Aeneas, remembering, and our responsibility to the past, the present, and the future
I have been teaching the Aeneid in my Core Texts classes, and one image has stayed with me. It is Bernini’s sculpture of Aeneas escaping from Troy with his father, Anchises, on his shoulders and his young son, Ascanius, following close behind. Troy is burning. The home they have known is being destroyed. Aeneas cannot save the city, but he can carry his father and bring his son with him. Anchises, in turn, carries the household gods. Even as they leave, they are taking something of their home with them.