Juno does everything in her power to destroy Aeneas; yet he survives. The Homeric heroes had the luxury of divine help to complete their heroic missions.
Another important factor is Aeneas' family. Aeneas' first loyalty was to his family. Despite all the odds against their survival, Aeneas makes nothing short of a heroic effort to save his family from the violence of the conflict they face. He succeeds in saving his father and son, but his wife is lost. While he is unable to complete the self-assigned tasks of saving Priam and destroying Helen, he is nonetheless able to recognize and accept good advice when it is presented to him. It is not personal weakness that disables Aeneas to save his wife or prevent Priam's murder. It is simply the circumstances that surround him and to which he must submit. The same is true of Juno's rage. Aeneas has no power, because his circumstances and the gods do not allow it. Nevertheless, these events teach him important lessons, which he later uses to become a true hero, and...
He is no longer the whining victim the reader was presented with in the first book. In Book VIII and XII he becomes more than he was, even in the face of Dido's love for him. Despite her declarations of love, her warnings of vengeance, and her pleas for him to stay, Aeneas insists on being a hero by fulfilling his destiny.
In this way, I believe that Aeneas is the true hero, even above the great Homeric personalities created by Homer in Odysseus and Achilles. The latter are heroes because this was ordained and indeed supported by the gods. They hardly had a choice in becoming the heroes they were. However, Aeneas, when presented with the choice, chose to defy all elements against him and to become the hero he professed to be in his Book II account to Dido.
Reference
Virgil. The Aeneid. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.1.i.html
