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The Aeneid
19 BC
The Aeneid follows the legend of Aeneas from the last day of Troy up to Aeneas' victory and the fusion of Trojans and Latins into one people.
The content of the poem is as follows:
Book I : Juno is unable to forget her hatred towards the remnant of the Trojan people, and a storm, arranged by the goddess, shatters Aeneas' ship as he escapes from the fallen city, and compels him to put ashore in Africa, near Carthage. Aided by Venus, his mother, Aeneas receives a warm welcome from the queen of the city, Dido. Dido is also an exile, and responds sympathetically to Aeneas' plight, asking him to tell his story. (Right : Scene from Vat.Lat.3867 : The Tempest)
Book II contains Aeneas' account : during the destruction of Troy, aided by divine protection, he had succeeded in fleeing alone with his aged father, Anchises, his little son, and the penates (his household gods and the symbol of a race's continuity). However he has lost his wife, Creusa.
Aeneas' account continues in Book III. Having left the Troad the Trojans realise, after various uncertainties and problems, that a new country awaits them in the west. After describing several miraculous happenings, Aeneas finishes his account with the death of his aged father Anchises.
Book IV : The tragic story of Dido's love for Aeneas. The Carthaginian queen, abandoned by Aeneas who must follow the course intended by fate, kills herself, cursing Aeneas and prophesying eternal hatred between Carthage and the descendants of the Trojans.(Below : Dido and Aeneas ride out to hunt, 4th century A.D.)
Book V : The Trojans make a stop in Sicily. Most of the book is taken up describing the funeral games held in honour of Anchises.
Book VI : The Trojans arrive at Cumae, in Campania, where Aeneas is obliged to consult the Sibyl who instructs him to gain access to the Underworld, the realm of the dead. There he meets various people from his past : Deiphobus, who died at Troy, Dido, who committed suicide because of her love for him, the ill-starred pilot Palinurus, and his father Anchises, who reveals to him the distant future. The world of the dead also contains the heroes of the future, and Virgil describes the leaders who will make Roman history.
Book VII : Uplifted by this vision and the advice of his father, Aeneas disembarks at the mouth of the Tiber, and, on the basis of the signs that have been foretold, recognises this as the promised land. He proceeds to make a pact with king Latinus, to guarantee the safe and peaceful future of both peoples. However Juno sends Allecto, the demon of discord, against the pact; assailed by Allecto, Latinus' wife Amata and the Rutulian prince Turnus, who was betrothed to Latinus' daughter, stir up a war between the two peoples. With the first incident the pact is broken, and the dynastic marriage that has been arranged between Aeneas and Lavinia, Latinus' daughter, is called off. A powerful coalition of Latin peoples marches on the Trojan camp, whilst Lavinia is cast as a new Helen, caught at the centre of the conflict.
Book VIII : Aeneas finds himself in difficulties, and upon divine advice sails up the Tiber with a small band of men. Here, in the place where the foundations of Rome will stand, he finds the support of Evander, the king of a small nation of Arcadians. Along with Evander's son, Pallas, Aeneas proceeds to secure a far more powerful ally : the Etruscan coalition that has risen up against Mezentius, the cruel tyrant of Caere, now expelled, who was an ally of Turnus. The divine aid for Aeneas culminates in the gift of a set of armor made by Vulcan, the shield of which is decorated with scenes from future Roman history.
Book IX During Aeneas' absence the Trojan camp finds itself in a critical situation in the war against Turnus, who obtains a partial victory. The courageous nocturnal attack on the Latin camp, which causes the deaths of Nisus and Euryalus, yields no results.
Book X Aeneas returns with his allies at the eleventh hour, bursts in on the fighting and tips the balance of the war. However Turnus kills the young Pallas, Aeneas' ally and protege, in single combat and strips him of his sword belt, which he wears as a reminder of his victory. In exchange Aeneas kills Mezentius, Turnus' strongest ally.
