4016 Fall07 Questions and Discussion 8
From Studyplace
This week's class question:
What are the politics of Vergil related to the Roman Empire? How is Vergil different from Homer?
This week's respondent: Cyrille
[edit] TheAeneid: Historical Context
The Aeneid was written in the 1st Century BC, between 29 and 19 BC. Rome was in great turmoil, after the fall of the Republic and a long civil war opposing Julius Ceasar and Pompey. In 44 BC, Ceasar is named perpetual dictator. According to Wikipedia, "the sudden return of prosperity and peace after a generation of chaos had badly eroded traditional social roles and cultural norms. In reaction, the emperor Augustus was trying to re-introduce traditional Roman moral values, and the Aeneid is thought to reflect that aim."
Therefore, Virgil attempts to retrace the lineage of Trojans who traveled from Greece to found what would be later know as Rome. While the story focuses on Aeneas, he plays an ideological, rather than logistical, role in this. His son, Iulus, is presented as the ancestor of the Jules / Julius lineage of Roman Emperors. Although he plays a minor part in the Aeneid, he is the one who will ultimately lead to the birth of Romulus, founder of Rome, and to a succession of dictators and emperors.
[edit] Technical Similarities between Virgil and Homer
There are many parallels between the Aeneid and Homer's poems, explicit or implied. Virgil, though writing five to seven centuries after Homer, was very much inspired by the one who was still considered the greatest poet of all times, and by the huge cultural importance of his works.
Thus we observe a number of technical similarities:
- The Aeneid, like the Illiad, is written in dactylic hexameter, a staple of epic poetry. Virgil uses a more evolved form, where the meter is exploited rhetorically to imitate the rhythm or sound of what he is talking about, or to spur a certain effect in the reader. Such effects sometimes lead to the circumvention of the meter's rules.
- The Aeneid's plot takes place in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Troy, where Homer left off after the Illiad. Troy's fall is situated in the 13th or 12th century BC, a thousand years before Virgil's time.
- Both works use the standard 12-book division (though the Illiad comprises 24). In both instances, the first half tells of a voyage on the Mediterranean Sea, while the second half addresses the difficulties our heroes face in settling their homes upon returning.
- Similarly, Virgil deliberately "rewrites" some passages from Homer's works. The Aeneid 's Book VI, for instance, is very similar to the Odyssey 's depiction of Ulysses' voyage to the underworld.
[edit] Thematic Similarities and Differences
- Much as Homer's epics served to transmit and reinforce the founding myths of Greece as well as a set of accepted norms of behavior and beliefs in Greek society, Virgil wants to establish the legitimacy and greatness of the Iulus lineage within Roman society; he also wants to popularize norms of behavior that fall in line with Italian culture and beliefs. For instance, the Aeneid 's characters invoke Roman gods, as opposed to Greek gods, despite the fact that Aeneas and his followers have only just begun to import Greek traditions to Italy, and that Roman gods would not appear until the late stages of the Roman Republic. Therefore the re-naming of the gods can be seen as a deliberate step toward cultural independence (despite wholesale borrowing from Greek culture) on Virgil's part: he tries to emphasize the originality of Roman society.
- Individual vs. Community: This originality is also expressed in Virgil's insistence on community, as opposed to Homer's emphasis on individual character and agency. Where the Illiad relies on a highly volatile Achilles (and the Odyssey on Ulysses, whom Virgil refers to as "fierce", "cruel", etc), by contrast Aeneas shows great restraint. We only see him fully exhibit his character when he goes after Turnus, bolstered by the belief that the prophecy cannot fail to be fulfilled and that, therefore, he cannot be harmed. In fact, when a spear pierces his knee during his battle with the Italians, "[his] pain, unmerited, distresses Venus" (556-7), who promptly heals his wound.
Virgil's emphasis on community and organized society is best expressed in Aeneas' visit to the underworld: with several centuries of hindsight, Virgil is able to place important characters of Roman history within his story, and Anchises, in his prophetic function, not only announces to Aeneas how he is to create a new Italian country, but also names these successive rulers of Rome who are to arise from the Elysium Fields (the Gods' and virtuous men's domain), names who would be familiar to Virgil's contemporaries and who would be recognized as virtuous leaders.
This emphasis on community is further indicated by recurring references to Aeaneas as "Father" and a conflation of his character with the Gods': the following passage refers to Neptune, who has just spoken, but merges into Aeneas' character and depicts his leadership role.
"And just as, often, when a crowd of people/ is rocked by a rebellion, and the rabble/ rages in their minds, and firebrands and stones/ fly fast - for fury finds its weapons - if,/ by chance, they see a man remarkable/ for righteousness and service, they are silent/ and stand attentively; and he controls/ their passion by his words and cools their spirits:/ so all the clamor of the sea subsided/ after the Father, gazing on the waters/ and riding under cloudless skies, had guided/ his horses, let his willing chariot run. (209-220)
