CL102: March 9, 2009 Vergil s Aeneid in the context of his life and time

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1 1 CL102: March 9, 2009 Vergil s Aeneid in the context of his life and time Revised version: please note that there are still some discrepancies between this outline and what was covered in class. I. the Augustan Age in literature A. Augustan Age in Latin literature also called the Golden Age or Golden Latin, as opposed to the Silver Age, which occurred during the time of Nero B. important underlying factors for the success of Augustan literature: peace, prosperity, patronage, and a sense of Roman political, social, and aesthetic maturity 1. Because the Augustan peace occurred after several generations of intermittent civil war, the joy was bittersweet. There was concern, however muted, that the peace could be ephemeral. There were also concerns once again, perhaps muted about the price paid in terms of freedom for such stability. See especially Vergil s Aeneid, Books 1, 4, 6, and 12. (Those who are really keen on the literature of this time should see Horace's Roman Odes [Odes III.1-6]). 2. Prosperity was connected with Augustan political reforms in addition to the cessation of warfare. 3. patronage: Maecenas was as important for the patronage of Augustan literature as Agrippa was for architecture. Having Maecenas as patron gave the writer connections with Augustus, which gave both benefits and responsibilities. Big question: to what extent was creativity hampered by having someone like Maecenas as patron? a. A bit about Maecenas: apparently he owed a portion of his vast wealth to expropriations. His love of luxury was legendary, as was his patronage of literary figures, including the poets Propertius and Horace as well as Vergil. He gave Horace the Sabine farm to which he refers in his poetry. At some time after the publication of the Eclogues, Vergil entered the circle of Maecenas, and thus of the future Augustus. 4. a sense of political, social, and aesthetic maturity: The full range of Greek literature became fair game for Roman imitation and competition (aemulatio). C. influence of literature and art of the Augustan Age upon English and European literature, Classical music, and English, North American, and European art. Today or Wednesday if we are lucky we ll have time for selections from Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas. II. philosophical background: Epicureanism and Stoicism

2 2 Epicureanism: emphasis on life as a congregation of atoms and death as a dissolution of atoms; rejection of afterlife as understood in both ancient and modern times the gods are viewed as abstract entities; however, "atheism" is not understood in modern terms equality of believers, importance of ataraxia, Lucretius as poetic predecessor importance of Stoicism for III. biographical sketch of Publius Vergilius Maro. the poet s name: The name Virgil is traditional in English, but many Classicists prefer Vergil, which is closer to the Latin. General note: Biographies in such sources as Donatus and Suetonius can contain a lot of unreliable information. Use them with extreme care. A BCE, born in Andes, near Mantua. (An interesting aside: most major Latin authors were born outside of Rome.) He was most likely of equestrian origin or something close to it because of the fact that he was not required to earn a living. There is reliable information that he was educated in Cremona and Mediolanum (modern Milan) before moving to Rome. Three major publications, each ten years apart: Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid. 1. Vergil died with the Aeneid unfinished (there are a number of incomplete lines scattered throughout the poem). There is a tradition that Vergil requested on his deathbed that the poem be burnt; the reasons for this are unknown. If this actually happened, the poem was rescued and published at Augustus' request. IV. Vergil s Eclogues (not included in this course, but significant for overall development of Vergil) first mature works title word of Greek origin series of ten poems, similar in style and substance to the bucolic/pastoral poetry of the Greek Hellenistic poet Theocritus aesthetic considerations of the city and the country significant for later writers in English themes include the literature of writing about literature and the importance of poetry about love (rather than love poetry itself in the tradition of Catullus) possibly written under the influence of Epicurean thought A. Brief example: Eclogue 4 V. Vergil s Georgics (four books)

