Aeneid book summaries Flashcards
cultural context of the Aeneid
-commissioned by Augustus in the 1st C BC to glorify Rome and hinself as the bringers of peace through the golden age
-Rome moved from a Res Publica (public state) to an empire after his victory over MA in the battle of actium - 31 BC
-Rome had historically destroyed Carthage in the Punic Wars
why does Juno not like the Trojans
-Carthage
-Ganymede-Juno’s daughter, Hebe, was replaced as cupbearer to Jupiter by the Trojan prince Ganymede.
-Paris
Book 1 - storm and banquet
-Poem defines unamed A through piety (as A epithet is pious Aeneas), suffering (land,sea and war)
-outlines Junos irrational anger
-Aeolus storm wrecks Trojan ships - causing A to lament and Neptune calms the storm
-A shows pietas -gets food for men and ‘showed them a face of hope and kept his misery deep in his heart’
-Venus disgusied as a spartan girl tells A to go to Carthage and seek the help of Dido
-Hosipitable Dido -‘equal footing’ of A and D and gives back story of why the Cartheginians are where they are - ‘the woman lead the whole undertaking’
-Carthage is powerful,cultured and flourishing - sotry of trojan war on the temple of Juno makes A cry
-Venus is concerned for A and so Jupitier prohecy that A will found ‘master race ‘ and theat strife shackled behind closed gates of war
-ends with D being ‘doomed’
Book 2 - fall of Troy - in a flashback
-Sinon lies - fake enemy and omen that the horse is a gift for Athene and will cause harm if they do not accept
-convince the trojans to accept the horse - but not Laocoon - sons and him mudered by Athene sea serpents
-horse described as ‘womb of death’
-necessary war but paradoxes/transgression
-A defends a ‘fallen city’
-Aeanes in a furor - put on greek armour to kill the greeks but his men end up getting killed as well
-Sees omens to leave - Hector in a dream - Venus - Creusa gjost
-after seeing deaths of Priam/polites/hecuba - realises he should be with his fam
-Hector tells A to leave and take the household gods with him and Anchises convinced to leave when he sees a flame above Iulus head accompanied by thunder and comet
-A leave carrying anchises, Iulus next to them and Creusa behind- looses Creusa
-creusa ghost tells him to leave and will find a new wife in latium but will have troubles along the way
-go to temple of Ceres
Book 4 - Dido
Dido now loves Aeneas so tells Anna - Anna says ‘to what a pinniacle of glory will Carthage be raised if Trojans are marching at our side!
-and neglects duties (‘stood idle’) - ‘the towers she was building ceased to rise’
-Juno’s ‘‘marriage cave’’ to delay fate deludes dido.
-Rumour- Iarbas- Jupiter- Mercury reminds Aeneas (building citadel) of destiny and he immediately flips. -He fights with Dido (‘frenzy’ vs logic concealing ‘great love’/oak tree).
-Aeneas says that ‘it is not by my own will that i search for Italy’
-She curses Aeneas, Rome and Carthage (prophecies Punic Wars) and stabs herself with his sword on pyre
-‘let there be war between the antions and between their sons forever’ - ‘O my unknown avenger’ -hannibal
-fire imagery consitent with D- ‘blaze of passion’
Book 6 - the underworld
Aeneas arrives in Italy (Cumae) where he consults the Sibyl who prophesies future (second Achilles, war, foreign bride, Greek aid).
He begs to go to underworld to see Anchises and she agrees if he finds the golden bough/buries drowned comrade.
After sacrifises- Misenus - they meet Palinurus (begs burial), Dido (silent), mutilated Deiphobus (Menelaus murder/ wicked Helen). - IN REVERSE ORDER
They go to Tartarus (condemned) and Elysium (blessed) where they find Anchises.
Parade of heroes (Romulus/Augustus/Brutus/Ceasar/Pompey)- foundation of Lavinium, Roman role to crush resistance and impose peace. Aeneas leaves from Gate of Ivory (false dreams)
Book 7 - war in latium
Trojans arrive in Latium. King Latinus, welcomes them and offers Lavinia, in marriage (father Faunus’ omen). Furious Juno sends fury Allecto who ‘poisons’ Queen Amata to kidnap Lavinia (‘seething with womanly anger’),
Turnus to want to war (stirs up furor-‘bronze vessle’), Iulus to kill shoot sacred rustic Italian stag.
