The Aeneid: Roman Epic

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The Aeneid Roman Epic

• CNE/ENG 120
• 10/13/04

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The Aeneid

• Author Vergil
• Culture Roman
• Time 1st c. BCE
• Genre epic poetry
• Names to Know Aeneas, Dido, Venus, Juno,
  Jupiter, Turnus
  
• Themes wandering hero, piety, how to live a good
  life, devotion to duty, family

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Narrative Structure

• Books 1-6 The Odyssean part
• Aeneas as a wandering hero. His god-sent mission
  is to found a new city.
  
• Books 7-12 The Iliadic part
• Aeneas and the Trojans at war with the Italians
  their allies.

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The Roman Hero

• Aeneas epithet pious
• Roman heroism on behalf of the community, not
  the individual. Aeneas is a corporate hero,
  subsumes his personal desires for the good of the
  community.

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Why the Aeneid?

• The emperor Augustus told Vergil to write a
  national epic as part of his propaganda program,
  to celebrate the new golden age of peace that
  Augustus reign ushered in.
• Background Romes civil wars, death of the
  Republic.

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The Proem, lines 1-12

• As usual in epic, Vergil gives us a proem that
  tells us what his poem will be about.
  
• I sing of warfare a man at war. From the
  sea-coast of Troy in early days he came to Italy
  by destiny, to our Lavinian western shore, a
  fugitive, this captain, buffeted cruelly on land
  as on the sea by blows from powers of the air -
  behind them baleful Juno in her sleepless rage.
  And cruel losses were his lot in war, till he
  could found a city and bring home his gods to
  Latium, land of the Latin race, the Alban lords,
  the high walls of Rome.

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Book 1 Aeneas in Carthage

• In lines 13-49, we learn why Aeneas suffers - the
  wrath of Juno.
  
• Two reasons
• Troy (Judgment of Paris, a past event)
• Carthage (she knew Rome would conquer this, her
  favorite city, a future event)

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The Mediterranean
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Phoenician Trade Routes
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Carthage, a Phoenician City
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The Wrath of Juno

• Angry, Juno asks Aeolus to drive the Trojan ships
  off course, shipwreck them if possible.
  
• The bribe the lovely nymph Deiopeia
• Result one shipwreck before Neptune calms the
  sea.

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Arrival in Libya

• Aeneas puts into shore with only 7 ships from his
  fleet.
  
• He gives a pep talk to his men, recalling the
  horrors they have already survived (Scylla, land
  of the Cyclopes, etc.)

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A Mothers Appeal

• While the Trojans recover onshore, Aeneas mother
  Venus approaches her father Jupiter on behalf of
  her son (lines 294-332).

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Jupiters Prophecy

• Lines 333-387.
• For these I set no limits, world or time, but
  make the gift of empire without end . . Lords of
  the world, the toga-wearing Romans

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Two Mythic Traditions

• Greek The Trojan War in 1250 BCE.

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Two Mythic Traditions

• Roman Romulus and Remus, the founding of Rome in
  753 BCE.
  

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Dido and the Carthaginians

• Jupiter sends Mercury down to make Dido and her
  people receptive to the Trojans.
  
• Meanwhile, Aeneas encounters his disguised
  mother, who tells him Didos history.

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Aeneas on Himself

• Book 1.500-505
• I am Aeneas, duty-bound (translation of the
  Latin pius), and known above high air of heaven
  by my fame, carrying with me in my ships our gods
  of hearth and home, saved from the enemy. I look
  for Italy to be my fatherland, and my descent is
  from all-highest Jove. . . I followed the given
  fates.

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The Temple of Juno

• Hidden in a cloud, Aeneas goes into Carthage. He
  sees the temple of Juno, its walls painted with
  scenes from the Trojan War (lines 590-649).
  
• We know from this that the Carthaginians are
  civilized we get this Trojans reactions to the
  events his city suffered. Trojan POV.

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Dido Assaulted by Eros

• While Venus Cupid infect Dido with eros for
  Aeneas, Aeneas tells the Carthaginians about the
  Fall of Troy and his wanderings.
  
• Book 2 The Fall of Troy from the Trojan POV. The
  ghost of Hektor, the omen with Iulus, the gods
  fighting, death of Creusa.
  
• Book 3 Aeneas wanderings, from Thrace, Crete,
  Sicily, to Carthage.

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Book 4 Dido/Cleopatra

• This book troubles many modern readers, since it
  seems to portray Aeneas in a bad light.
  
• Consider
• Why does Aeneas linger in Carthage?
• What does he do there with Dido?
• Why does he leave? How does he leave?
• What does Dido do?

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Book 6 The Underworld

• Like Odysseus before him, Aeneas goes to the
  underworld his mission is to speak with his
  father.
  
• His guide the Sibyl, a female prophet.
• The geography of Hades.

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Aeneas Meets . . .

• Dido, who treats him much as Ajax treated
  Odysseus
  
• Trojan War dead (just as Odysseus does)
• Mythical monsters, old-time gods (the Furies, the
  Titans), famous sinners (Ixion, etc)
  
• Anchises gives Aeneas a tour of the souls not yet
  born - the great heroes of Roman history from
  Romulus to Iulius Caesar to Augustus.
  

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Augustus
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Book 8 Evander

• Aeneas makes a pact with King Latinus of the
  Latins, to marry his daughter to Lavinia, who is
  already engaged to Turnus. In Book 7, war broke
  out between the Trojans and the Latins over this
  broken engagement.
• In Book 8, Aeneas sails up the Tiber to get
  allies. He meets Evander, a Greek king, whose
  kingdom is on the future site of Rome.

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Allies

• Their alliance made, Evander entrusts Pallas his
  son to Aeneas care.
  
• Turnus kills Pallas and strips him of his sword
  belt (standard operating procedure).
  
• Battle rages, each side wins victories.

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Book 12 Death of Turnus

• Juno strikes a deal with Jupiter (lines
  1106-1140).
  
• When he has been wounded, Turnus makes an appeal
  to Aeneas (lines 1255-1267). Does it seem fair?

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Aeneas Response

• How does Aeneas reply to Turnus request?
• Was he right to do as he did?
• What is the effect of the ending of the poem on
  the reader?
  
• Why did Vergil choose this ending? What does it
  say about Augustus? The Romans?