Classics 45B

The
Heroes

Lecture 23: Aeneas after Troy

Review:
Key Questions

What is the relationship between the Aeneid and

Homeric epic?
and Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica?
What is the relationship between the divine and human
orders?
What kind of hero is Aeneas?

Opening Verses
Aeneid
ARMA VIRUMQUE CANO
Wars and the man I sing
Iliad

Of the wrath, goddess, sing
Odyssey

,
Of the man, Muse, sing

The Aeneid and Homeric

Epic

First Half : Voyage

Second Half: War in Italy

The Fall of Troy

Where do we find an account of the fall?

What two epics does this account bridge?
Under what circumstances is it told and by whom?

Book 1: First look at Aeneas

Proem (p. 47):

Tell me, Muse, how it all began. Why was Juno so outraged?
Why did she force a man, so famous for his devotion, to brave
such rounds of hardship, bear such trials? Can such rage inflame
immortal hearts? There was an ancient city
Aeneas is insignis pietate (famous for his pietas); his epithet
is pius
Problem of translating pietas: piety / devotion / sense of duty
Divine / geopolitical antagonists defined:***JUNO AND
CARTHAGE

Pius Aeneas

Aeneid is the great national epic of the Romans

pietas: devotion, sense of duty / obligation
Duty / obligation to:
- gods
- nation
for Aeneas these are
inseparable
- family
Influence of Stoic philosophy, which stressed
being in accord with fatum, and self-control
National / Stoic hero Aeneas must sacrifice
personal happiness to make good his obligations

Book 1: Storm at Sea

Who causes the storm, and why?
Who eventually quells the storm?
Gender Mapping of chaos / order?
Aeneas reaction (p. 53):
At once Aeneas, limbs limp in the chill of fear, groans and cries out Three, four
times blest my comrades lucky to die beneath the soaring walls of Troy before
their parents eyes. If only Id gone under your right hand, Diomedes, strongest
Greek afield, and poured out my life on the battlegrounds of Troy.
what kind of heroic values does Aeneas articulate here?
is this pietas?
Is this a Stoic hero?
what is Virgil telling us about Aeneas at this point?
Do we see evidence of good leadership after the storm?

Book 1: Jupiters Prophecy to Venus

What doubts does Venus express?
How does Jupiter respond?
vaticinium ex eventu
How far does Jupiters prophecy extend?
what are the broader purposes of this scene?
- imperialist (imperium sine fine dedi)
Notion of manifest destiny
[strictly speaking, a 19th-century American term, but
applicable to Aeneid]

ideology of universal conquest, of world civilizing

mission (Pax Romana)
What is the relationship between Jupiter and Fate?
- how does this compare to Homeric Zeus?

Book 1:
Dido and
Aeneas
in Carthage

First impressions of Dido: an effective leader

What gods are involved in inciting her love for Aeneas?
How is this achieved?
What is this modeled on?

Under what circumstances does Aeneas tell his tale? How does he
begin?
what is this modeled on?

Book 2: Fall of Troy

Greek trickery: Trojan Horse + Sinon
Laocoon: timeo Danaos et dona
ferentis
Hectors Dream Visitation (pp. 8485)
How does Aeneas respond?
arma amens capio
out of my wits, I seize my arms it
races through my mind what a noble
thing it is to die in arms
What brings him back to his senses?
What miracle convinces Anchises to
flee?
Crucial father-son relationships
Loss of Creusa (+ ghostly visitation)

Trojans after Troy

Flee to nearby mountains
Build a fleet
Prophecy : seek ancient mother
- first guess (and attempt) : Crete
- second guess : Italy
Who is in charge of the Trojans at
this stage?
- Roman notion of paterfamilias
- Aeneas pietas vis--vis father
Book 3 : various failed attempts to
re-found Troy
- implication: no going backwards
Death of Anchises; implication?