his wife: “Oh my dear wife Creusa, she stopped in her tracks or got lost, I never looked back” (Aeneid 2. 915-920). At this halfway point, we will discuss this scene. Aeneas is focused on duty and not his wife as they flee Troy. Creusa is the victim of a purely Roman destiny. Aeneas is so driven by the idea that he must be able to leave the city. He forgets to make sure his wife... means of paper... He is constantly told that there is a greater destiny for your lineage. These two examples show us other outcomes the poem could have had, yet these other purposes could never have created Rome. These two women provide a unique aspect to the Aeneid. Aeneas is given multiple chances to choose a destiny that would not lead to the greatness of Rome. Though he continues to choose the path chosen by the gods themselves, he leaves these women behind as mere ghosts who remind him of what could have been. Although they are important parts of the book, they are destined to remain in their homelands. Although they have very different reactions to Aeneas' fate, they both remind us that Aeneas must go to Italy. He cannot stay with his wife in Troy, nor stay with Dido in Carthage. He must move forward and create the foundation of what will become one of the greatest empires ever.