1. Honors 2101, Fall 2006 Bryan Benham
Virgil’s Aeneid
Honors 2101, Fall 2006
Bryan Benham

2. Outline Some Background Books 1 & 2 Books 4 & 6 Books 8 & 12
Roman national epic
Like Homer and not like Homer
Books 1 & 2
Juno’s wrath, Carthage, and the sack of Troy
Books 4 & 6
Dido’s love and the underworld
Books 8 & 12
Struggle and defeat of Turnus
Closing Remarks

3. Virgil (70-19 BCE) Born near Mantua
Studied philosophy, medicine, poetry
Eclogues, Georgics won him fame and favor.
Aeneid unfinished at death
Written for Augustus, as national epic

4. Homer & Aeneid Homeric Epics Oral, formulaic
Heroic Values: Individual Honor
Narrative Meaning Transparent
Images: animals, weather, chaos/order
History…Education
Aeneid
2nd, Literary Epic
Heroic Values: Stoic Ideal, fate and duty
Narrative Meaning Symbolic
Images: hunting, storms, snakes, struggles
History…Propaganda

5. History of Rome Royal Period (800-509 BCE)
Founding legends
Overthrow of Etruscian kings
Republican Period ( BCE)
Established res publica (SPQR)
Expansion and civil unrest
Julius Caesar rise and death
Octavian defeats Anthony
Principate of Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE)
Augustus as princeps and imperator
“Reconstitution” of Republic: Pax Romana
Imperial Age ( CE)
Death of Augustus
Split in 284 (Diocletian)
Reunification by Constantine in 330
Byzantine Period ( CE)
Continuation of Eastern Empire
Fall of Constantinople to Muslims

6. History of Rome Royal Period (800-509 BCE)
Founding legends
Overthrow of Etruscian kings
Republican Period ( BCE)
Established res publica (SPQR)
Expansion and civil unrest
Julius Caesar rise and death
Octavian defeats Anthony
Principate of Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE)
Augustus as princeps and imperator
“Reconstitution” of Republic: Pax Romana
Imperial Age ( CE)
Death of Augustus
Split in 284 (Diocletian)
Reunification by Constantine in 330
Byzantine Period ( CE)
Continuation of Eastern Empire
Fall of Constantinople to Muslims

7. Julius Caesar & Pompey

8. Caesar and Pompey co-council
Caesar’s success in Gaul
Marched on Rome, Pompey withdrawals
Caesar effectively did away with the crumbling Republic, instituting reforms
Assassinated by Senators (44)

9. Octavian & M. Antony

10. Triumvarate
Antony marries Octavia, falls for Cleopatra (Egypt), and falls out of favor with Romans.
Octavian defeats Antony in Egypt (31)
Returns to Rome as Augustus (27)
Rules as princept and imperator
“Moral” Reforms…

13. Episodes from Aeneid Book I Book II Book IV Book VI Book VIII Book XII
Prologue
Juno’s Wrath
At Carthage
Book II
Trojan Horse
Fate of Priam
Leaving Troy
Book IV
Passion of Dido
Aeneas’ Escape
Death of Dido
Book VI
Travel to Underworld
Heroes of Rome
Book VIII
At Pallanteum
Shield of Aeneas
Book XII
Conflict with Turnus
Death of Turnus

14. Book I Books 1-6 are Virgil’s Odyssey Prologue Wrath of Juno
Jupiter’s Prophecy
In Carthage
Aeneas and Dido
Venus intervenes

15. Prologue I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
has made him fugitive; he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores.
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of High Ones, for
the savage Juno’s unforgetting anger;
and many sufferings were his in war –
until he brought a city into being
and carried in his gods to Latium;
from this have come the Latin race, the lords
of Alba, and the ramparts of high Rome.

16. Prologue I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
has made him fugitive; he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores.
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of High Ones, for
the savage Juno’s unforgetting anger;
and many sufferings were his in war –
until he brought a city into being
and carried in his gods to Latium;
from this have come the Latin race, the lords
of Alba, and the ramparts of high Rome.

17. Prologue I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
has made him fugitive; he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores.
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of High Ones, for
the savage Juno’s unforgetting anger;
and many sufferings were his in war –
until he brought a city into being
and carried in his gods to Latium;
from this have come the Latin race, the lords
of Alba, and the ramparts of high Rome.

18. Prologue I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
has made him fugitive; he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores.
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of High Ones, for
the savage Juno’s unforgetting anger;
and many sufferings were his in war –
until he brought a city into being
and carried in his gods to Latium;
from this have come the Latin race, the lords
of Alba, and the ramparts of high Rome.

