uct 2: romans

achates

aeneas’ comrade and armor bearer, famed for his loyalty

aeneas

the son of the trojan prince anchises by the goddess venus; he established in italy the dynasty that would found and rule rome

aeolus

a god, master of the winds

allecto

one of the three furies

alypius

a 4th century african bishop and the lifelong best friend of saint augustine

anna

dido’s sister who fled to italy after her death, and eventually became a water nymph

anchises

father of aeneas

ascanius/iulus

aeneas’ son and the founder of the julian line that included julius caesar

augustus caesar

the title adopted by octavian when he became the first roman emperor; the aeneid was written under his auspices

carthage

dido’s city on the coast of north africa

cerberus

the three headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld

charon

the ferryman of the underworld who carried the souls of the newly deceased across the rivers styx and acheron

cicero

a roman philosopher who lived in the political crises of the roman republic as it fell into the roman empire

cupid

‘desire,’ the god of erotic love and son of venus

dido

the ruler of carthage, which she founded after fleeing tyre, where her husband had been murdered

hecate

a goddess of the underworld and of witchcraft; she is often associated with diana

juno

the queen of the gods, daughter of saturn, and wife and sister of jupiter

laocoön

a trojan priest who warned his city against the trojan horse, only to be strangled by giant sea serpents alongside his sons

latinus

king of latium, husband of amata and father of lavinia

lavinia

a princess of latium betrothed to turnus but destined for marriage with aeneas; her father’s refusal to give her to aeneas starts the war between the italians and trojans

priam

the king of troy at the time of the trojan war; husband of hecuba and father of 50 sons, including hector and paris

pygmalion

dido’s brother who killed sychaeus

romulus

a descendent of aeneas, the son of mars, twin brother of remus, and founder of rome; also called quirinus

rumor

also called fama; goddess and personification of rumor, sport, gossip, and fame

saturus

a 3rd century christian martyr and catechist who voluntarily surrendered to roman authorities in carthage to join his imprisoned companions

sibyl

a prophetess; in the aeneid the keeper of the entrance to hades at cumae, and aeneas’ guide in the underworld

sinon

a greek warrior who deceived the trojans after being captured by them, telling them that the trojan horse was a sacred offering to athena and would keep them safe

sychaeus

the husband of dido in tyre, murdered by pygmalion

turnus

a prince of the rutulians in italy, betrothed to lavinia

ulysses

for the greeks, odysseus; the king of ithaca and an important greek hero at troy

venus

for the greeks, aphrodite; the goddess of love and the mother of aeneas by anchises

virgil

a roman poet of the augustan period and the author of the aeneid

arma et amor

duty and love

migration myth

the traveling across water to become a people

anamnesis

memory; things deep inside that you have forgotten

archetype

a universal, recurring pattern of character, behavior, or narrative that appears across cultures, literature, and human thought

autocracy

a form of government where a single person holds absolute, unlimited power

auctoritas

a latin word that means a sense of social prestige, moral influence, and the power to validate or command respect, rather than raw legal force

fortune

the goddess of luck, fate, and chance

gravitas

a roman virtue that denotes seriousness, connotes self-discipline and moral rigor, and conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task

inwardness

the quality or state of being directed toward one’s own inner mental, emotional, or spiritual life rather than the outer world

neoplatonism

a philosophical school of thought that repurposes ideas from socrates

passion

thought by the stoics to be an irrational, excessive movement of the soul that disrupts mental clarity and robs a person of freedom

pietas

latin word/roman virtue meaning dutiful; constantly used to describe aeneas

republic

a form of government where political power rests with the public and is exercised through chosen representatives rather than by a monarch

stoicism

a philosophy that is centered on a passionless, rational response to the world

natural law

a philosophical belief that there is a universal moral order that is derived from nature, considered common to all humans, and exists independently of societal rules

who wrote on the laws?

cicero

who wrote on duties?

cicero

who wrote on the tranquility of mind?

seneca

who wrote meditations?

marcus aurelius

what type of work is the aeneid?

secondary epic

what type of work is on the laws?

dialogue

what type of work is on duties?

diary

what type of work is on tranquility of mind?

dialogue

what type of work is meditations?

diary