Portrayal of Aeneas - Scholarship - Aeneid Flashcards
What scholarly quotes reference the portrayal of Aeneas
- Steele Commager
- Edith Hamilton
- Ogilivie
- Anderson
- J.W. Mackail
- R.D. Williams
- Jasper Griffin
- Hardie
- Guy de la Bédoyère
- Camps
only Moses Hadas do not mention (in the list of scholarship given)
Who wrote
“He [Aeneas] is reborn, to be sure, as the ideal Roman incarnate”
Steele Commager
Who wrote
“The cost to Aeneas himself… he become increasingly isolated from any human contact”
Steele Commager
How did Steele Commager describe the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
- “He [Aeneas] is reborn, to be sure, as the ideal Roman incarnate”
- “The cost to Aeneas himself… he become increasingly isolated from any human contact”
Who wrote
“The real subject of the Aeneid is not Aeneas… it is the glories of Rome and her Empires”
Edith Hamilton
Who wrote
“ Aeneas is important because he carries Rome’s destiny”
Edith Hamilton
Who wrote
“Aeneas and Dido are not only the hero and heroine… they are great lovers too”
Edith Hamilton
How did Edith Hamilton describe/ interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
- ” Aeneas is important because he carries Rome’s destiny”
- “The real subject of the Aeneid is not Aeneas… it is the glories of Rome and her Empires”
- Aeneas and Dido are not only the hero and heroine… they are great lovers too”
Who wrote
“The Aeneid is very much of a spiritual quest, which makes it unique in ancient literature. Only Virgil admits of the possibility that a character can change, grow and develop”
R.M. Ogilivie
In the early books Aeneas is unsure on much and seeks advice. BUT after book 6 and his visit to the underworld where he sees the future of Rome he develops self confidence
How does Ogilivie interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
“The Aeneid is very much of a spiritual quest, which makes it unique in ancient literature. Only Virgil admits of the possibility that a character can change, grow and develop”
In the early books Aeneas is unsure on much and seeks advice. BUT after book 6 and his visit to the underworld where he sees the future of Rome he develops self confidence
Who wrote
“Virgil, I think, has caught truth in his representation of angry, murderous Aeneas”
Anderson
Who wrote
“Killing Turnus us a victory for the cause, but not for Aeneas. In his final struggle… Aeneas can only be the loser”
Anderson
Who wrote
“[The killing of Turnus is] the final proof by Virgil that ‘pius Aeneas’ is not passive, but more tragic than Dido and Turnus together.”
Anderson
How did Anderson interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
- “Virgil, I think, has caught truth in his representation of angry, murderous Aeneas”
- “Killing Turnus is a victory for the cause, but not for Aeneas. In his final struggle… Aeneas can only be the loser”
- “[The killing of Turnus is] the final proof by Virgil that ‘pius Aeneas’ is not passive, but more tragic than Dido and Turnus together.”
Who wrote
“He [Aeneas] is loaded with responsibilities not his own… he hates bloodshed and had no joy in battle, yet he has to wage a sanguinary war.”
J.W. Mackail
How did J.W. Mackail interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
“He [Aeneas] is loaded with responsibilities not his own… he hates bloodshed and had no joy in battle, yet he has to wage a sanguinary war.”
Who wrote
“Aeneas belongs to the heroic age, yet he also has to be a proto-Augustan. Virgil’s problem is to depict a new kind of hero, a hero for an age no longer ‘heroic’.”
R.D. Williams
How did R.D. Williams interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
“Aeneas belongs to the heroic age, yet he also has to be a proto-Augustan. Virgil’s problem is to depict a new kind of hero, a hero for an age no longer ‘heroic’.”
who wrote
“The whole poem … - the story of a triumphant career which opens with the hero wishing he were dead, and ends with him forced to kill a helpless opponent in a storm of passionate rage - is itself an example of this calculated ambiguity.
Jasper Griffin
calculated ambiguity presumably in reference to pro or con Augustus
How did Jasper Griffin interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
“The whole poem … - the story of a triumphant career which opens with the hero wishing he were dead, and ends with him forced to kill a helpless opponent in a storm of passionate rage - is itself an example of this calculated ambiguity.
Who wrote
“The opptimists read in the violent death of Turnus the final victory of fate and piety over the irrational forces… a foreshadowing of the legitimate vengence of Octavian against the assasins of his adoptive father”
Philip Hardie
Who wrote
“The pessimists see in Aeneas’ killing of a now defenceless Turnus the recrudenscence in the hero of the same furor that had overmastered him on the night of the sack of Troy”
Philip Hardie
recrudensence = the reoccurance of an undesirable condition
How did Philip Hardie interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
- “The opptimists read in the violent death of Turnus the final victory of fate and piety over the irrational forces… a foreshadowing of the legitimate vengence of Octavian against the assasins of his adoptive father”
- “The pessimists see in Aeneas’ killing of a now defenceless Turnus the recrudenscence in the hero of the same furor that had overmastered him on the night of the sack of Troy”
Who wrote
“Aeneas was a proto-Augustus figure”
Guy de la Bédoyère
What was Guy de la Bédoyère interpretation of the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
“Aeneas was a proto-Augustus figure”
who wrote:
“It is indeed clear that the figure of Aeneas is intended at times to evoke Octavian”
Camps
How did Camps interpret the portrayal of Aeneas in the Aeneid
- “It is indeed clear that the figure of Aeneas is intended at times to evoke Octavian”
- “Up to this point in the story [book 6] he [Aeneas] has appeared often to be hesitant or disheartened; in what follows he is unhesitant and confident at all times. Hence ……. [book 6] is interpretated by many readers as a formative spiritual experience, from which the hero emerges purged from his earlier weakness and re-born…… But Virgil nowhere says anything to suggest …this”
2nd point should be paraphrased
Who wrote:
“Up to this point in the story [book 6] he [Aeneas] has appeared often to be hesitant or disheartened; in what follows he is unhesitant and confident at all times. Hence ……. [book 6] is interpretated by many readers as a formative spiritual experience, from which the hero emerges purged from his earlier weakness and re-born…… But Virgil nowhere says anything to suggest …this”
Camps