20. Juno’s Wrath Why is Juno so upset at Aeneas? What does she do?
Compare Aeneas and Odysseus…
Juno’s wrath: choice of Paris, fated defeat of Lybia, contracts Aeolus

21. What do the different passages tell us about the respective hero?
Aeneid (I.133ff.)
O, three and four times blessed
Were those who died before their fathers’ eyes
Beneath the walls of Try. Strongest of all
The Danaans, o Diomedes, why
Did you right hand not spill my lifeblood, why
Did I not fall upon the Ilian fields,
There where ferocious Hector lies, pierced by
Achilles’ javelin, where the enormous
Sarpedon now is still, and Simois
Has seized and sweeps beneath its waves so many
Helmets and shields and bodies of the brave!
Odyssey (V.306ff.)
Three and four times blessed are the Danaans who perished
in broad Troy bringing favor to the sons of Atreus.
How I wish I had died and met my fate
on that day when innumerable Trojans threw their bronze-tipped spears
at me around the corpse of Peleus’s son
I would have received my funeral honors and the Achaeans would remember my glory.
Now it is my fate to die a pitiful death.

22. Jupiter’s Prophecy Aeneas and crew “survive” the storm
What does the storm symbolize?
Venus questions Jupiter
What is Jupiter’s prophecy? (pp )

23. At Carthage Aeneas meets Venus (disguised) Dido’s story (pp. 13-14)
View of Carthage (p. 14f.)
First sight of Dido (p. 18f.)
Venus’ stratagem (pp )

24. Book II: Fall of Troy Trojan Horse Hector’s ghost (p. 37f.)
Laocöon and Sinon (pp )
Fate of Laocöon (pp )
Hector’s ghost (p. 37f.)
Priam’s fate (p. 45)
Anchise & family (p. 49f.)
Creüsa’s ghost (p. 53f.)
Departing Troy (p.54)

27. Federico Barrocci's Aeneas' Flight from Troy, 1598

28. The fall of Troy by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713ﾐ1769)

29. Books 4 & 6 Next Time Dido’s tragic love for Aeneas &
Voyage to the Underworld

30. Book 4: Passion of Dido The ‘marriage’ of Dido and Aeneas
Mercury’s visit to Aeneas
Dido confronts Aeneas, and his escape
Death of Dido

31. Book 4: Questions
Why has Dido not remarried? Why does she relent with Aeneas? What are the consequences for Dido?
What is Dido’s reaction when she realizes Aeneas plans to leave? How does Aeneas deal with the confrontation?
How and why does Aeneas leave Carthage? How does this reflect on his character?
Why does Dido commit suicide? What is her curse?
Additional questions:
What images are recurrent in Book 4: hunting, wounds, passions?
What stoic ideals are represented by Dido and Aeneas?
Why is Dido a ‘tragic hero’?
Ultimately who is to blame for the romance and subsequent suicide? Who does it benefit?
How is Aeneas’ sense of piety and duty revealed in Book 4? Compare this to Books 1 and 2.

32. Book 4: More Qs
What images are recurrent in Book 4: hunting, wounds, passions?
What stoic ideals are represented by Dido and Aeneas?
Why is Dido a ‘tragic hero’? What is her character?
Ultimately who is to blame for the romance and subsequent suicide? Who does it benefit?
How is Aeneas’ sense of piety and duty revealed in Book 4? Compare this to Books 1 and 2.

33. Book 6*: Underworld Entering the underworld Across the rivers
Sibyl and golden bough
Across the rivers
Dido, Deiphobus, Tartarus and Elysium
Punishment in the underworld
Purgation and reincarnation
Anchises and the future vision of Rome
Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda
Perhaps the most important of Virgil’s chapters: because greatest literary achievement and ultimately provides the meaning for the Aeneid. Based on Homer’s Odyssey, Book XI.
[See also death of Palinarus in Book V.1093ff.]
A unique mixture of stoic, platonic (myth of er), orphic and pythagorean doctrines.
Rivers: Acheron, Styx, Phlegethon, Cocytus, Lethe. What and where are the rivers in the Aeneid’s description of the underworld?

