Aeneid

STRUCTURE

On the general features of the epic genre, see “Paradise Lost and the Epic Genre”.

The first six books of the Aeneid are often referred to as the “Odyssean” part of the epic and the final six, as the “Iliadic” part.

• The first half concentrates on wanderings and

• The second half, on war.

Most modern readers strongly prefer the first half of the Aeneid to the second. Ancient critics had the opposite opinion, however. Virgil himself describes the second half of the Aeneid as a “greater theme” and a “greater labor” in his invocation of the Muse Erato.

• The story is now on “home territory”; for Virgil and his original readers, the second half of the Aeneid is full of references to local towns, customs, legends, etc., that modern readers inevitably miss.

• The story is “closer to home” on a more metaphorical level, as well; in the second half of the Aeneid, we see noble adversaries falling into bitter war, which is undoubtedly reminiscent of the wars leading up to Augustus’ ascension.

Milton’s Paradise Lost (1674) will reverse the pattern of the Aeneid. In the latter, there is:

• An initial depiction of wanderings (recalled in the past) and of a love that is a distraction from virtue and piety (Books I to VI); then

• The truly epic depiction of wars and martial valour (Books VII to XII), marked off with a new invocation of the Muse in Book VII

With Milton’s treatment:

• An initial depiction of rebellion and wars (of the Fallen Angels) (Books I to VI); then

• The truly epic depiction of love conquering evil in the story of the Fall and in its overcoming through a loving humility (Books IX to XII). This also includes a depiction of the various wanderings of humanity (in the future)

VIRGIL'S MORAL INTENTION

One question that confronts the reader of the Aeneid is whether the work is ultimately a piece of Augustan propaganda. Augustus brought peace to the Roman world – closing of gates of Janus’ temple (signifying peace) in 31 BCE, for the first time after a century of civil war (since 133 BCE). Augustus, like Aeneas, brings peace after a lengthy and bloody struggle.

More recently, critics have seen a strain within the poem that criticizes this rule. Here the question of the “burden” of Rome is also at play – so too the question of the tension between public and private ideals (i.e., how the former ideals are achieved at great costs to the latter). Some examples where Aeneas, if he is to parallel Augustus, can be seen in a unfavourable light:

• The Killing of Turnus at the end of the poem – is this another example of the violence that is at the heart of Rome, that we also see in the fratricide within the Romulus and Remus foundation story or the story of the Rape of the Sabine Women

• The Gates of Ivory at the end of Book VI are said to be the gate of false dreams. Is Aeneas led out of this gate because the visions shown to him by Anchises in the underworld of a benevolent Roman future are just that: false dreams?

In my view, the “moral center” of the Aeneid is the Roman way of life which Augustus was trying to revitalize. The poem can be seen as a celebration of the rule of Augustus, as a parallel to the hero Aeneas, as well as a celebration of the old republican virtues and pietas that Augustus was trying to bring back. This way of life was based on duty to the gods, to country, and to family and friends. In this system, private experience and duty are often placed in tension with public duty, but that does not ultimately discredit the former as the noblest ideal.

In short, Virgil believes that the ideals of Roman life and public service remain worth the, often difficult, struggles and sacrifices one must make.