The word “leadership” can be defined in many different ways and each person has their own opinion of what a true leader is. A leader is someone loyal, admired by others, fearless, and has a positive impact on their peers and environment. In Virgil’s Aeneid, protagonist Aeneas exemplifies what it takes to be a leader and shows leadership throughout the nineteenth-century BC playwright. The Aeneid Trojan warrior, Aeneas, is faced with many enemies such as the goddess Juno, and fights for his life as he tries to find a homeland in Italy. Not only did Aeneas show leadership, but leadership is also demonstrated in the Old English epic Beowulf. In the epic poem Geat warrior, Beowulf comes to the aid of King Hrothgar, King of the Danes, and helps defend their Herot. Beowulf encounters three enemies throughout the epic, illustrating the true meaning of leadership after conquering all. Lastly, leadership is also demonstrated in the Bible’s New Testament. Moses, a Jewish prophet, led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt and helped them find Israel. Moses’s courage and obedience to God and his people allowed him to become a true leader in the eyes of the Israelites. Throughout the Aeneid, Beowulf, and the New Testament, all three men illustrate the virtue of leadership through courage and their positive impact on ancient society. However, among Aeneas, Beowulf, and Moses’s leadership they each have their flaw: emotion, arrogance, and impatience.
In the Aeneid, Aeneas’s leadership is evident and although he faces multiple obstacles, Aeneas is selfless and tries to protect others. For example, the Greeks trick the Trojans and cause the downfall of Troy by hiding in a wooden horse. The Greeks then emerge from the horse at nightfall when the Trojans are celebrating what they think is a victory. All of the Trojans know their fate especially Aeneas, but he continues to fight against the Greeks. Aeneas realizes that he is better off finding a new homeland for the Trojans and tries to escape while Troy is burning down. Aeneas does not want to leave his family and tells his father to “‘climb up onto [his] shoulders! / [Aeneas] will carry [his father] on [his] back. This labor of love / will never wear [Aeneas] down’” (2. 880-2). Moments ago, Aeneas was fighting the Greeks and now he is willing to carry his father, Anchises, as he leaves Troy. Aeneas does not show any pain despite how much he might be in and goes out of his way to protect his father. Aeneas proves to be a leader because he is loyal to his family and the Trojans. Aeneas tries to save as many Trojans as he can and does not want to leave his family behind. Aeneas risks his life by carrying his father on his shoulders and does not worry about the outcome, showing leadership.
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In Beowulf, the hero Beowulf also demonstrates leadership by freeing the Danes from a monster’s authority. For twelve years Grendel, a monster that resides in a swamp, has been killing the Danes and destroying their mead-hall. King Hrothgar of the Danes asks Beowulf and other Geats to come to Denmark and try to kill Grendel. One night, after agreeing to come to Denmark, Beowulf is watching the Herot and keeping an eye out for Grendel. Grendel arrives, destroying the Herot, and the Geats step in trying to defeat Grendel. However “no blade on earth, no blacksmith’s art / could ever damage [the Danes’] demon opponent” (Beowulf, 802-3). Beowulf comes to the rescue and “kept [Grendel] helplessly locked in a handgrip…sinews split and the bone-lappings burst… [Grendel] had dived deep into his marsh-den, drowned out his life” (Beowulf, 813, 816-7, 849-50). In twelve years, no one could defeat Grendel, but Beowulf. Beowulf’s bravery and selflessness allowed him to destroy the monster and save the Danes from terror. Beowulf could have not agreed to help the Danes, but illustrating leadership, he wanted to help and sacrificed his life.
Lastly, in Exodus, Moses emerged as a leader of the Israelites and served as a prophet of God. During the enslavement of Israelites in the fifth century BCE in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian because he was beating a Hebrew. Moses then fled Egypt from the Pharaoh who was trying to kill him. One day on Horeb, the mountain of God, God appeared from a burning bush and told Moses that he will “‘bring [the Israelites] up out of that land [Egypt] to a good and broad landwouldland flowing with milk and honey…” (Exodus 3:8). God then instructed Moses to assemble the Israelites and asked the Pharaoh to free the oppressed. Moses obeyed God’s orders and if it were not for Moses’s relationship with God, no man would have been able to liberate the Hebrews. Moses’s loyalty and faith in God allowed him to become a leader and savior of the Israelites.