3 3 written after Vergil switches to Stoic philosophy Maecenas as patron the title is Greek (Georgics =related to farming) importance of Greek poet Hesiod for writing literature ostensibly about farming farming 'advice' only tangentially of practical utility, although scholars of botany find the names and descriptions of plants of Vergil s Georgics worthy of study to this day. This is particularly true of flowers and trees. theme of pessimism later on expressed through cattle plague discuss in detail excerpt from Georgics Book II : Happy is he who has been able to recognize the causes of things and has thrown under foot all fears and inexorable doom and the din of greedy Acheron. Fortunate also is he who knows the rustic gods, Pan, the old man Silvanus, and the sisters the Nymphs. The fasces of the people and the purple attire of kings, and discord riling up faithless brothers have not swayed him, or the Dacian coming down from the conspiring lower Danube; neither does the Roman state or perishable kingdoms; nor has he, pitying the poor man, grieved (at lack of money), or envied the rich. (rather literal translation of II by Kristin Lord) relationship between Epicurean thought and Stoic beliefs, science and traditional Roman religion, and the connection between agriculture and peace. Side point: II.490, rerum cognoscere causas, to understand the causes of things, motto of the university of Guelph. Churchill College at the University of Cambridge has the entire line on its seal, as does Humber Collegiate in Toronto. The reference to felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas (happy is he who has been able to recognize the causes of things) is a reference to the scientific and materialist approach to Epicurean thought. The reference to casting underfoot all fears and inexorable doom/and the din of greedy hell (using the term hell for the Latin Acheron advisedly) refers to Vergil s respect for the Epicurean belief that life ends with corporeal death. Although Vergil believed in this line of reasoning in his youth, the traditional scholarly approach is that he abandoned it by the time of the Georgics (and also the Aeneid) for the more conventional Roman theology of Stoicism. More recent scholarship, however, suggests that the Epicurean-Stoic divide is an oversimplification at best of a complex and evolving thinker. This more conventional view is linked to Vergil s comments about the rustic gods. His choice of these particular gods and nymphs is in turn part of his reverence for the country life (although admittedly the country life of a gentleman).

4 4 VI. outline to the Aeneid, Books I-VI Why did Vergil compose an epic? After all, epic poetry was not popular among the neoteric poets in the late Republic. (Note: the name neoteric is derived from the Greek word meaning younger. It is a name made up by modern scholars based on their understanding of a particular passage in the letters of Cicero). discuss significance of initial lines of Book I in connection with Homer's Iliad and Odyssey stylistic similarities and differences with Homer. Note also Homer and Vergil as precursors to John Milton's Paradise Lost Scholars have serious questions as to the degree to which Vergil was independent of demands for loyalty to Augustus. discuss Book IV in connection with: 1. relationship to Latin love elegy 2. relationship to Jason and Medea episodes in Apollonius of Rhodes (shows amalgamation of Hellenistic epic with Homeric considerations) 3. the significance of marriage 4. quasi-historical considerations of Carthage 5. Aeneas s choices (or the lack thereof). Compare with Achilles in the Iliad. Is Aeneas a puppet on a string because of the machinations of the gods, or does he have free agency? Note that some concept of free agency was known to the Romans, although some of our cultural inheritance of the idea of free will stems from Christianity. 6. Do you feel sympathy for Aeneas, for Dido, or for both? Why or why not? 7. feminist considerations 8. relationship between Dido and other similar women in earlier literature, a subject on which Vergil drew when composing his poem. There is not the happy ending of Homer's Odyssey, for instance. The great achievement in human relations in the Odyssey is the successful reconciliation of Odysseus and Penelope, who are intellectual equals. This "Odyssean" ending eludes Aeneas. In fact, the entire "Odyssean" section of the Aeneid is incomplete. This suggests that the foundation of Rome is at the cost of human happiness. Is the future life and happiness of Rome thus also compromised? Note: the topic of Aeneas and women was discussed in class in somewhat more detail. discuss Book VI in connection with: 1. idea of locus amoenus (pleasant location): always with a sense of foreboding. 2. connections with Homer's Odyssey, Book XI 3. the non-meeting with Dido: many ambiguities. Does Vergil show that Aeneas has changed enough to have merited a visit with Dido's shade, had she been interested, or is Aeneas too much the same old man?

