Week5 Analyzing characters(Leadership in Roman Hero?)

As we use Leading at the Edge to discover great leadership skills of Shackleton, I think that we can learn leadership skills by reading books and analyzing a characters in the story. (Ken talked about this in Friday’s class! What makes Leading at the Edge special is that of great story behind as well as his personal leadership skills.) I found it is really interesting to analyze any characters that show example of great or failure leadership skill through a story.

Today, I am introducing you famous classical novel called The Aeneid by Virgil(Vergilius Maro).
The Aeneid is one of the most famed classical novels in the world. It is also read as a book of introduction for classical studies. In addition, this book was stated as a “Bible” for nobles in old days. The summary is an adventure of investigating a city in Italy by the Trojan hero “Aeneas”. However, the focus of this book is more concerned with Aeneas’s life and him facing many incidents, rather than finding a city. His adventure includes a piety, love relationship, a battle, and destined duty.

Although the main character is Aeneas who seeks to find new city as his prior duty, a portrait of Aeneas as a leader is rather disreputable at first. For example, Aeneas experienced a lot of incidents over his journey, and these incidents made Aeneas neglect pursuing his duty, and he easily failed to keep the duty in first priority to him. This earlier portrait of Aeneas as a failed leader in terms of achieving goal reminded me of how difficult to ultimate any mission as a respectful leader. I think that there is Virgil’s point of view of idealism and anxiety conception which is dignified and sacred way to rule the world, and obey the destiny. I believe that Virgil brought this new doctrine society of excellence by personification of Aeneas who is representative of the hero for the Roman people as he followed his duty to find Rome after all once he determined to complete the duty.

 A relationship between Aeneas and Dido must be the lucid part of the description of Virgil’s political opinions. Starting with a brief explanation of Dido, Dido is a queen of Callthage which is the city that Aeneas floated after the lost of Trojan war when he ran away from his city, Troy. Aeneas and Dido fall in love immediately, but this was a trick by the goddess Juno and Venus. They made him fall in love with Dido to make him stay at Carlthage and not to do his duty of finding the city. I see a portrait of great leader as Dido is authoritative, wise, generous, determined leader. Furthermore, she was a much respected queen as she ruled Carlthage fairly and justly. I think that Virgil expressed Dido as a great model of a good leader who has strong identity to unify her people. Virgil put Dido as an image of Diana who has not only good looks, but also had strength and independence for several times in the book. Also Virgil embodied a model of leadership by showing Dido’s qualities of a leader that Aeneas respects and hopes to employ when he founds Rome. However, when the story progress to the part of Aeneas’s leaving of Carlthage, her personality was completely changed from the start. Because Juno and Venus manipulate Dido and Aeneas, Dido became infatuated with Aeneas. Dido became threatening and insane so that she was despairing and begging not to leave. I can see that there is a possibility of causing this consequence because of her attitude as she had to reap as she was sown. Dido started neglecting her duties like the building projects that were underway in Carthage and the city's defence was not maintained. I believe that Virgil warns that love out of control can cause disorder, both physically and emotionally by saying, "What good are shrines and vows to maddened lovers? / The inward fire eats the soft marrow away, / And the internal wound bleeds on in silence." Virgil again shows a picture of failed leader as Dido could not separate leadership work and personal emotion.

I think analyzing your favorite book’s characters is one of interesting ways to see leadership skills. It might not directly indicate particular strategy like Shackleton, but personally it is fun to analyze.
Do you have any favorite books that contain characteters with leadership skills?