the Trojans to reach the site of Rome, and her dislike of them is recounted early in the epic. And Saturn’s daughter- remembering the old war… the causes of her bitterness, her sharp and savage hurt,… for deep within her mind lie stored the judgment of Paris and the wrong done to her scorned beauty, the breed she hated. (Aeneid, 1:35-43) This description illustrates to what extent Juno loathes the Trojans. Juno is extremely upset because Paris denied her the golden apple. For this reason, she harbors “bitterness” against the people, and she plans to make their journey to Italy long and arduous. Virgil also uses strong words, such as “hate” and “savage,” to describe Juno’s anger towards the Trojans. Her rage only continues to grow, and Juno asks Aeolus, god of winds, to destroy the entire Trojan fleet in one great storm. “You Aeolus-/…Hammer your winds to fury/ and ruin their swamped ships, or scatter them/ and fling their crews piecemeal across the seas” (Aeneid, 1:95-103). Juno’s anger is so great that she wants Aeneas and his men, the only surviving Trojans, to be annihilated. She plans to destroy the entire Dardan race. Despite her attempts, the Trojans survive the attack and continue their journey. Finally, even when Juno realizes that she cannot win, she still attempts to deny the Trojans of their fate. “I cannot keep him from the Latin kingdoms:/ so be it, let Lavinia be his wife,/as fates have fixed. Virgin,/ your dowry will be Latin blood” (Aeneid, 7:415-421). Juno is openly admitting that the fates are going to give Latium to Aeneas. Nevertheless, she is still persistent and plans to create a conflict between the Trojans and the Latins in which “Latin blood” must be shed. Juno has been a vengeful character from the start, but in this passage she reaches the height of her anger, and she challenges even the fates. Thus, Jun...