5 5 4. Is Anchises' depiction of Rome's future either accurate or optimistic? Why or why not? Consider three phrases in particular: impose a custom on peace, to spare the subject (literally, "those cast under," using the same word Vergil uses in the Book II of Georgics to describe casting the fear of death under foot), and to crush the proud (literally, "wear down the proud by war"). Is it enough for the Romans to be known for these qualities, and not the intellectual achievements outlines for other cultures? Note: this material was discussed in somewhat more detail in class. VII. outline to Vergil's Aeneid, Books VII-XII The vexed questions of genealogy cannot be completely solved. Iulus is not the offspring of Aeneas and Lavinia, but he is still portrayed as the putative ancestor of Julius=Augustus. concept of Odyssean Aeneid and Iliadic Aenead 1. many exceptions to this general program, including Book II, based loosely on Sack of Troy (Iliou Persis), an oral poem composed probably after the major pieces 2. question of Aeneas and what we moderns might call 'romance' continues with triangle Turnus-Aeneas-Lavinia. Compare wrath of Achilles over loss of Briseis to Agamemenon in the Iliad. However, Aeneas is, as previously indicated, an incomplete parallel to Achilles. In terms of portrayal of warfare, the moral questions of Empire not raised in Homer, although the bloodshed of ancient warfare certainly treated (for this subject see S. Weil, The Iliad, or the Poem of Force, Wallingford, PA 1956 [the instructor has a copy]). These moral issues are treated in both parts of the Aeneid and function as a unifying element. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its extreme manifestations in both Achilles (Homer) and Aeneas (Vergil): this material discussed in somewhat more detail in class. The 'Italian' elements of the Aeneid, especially the 'prophetic' passages in Books I, IV, VI, and XII, are not paralleled in Homer. If the love and conflict between Dido and Aeneas represents in some way the relationship between Rome and Carthage as it evolved later on, then the conflict between the Trojan and native Italian forces in Italy represents the perennial tension between foreign influences from the east and native Italian ideas. This is not an easy parallel: Aeneas is, of course, not a Greek, but Vergil uses epic, a Greek literary form, to depict this victory. Furthermore, while Augustus' propaganda attempted to show Augustus as the leader in the restoration of Italian traditions (as opposed to Mark Antony's eastern luxuria ), the sculpture and literature supported directly or

6 6 indirectly by Augustus show strong Greek influences. One way of looking at Augustan art and literature is to see Augustus' attempts to resolve this conflict by means of a synthesis of Italian and Greek elements, much as Aeneas marries Lavinia and produces offspring who will rule Alba Longa. Lausus and Mezentius: importance of psychological portrayal Nisus and Euryalus: the 'Doloneia' in Iliad, Book X, functions as a partial parallel history, as it has been used to buttress the exclusion of gays from the military. elements of characterization of Camilla (mentioned only in passing) To what extent does the psychological warmth with which the relationship between Turnus and Lavinia is portrayed provide an ill omen for the development of Rome? Are you comfortable with the ending of the poem, and Aeneas' killing of Turnus? How does the ending of the Aeneid fit in with the requirement of the Romans 'to spare the subject'? VII. significance of Vergil to later literature (Renaissance and later) A. the Eclogues and Georgics: influence of Vergil, along with the Greek poet Theocritus, on the development of the European pastoral. Included are poets such as John Keats, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth. B. Vergil becomes Dante's guide C. Vergilian themes treated in opera during Baroque and Classical periods. Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell the best known example of a serious theme, but the young Mozart's Ascanio in Alba is the precursor of his adult treatment of a number of themes in both music and thought. D. later epic: John Milton, Paradise Lost, and James Joyce, Ulysses E. European art: examples from 'links' page on my website, including Bernini and J.M.W. Turner