Virgil’s Aeneid: C Lit 30A M03 7/16/03

I—The Roman Civil Wars

    1. Rural Dislocation
    2. Gracchus limits land ownership: 133 BCE.
    3. 25 of 50 years in civil war by 30 BCE, when Octavian took complete and stable control.
    4. Octavian executed anyone who opposed him without trial.

II—To Praise Augustus: Imperium Sine Fine

    1. The Aeneid had two purposes: to imitate Homer and to praise Augustus.
    2. Romulus and Remus
    3. Sequence of events, according to legend: Aeneas founds Lavinium; Iulus founds Alba Longa; Romulus founds Rome.
    4. Romulus killed his brother out of rage: furor.

III—Furor vs. Pietas

    1. Juno's furor
    2. Neptune's pietas
    3. Augustus' pietas
    4. Aeneas' pietas
    5. Dido's furor: parallel to Antony and Cleopatra, 31 BCE.

IV—Inconsistency or Subtle Pessimism: The Gates of Sleep

    1. Book VI: The Trip to the Underworld
    2. Anchises' Predictions
    3. The Gates of Horn and the Gates of Ivory
    4. Is this an error or a criticism?

V—Who Wins in the End?

    1. Single Combat
    2. Aeneas' Furor
    3. Justification of Killing

VI—The Compromise

    1. Jupiter gives in.
    2. The Future of Rome
    3. Do the Trojans win?

VII—The Purpose of The Aeneid Part Two: Imitation of Homer

    1. Metrical imitation
    2. The Odyssean first half
    3. The Iliadic second half

VIII—Virgil’s Style in Contrast to Homer's

    1. Incomplete poem, but from a prose outline.
    2. Arrival in Carthage: blood on snow.

IX—A Closer Look at the Text-Fire and Furor