The Aeneid (4 page)
But
pietas
is not a virtue confined to Aeneas; it is also an ideal for all Romans. Unlike the Greeks whom they added to their empire, and admired for their artistic and literary skills, but who never acted as a united nation, not even when invaded by the forces of the Persian Empire in 480 B.C., the Romans had a profound sense of national unity, and the talents and virtues necessary for a race of conquerors and organizers, of empire-builders and rulers. One of the virtues besides
pietas
that they admired was
gravitas,
a profound seriousness in matters political and religious, in which they distrusted attempts to change; they deferred on these and other matters to
auctoritas,
the power and respect won by men of experience, of successful leadership in war and peace. They admired discipline, the mark of their legionary soldiers who conquered and held for centuries an empire that included almost the whole of western Europe and much of the Middle East.
pietas
is not a virtue confined to Aeneas; it is also an ideal for all Romans. Unlike the Greeks whom they added to their empire, and admired for their artistic and literary skills, but who never acted as a united nation, not even when invaded by the forces of the Persian Empire in 480 B.C., the Romans had a profound sense of national unity, and the talents and virtues necessary for a race of conquerors and organizers, of empire-builders and rulers. One of the virtues besides
pietas
that they admired was
gravitas,
a profound seriousness in matters political and religious, in which they distrusted attempts to change; they deferred on these and other matters to
auctoritas,
the power and respect won by men of experience, of successful leadership in war and peace. They admired discipline, the mark of their legionary soldiers who conquered and held for centuries an empire that included almost the whole of western Europe and much of the Middle East.
Many of these Roman characteristics appear early in Virgil’s poem in the simile that describes how Neptune restored order to the chaos created by Juno, who had loosed all of the Aeolian winds against the Trojan fleet:
Just as, all too often,
some huge crowd is seized by a vast uprising,
the rabble runs amok, all slaves to passion,
rocks, firebrands flying. Rage finds them arms
but then, if they chance to see a man among them,
one whose devotion and public service lend him weight [
pietate
gravem
],
they stand there, stock-still with their ears alert as
he rules their furor with his words and calms their passion.(1.174-81)
Here
pietas, gravitas,
and the
auctoritas
conferred by his public service (
meritis
) are enough to calm the mob and restore order.
pietas, gravitas,
and the
auctoritas
conferred by his public service (
meritis
) are enough to calm the mob and restore order.
The continuation of the
Iliad,
the
Iliou Persis
(
The Sack of Troy
), exists now only in fragmentary quotations, but it records Aeneas’ exit from the burning city and his stay with his family and followers on Mount Ida, near Troy, before departing on his travels to the West. These are mentioned by the Greek writer Hellanicus of Lesbos as early as the fifth century B.C., and the final object of his travels was established as Italy perhaps as early as the fifth century but certainly by the third. As the Romans in that century began to find themselves opposed by Macedonian and Greek powers in the East, the legend of Rome’s Trojan ancestry became increasingly popular; it was eagerly embraced when in 280 B.C. Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy, claiming descent from Achilles and labeling Rome a second Troy. He defeated several Roman armies, with increasing losses—hence the phrase
Pyrrhic victory
—but finally left Italy in 275 B.C. and was killed soon afterward. In Rome the legend of Aeneas’ arrival in Italy and the founding by his son Ascanius of Alba Longa, where many centuries later, Romulus, founder of Rome, would be born, was celebrated in the
Annales
of Ennius, written in hexameter verse, which carried on the history of Rome from its founding until Ennius’ own time—the second century B.C.
Iliad,
the
Iliou Persis
(
The Sack of Troy
), exists now only in fragmentary quotations, but it records Aeneas’ exit from the burning city and his stay with his family and followers on Mount Ida, near Troy, before departing on his travels to the West. These are mentioned by the Greek writer Hellanicus of Lesbos as early as the fifth century B.C., and the final object of his travels was established as Italy perhaps as early as the fifth century but certainly by the third. As the Romans in that century began to find themselves opposed by Macedonian and Greek powers in the East, the legend of Rome’s Trojan ancestry became increasingly popular; it was eagerly embraced when in 280 B.C. Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy, claiming descent from Achilles and labeling Rome a second Troy. He defeated several Roman armies, with increasing losses—hence the phrase
Pyrrhic victory
—but finally left Italy in 275 B.C. and was killed soon afterward. In Rome the legend of Aeneas’ arrival in Italy and the founding by his son Ascanius of Alba Longa, where many centuries later, Romulus, founder of Rome, would be born, was celebrated in the
Annales
of Ennius, written in hexameter verse, which carried on the history of Rome from its founding until Ennius’ own time—the second century B.C.
