In Canto IV, an important battle is mentioned, The Battle of Aljubarrota. This battle, fought between Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile symbolized the rise and strength of Portugal. By defeating the Crown of Castile, Portugal cemented its position as one of the most powerful nations of the times. After this battle, Portugal truly became independent, and by describing one of the most important battles in Portuguese history, Luiz’s Epic highlights the strength of the Kingdom of Portugal. While Canto V did not showcase much the strength and valor of the Portuguese, in Canto VI, Vasco da Gama and his fleet of ships can be seen triumphing over an act of God. Bacchus, even with the help of Neptune, the sea God, failed to overcome Gama, and Gama eventually reached India. This is interesting, because one would think that a mortal alone would not be able to overcome the act of such a powerful God, even with the help of Venus. It appears that sex and seduction is a constant theme, with Venus and her nymphs overcoming Bacchus’s trickery with their sex appeal. This then raises an interesting question, who exactly is the hero in this Epic? While Gama definitely plays an important role for Portugal by reaching India, it appears that the cantos mainly depict a fight between Gods, with Venus backing Gama.
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I think you raise an important point — while I think there is an obvious figure who we are supposed to see as the “hero”, I think that that is actually a highly debatable topic. The gods are the ones pulling the strings here, and it’s true that Venus holds considerable power over the other gods. However, I would also point out that in other epics, such as the Odyssey, the gods control most of what happens, and are often the reasons that heroes succeed or fail. This doesn’t make them the heroes, though. So while I think Venus plays a big role in this epic, I’m not sure we are supposed to take her as the classic “hero”.