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Vergil's Aeneid: Comprehensive summary several topics
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Summary on the following topics: - Proem - Italy - Religion - Philosophy - Virtues - Tragedy
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Fred Spierings, 11 oct 2018Notes first 33 lines of the Aeneid
Quin (1968) divides the introduction in 3 parts:
- the Poets prologue: lines 1-7
- Invocation: lines 8-11
- Hypothesis: 11-331
The prologue, lines 1-7: the introduction of an epic poem.
sets the tone for the whole of his work.
underscore its epic character
- Epic poets were accustomed to employing the first lines for stating the themes of
their work.2 -> ‘arma uirumque’, introduce the two major themes of the poem
- ‘Arma’ = metonymy for war.
- ‘uirum-’ refers to the hero/protagonist -> underscoring the central role the heroic
individual. This virum (Aeneas) remarkably stays anonymous until I.91. 3
Lines 1-4 allude to Iliad and the Odyssey -> Virgil parallels himself to Homer as a poet.
- ‘arma’ and ‘uirum-’ semantically correspond with the first words Homer’s
works:
Odyssey = ‘ἄνδρα’4 -> Like the Odyssey, the major theme of books I-
VI is the man (‘uirum’), as these books recount the ventures of one
hero. ‘Multum ille et terries iactatus et alto; ui superant’ (I.3-4)
echoes the wanderings of Odysseus in the Odyssey
Iliad = ‘μῆνις’ -> books VII-XII evolve around war. And ‘saeuae
memorem Iunonis ob iram’ (I.4) reminds of the role of the anger of
the Gods in the Iliad
- Notably, the order (‘arma’ before ‘uirum’) doesn’t correspond with the order of
the plot.5 Instead, it corresponds with the chronologic order of Homer’s works, for
the war of the Iliad takes place before the ventures of the one hero of Odysseus.
lines 1-4 = brief summary of the plot = a man from Troy who is destined to reach Italy, but is
thwarted by an angry deity.
Brief mention of the anger of Juno -> suspense. For the motives of her anger are yet to be
explained -> climax in the he invocation (lines 8-11) where Virgil, suggesting severe doubt,
calls upon a muse to tell him the causes of Juno’s anger. -> denouement in the hypothesis
(lines 12-33) = comprehensive explanation of the origins of Juno’s anger.
1
Quin, Kenneth (1968) Virgil’s Aeneid: A Critical Description, p. 99. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
2
Holman, C. Hugh (1936). A Handbook To Literature, pp. 194-195.
3
I.92: ‘extemplo Aeneae soluuntur frigore membra’.
4
Homer, Iliad I.1.1.
5
Nuttal, A. D. (1992) Openings: Narrative Beginnings from the Epic to the Novel, p. 3. Oxford, UK.
, ‘Troiae qui primus ab oris; Italiam (…) Lavinium uenit’ (I. 1-2) the passage about
Antenor’s journey to Italy: ‘Hic tamen ille urbem Pataui sedesque locauit’ (I. 247.) At
this stage, Aeneas hasn’t reached the coast of Italy yet. As Aeneas knew about
Antenor’s arrival in Italy before he reached Italy himself, Antenor had logically
reached Italy before Aeneas, which made him (not Aeneas) the first to reach Italy
from the Trojan shores.
- Austin (1971, p. 28.) ‘Virgil justifiably ignores the tradition in the interest of
his high theme’ as ‘Antenor was not the founder of the Roman race.’ In lines
1-2, however, Virgil clearly writes about Italy as a geographical location,
rather than a metaphor for the Roman people.
‘Fato profugus’ (I.2.): The stressing of this predestination is significant considering the
historical context of the Aeneid. For Virgil employed the legend of Aeneas, to justify
Augustus’ ascendance to power by the establishment of the principate. Augustus,
belonging to the gens Julia, claimed to be a direct descendant of Aeneas. Throughout
the Aeneid is stressed that fate, often embodied by gods, has predestined Aeneas to
establish a home in Italy. As Aeneas would not establish Rome himself, Virgil, by
mentioning the establishment of the city as a result of fate, implies that Aeneas’
divine assignment was passed on through his progeny, among whom the ‘albanique
patres’ (I.7.) and Romulus, the establisher (of) ‘altae moenia Romae’ (I.7). This
heredity of Aeneas’ divine assignment is more explicitly expressed in book VI. 6
The invocation, lines 8-11: The poet vs. the muse
Connection between prologue and hypothesis:
Prologue: brief mention of Juno’s anger and Aeneas’ hardships
Hypothesis: comprehensive explanation of Juno’s anger.
Invocation: Connection between Prologue and Invocation by bringing forth the questions
which arise in the mind of the reader after reading the prologue, questions answered in the
hypothesis:
- Why is Juno offended?
- And why would she make a virtuous man suffer hardships?
- By not directly answering these questions, Virgil intensifies the curiosity of his
readers and creates suspense.
‘cano’ -> Vergil introduces himself as a poet = deviation from Homer’s example. Instead of
calling upon a muse for the divine revelation of the story, 7 Virgil expressively portrays
6
‘(…) Hic Caesar et omnis Iuli
progenies magnum caeli ventura sub axem.
Hic vir, hic est, tibi quem promitti saepius audis,
Augustus Caesar, Divi genus, aurea condet.
