Aeneid book 6

Impact of Aeneas landing at Cumae

• Real place

• transition point for Roman auidence
  - myth mixing with reality

Who’s shrine do they go to?

Apollos
- significant links to Augustus
- builds palace into temple of Apollo

What is depicted on the walls of the temple?

• The story of the Minotaur

• Icarus
  

  Warning of Furor
  - Propaganda ?
  

Differences to previous divine intervention

• Direct intervention
  - “the god is here”

• book 2:
  - obscure dream of Hector
  - serpants

impact of Aeneas promising to build a shrine to Apollo

• Prophesising works of Augustus
  - Entrenchings Augustus’ legitimacy and power

contrasting perspectives of Apollo stating “i see wars, deadly wars”

• Aeneas (thus augustus) will protect Rome

• critique of them both
  - bring death and destruction

what happens when Aeneas tries to take the golden bough ?

• it resisted, so he broke it off impatiently
  - was not what Sybil said should happen (eaisly come off or not at all)

• Used to demonstrate that despite something being fated, man must still contribute
  - Fate and free will can co-exist

• OR Aeneas and Augustus use force to overide fate and force their will

Contrast to Odysseus in the underworld:

• Odysseus enters sneakily to leaves quickly
  - Aeneasbrought in by the gods, gets a guided tour (crosses river Styx)

• Odysseus didn’t know Elpenor was down there (poor leader)
  -Aeneas knew his noble helmsman Palinurus was

What does Aeneas tell Dido about him leaving her

“It was the sterne authority and the commands of the gods that drove me on”
-Pietas
- presents Dido as a victim in the grand quest for Rome?
- a good roman wife (Creusa) would understand Aeneas purpose
- Dido TOO emotional

What type of things landed one in tartarus?

• Those who hated their brothers/ took up arms against their own people
  - Civil war

• Beat their fathers
  - goes against Pater-familias

• men caught in adultery
  - legislated heavily in Lex Julia

All go against Augustan ideal
- propaganda
- to go against Augustus will land you in hell

What does the parade of future Romans suggest about Augustus ?

• Augustus wanted to place himself on same (or higher level) as past Roman heroes and great figures
  - Romulus got a few lines
  - structure: A in middle of the parade (place of honour)

• “Refounder of Rome” → especially when it comes to morals
  - “bring back the golden years”

• He was the greatest Roman ever
  - almost to a hubristic extent… saying Hercules did not reach the same extent he did

What set of rules does Anchises give Aeneas (and the Roman auidence)

• govern the peoples of the world (empire)

• impose a settled pattern of peace

• pardon the defeated
  - clementia

• war down the proud

what does Anchises showing Aeneas everything suggest about the hero?

• no inherant drive
  - has to be pushed towards his purpose