Book XI After his first victory, Aeneas mourns the death of Pallas. Aeneas' peace offerings to Turnus yield no result, and the Rutulian prince once again joins in battle against the Trojans. In a huge cavalry engagement another Latin hero perishes - the virgin warrior Camilla.
Book XII Wearied by so many failures to gain a decisive victory, Turnus decides to face Aeneas in single combat. The nymph Juturna, again as a result of Juno's meddling, causes the brief truce to fail, and the battle begins once again. When the victory of the Trojans is certain, Juno is reconciled with Jupiter and obtains his agreement that there will remain no trace of the Trojan name in the Latin people. Aeneas defeats Turnus in a duel, and hesitates over whether to spare his life until he catches sight of Pallas' sword belt, which Turnus is wearing, and kills him in a burst of anger.
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Aeneas' development as a hero
Hi everybody, How does Aeneas' trip to the underworld influence him as a hero? He learns his destiny and gains a lot of wisdom, so then he can go on in his journey with a specific end in mind. He also meets Dido and sort of wraps things up with her. These two things lead to him being a stronger and calmer hero. He definitely comes out a changed man... I'd be very interested to hear other peoples' ideas on this subject! Thanks, zh123:)
Posted By zh123 at Sun 25 May 2008, 8:31 PM in The Aeneid || 0 Replies
Love and Empire in the Aeneid
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Posted By ryi5005 at Wed 9 Apr 2008, 3:56 PM in The Aeneid || 1 Reply
The Aeneid Discussion Group
Hey there. I am starting this thread to discuss Virgil's The Aeneid. It is one of the great epics of ancient times, and it is one of the most influential works in history. Written at the end of the first century B.C., it came at the end of the crises of the Roman Republic where Augustus firmly gained control of the empire and created the governing system of the Principate. Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), who had already established his greatness of Roman poetry through his previous works of The Eclogues and The Georgics, looked back at the chaos of that century and tried to make sense of it by creating an epic of the founding of Rome and linking the founding to his contemporary events. In addition, he looks back to Homer as a model for his epic, and while there are several parallels to Homer, it is quite different as well. I hope many will join me in this read. I will be reading the relatively new Robert Fagles translation ( http://www.amazon.com/Aeneid-Virgil/dp/0670038032), but i have previously read the Robert Fitzgerald translation (http://www.amazon.com/Aeneid-Virgil/dp/0679729526). I will say that I loved the Fitzgerald translation but since Fagles did such a great job on translating both The Illiad and The Odyssey, I just had to check out how he does with a Latin text. So without further ado, post your thoughts as we go. I will try to post thoughts on each book of the 12 books, but do not feel constrained by that. Finally here's an image of the Robert Fagles's translation: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516NwkvrW3L._AA240_.jpg The sketch on the book's cover is Aeneas, the hero of the epic, carrying his elderly father through burning city of Troy. That act tells us so much of the character of Aeneas.
Posted By Virgil at Sun 30 Dec 2007, 8:06 PM in The Aeneid || 187 Replies
Translations of the Aeneid
I'm participating in a 'book of the month' sort of thing on another forum and I nominated the Aeneid. Which translation do you recommend? I have the most recent one, by Robert Fagles, on audio disc. I listened to the very beginning and thought it was excellent. However, I haven't compared it to other translations. Has anyone else had any experience with the Robert Fagles translation?
Posted By Dori at Thu 26 Jul 2007, 4:24 PM in The Aeneid || 3 Replies
Some Aeneid Questions
Hi! Can you guys help me out here? I need some examples of animal imagery in books 7-12, especially the earlier ones. Also, I need some examples of things Aeneas and Turnus are compared to in those books. Does anyone have any examples of friendship in the book and how it shapes and effects the story, either? How do you think women are treated in the books? Howis Aeneas' shield important to the books? Is Aeneas justified in killing Turnus? Thanks so much!