The first six books of the
Aeneid
contain many references to and imitations of incidents and passages found in the Homeric
Odyssey.
Aeneas’ stay at Carthage with Dido corresponds to Odysseus’ stay (much longer and against his will) with the nymph Calypso, and his account of his wanderings from Troy, told to Dido in Book 3, to Odysseus’ long account of his wanderings told to the Phaeacians in Books 9 through 12 of the
Odyssey.
Aeneas encounters and rescues one of Odysseus’ sailors who has been left behind on the island of the Cyclops, where Aeneas too encounters Polyphemus and his Cyclopean relatives. The funeral games for Anchises in Book 5 of the
Aeneid
are modeled on those for Patroclus in Book 23 of the
Iliad,
except that a ship-race in the
Aeneid
replaces a horse race in the
Iliad.
And of course Aeneas visits the land of the dead in Book 6 of the
Aeneid
to see his father, just as Odysseus goes there to meet his mother in Book 11 of the
Odyssey.
Yet these correspondences are of quite different episodes: the stay with Calypso is long and uneventful, that with Dido is short and tragic; the encounters in the lower world are very different in length as in nature. And many correspondences in the later books, such as the shield made for Achilles by Hephaestus and that made for Aeneas by Vulcan are superficial resemblances between entirely different objects. As for the fact that the last six books of the
Aeneid
resemble the
Iliad
more than the
Odyssey,
because they deal with war not voyaging, this is not their only resemblance. In both epics an older man has entrusted to the hero a companion to fight with him and sustain his cause. In the
Iliad
Achilles’ father gives him an older companion, Patroclus, and in the
Aeneid
Evander gives his young son Pallas to fight at Aeneas’ side. In both cases this man is killed by the enemy chieftain, and in both cases that killing is avenged by the hero’s killing of the enemy champion, of Hector in the
Iliad,
and in the last lines of the
Aeneid,
of Turnus.
Aeneid
contain many references to and imitations of incidents and passages found in the Homeric
Odyssey.
Aeneas’ stay at Carthage with Dido corresponds to Odysseus’ stay (much longer and against his will) with the nymph Calypso, and his account of his wanderings from Troy, told to Dido in Book 3, to Odysseus’ long account of his wanderings told to the Phaeacians in Books 9 through 12 of the
Odyssey.
Aeneas encounters and rescues one of Odysseus’ sailors who has been left behind on the island of the Cyclops, where Aeneas too encounters Polyphemus and his Cyclopean relatives. The funeral games for Anchises in Book 5 of the
Aeneid
are modeled on those for Patroclus in Book 23 of the
Iliad,
except that a ship-race in the
Aeneid
replaces a horse race in the
Iliad.
And of course Aeneas visits the land of the dead in Book 6 of the
Aeneid
to see his father, just as Odysseus goes there to meet his mother in Book 11 of the
Odyssey.
Yet these correspondences are of quite different episodes: the stay with Calypso is long and uneventful, that with Dido is short and tragic; the encounters in the lower world are very different in length as in nature. And many correspondences in the later books, such as the shield made for Achilles by Hephaestus and that made for Aeneas by Vulcan are superficial resemblances between entirely different objects. As for the fact that the last six books of the
Aeneid
resemble the
Iliad
more than the
Odyssey,
because they deal with war not voyaging, this is not their only resemblance. In both epics an older man has entrusted to the hero a companion to fight with him and sustain his cause. In the
Iliad
Achilles’ father gives him an older companion, Patroclus, and in the
Aeneid
Evander gives his young son Pallas to fight at Aeneas’ side. In both cases this man is killed by the enemy chieftain, and in both cases that killing is avenged by the hero’s killing of the enemy champion, of Hector in the
Iliad,
and in the last lines of the
Aeneid,
of Turnus.
