The Aeneid (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

By Tonnvane Wiswell

REA's MAXnotes for Virgil's Aeneid MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Research & Education Association
• Release date: Jan 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780738673103

Book preview

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SECTION ONE

Introduction

The Life and Work of Virgil

Born in 70 B.C. Publius Vergilius Maro grew up in northern Italy on a gentleman’s farm. His parents recognized his talents and gave him a good education, hoping he would take up a career in law. After studying in northern Italy at the schools of Cremona and Milan, he went to Rome in 53 B.C. to complete his training as a lawyer. Neither the city nor the occupation appealed to him, and after pleading his first case he returned permanently to the countryside.

From the Bay of Naples, Virgil (as he is called in English) began to write poetry. Ignoring the tide of chaos overwhelming Rome, he chose to focus on pastoral subjects. His first work, the Eclogues (selections), were presented as poems of shepherds. The descriptions of happy flocks and bucolic love were well received by the Roman public, who wanted to hide from the turmoil of their lives in poems that celebrated and romanticized the simple life. Two years later, in 42 B.C., Virgil found his estates confiscated by Julius Caesar’s heir Octavius. Fortunately, his work had won for him the attention of Maecenas, Octavius’s good friend and the premier literary patron of the time. With Maecenas’ help, he had his farm restored to him.

Virgil’s next work was the Georgics, a treatise on farming. Written over the course of seven years, it was finished in 31 B.C. In form it is a how-to book, but the lavish detail and beautiful verse turn it into a celebration of the importance of husbandry. While farming itself was in decline and most farmers were indifferent to the moral value of their occupation, city-dwellers once again found the work perfectly suited to their tastes.

With his reputation and finances secured, Virgil was able to devote the last 11 years of his life to the Aeneid. It was Augustus who suggested Virgil use the history of the Roman Empire as the subject for an epic poem. In it he attempted to take the works of Homer, who was considered the best of poets, and turn his words and style into a celebration of both the Roman nation and the Latin tongue.

While returning from a research trip to Greece, Virgil fell mortally ill. Unable to complete his work, he ordered it to be burned upon his death. Augustus countermanded Virgil’s wishes, and he commissioned two of Virgil’s fellow poets to edit the work. Upon its publication, the Aeneid was immediately hailed as a masterpiece and adopted as the official poem of Augustus’ Restored Republic. Since then, it has never fallen out of popularity.

Historical Background

Virgil lived through some of the most traumatic and glorious episodes of Roman history, as the democratic Roman Republic gave way to monarchic Imperial Rome. A decade before Virgil’s birth, Sulla established a dictatorship, previously resorted to only in moments of crisis, as a long-term method of rule. The Republic was reinstated after Sulla’s death, but the rise of murderous conspiracies, riots, and the use of private armies by battling factions made this form of government less viable.

The situation finally disintegrated into civil war in 50 B.C. as the two leading candidates fought for the position of chief of state. Caesar finally pushed his rival Pompey out of Italy in 49 B.C. He declared himself dictator, but was killed a few years later by men who wished to re-establish the Republic.

Their attempt failed and civil war ensued again. This time it was Caesar’s adopted heir, Octavius, and Antony who fought for control of the empire. Antony was decisively defeated in the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Octavius returned to Rome not just as the victor in a civil war, but as a sovereign who had crushed a rebellion. His restrained rule, masked by the continued existence of the Senate, the Assembly, and important magistrates, provided the illusion that it was indeed a Restored Republic, as he preferred to call it. In 27 B.C., the same year he declared the Restoration of the Republic, Octavius added Augustus, the holy one, to his name. Despite choosing this title for its non-monarchical ring, Caesar Augustus was actually Rome’s first emperor.

The peace that Augustus’ triumph brought to Rome gave a feeling of optimism to the Roman people. After the years of unease, it was time to celebrate life and the wonderful accomplishments of Rome. The end of civil war was a golden age for poets; there was time to reflect and write, and money was now available to spend supporting writers.

Given the mood, it is difficult to criticize Virgil’s glorification of Augustus in the Aeneid. Virgil inserted several references to Augustus’ incipient deification and provided proof of his supernatural ancestry. The institutions that Augustus wanted to strengthen were written into the Aeneid, giving them an air of sanctity appropriate for their ancient roots. Finally, the accomplishments of Augustus, foretold in the prophecies of the Aeneid, were established as the greatest accomplishment of the entire Roman race, achieved through centuries of suffering and sacrifice.

Yet, as David Slavit writes, Virgil’s celebration of the Roman past and present is also an implied demand upon [Augustus] and his heirs [to] live up to the poem’s expectations and justify the epic sufferings [of its characters] (Slavit, 89). There are indeed occasional intimations in the poem that Augustus’ arrival may not have heralded the end of grief for the people of Rome. Virgil’s pessimism proved to be well founded. The tragic death of Augustus’ heir, Marcellus, led to Augustus being succeeded by an incompetent. He was followed in turn by Nero and Caligula, who abused the powers available to an absolute ruler, making it clear to all that there was indeed no more republic to be found in Rome. In the end, the lesson the Aeneid taught to Rome is that the gods have no interest in bringing about a happy ending, either for a magnificent city or its suffering people. The gods care only for themselves.

Virgil was fortunate enough to be a writer who was appreciated during his lifetime. The Georgics and Eclogues left him a rich man when he died. The Aeneid was immediately hailed as a masterpiece by critics and by the regime, and it was included as an official part of Augustus’ celebrations of 17 B.C.

Simple pandering to the regime could have been enough for Virgil to have been praised by his peers, but his works had lasting popularity. By the fourth century A.D., enough critiques and ephemera existed of Virgil for Servius, an amateur scholar, to