34. Sybil’s Prophecy “I see wars, horrid wars, the Tiber foaming
with much blood. You shall have your Simois,
your Xanthus, and your Doric camp; already
there is in Latium a new Achilles –
he, too, son of a goddess. Nor will Juno
fail anywhere to hound the Teucrians…”
But when her frenzy is done,
Her raging lips are hushed, hero Aeneas
Begins: “None of the trials you tell of, virgin,
Is strange or unexpected: all of these
I have foreseen and journeyed in my thought.
One thing I ask: since here is aid to be
The gateway of the lower king and here
The marsh of overflowing Acheron,
May it be granted me to go before
The face and presence of my dearest father?” (p )

35. Book 6: Questions
How does Aeneas travel to the underworld? What is the significance of the golden bough?
What rivers must he cross? How are the souls conveyed across the rivers?
Who does he meet? (Achilles and Dido) How do the meetings turn out?
What is the purpose of punishment in the underworld? How does this compare with other tales of the underworld?
What news does Aeneas receive from Anchises? How does Aeneas return to the world of the living?

37. Entering the underworld, p. 139ff.
Golden Bough, p , 144.
Entering the underworld, p. 139ff.
Jaws of Orcus, Treat of empty dreams, Acheron, Charon, Styx, Cerberus, Minos…
Across the river: p. 145ff
Field of Mourning, Dido (145-46; cf. Odyssey XI ), Deiphobus (147-48), roads to Elysium and Tartarus, punishments of iron tower (149f; cf. Myth of Er)…
Groves of Blessedness: p. 151ff
Anchises (153ff), Lethe (154-55), future of Rome (155ff)

38. Future of Rome Silvius (by Lavinia) Romulus
Caesar (line of Iulius; Augustus)
“but yours will be the rulership of nations,
remember, Roman, these will be your arts:
to teach the ways of peace to those you conquer
to spare defeated peoples, tame the proud.” (158-59)
Marcellus*
Gates of Sleep (Horn and Ivory)

39. Books 8 & 12 Books 6-12 are Virgil’s Iliad: Sybil’s prophecy
Turnus and Aeneas vie for the hand of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, king of Latium. Latinus offers Lavinia to Aeneas because of prophecy. Turnus is enraged, by Juno. War ensues.
Truce is imposed so that Turnus and Aeneas can decide the issue in single combat, but Juno’s meddlings incite war again. Aeneas is injured, but cured my his mother, Venus. *Jupiter and Juno agree on a pact (325-27).
*Aeneas disarms Turnus, intends to spare his life, but is overcome by rage upon seeing the belt of Pallas (Evander’s son) and kills Turnus (329-31); a portent of Rome’s future?

40. What is your impression of the Aeneid?
Favorite parts?
Why consider this a “national epic” of Rome? Was it propaganda?
What kind of hero is Aeneas?

41. Some Paper Topics
In Book I of the Aeneid, the hero Aeneas is presented as a new kind of hero, one motivated by duty. Compare Aeneas to either Achilles, Odysseus, or Gilgamesh, who do what they please and often get the gods to aid them. Why are the such different sorts of heroes? How does Aeneas compare with Hector or Moses? Use specific examples from the texts to support your ideas.
Compare Calypso and Circe in the Odyssey (Books V and X) to Dido in the Aeneid (Books I and IV). Concentrate on how they delay the hero’s journey. What are the similarities and differences? Explain and support your ideas using specific examples form the texts.
Compare Aeneas’ journey to the underworld with that of either Gilgamesh or Odysseus. In what ways are they similar or different? Using specific examples from the text make an interesting point about this comparison.
In Book IV of the Aeneid Dido falls in love with and is then abandoned by Aeneas. As a result she commits suicide. Using a careful analysis of the text, who would you say is responsible for these events? Is Aeneas? Venus? Juno? Or even Dido herself? In the course of your analysis, determine how sympathetic the reader is supposed to be toward Dido? Or Aeneas?
Fate is a crucial concept in the Aeneid. Look for places in the text were it is mentioned and discuss what you think Virgil meant by “fate.” Do you think his concept of fate is like other uses of fate in our readings? Is this a uniquely Stoic idea? Why do you think Virgil uses fate as a prominent theme? Use specific passages from the text(s) to support your ideas.
Compare the ideas of how to be a good person that you find in the Aeneid with those from some of the philosopher’s we have discussed (Plato, Aristotle, and the Epicureans). If you are especially motivated, compare the ideals in the Aeneid with the ideals espoused in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Use specific textual references to support your ideas.
Violence and rage play a prominent role in the Aeneid. Explore the importance (both good and bad) of violence or rage as it has been used in this and other texts we have discussed. For example, the Oresteia discusses the necessity and horror of violence when carrying out justice; how does this compare with violence in the Aeneid? How does the ancient treatment of violence compare with contemporary views?