Aeneid: The Poem in Focus

THE MYTHICAL FOUNDING OF ROME In the sixth century B.C. the Romans changed from a system of rule by kings to a republic. The institution of the republic, style of government marked an end to an era of Roman monarchs of both Latin and Etruscan heritage. Monarchies had been in power since the year 753 B.C., the legendary founding date of Rome by a mythic hero named Romulus. According to the legend, Romulus was directly descended from Aeneas through his mother, Rhea Silvia. His father was Mars, the god of war. Romulus and his twin brother Remus had decided to found a new city, but they could not agree on where to begin because there were seven different hills in the area. Remus chose the Aventine hill as his site, while Romulus laid down his foundations on the Palatine hill and built a wall around it as a boundary. Remus jumped over the wall in order to mock him. Romulus killed his twin on the spot and said, "So perish whoever else shall overleap my battlements" (Starr, p. 44). Mindful of the need to attract people to inhabit his new town, Romulus allowed all the criminals and bandits in the area to settle there. He became their king and lent his name to the city he founded. Thus, according to legend, was Rome founded.

by Virgil

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The Poem in Focus

The poem's contents. The poem begins with a description of the wrath of Juno, goddess of marriage and wife of Jupiter, the father of the gods. Juno becomes angered after hearing a prophecy that Aeneas and his descendants will be the founders of a great city. The prophecy conflicts with her own goal, which is to have the inhabitants of her favorite city, Carthage, become the rulers of the world. She sends a furious storm to wreck the fleet of Trojan survivors, who are led

by Aeneas. Ironically, the storm shipwrecks the fleet on the shores of northern Africa near the city of Carthage. Aeneas, who was separated from the rest of the Trojans in the storm, is aided by his mother, Venus (the Roman name for Aphrodite), who is the goddess of love. Aeneas and Venus enter Carthage hidden in a cloud. In this manner, no one notices the two of them or questions their presence. Once inside Carthage, Aeneas encounters Dido, the queen of the Carthaginians, who has already met and welcomed the other Trojans from whom Aeneas had become separated. The cloud that is covering Aeneas melts away. Dido welcomes him and holds a feast for the Trojans, during which she falls in love with Aeneas. Ignorant of her love for him, Aeneas relates the story of the fall of Troy and the Trojans adventures before reaching the shores of Carthage.

He recounts how a Greek named Sinon deceived the Trojans into taking the wooden "Trojan horse" inside the city walls. Aeneas tells of the final battle and how the gods themselves participated in the destruction of Troy. He describes his escape, explaining how he carried his father Anchises on his shoulders and took his son Ascanius by the hand. Ghosts and divinities subsequently directed Aeneas to establish a new Troy. Acting on those prophesies, he collected the survivors from the fallen city and escaped in a fleet of ships.

Aeneas notes that, after leaving Troy, the Trojans stopped many times and attempted to found new cities. But each time the gods drove him onward, instructing him to return to his forefathers' homeland. On occasion Aeneas and his people encountered monsters in their travels. Ferocious beasts such as the Harpies-creatures that are half-woman and half-bird-and the Cyclops-one-eyed giants who eat men-threatened Aeneas and his followers on their voyage.

After the feast, Dido invites Aeneas and his people to stay and help build Carthage. Aeneas agrees and settles down for a year. He even marries Dido secretly. Jupiter, however, sends down a messenger to spur Aeneas on again. He is thus forced to leave Carthage, even though Dido begs him not to go. After Aeneas's departure, Dido utters a curse in which she vows that Rome and Carthage will never know peace with each other. She then commits suicide, throwing herself on a burning pyre.

The Trojans proceed to Sicily, where other survivors from Troy have founded a city of their own. Aeneas and his people celebrate their arrival by having many contests: sailing, racing, archery, and boxing. Pressing onward despite further interference from the goddess Juno, Aeneas reaches the shrine of the Sibyl, a prophetess. She warns of the toils that the Trojans will face upon finally reaching mainland Italy. Undaunted, Aeneas declares that he is not afraid and asks if he may descend into the underworld to speak with the spirit of his father, who has died. The Sibyl states that only by finding and claiming a certain golden branch in the forest can Aeneas visit Anchises' ghost. She cautions him that the branch will only break loose for the one who has been fated to find it. Fortunately, when Aeneas finds the golden bough it yields to him. He then travels through Hades, the underworld. Hades, the Sibyl explains, is divided into two parts: Tartarus, where wrongdoers are punished, and Elysium, a paradise for heroes, philosophers, and honest men. Aeneas is allowed to visit Elysium, where the ghost of his father resides. Anchises shows Aeneas all of the future generations that will spring from Ascanius, Aeneas's son. Among them are Romulus, founder of the city of Rome; Julius Caesar, famous general and leader; and Octavius Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome.