Saecula (…)’ – Virgil, V. 789-793.
7
Homer, ‘ἄειδε θεὰ’ in Iliad I.1.1. and ‘ἔννεπε, μοῦσα’ in Odyssey I.1.1.
, himself as the poet who created the epic -> source of inspiration within himself, instead of
the divine -> artist rather than bard.
- Virgil was not the first epic poet to ‘insert the ego’8.
The Little Iliad (6th of 7th BC) opens with the words: ‘λιον ἀείδω’.9
Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica (3rd BC): ‘μνήσομαι.’ However, unlike
Vergil, Apollonius introduces a deity, namely Apollo, immediately in the first
line:
‘ἀρχόμενος σέο, Φοῖβε, παλαιγενέων κλέα φωτῶν’; Μνήσομαι (…)’ (I.1-
2.)
With ‘ἀρχόμενος σέο’ Apollonius could either have meant ‘“beginning by
mentioning you”, or (…) “beginning from you as source of my song” [i.e.]
“inspired by you.”’10 So whether Apollonius considered a deity to be the
main source of inspiration is up for debate. The instant evocation of Apollo
stresses the importance of the divine nonetheless
- Virgil only invokes his muse ‘musa’11 in the eight line. But unlike Homer’s ‘μοῦσα’ and
‘θεὰ’,12 Virgil’s muse is not presented as the primary inspiring power, but rather as a
summoned witness.13 Virgil calls upon a muse, hoping that she is able to provide him
with the answers to questions no mortal can answer, namely about forces that affect
a goddess and her motivations. Hereby Virgil’s muse is a poetical tool to express a
great extent of doubt, as if the narrator wants to shout out: ‘If only I knew!’
- Nuttal (1992, p. 14) points out that Aeneas’ real muse isn’t invoked in the eight line,
but in the first: ‘Virgil’s real Muse is no goddess, but is Homer.’ Vergil’s allusion to
Homer can be conceived as a homage to his predecessor, an indirect invocation of his
muse.
Hypothesis, lines 12-33: Juno’s anger.
Two causes of Juno’s anger:
1. Her love for Carthage
‘urbs antique’. As line 1 indicates that Troy is the starting point of Aeneas’ ventures,
the reader might expect that ‘urbs antiqua’ refers to Troy. The hypothesis, however,
is not yet part of the story of Aeneas. It merely introduces the reader with the
preceding history, the ‘scene-setting’,14 before the story of Aeneas commences.
‘Urbs antiqua’ refers to ‘Karthago’ (I.13) instead.
8
Nuttal (1992)
9
The Little Iliad.
10
Nuttal (1992), pp. 10-11.
11
Virgil, Aeneid I.1.8.
12
Homer, respectively Odyssey I.1.1. and Iliad I.1.1.
13
Nuttal (1992), p. 3.
14
Nuttal (1992), p. 25.
, One of the causes of Juno’s anger towards Aeneas is her love for this city ‘quam Iuno
fertur terris magis omnibus unam’ (I.14). The goddess had heard that the
descendants of Trojans (‘progeniem (…) Troiano a sanquine’, I.19.), referring to the
future Romans, would once overpower her beloved Carthage -> Vergil refers to the
Punic wars and presents the victory of the Romans as fated: ‘sic uoluere Parcas’
(I.22).
‘Karthago, Italiam contra Tibernaque’ (I.12) = allusion to future hostilities: Like the
cities opposed each other geographically, thus Rome and Carthage would oppose
each other in battle. Geographical factors indeed played in major role in the conflict
between the two cities, as both ambitioned to gain power over the Mediterranean.
- (the description of) Carthage and Rome are encapsulated between the words
‘irae’ (I.11) and ‘belli’ (I.14) -> Rome and Carthage would be entangled in
‘anger’ and ‘war’.
2. ‘Iudicum Paridis’ (I.27) = ‘spretaeque iniura formae’ (I.27) -> ‘genus inuisum’ (I.28).
- Juno’s indignation is then aggravated by the assignment of the honourable position
of cupbearer for the gods to a Trojan boy, Ganymede (‘Ganymēdis honōrēs’ I.28.)
The legend of Paris parallels the conflict between Rome and Carthage. As Venus and
Juno opposed each other in their efforts to receive the apple of Paris, Rome and
Carthage would oppose each other in battle. In this analogy, Rome is represented by
Venus, as the city would be established by the descendants of this goddess. Juno
represents her favourite city, Carthage. As Venus gained victory over Juno by
receiving the apple of Paris, so would Rome gain victory over Carthage in battle.
The hypothesis concludes with a repetition the consequence of Juno’s anger. Infuriated
(‘accensa’, I.29), she averts the Trojans from their final destination, Italy, and forces them to
wander around for many years. ‘(…) multosque per annos; errabant acti fatis maria omnia
circum’ (I.31-32) again echoes the wanderings of Odysseus in the Odyssey. Notwithstanding
these hardships, Virgil once more states the final, predestined consequence of Aeneas
ventures: ‘Romanam condere gentem’ (I.33).
The order in which Carthage, Troy and Italy (places most important to the Aeneid) are
mentioned in the hypothesis, corresponds with the order in which these locations dominate
in the succeeding narrative:
- Carthage = is reached and described in Book I
- Troy dominates Book II
- Italy is reached in Book VI
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