whom the whole Italian realm, the land/ Of Rome, are due." Mercury is referring to Aeneas' preordained fate to found Rome, as well as Rome's preordained fate to rule the world: He was to be ruler of Italy, Potential empire, armorer of war; To father men from Teucer's noble blood And bring the whole world under law's dominion. It is important to recognize that there is a marked difference between fate and divine intervention, as even though the gods might remind mortals of their eventual fate, the gods themselves are not in control of it. For example, the opening lines of the poem specify that Aeneas "came to Italy by destiny", but is also harassed by the separate force of "baleful Juno in her sleepless rage". Even though Juno might intervene, Aeneas' fate is set in stone and cannot be changed. Later in Book 6, when Aeneas visits the underworld, his father Anchises introduces him to the larger fate of the Roman people, as contrasted against his own personal fate to found Rome: So raptly, everywhere, father and son Wandered the airy plain and viewed it all. After Anchises had conducted him To every region and had fired his love Of glory in the years to come, he spoke Of wars that he might fight, of Laurentines, And of Latinus' city, then of how He might avoid or bear each toil to come. Violence and conflict From the very beginning of the Aeneid, violence and conflict are used as a means of survival and conquest. Aeneas' voyage is caused by the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy. Aeneas describes to Dido in Book 2 the massive amount of destruction that occurs after the Greeks sneak into Troy. He recalls that he asks his men to "defend/ A city lost in flames. Come, let us die,/ We'll make a rush into the thick of it." This is one of the first examples of how violence begets violence: even though the Trojans know they have lost the battle, they continue to fight for their country. This violence continues as Aeneas makes his journey. Dido kills herself in an excessively violent way over a pyre in order to end and escape her worldly problem: being heartbroken over the departure of her "husband" Aeneas. Queen Dido's suicide is a double edged sword. While releasing herself from the burden of her pain through violence,