#dune iii

It's poetic that Paul Atreides—a descendant of the Greek King Agamemnon—has more in common with the Trojan Prince Aeneas:

Noble-born survivors of a destroyed house (Troy and Atreides)

Guided/burdened by above-human mothers (Venus and Jessica)

Rebuild power by aligning with local peoples (Arcadians/Fremen)

Ultimately get the throne (King of Lavinium and Emperor of the Known Universe)

And their legacies get overshadowed by their descendants (Romulus and Leto II Atreides)

But most important, they're defined by the paths destiny lay out for them, and despite not wanting to, they still walk it.

And unfortunately, those paths lead to a violence that echoes on.

Aeneas's last act in The Aeneid is killing his rival, setting the tone for Rome's future from the beginning—one tied by blood and conquest.

And Paul puts his Jihad in scale in Dune Messiah by saying:

"Statistics: at a conservative estimate, I've killed sixty-one billion, sterilized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I've wiped out the followers of forty religions which has existed since—"

The "new world" they create is inseparable from mass violence, and then there's the difference.

Paul can see exactly what his destiny is costing, but cannot stop.

Aeneas catches glimpse, symbols, visions, but never the full weight.

He commanded the Achaeans in the Trojan War, and left his mark when they sacked the city, burning it through the night.

A millennia later, the tables turned. House Atreides shared the same fate as Troy in Arrakeen by House Harkonnen and Imperial Sardaukar.

Their enemies wanted their legacies to end in a single night, to die in darkness, burn and ashes swept away in the sands of time.

But there's something else they share in common—survivors. To not only avenge their fallen kin, but rise stronger than ever.

Aeneas of Troy escaped the fall of Troy, carried the last of his people, and founded what would become Rome.