The
Aeneid
is to be Rome’s
Iliad
and
Odyssey,
and it derives also from Homer its picture of two different worlds, each with its own passions and actions. One is the world of heaven above, in Homer the world of Zeus, the supreme god, his wife and sister, Hera, the love-goddess Aphrodite, the smith-god Hephaestus, the sea-god Poseidon and the others; and below, on earth, the world of Achilles, Patroclus, Diomedes and of Hector, his wife Andromache, and his father Priam. In the
Aeneid
the heavens are the home of Jupiter (or Jove) the supreme god, his wife and sister Juno, the love-goddess Venus, the smith-god Vulcan, the sea-god Neptune, and the minor gods. They preside over the world of the heroes—Aeneas, Turnus, Evander, Pallas, and Camilla down below. As in Homer, the passions and actions of the gods affect the actions and passions of the heroes on earth.
Aeneid
is to be Rome’s
Iliad
and
Odyssey,
and it derives also from Homer its picture of two different worlds, each with its own passions and actions. One is the world of heaven above, in Homer the world of Zeus, the supreme god, his wife and sister, Hera, the love-goddess Aphrodite, the smith-god Hephaestus, the sea-god Poseidon and the others; and below, on earth, the world of Achilles, Patroclus, Diomedes and of Hector, his wife Andromache, and his father Priam. In the
Aeneid
the heavens are the home of Jupiter (or Jove) the supreme god, his wife and sister Juno, the love-goddess Venus, the smith-god Vulcan, the sea-god Neptune, and the minor gods. They preside over the world of the heroes—Aeneas, Turnus, Evander, Pallas, and Camilla down below. As in Homer, the passions and actions of the gods affect the actions and passions of the heroes on earth.
Jupiter knows what the Fates have decreed, what will happen in the end—that Aeneas will reach Italy and found Lavinium, the beginning of the process that over the centuries will lead to the founding of Rome. But Juno is bitterly opposed to this vision of the future; she hated Troy while it stood, and all Trojans since with a vicious aversion, and she is determined that Aeneas will not reach Italy. This hatred of Trojans has many causes: the fact that their ancestor was Dardanus, the son of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas—“the Trojan stock she loathed” (1.35); the fact that Ganymede, a beautiful boy whose father was Laomedon, a Trojan prince, had been carried up to Olympus by Zeus, who assumed the shape of an eagle, to be his cupbearer—“the honors showered on Ganymede” (1.35)—and lastly the so-called Judgment of Paris, delivered while Troy still stood secure at peace behind its walls. Three goddesses, Juno, Athena, and Venus, disputed which was the most beautiful and finally decided on a beauty contest to be judged by Paris, a son of Priam, king of Troy. As he surveyed their charms, each one offered him a bribe to win his vote. The virgin goddess Athena offered him success in war, Juno success in every walk of life, but Venus offered the love and the hand of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta in Greece. He judges Venus the most beautiful, goes to Sparta, runs off to Troy with Helen, and the ten-year war begins. Juno never forgot this insult; it is mentioned at the beginning of Virgil’s poem, “the judgment of Paris, the unjust slight to her beauty” (1.34). And this is one of the reasons why she
NARRATIVEdrove over endless oceans
Trojans left by the Greeks . . .
Juno kept them far from Latium, forced by the Fates
to wander round the seas of the world, year in, year out.
Such a long hard labor it was to found the Roman people.(1.37-41)
After this line the narrative begins. It is the opening of an epic poem, divided into twelve books containing roughly ten thousand lines. The story plunges, in Horace’s famous phrase,
in medias res,
into the middle of events. Aeneas’ fleet is just off Sicily when Juno arrives, bribes the divine keeper of the winds, Aeolus, to let them loose in a storm that scatters Aeneas’ fleet and lands him, with only seven of his ships, on the African shore. But Neptune suddenly realizes that a vast storm has raged without his permission; he rebukes Aeolus and calms the weather, and the rest of Aeneas’ fleet re-forms in quiet waters.
in medias res,
into the middle of events. Aeneas’ fleet is just off Sicily when Juno arrives, bribes the divine keeper of the winds, Aeolus, to let them loose in a storm that scatters Aeneas’ fleet and lands him, with only seven of his ships, on the African shore. But Neptune suddenly realizes that a vast storm has raged without his permission; he rebukes Aeolus and calms the weather, and the rest of Aeneas’ fleet re-forms in quiet waters.
