Study questions for Exam 2 Flashcards
In what ways can Vergil’s Aeneid be interpreted as both an imitation and an inversion of the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by Homer. How is this expressed by Vergil himself in the proem of the Aeneid? Can you provide other examples where Vergil directly references episodes from the poems of Homer?
The first half of the Aeneid relates to the Odyssey.
In the Odyssey, after Trojan war, Odysseus encounters a storm when he is sailing home.
In the Aeneid after the Trojan war, Aeneas sails to his new home and encounters a storm.
The second half is like the Iliad; it is heavily focused on battle
Turnus fights Trojans while Aeneas is absent in the Aeneid.
Hector fights Greeks while Achilles is absent in the Iliad.
Inversion: There is a reverse order of events in the Aeneid.
Aeneas wanders around and ends up walking into/establishing his new home.
A war happens in the Aeneid and from it is born a new city.
Vergil expresses the similarities by saying in his proem, “I sing of arms and a man.” This bears much similarity to the Odyssey, when Homer says in the first lines of his poem, “Sing to me, Muse, of a man.”
All are also written in didactic hexameter, use many epithets, and are divided into 12 books.
Specific references:
Aeneas says he wishes he had been killed on the battlefield with Hector when a storm hits his ship.
Priam tells Neoptolemus, Achilles’ son, of how Achilles had pity on him whenever he gave back the body of Hector to the Trojans, a scene described in book 26 of the Iliad. He says that because Neoptolemus is acting in such a brutal way, it is hard to see that he is the son of Achilles.
Andromache calls the city built by Helenus an “Iliadic city”.
In what ways does Aeneas exhibit characteristics of a Greek/Trojan hero in Books 1 and 2 of the Aeneid? Why is this problematic for Vergil? Be sure to discuss the differences between a Greek/Trojan hero vs. a Roman hero and provide specific examples from the Aeneid to support your arguments.
a Trojan/Greek hero is a hero that dies for one’s country. For example, Achilles died for his country willingly and knowingly.
A Roman hero is a hero that possesses piety: devotion to one’s family and country.
This is problematic for Virgil because Romans valued piety rather than self sacrifice. Someone please add more here.
BOOK 1: Aeneas exhibits the traits of a Trojan/Greek hero whenever he is sailing to Italy. Juno tells Aeolus (king of the winds) to send a storm to Aeneas’ fleet. In the storm, Aeneas begins to say he wished he had died in the battle under the hand of Diomedes, the bravest of the Greeks. He says he envies the dead and calls them “brave heroes.”
BOOK 2: Aeneas is visited by the ghost of Hector who tells him to flee. Aeneas, instead, becomes enraged and can think only of how glorious it would be to die in combat.
Explain in detail some of the various reason for Juno’s anger toward Aeneas, as stated in Book 1 of Vergil’s Aeneid?
Juno is angry because of the judgement of Paris. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to a wedding between Peleus and Thetis. This pissed her off, so she threw a golden apple, the apple of discord, into the wedding. The apple said “for the fairest” on the skin, thus causing an argument between Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. Paris, a Trojan, judged who was the fairest; Juno (Hera) lost. This made her hate Trojans.
Juno is angry because there is a prophecy that Trojan descendants will destroy Carthage, her favorite city.
Juno is angry because Jupiter abducted a Trojan child, Ganymede, to be the cup bearer of the gods at Olympus.
Explain how Book 1 of Vergil’s Aeneid exemplifies the struggle between furor and imperium. Be sure to explain what these terms means and provide specific examples from the Aeneid to support your points.
Furor is Latin for fury, madness, or chaos.
Imperium is Latin for empire, command, or order.
Juno exemplifies furor; she tells king Aeolus to send a storm to Aeneas to wreck his fleet of ships. This causes chaos and madness and is an extreme measure to obtain a grim result.
Neptune exemplifies imperium; he rises his head above the seas when he senses a storm and calms the seas. Virgil compares this scene to a riot, wherein a man of respect, a loyal citizen, rises from the crowd and calms the rioters. “With grave words… he calms their hearts.”
Describe THREE different types of Roman divinities and provide specific examples for each.
Anthropomorphic gods - gods that are in human form. These are the most important and most honored gods.
Specific examples include Jupiter, Mars, and Venus.
Personifications - values that Romans hold high put into human form.
Specific examples include Fortuna (good fortune) and Victoria (victory)
Nature gods - personification of natural things
Specific example is Genus Loci “spirits of the place”
Describe THREE different types of priesthoods in Roman religion. Be sure to provide specific titles and what their roles and/or responsibilities were.
- Flamen Dialis - priests that were a cult of Jupiter. They abided by various rules, and wore a hat called an Apex.
- Decemviri - priests that were consulted at time of emergency. They were custodians of the Sibylline books. They were consulted for the introduction of a new god or a ceremony to fix a problem.
- Fetial College - priests that dealt with international relations. They were responsible for declaring war and signing peace treaties.
Describe THREE different ways that priests attempt to communicate with the gods. Be sure provide specific details.
Romans tried to communicate with the gods through augury. There are three different types of augury:
Flight and eating habits of birds: birds were observed from Auguraculum. Augurs observed the direction of flight and the sound of the bird’s calls. They also observed the behavior of birds by observing their eating habits.
Reading entrails: a haruspex is a reader of entrails. After sacrifice of an animal, a haruspex would examine the internal organs to communicate with gods. They adopted this from the Etruscans.
