Virgil’s Aeneid

What is the genre and format of the Aeneid?

Written in Latin by Virgil in the Augustan age (1st century BCE)

But would have also been read out to people

Covers multiple years of the war

What parts of the Aeneid are political reception?

Parts of it are political reception in Aeneas’ hero journey, which is like Odysseus’ but better, and it provides a Trojan perspective on the Trojan War

Structural divide, 1-6 more Odyssey but 7-12 more Iliadic

What parts of the Aeneid are original?

Telos (end goal of Rome), conflict of amor and virtus, Dido, roman values and references, foundation of Rome as diverse

What hallmarks does the Aeneid include?

Not as many as the Iliad, but it still includes geographical references, epithets, and similes

What are examples of epithets in the Aeneid?

Savage Achilles, savage Jupiter, hotheaded Ajax, Tritonian Pallas

What are examples of similes in the Aeneid?

Aeneas compares Troy to an old tree or plant being uprooted

Aeneas compares the Greeks to a flood as they invade Troy, which is interesting given the flood in the Metamorphoses

What themes and imagery does the Aeneid include?

Pathos, suffering, destruction (point of view of the losers in war)

Greek deception (seen as a national or ethnic trait)

Sacrifice (Laocoon sacrificing the bull)

Hubris, acts of hubris ramped up in war (Ajax’s rape of Cassandra on Athena’s altar, Pyrrhus’ slaying of Priam on altar)

Lineage, but focus on Aeneas’ lineage (Anchises, Ascanias/Iulus)

Exile, grief, and suffering of homelessness

Highlights Roman values of duty to the gods, the city/state, one’s family, one’s ancestors, Romans (pietas), Aeneas as an exemplary hero

Rome’s future greatness (Creusa’s speech), and parallels to contemporary Rome and the aftermath of the civil wars

What is the meaning of the Aeneid in its social and cultural context?

Adaptation of a familiar story for a Roman audience into a Roman context

References to Rome, written in the context of civil wars, horrors of war that Romans are now free from (supposedly), may influence the emphasis on grief

How does the Aeneid relate to culture and religion?

Examines what makes Romans Roman and what makes them fit to rule over others/what about their history differentiates them

Foundation story of Rome

Also lineage, tracing back Augustus and Julius Caesar to Aeneas, which was a common thing they did

Aeneas exemplifies pietas (duty to family, gods, and state)

What is Creusa’s role in the Aeneid?

Creusa condemns kleos as heroic impulse and is posited as a thoughtful moral authority, and Aeneas’ neglect is a failing, impact of neglect on community

She is his first encounter with his fate, highlighting the role of women in religious practice

Her death also allows Aeneas to marry an Italic woman, which helps the founding of his new city

The way she speaks, supplication/moral obligation with her grabbing Aeneas’ ankles and also lists herself as important, women were important members of the Roman family

Women exert a strong moral force in both Homer's and Virgil’s work