Virgil Flashcards
Who was Virgil?
an ancient Roman poet. He wrote three of the most famous poems in Latin literature including the Aeneid
What is the Aeneid about?
Modeled after Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and reach Italy, where his descendants Romulus and Remus were to found the city of Rome.
When was the Aeneid written?
Between 29-19 BC, in the last 10 years of Virgil’s life
In what meter is the poem written?
Dactylic Hexameter
What language is the Aeneid in?
Classical Latin
What genre is the Aeneid
Epic poem
What form is the poem?
It’s a manuscript and therefore, not an example of epigraphy
What is the significance of the Aeneid?
Aeneid is a compelling founding myth or national epic that tied Rome to:
the legends of Troy
explained the Punic Wars
glorified traditional Roman virtues, and legitimized the Julio-Claudian dynasty as descendants of the founders, heroes, and gods of Rome and Troy.
What happens in books 1-6 of the Aeneid?
Aeneas’s journey to Latium in Italy
What happens in books 7-12 of the Aeneid?
the war in Latium
Why does Juno hate Aeneas?
Juno harbors anger toward Aeneas because Carthage is her favorite city, and a prophecy holds that the race descended from the Trojans will someday destroy Carthage. Juno holds a permanent grudge against Troy because another Trojan, Paris, judged Juno’s rival Venus fairest in a divine beauty contest.
What was Virgil’s lifetime?
70-19BC