Aeneas then leaves Hades, embarks on his ship, and finally arrives in Italy. The Trojans set up a fortified camp and prepare a treaty with the Latins, the local tribe. The treaty is to be sealed by the marriage of Aeneas to Lavinia, the Latin king's daughter. But again Juno intervenes. She summons Allecto (one of the Furies, or avenging goddesses) to sow discord between the Trojans and Latins, a gambit that results in war.

The combined might of Italy's tribes, including Latins, Rutulians, Volscians, Auruncans, Sabines, and others, is thrown against the Trojans. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the Trojans fare badly. At one point, Aeneas leaves with most of the soldiers to form another alliance with the Arcadians and Etruscans. The remaining Trojans stay inside their fortified encampment, refusing to leave its safety even though they consider such behavior dishonorable. This tactic buys them enough time for Aeneas to bring back reinforcements. When Aeneas does return, the tide turns against the enemy army. The Trojans then march on to the home city of the Latins and lay siege to it.

Determined to end the bloodshed, Aeneas challenges an enemy prince, Turnus, to a duel to decide which side shall be victorious. But Juno again intercedes, this time using her divine powers to stir up the Latins so that they will break the agreement to abide by the results of the duel. Her strategy works. The Latins attack without warning, and the duel does not take place.

During the ensuing battle, the goddess Juno keeps Turnus out of Aeneas's reach. But she protects Turnus only until she has gained an important concession from Jupiter: his decree that, although victorious in the battle with their enemies, the Trojans will lose their identity and be known forever after as Latins. Turnus is then slain in a duel with Aeneas after a mighty battle. The poem abruptly ends at that point.

The human side of Aeneas. An outstanding feature of Virgil's characterization of Aeneas is the hero's ability to feel sympathy for others, even his most dire enemy. When Queen Dido begs Aeneas not to leave, Virgil allows his readers a glimpse into his hero's heart, showing the burden that destiny has placed on his shoulders:

The fact that Aeneas forges ahead makes him a hero, especially because the reader has seen the force of the love that he must overcome. Later in the poem, Virgil again gives us insight into Aeneas's psyche. In the final scene, Aeneas has at last bested his rival Turnus, who kneels at Aeneas's feet. Turnus asks for Aeneas's compassion, although he admits he has earned his fate:

Aeneas is nearly swayed:

In the end, Aeneas does kill Turnus. Nevertheless, the fact that Aeneas hesitates from striking down his worst enemy is a strong example of the hero's moral character. Indeed, it seems that Virgil believes the ability to have compassion is important, a message that he perhaps wanted to share with the society of his time. The narrative of the Aeneid indicates that Aeneas's beliefs in this regard were perhaps influenced by Anchises. In his visit to the underworld, Aeneas was given the following advice by his father: "Roman, remember by your strength to rule/Earth's peoples-for your arts are to be these: /to pacify, to impose the rule of law,/to spare the conquered, battle down the proud" (The Aeneid, bk. 6, lines 1151-54).

Sources. One of Virgil's objectives in writing the Aeneid was to combine the myth of Aeneas and the history of Rome. Virgil, however, was not the first Roman writer to connect Aeneas to the history of Rome. The tale of Aeneas was actually well known by the time Virgil began writing. One of the first written forms of the myth of Aeneas was authored by the poet and soldier Naevius in the third century B.C. His epic about Rome's history began with the story of Aeneas and culminated in battle between Rome and Carthage. Scholars believe that Virgil held Naevius in high regard and that he probably derived some of his ideas from Naevius's work. Another important source for Virgil was the Roman poet Ennius (239-169 B.C.), who wrote a versified chronicle of Roman history from its Trojan beginnings.

Naevius lived to see only the First Punic (Carthaginian) War; two even more devastating wars between Rome and Carthage followed. The Romans were disturbed that the resilient Carthaginians seemed only to grow stronger after their first defeat. This concern spurred the decision by the Roman Senate to completely destroy the city of Carthage. In 146 B.C. the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus razed the city and sowed the ground with salt. Virgil attempts to explain the roots of the bitter rivalry between the cities in his poem.

The character of Dido was based on the legendary founder of Carthage, Queen Elissa. In reality, however, the lovers Aeneas and Dido could never have met-Aeneas was a contemporary of the Trojan War, which probably took place in the twelfth century B.C., while Carthage was founded much later, in 814 B.C.

Virgil includes references to real-life people and events in a more limited way as well. In the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians were led by Hannibal, a brilliant general who, in fifteen years, was never defeated on the battlefield. The cond Punic W beat the Carthaginians were way by avoiding a direct confrontation with Hannibal. The Roman soldiers, concerned that they could not defeat him in battle, remained in their fortified towns and awaited the return of their finest general, Scipio Africanus (grandfather of Scipio Aemilianus), from Spain. Hannibal could not storm the towns because he lacked the appropriate equipment. Virgil could very well have drawn on that episode in Roman history, for a similar situation unfolds in his poem when the Trojans face the tribes of Italy. When Virgil's Trojans refuse to give battle to the Rutulians:

Just as the Trojans awaited Aeneas's return, the real-life Romans held out until their best general could return from Spain.