In all three works of literature, each leader’s courage and fearlessness has a positive impact on their environment. For example, in the Aeneid, the Trojanhavery fled Troy after the Greeks attacked and destroyed their homeland. Juno, goddess of marriage and childbirth, tells Aeolus, king of the winds, to stir up the sea against the Trojans in return for a nymph for marriage. As a result of the abrupt storm, six Trojan ships become lost and crash. The Trojans become hopeless and do not want to continue their journey to find a new homeland. Unlike his crew, Aeneas is optimistic and tells the survivors to “‘dismiss [their] grief and fear. / A joy it will be one day, perhaps to remember even this… Bear up. / Save [the Trojans’] strength for better times to come’” (1. 238-9, 243-4). Aeneas persuades and encourages his crew to keep fighting because it will be all worth it in the end when they are successful. Deep down Aeneas “keeps his anguish buried in his heart…devoted to his shipmates, / mourns for the losses…” (1. 246-7, 259-60). Aeneas proves to be a leader because he healed the Trojans’ pain and grief even though he was also hurting himself. Aeneas did not show his pain because he knew that the Trojans would have not admired him so greatly. The Trojans would have returned to Troy and submit to Greek authority if Aeneas did not help them. Aeneas’s courage had an impact on the Trojans because they became free of the Greeks and fulfilled the prophecy of settling in Italy. Similarly, in the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf’s leadership strengthens and he fights against Grendel’s revengeful mother. Grendel’s mother tries to attack the Herot seeking justice for Grendel’s death, but she fails and flees with Grendel’s arm. Beowulf accepts the challenge to kill the monster in return for gold. Beowulf finds Grendel’s mother under the swamp and tries to fight her using a sword gifted to him by Unferth. The sword fails Beowulf and he is left without a weapon, forced to use his hands. Beowulf “kept thinking about his name and fame: he never lost heart” (Beowulf, 1529-30). The Geat then eyes a sword that is used for giants and grabs it with rage. Beowulf “took a firm hold of the hilt and swung the blade in an arc, a resolute blow that bit deep into [the monster’s] neck-bone and severed it entirely, toppling the doomed house of her flesh; she fell to the floor” (Beowulf, 1574-8). Beowulf’s courage allowed him to defeat Grendel’s mother and not accept his fate when Unferth’s sword became useless. No other Dane or Geat could have accomplished what Beowulf did and he was determined to conquer the monster. Because Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother, he freed the Danes of fear and the authority of the monsters. Also as a result, the Danes and Geats formed a surprising friendship, all because of Beowulf’s leadership and selflessness. Finally, in the New Testament Moses used his courage and leadership to free the oppressed Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After Passover and when the Lord struck the tenth plague on Egypt killing every firstborn, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Hebrews leave Egypt. However, the Pharaoh regretted allowing the Hebrews to leave and the Egyptian army ran after them. While the Egyptians were running behind the Israelites Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wing all night, and turned the sea into dry land” (Exodus 14:21). In an attempt to ensure their freedom, “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn, the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea” (Exodus 14:27). Moses proves to be a leader because he led the Israelites out of Egypt without any fear of the Egyptians. Moses parting the Red Sea with the help of the Lord was also a significant moment because it showed how his belief and loyalty to the Lord led to success. Moses had a positive impact on the Hebrews and defeated the Egyptians through fearlessness and faith. Comparably, Aeneas had to defeat the Greeks, which was the cause of the Trojans finding Italy. Also, Beowulf had to defeat two monsters to free the Danes from pain and suffering. All three leaders created history through courage and determination. Each leader was motivated by the desire for success and fulfillment. The impact of the leadership of Aeneas, Beowulf, and Moses is like no other and they symbolize the virtue of leadership.
No leader is perfect because every human has their flaws. Aeneas, Beowulf, and Moses each have their flaw of emotions, arrogance, and impatience, respectively. In The Aeneid, the Trojan hero’s flaw is his emotions. Aeneas is known as “pious Aeneas” for his moral virtues and excellence. However, Aeneas is seen letting his emotions overpower him during the battle against Turnus, King of the Rutuli. King Evander’s son, Pallas, leaves Arcadia with Aeneas to help him fight against Turnus and Aeneas vows to protect him. During the battle, Turnus kills Pallas and Aeneas becomes enraged. Aeneas captures four men and kills at least five. Tarquitus begs Aeneas to spare his life, but “Aeneas dashes Tarquitus’s head to the ground…vaunts with all the hatred in his heart: ‘No loving mother will bury Tarquitus in the ground…[he will] be abandoned now…and swept away by the waves…’”(10. 657-64). Aeneas feels guilty for the death of Pallas and he is overcome by the passion to get revenge. The Trojan is composed and shows morals throughout the play, but during the battle he goes on a rampage, showing his weakness and flaws. In contrast with Aeneas, Beowulf’s flaw is his pride in the epic poem. After many years of Geat's success and happiness, a thief steals a fire-breathing dragon’s goblet. The dragon then leaves his barrow and destroys villages and homes. Beowulf, not realizing he is a weak seventy-year-old man, tries to fight the dragon with the help of one ally, Wiglaf. The dragon grabbed Beowulf “in a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs into his neck. Beowulf’s body ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out” (2690-3). Although Beowulf and his ally Wiglaf defeat the dragon, it is too late because the dragon’s bite is venomous. Beowulf thinks he is the same twenty year old that defeated two monsters by himself and saved the Danes. The Greatwenty-year-oldogance resulted in his death. Lastly, despite Aeneas and Beowulf’s flaws of emotions and arrogance, Moses’s flaw is his patience. In Exodus, after Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water available to drink. The Hebrews blamed Moses and threatened to stone him. When Moses called to the Lord, the Lord told Moses to take some of the elders with him to Israel and to “‘strike the rock [at Horeb], and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink’” (17:6). Moses obeyed the Lord’s command to bring the elders with him. However, he did not follow orders while in the desert. Moses and his brother Aaron were ridiculed by the Israelites for the lack of water and food. Moses became impatient that he “lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; the water came out abundantly… but ‘because [Moses] did not trust in [the Lord], to show [his] holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, [Moses] shall not bring [them] into the land that [the Lord] has promised them” (Numbers 20:11-12). Moses’s courage and leadership allowed him to become a hero in the Israelites’ eyes in Exodus, but he chose to not listen to the Lord. As a result of Moses’s impatience and stubbornness, the Hebrews were not permitted to go to the promised land. Moses only had to strike the rock once, rather than twice. The Israelites had to suffer from Moses’s actions and a leader should never let his people down.
Although lleaderssometimes result in their downfall, such as Beowulf, they are empowered by their courage, loyalty, and admiration by others. Aeneas, Beowulf, and Moses’s leadership qualities overpower their flaws because, Throughout the Aeneid, Beowulf, and the New Testament, all three men illustrate the virtue of leadership through courage and their positive impact on ancient society. However, among Aeneas, Beowulf, and Moses’s leadership they each have their flaw: emotion, arrogance, and impatience.
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