On the African shore Aeneas tries to cheer his despondent crews in words that summarize their hard lot and their final reward promised by Fate:
“A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this.
Through so many hard straits, so many twists and turns
our course holds firm for Latium. There Fate holds out
a homeland, calm, at peace. There the gods decree
the kingdom of Troy will rise again. Bear up.
Save your strength for better times to come.”(1.239-44)
Meanwhile there are fresh developments in heaven above. Venus reminds Jupiter of his promises about Aeneas’ future and complains of Juno’s interference. Why is Aeneas kept away from the Rome he was promised? Jupiter’s reply is long and favorable: “the fate of your children stands unchanged,” he reassures her, and “unrolling the scroll of Fate” (1.308-13) he tells her that
“Aeneas will wage
a long, costly war in Italy . . .
and build high city walls for the people there . . .
But his son Ascanius, now that he gains the name
of Iulus . . .
[will] raise up Alba Longa’s mighty ramparts.”(1.314-25)
There, after three hundred years, the priestess Ilia will bear to the Roman war-god Mars twin sons; one of them, Romulus, will build Rome’s walls and call his people Romans. Jupiter goes on: “On them I set no limits, space or time: / I have granted them power, empire without end” (1.333-34). And he concludes with a vision of the future, the Roman conquest of Greece, the coming of a Trojan Caesar, Julius, “a name passed down from Iulus, his great forebear” (1.344). This is Augustus, under whom “the violent centuries, battles set aside, / [will] grow gentle, kind” (1.348-49).
Below, on earth, Aeneas, who now sets out with one companion, Achates, to explore the territory, has landed in the area where Dido, an exile from Tyre, is building her new city, Carthage. His mother, Venus, disguised as a girl huntress, tells him the story of Dido, and he eventually comes to the city that is being built, to find the rest of his surviving crews being welcomed by the queen. She realizes who he is and invites him to a banquet, at which, in Books 2 and 3, he tells her the story of the fall of Troy, his escape with his father and young son, and the long voyage west with his Trojans toward their destined home. Meanwhile, not without the intervention of Venus, Dido has fallen madly in love with Aeneas, and on the next day, in Book 4, at a hunt Juno sends down a storm that drives the pair to take refuge in a cave, where their love is consummated. Dido regards this as a marriage, and Aeneas seems to agree, since he takes part in the building of her new city. But Jupiter soon sends his messenger, Mercury, to remind Aeneas of his duty, and in spite of Dido’s appeals and denunciations, he sets sail with his fleet. Dido curses him and all his race and calls for an avenger to arise from her bones as she commits suicide. In Book 5, Aeneas in Sicily organizes the funeral games for Anchises. Juno attempts, unsuccessfully, to burn his ships. In a dream he sees his dead father, Anchises, who tells him he must go to the land of the dead, guided by the Sibyl, to meet him in Elysium, “the luminous fields where the true / and faithful gather” (5.814-15). His guide to the Underworld will be the Sibyl whom he will find in Italy. And in Book 6, after his journey with the Sibyl through the darker regions of the world below, he meets Anchises and is shown a pageant of the great Romans, who in future days will establish the Roman Empire and the peace of the world.
In Book 7 Aeneas finally reaches the Tiber River, and the second part of the
Aeneid
starts: the wandering is over and the wars begin. Virgil invokes the Muse Erato to tell “who were the kings, the tides and times, how stood / the old Latin state” (7.40-41). He asks the goddess
Aeneid
starts: the wandering is over and the wars begin. Virgil invokes the Muse Erato to tell “who were the kings, the tides and times, how stood / the old Latin state” (7.40-41). He asks the goddess
“inspire your singer, come!
I will tell of horrendous wars
. . . all Hesperia called to arms . . .
I launch a greater labor.”(7.45-50)
Erato is the Muse of lyric poetry and love; she seems an unusual Muse to call on for inspiration in a tale of “horrendous wars.” Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, might seem more appropriate, but these wars are waged because of a marriage contested between the two champions, Aeneas and Turnus. Since there is no Muse specifically associated with war, Erato is the natural choice.
In Book 7 Aeneas establishes a fortified camp on the shore by the river Tiber,
And Aeneas himself lines up
his walls with a shallow trench, he starts to work the site
and rings his first settlement on the coast with mounds,
redoubts and ramparts built like an armed camp.(7.180-83)
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