She opens gates of war (temple of Janus) and bucolic becomes bellicose.
Catalog of Latin heroes (Mezentius/Lausus/Camilla)
book 8 - Aeneas in Rome
With the blessing of the Tiber, Aeneas (bronze vessle) goes to Pallanteum (on what is later known as the one of the seven hills of Rome, Palatine).
King Evander describes how Hercules had saved them from the ravages of he monster Cacus and tells the story of Mezentius, a brutal Etruscan despot dethroned by his subjects and now harboured by Turnus.
He tells Aeneas of a prophecy forbidding the Etruscans to be led by an Italian and advises him to claim leadership of all the armies opposed to the Latins with his son Pallas. - father/son bond
-contrast of the mothers of lavinium and Pallanteum- fear for them and crying
Concerned Venus seduces Vulcan to make new armour for Aeneas, including a Prophetic shield depicting Augustus’ triple triumph and Roman heroes.
Book 9 - Nisus and Euryalus
-Trojan camp attacked in Aeneas’ absense by Turnus and his Rutulians.
-Following Aeneas’ instruction, they close gates and decline battle so Turnus (commanded to attack via Iris -Juno) tries to goad by burning ships (Jupiter turns to nymphs) - fulfill their prophecy - Aeneas no longer neeeds his ships as he has settled in Italy - and they besiege at night.
-Pederastic pair Nisus and Euryalus on glory mission but young E too frenzied and both die gruesomely. Iulus’ first kill Numanus.
-Turnus breaks into the camp (Aristeia) but homeric bloodlust prevents opening gates and changing fate. Eventually he’s forced to withdraw and jump into Tiber to return to army.
Book 10 - pallas and Mezentius
-Council of the Gods. - gods told by Jupiter to stop interveing in the fates - not above it - stop favouring certain sides
-Aeneas returns with allies (like firey comet) and nymphs update.
-Turnus is unphased. Pallas’ aristeia but Turnus duels, kills and takes baldric (‘lion’ vs bull practicing’).
-Aeneas’ aristeia and then furor transgressions (suppliant/ priest/ human sacrafises).
-Juno lures Turnus away to saftey with phantom Aeneas.
-Defiant Mezentius takes his place but his son saves him in battle with Aeneas.
-Aeneas kills Lausus which dissolves furor (love for father) and wounded Mezentius challenges him but killed and Aeneas does not respond to requests.
Book 11 - Drances and Camilla
-Pallas’ funeral cortege but Aeneas doesn’t escort back to Pallanteum.
-Evander doesn’t blame Aeneas but wants revenge.
-Latins beg Aeneas for truce to gather their dead and he agrees (says he would’ve dueled Turnus to avoid war).
-At Latin’s political assemble, Latinus says war is misguided/ Drances agrees (Lavinia’s marriage is fathers choice) and criticises Turnus’ ‘fatal recklessness’ (homeric ethos)/Turnus’s virile speech of battle not yet lost and offers to duel Aeneas.
-But with news of him approaching, Turnus rushes into battle.
-Camilla leads cavalry and Diana laments her involvement/outlines biography.
-Camilla battle prowess but killed by Arruns due to ‘womans passion for spoil and plunder’.
Book 12 - truce and duel
-Turnus (‘distraught with love’) ignores Latinus and Amata to duel Aeneas and a peace treaty is made.
-Aeneas swears Trojans and Italians will be equal under same laws if he wins.
-Juno suborns Turnus’ divine sister Juturna to disrupt as Camers and with false eagle/swan/little birds omen.- Juturna sees omen of the Dirae who are 2 monsters- Fight breaks out and unhelmeted Aeneas is shot and healed by Venus.
-Without him, Turnus is compared to Mars but then Juturna (disguised as his charioteer) prevents them meeting so Aeneas goes crazy, wanting to burn Latium.
-Amata commits suicide.
-Turnus recognises Juturna and tells to stop protecting (‘is it so bad a thing to die?’).
-Jupiter weighs 2 heroes lives on scales and they fight (sword- Turnus’ sword broke/armour/five laps/ Juturna/Venus/’2 bulls’).
-Juno’s sanctions (name, dress, language- Latins keep their name/land) and Turnus admits defeat, stripped of divine aid. -belt-
-Aeneas kills in furor after seeing Pallas’ baldric. - Turnus dies (violates Anchises’ ‘pardon the defeated’)
