Aeneid

1. Aeneid A look at the history

2. Virgil (70-19 B.C.) • PubliusVergiliusMaro • Born in Andes, which is a tiny village in northern Italy • Thus, Virgil was not a Roman citizen until later in his life • Wanted to be a lawyer, but he was too shy, so he became a poet • First, he wrote the Eclogues and the Georgics.

3. Virgil Continued… • After writing theAeneid, Virgil read a few books to Augustus. • He then went to Greece for three years to revise the work. • On his way home from Greece, Virgil contracted a fever and died. Thus, theAeneidwas never completed by Virgil. • Supposedly, he ordered that the manuscripts be destroyed, but Augustus ordered that they should be prepared for publication.

4. The Aeneid • National epic of ancient ROME • What is an epic? • Forms a link between the Greek mythic tradition and Roman history • Written by Virgil between 30 and 19 B.C. • Important source for understanding Roman civilization • 12 books • Describes adventures of the Trojan hero, Aeneas • The first six books are based on Homer’s The Odyssey and the last six books are modeled on Homer’s The Illiad • Inversion of the Homeric elements in the Odyssey. • Served as model for later literature (Dante’s Commedia). • Parallels the Roman culture’s adaptation of Greek models to its own uses.

5. The AeneidContinued… • Written in Latin • Set at the end of the Trojan War • The fullest surviving account of the Trojan horse and the Sack of Troy. • Aeneas and his followers sail to Italy to found Rome • Visit Carthage, then the underworlds, then Italy • Virgil uses legends about Rome’s founding to establish that the Roman Empire was part of a divine plan • Used this work to glorify his emperor, Augustus, by calling Augustus Aeneas’s descendent in the epic. • Aeneas symbolizes the perfect Roman. He sacrifices his pleasure to attain his goals.

6. The Judgement of Paris • Juno, Minerva, and Venus • Jupiter appointed the Trojan prince Paris to judge who was the fairest among the three goddesses. • Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, and he chose Venus • Venus promised him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife • Helen, daughter of Jupiter, and wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. • Paris abducted her and took her to Troy with him

7. History of Troy • Also known as Ilium • Ruled by King Prium • Paris fell in love with Helen, Menelaus’s wife, while visiting Sparta, so he took her back to Troy with him. • The Greeks sent a war expedition to Troy • War lasted 10 years • Wooden horse trick • Greeks massacred the Trojans, and only a few Trojans, including Aeneas, survived.

8. Founding of Rome • Romulus and Remus were twins in Alba Longa • They were placed in a basket and sent down the Tiber River by their great uncle. • After washing ashore, they were suckled by a she-wolf. • A shepherd later found them and adopted them. • Later found out about their origins and restored their grandfather to the throne of Alba Longa • In a quarrel over naming the city they found, Romulus killed Remus and named the city Rome.

9. Augustus • After Julius Caesar was murdered, Octavian and Marcus Antonius battled for position of ruler. • Octavian won and was titled Augustus . • Augustus tried to restore Rome to its old morals and customs. • The Aeneidcelebrates the mythical past and the Augustan present.

10. Aeneas • Son of the Trojan Anchises and the goddess Venus. • His son is Ascanius. • He is fated to found Lavinium. His son is to found Alba Longa. • While he is part-god, Aeneas does suffer one human frailty: his tendency to doubt and to experience failure, even when the gods are clearly telling him what to do.

11. Images to notice • Night and day • Night marks blindness and deception, while day marks protections and security. • Fire • Water • Sacrifice • Wound/blood • Ghosts/finality of death