Quaestio (pg. 63)

The aspect of the poet's characterization of the great man in verse 151 that prompts us to compare him with Aeneas is that he brings order to chaos. In verse 151, the poet writes of a great man who is respected enough by the people that when an angry mob is out of control, he can calm them down and make them listen to him. The poet is using the metaphor to help describe how Neptune calms the sea and the winds because they are out of control like an angry mob, but they dare not oppose him. This description of a greatly respected man made me think of Aeneas because even though his people are tired and hungry and being pursued by great storms, they still are loyal to him and follow his orders. They are surrounded by chaos but despite that he is able to bring order to his people like the great man described brings order to the crowd. Also, Aeneas is really respected by his people and is their king (therefore considered a great man just because of that). So far, the Aeneid has been a constant struggle between the forces of order and chaos so it is not surprise to me that the aspect Aeneas shares with the 'great man' is that he can bring order to chaos.