Posted By shortiegirl9 at Wed 18 Jul 2007, 11:18 AM in The Aeneid || 0 Replies
I Need Your Help In Latin Scannsion- Virgil's Aneiad
can anyone please help me scan 6 lines of the aneiad? please!
Posted By A.J.PT at Sun 22 Apr 2007, 3:31 PM in The Aeneid || 11 Replies
the aeneid
hi, im working on report and i was wondering if anyone can help me with this question. Does Aeneus make the right decision in leaving Dido? Why or why not with three reasons. Thanks.
Posted By libby2007 at Sun 18 Feb 2007, 10:48 AM in The Aeneid || 9 Replies
Brutus?
Hi, does anyone know if there's a reference to the legendary founding of Britain by Brutus in the Aeneid and if so where abouts? Thanks!
Posted By Rhiannon at Thu 13 Oct 2005, 2:33 PM in The Aeneid || 1 Reply
How can this be considered a great work
Adjectives such as great, terrific, unparalleled or superb will never do Aeneid justice. Publius Vergilius Maro, or as commonly referred to as Vergil is the most intuitive and scholar individual ever to live in the eyes of exemplary literature. The epic can be considered from several viewpoints, that differ quite excessively from each other, primarily in analysis. Having the experience in both, the casual reading of the already interpreted version whether by Allen Mandelbaum or Scott Fitzgerald, and the devout, personal translating of majority of the books (as a part of an assigned curriculum of AP Latin IV course). To the casual reader, who has not touched upon any Latin, the English version reads as an endless adventure fabricated with mythology, heroism and piety as results from struggles and wars (the consequential turmoil and gore ), and "amor" of the burning Dido, whose condition foreshadows future fate of her currenlty stable city of Carthage. To the scholar, Vergil reveals more than just a well-developed epic, of course a thorough analysis needs to be conducted prior to the "further" revelations. Upon translating Aeneid, the reader is shown how either through the use of literary devices, word placement or scansion of the poetic meter ( dactylic hexameter for that matter ) Vergil successfuly illuminates the relationships of the described subjects and events in all the respective twelve books. Please do admire this masterpiece, it is the least anyone (you) can contribute.
Posted By carpemomentum at Tue 7 Jun 2005, 9:28 AM in The Aeneid || 9 Replies
Criticism
Well actually, I'd like to take this opportunity to say a couple of things and argue with a couple of people. First of all, an addition to TK's statement "many continue to criticize him for choosing duty - which he was ordered into doing by the gods - over personal happiness" yeah well it's called stoacism- putting one's nation/state/polis before your own needs and this was highly regarded in Ancient Rome, people would have hailed Aeneas a hero for doing such a thing.
2)"Aeneas was ordered into doing by the gods " ??? well no... Even the god's cannot control what is fated therefore they were not to blame for pushing Aeneas on with his mission. Fate is not to be underestimated in this epic-it is the untouchable force.
Thirdly, Kim, "What is to like about Aeneas?" the Aeneid is not a personal epic like that of Odysseus, it is a national epic, a glorification and exaltation of Rome and the destiny of the Roman people. The poem is not really concerned with the life and adventures of its hero Aeneas, but with the part he played in founding the Roman state and with the way in which he embodies the most important Roman personal qualities and attributes, particularly the Roman sense of duty and responsibility (or stoacism).
Yes, Aeneas wanted to die in battle with his mates which was in fact the most heroic way to die- a couple of hundred men fighting thousands of Greeks so maybe just maybe there is a chance of saving the country is damn well heroic. Kim baby, what do you think the 1st and 2nd World wars were about.
Umm Celine, yeah...Aeneas is portrayed lesser a hero just to show that he is human and humans make mistakes.
I always keep the worst for last, MR "Jimmle fix it" you fail to impress me. Just because something is not finished doesn't mean that it's not a masterpiece, (ever heard of the unfinished symphony? Thought not) Virgil was very original in his style of writing. Remember the Odyssey= "aural epic" and the Aeneid= "literary epic"
Posted By Zoo at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in The Aeneid || 0 Replies