VTP: Lesson - The Aeneid

The Aeneid

Vergil's epic, The Aeneid, stands as one of the most well-known works of Roman literature. Let's explore this classic poem.

Image note: This painting, titled Fuga di Enea da Troia e San Girolamo in Italian was painted in 1598 by Federico Barocci. Aeneas is seen carrying his father, Anchises, over his shoulder. His son, Ascanius, and wife, Creusa, flee with him from the burning city.

Structure of The Aeneid

The Aeneid, written in dactylic hexameter (the meter of epic poems), consists of approximately 10,000 lines divided into twelve books. The first six books tell of the wanderings of Aeneas from Troy until he finally settles in central Italy, the land chosen for him by fate. The second half of the Aeneid is a story of war, the struggle between Aeneas and the Retulian leader Turnus over the control of Latium. Vergil's poem thus reflects The Iliad (war) and The Odyssey (wandering) of Homer, the writer of the great Greek epics.

The language of epics is elevated. Vergil employs allusions, similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and dactylic hexameter. Like his predecessor Homer, Vergil includes such epic devices as a trip to the underworld (only superhuman heroes go to the underworld and return to the land of the living).

The Aeneid is a long, dramatic narrative poem in elevated language that tells the story of a national hero. Aeneas, like all epic heroes, is almost godlike, undergoing challenging crises and displaying superhuman qualities. He survives the siege of Troy, the dangers of the open sea, the machinations of the gods, and the dangers of battle. The setting of the epic is vast; thus, Aeneas is in Troy, travels through the Aegean Sea to Crete, through the Mediterranean Sea to Greece, Sicily, northern Africa (Carthage), and finally to central Italy.

A map details Aeneas' journey from Troy to Carthage and finally to Italy. — This map shows the path of Aeneas, starting in Asia Minor (the eastern side of the map - Troia) and passing through various territories, including Greek islands (Ortygia and Pergama), up the western Greek coast (past Ithaca to Buthrotum), then over to Sicily. After Sicily, Aeneas has an extended stop in Carthage, eventually traveling north to Sicily again (Eryx) and finally landing on the shores of Italy, first in Cumae, then up to Laurentium. Map created by Rcsprinter123 and shared under a Creative Commons license.

Aeneas: The Hero

Epics contain countless deeds of great valor. We see Aeneas defending Troy under siege by the Greeks, leading his people on a long sojourn, and then finally fighting for survival in a new land. Supernatural forces play a significant role in epics. Venus and Juno contend with one another over the fate of Aeneas. Jupiter oversees the conflict and finally declares that fate must be allowed to follow its course.

Aeneas, the Trojan, plays only a minor role in Homer's Iliad. He is the son of Venus, the goddess of love, and the mortal Anchises. As the Greeks are destroying Troy after the arrival of the wooden horse within the walls of Troy, Aeneas receives guidance from his mother and other divine signs that he must leave Troy in order to preserve the Trojan race and establish a new home in Hesperia, the Greek name for Italy.

Amidst the burning of Troy and the slaughter of its residents, Aeneas leaves his beloved homeland, taking with him the Penates (household gods). He carries his old father on his shoulders and leads his young son, Ascanius, by the hand.

In his travels, his time in Carthage, and his struggles in Latium, Aeneas displays himself as steadfast, courageous, patient, obedient to the will of the gods, and reverent of his heritage. Although Aeneas seems at times to be too good to be true, he does display some very human characteristics as well. He becomes easily discouraged when he finds himself and his comrades in the midst of Aeolus' storm in the first book (a story you will read). He shows his hesitation when told to leave Troy. He shows callousness when he leaves Dido in Carthage because the gods tell him to do so. He shows ruthlessness in the final slaughter of Turnus on the battlefield. These weaknesses, however, make him more believable and a stronger hero.

Themes in The Aeneid

A number of themes run throughout the story. Vergil begins by saying, "I sing of arms and the man." This notion of war permeates the story from the fall of Troy to the defeat of Turnus. In a broader sense, The Aeneid is a story of oppositions – Aeneas and Dido (a foreshadowing of the conflict between Rome and Carthage), Juno and Venus, gods and men (e.g., the storm raised by Aeolus), fate and personal desires.

A statue of Aeneas, holding his father, demonstrating pietas. Another theme permeating the story is the role of fate. Fate causes Aeneas to leave Troy. It is fate that keeps him going to find Hesperia, the land he is destined to inhabit. Fate drives Aeneas away from Carthage and his love for Dido. Although some characters fight against fate (e.g., Juno, Dido, Turnus), in the end fate wins out. It consumes those mortals who dare to resist (Dido and Turnus). Even the goddess Juno must eventually give in to fate. Vergil uses this notion of fate to explain Rome's dominance in the world. It has been preordained by the gods that Rome will have supremacy throughout the Mediterranean world. The leader in this preordained world is Augustus, sent by the gods to fulfill Rome's destiny.

Image note: This statue is another depiction of the scene from the painting at the top of the page. Again, we see Aeneas, carrying his father (and his gods) on his shoulder, while leading his son, Ascanius, by the hand. This statue is a monument to Aeneas' piety.

Another strong theme is the notion of pietas as personified by Aeneas. Pietas is more than merely the modern sense of piety (the quality of being holy and reverent). It is duty – duty to one's father, duty to one's homeland, duty to the will of the gods, duty to one's followers. Thus we see a number of strong father-son relationships – Aeneas and his father Anchises, Aeneas and his son Ascanius, Evander and his son Pallas. Because of his duty to his homeland, Aeneas leaves Troy with the goal of establishing a new home for the Trojans. Aeneas constantly subsumes himself to the will of the gods, most notably when he leaves Dido at the command of Jupiter. Again, Vergil uses this theme to promote the goals of Augustus and to set an example for Romans to follow.

Finally, the Aeneid is a story written to promote the glory of Rome. By writing about the origins of Rome, Vergil proclaims the grandeur and the power of contemporary Rome. Aeneas was believed to be the ancestor of Augustus; Julius Caesar used this ancestry to claim a connection to the divine (recall that the goddess Venus was Aeneas' mother). The almost superhuman qualities of the hero are also the qualities of the emperor. In Book 8, Vulcan forges a shield for Aeneas. On the shield are scenes depicting the glory that was to come. In Book 6 Aeneas meets his recently deceased father who takes him on a journey of the underworld to see Romans not yet born, Romans who will bring peace and justice to the world. Just as Aeneas comes to Latium and "civilizes" the Latins, so Augustus has come upon the world scene and brought order out of chaos.

Video Lesson

The following video attempts to look at The Aeneid in the context of history. Please take notes to further your understanding of this important work of poetry. This video is quite long (~30 minutes), so take breaks if you need to, but do try to get through the entire presentation.

Video Source: Eric Luttrell (YouTube)

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