Interpreting portents: a portent is an unsolicited message from the gods. This includes lightning, famine, natural disasters etc. These were interpreted differently; for example, a comet appeared when Julius Caesar died. This was interpreted as his apotheosis to heaven.
Name THREE different temples found in the Forum Romanum, who they are dedicated to and describe their layout.
Pantheon:
dedicated to all the gods
has a square frontal facade, a circular, domed cella, and an oculus (eye) on the top of its dome.
Temple of Vesta
Dedicated to goddess vesta
circular in shape, a cella housed hearth and palladium
Temple of Concord
dedicated to Concord the goddess
Mound of concrete, marble threshold of cella, two column bases.
Who is Laocoön? What are his thoughts about the Trojan horse? What ultimately happens to him in Book 2 of the Aeneid and why?
Laocoön is a priest of Neptune.
He believes the Trojan horse is a ploy of the Greeks and warns the Trojans incessantly. From this, we get the famous line “I fear Greeks, even bearing gifts.”
He threw a spear into the belly of the horse in anger. Soon after, he and his sons were killed by two large serpents. After the two large serpents devour them, they curl up behind a shield on the statue of Minerva. The Trojans believe this means Laocoons death was a punishment of Minerva.
What does the ghost of Hector tell Aeneas to do? What reasons does he give him? How does Aeneas respond?
The ghost of Hector tells Aeneas to flee the burning city.
Reasons:
the enemy holds the walls
great Troy is falling
If Troy could have been defended by a hero, it would have been Hector that defended it successfully
Troy commends to Aeneas the gods of the city. Aeneas should take them and go found a new city across the sea.
Aeneas becomes enraged at this and is overcome with anger. He wants to rally troops to storm the citadel. However, he sees the priest of Apollo, Panthus, performing the duty of a Roman hero, gathering his family and gods and fleeing the city, and calms down.
Describe the Abduction of Cassandra and the Death of Priam scenes. What is the relevance/significance/purpose behind these episodes?
Abduction of Cassandra: Cassandra is a priestess of Athena and is the daughter of Priam. She is dragged from the statue of Athena by Greeks. Her husband, Coroebus, sees this and cannot stand the sight; he throws himself at the Greeks and ultimately dies.
Death of Priam: Priam’s son, Polites, rushes in, wounded by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. Polites is brutally murdered in front of Priam. Priam tries to kill Neoptolemus, but is dragged through the blood of his son and killed on the altar.
these are important because they serve as a reminder for Aeneas as to what will happen to him and his family if he does not flee the city.
In what ways does Aeneas demonstrate his role as dux in the Aeneid? Be sure to provide specific examples from the text.
Dux means leader or commander
Aeneas serves as a good leader when he rallies his troops to battle in the siege of Troy by giving an inspiring speech.
Aeneas serves as a good leader when he encourages his troops after he lands at Libya as a result of a brutal sea storm. He encourages his troops despite the fact that he is feeling hopeless.
Discuss THREE instances from Book 2 of the Aeneid in which Aeneas is exhibiting characteristics of a Greek/Trojan hero. How should he be acting instead?
Aeneas acts as a Greek/Trojan hero when he becomes enraged after the words of Hector. He only desires to rally troops and storm the citadel. He thinks of how glorious it will be to die in combat.
He should be doing what Panthus, the priest of Apollo, is doing: taking care of his family and household gods. This would be showing devotion to one’s family and gods, and would thus show piety, a quality of the Roman hero.
Aeneas acts as a Greek/Trojan hero when he becomes blinded by rage and is about to kill Helen. His mother Venus interrupts him and reminds him how he should be acting.
She reminds him that he needs to save Ascanius (his son), Anchises (his dad), and Creusa (his wife). This would be showing devotion to ones family, and would thus show piety, a quality of the Roman hero.
In Book 3 of the Aeneid, how and why do Aeneas’ initial attempts to fulfill his destiny fail. Be sure to provide specific examples from the Aeneid.
Initially, Aeneas tries to set up a city at Thrace, the city of a former ally of Troy.
When Aeneas gets there, he pulls up a root. A bunch of blood spurts out of the root.
Aeneas hears the voice of Polydorus come from the earth, a Trojan who was killed by the Thracian king. Polydorus was sent to give the king gold for safekeeping. Instead the king took it for himself. Polydorus was put to death, and he evidently somehow took root inside the island.
Aeneas decides this is not the best place to set up a new city, so they perform funeral rites for Polydorus and leave.
Next they sail to the island of Delos, where there is an oracle of the god Apollo. The oracle tells them to go to the original home of the Trojan people. There they will found an empire that will rule the shores of the world for generations to come.
Anchises believes Crete is the home of the Trojan people: “Many years ago,” he explains, “a guy named Teucrus came from Crete. He sailed from there to Asia Minor, where he founded Troy. We should head for Crete.”
They name the city Pergamum, just like his old city. The Trojans are only there for a little while when a plague strikes them and their crops and the sun dries up all the water.
The attempts were unsuccessful because Aeneas needs to establish a NEW city and a ROMAN city: not build atop an old city or establish another Trojan city.
This shows patterns in Aeneas’ behavior: he is rushing to fulfill his destiny and is attempting to recreate Troy.
In what way does the episode in Buthrotum in Book 3 of the Aeneid serve as an example of what Aeneas is NOT supposed to be doing?
The city was built modeled after Troy. The city is very small and is not powerful. Aeneas is supposed to be founding a new city that will conquer the world, not one modeled after Troy.
