1. Introduction to Vergil’s Aeneid
September 12, 2012

2. Publius Vergilius Maro
(70-19 BCE)
 Born in Northern Italy
 Spent early life on his father’s farmlands:
→ central to his education
→ impacts poetic sensibilities
 Resident of Rome from 41 BCE until death
 Major works:
→ distributed the Eclogues in 37 BCE (whence “Virgil”)
→ distributed the Georgics in 30 BCE
→ worked on the Aeneid for 10 years, remained unfinished

3. How Vergil Became Virgil
 From the “Fourth Eclogue”:
Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl sung
Has come and gone, and the majestic roll
Of circling centuries begins anew:
Justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign,
With a new breed of men sent down from heaven.
Only do thou, at the boy's birth in whom
The iron shall cease, the golden race arise…
 Early Christian Church viewed as divine revelation of the coming of
Jesus Christ
 Treated Virgil as a saint, preserving all his work

4. From Republic to Empire
71 BCE: Revolt of Spartacus; First Triumvirate
Vergil b. 70 BCE
67 BCE: Pompey makes the Mediterranean mare nostrum
58-51 BCE: Caesar’s military campaigns in Gaul
49-45 BCE: Civil War between Pompey and Caesar
44 BCE: Caesar is assassinated; Second Triumvirate
42 BCE: Philippi—Octavian and Antony defeat Brutus and
Cassius
31 BCE: Actium—Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra;
Literary Career
he rules as Augustus from 29-14 BCE.
Vergil d. 19 BCE

5. Wealthy Patrons & Pax Romana
 Patron-Client Relationship
→ Wealthy citizens supports poets and artists
→ Cultural service, but also status symbol
 Augustus, as emperor, sponsors several poets, including
Horace and Vergil
→ Legitimize his leadership
→ Glorify imperialism
→ Praise traditional Roman values
 Augustus informally commissions the Aeneid to rival the
epic poetry of Homer

6. The Aeneid
 Arguably, the most important work of Roman literature
 Commissioned by Augustus to rival the Greek epics
→ Books 1-6 = Odyssey
→ Books 7-12 = Iliad
 Worked from 29 BCE until his untimely death
 National Epic:
→ Foundational Myth
→ Roman Imperial History and Destiny
→ Statement of Roman and Stoic values

7. Myth, History, and Destiny
 Aeneas is a Trojan prince, the son of Venus
→ Aeneas is an ancestor of Augustus (divine right)
 Prophecies of the future greatness of Rome
 Dramatizes and gives mythic significance to rivals:
→ Most famously, Carthage—Rome’s fiercest enemy
→ The Punic Wars (264-146 BCE)
→ Dido (Books 1-4)

8. Roman & Stoic Values
 Pietas:
→ Duty and loyalty to the gods, family, and Fate
→ By extension, a Roman’s duty to Rome/Augustus (public life)
 Gravitas:
→ Deep seriousness in political and religious matters; rational,
unemotional, dispassionate
 Auctoritas:
→ Power and respect won by men of experience in leadership
→ Pater familias = head of Roman family
 Fatum:
→ There is always a right choice: Embrace Fate by doing your duty in
accordance with universal reason

9. The Poetry of Vergil’s Aeneid
 Dactylic Hexameter
 Arma virumque cano
 Professor Stroh’s dramatic performance of Book IV