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Study Questions:
Virgil's Aeneid (Excerpts
in handouts and in textbook):
Vocabulary:
propaganda, parallelism, Roman Stoicism, meter
Introduction: Who
paid (ordered?) Virgil to write The Aeneid? Why
did this patron want this work written?
Lecture or Handouts: Why
do some critics think The Aeneid is a propagandistic
work? In what ways does it espouse typical Roman virtues?
Roman Virtues: Fortitudo
(Toughness), Prudentia (Wisdom and planning ahead),
Iusticia (Justice), Temperantia (Moderation)
Why would a Roman audience be horrified
to find Aeneas falling in love with a Carthaginian or Punic
queen?
Why did Rome hate Carthage so much? What
was the relationship like between the old Roman Republic
and the Empire of Carthage? According to legend, what did
Rome do to Carthage after defeating her in the final Punic
war?
What's unusual or noteworthy about Aeneas's
parentage?
Why would Dido find it odd that Aeneas
is setting sail in winter to leave her?
Identify the following characters:
Venus, Jove (Jupiter), Juno, Cupid, Aeneas, Creüsa.
Ulysses, Iulus Ascanius [note: sometimes this character
is called by the name Iulus, sometimes by the name Ascanius,
but it is the same character.], Anchises, Dido, Turnus,
Laocoön, Sinon, Hector, Panthus, Androgeos, Priam,
Hecuba, Helen (i.e., "the Daughter of Tyndareos"),
Anna, Sychaeus, Mercury, the Sibyl, Misenus, Charon, Cerberus,
Minos, Sychaeus
Reading Questions:
- [Books I: Excerpts in Textbook]
- Compare the invocation of the muse in The Aeneid
to the invocation of the muse in The Odyssey.
What is similar or different in each invocation?
- What deity in the opening passage of The Aeneid
is upset with Aeneas? Why is she angry?
- What does the poet conclude about the founding of Rome
in the end of the opening section (1. 40-41)?
- [Excerpts in Xerox Handout (1. 859-1050)]:
- Why does Dido want Aeneas to tell him the story of how
he came to Troy? (I.e., what is she "not ignorant
of" that causes her to feel pity for his plight?
- While Aeneas tells his story to Dido, what trick does
"the Cytherean Goddess" (Venus) use to make
sure the Carthaginians will welcome the Trojan forces?
What spirit or minor god does Venus have do her dirty
work?
- To whom was Dido formerly married? What vow did she
make to her husband? Why or how does that vow cause her
an ethical dilemma when she starts to fall in love with
Aeneas?
- Who is Ulysses in The Aeneid? I.e., what is
this guy called in Greek, and in what work have we seen
him before? (Hint: you might look up his name in a guide
to mythology or online to find out.)
- What ploy does Ulysses come up with to conquer the impregnable
city of Troy?
- When Laocoön states that he fears the Greeks, even
when they bring gifts, what does he mean?
- What does Laocoön suspect about the wooden horse?
- What does Sinon do when he comes to the gates of Troy?
- Who appears to Aeneas in a vision warning him to flee
the city?
- What dire news does Panthus have to tell when Aeneas
asks him how the battle is going?
- What mistake does Androgeos make that costs him his
life?
- What trick does Coroebus come up with after he and Aeneas
and the other Trojans kill Androgeos? How does this trick
allow the Trojan band to move freely about in the chaos?
- [Excerpts in Xerox Handout from Book 2. 680-1082]
- Why is Queen Hecuba chastising King Priam? What foolish
thing is this old man trying to do?
- Where does Pyrrhus kill King Priam and Prince Polites?
(i.e., why is this blasphemous)?
- In Book II, lines 763, Aeneas spots "the daughter
of Tyndareos" (i.e., Helen of Troy). Where is Helen
hiding or what building is she clinging to? [Hint: To
understand why this is ironic, look up the god "Vesta"
and see what her worshippers were like, and why they are
very different from the sexpot Helen.] What does Aeneas
plan to do to Helen, judging by his angry words?
- What being appears to stop Aeneas from confronting Helen?
- When Aeneas goes to his house, what does his father
Anchises initially ask him to do? Where does Anchises
want to go and where does he want the rest of the family
to go? What is Aeneas's reaction to this?
- When Aeneas declares he will stay in the city and fight
the Greeks, how does Creüsa react?
- What omens (plural) do the gods send to encourage Aeneas
to flee rather than fight? Why do you suppose it takes
more than one miraculous sign to make him leave?
- Why does Aeneas say he can't carry the homeland gods
with him?
- How does Aeneas arrange to transport his father out
of Troy? How does he transport Iulus? Why or how is the
image associated with this action symbolic?
- What happens to Creüsa as the family flees through
the crowded streets?
- What does Aeneas do when he discovers Creüsa is
gone?
- What being stops him from continuing to look for Creüsa?
- According to Creüsa, what beings' decree keep her
from accompanying her husband?
- What happens each time Aeneas tries to touch Creüsa?
- [Book IV Excerpts]:
- Whom does Dido turn to for advice when she realizes
she is falling in love with Anna?
- What advice does Anna give Dido regarding her dead husband?
What advice does she give Dido concerning the political
situation in north Africa?
- What proposal does the goddess Juno make to the goddess
Venus concerning Aeneas's future?
- [Excepts from Book IV in textbook]:
- What god decides to mess up Venus and Juno's plans for
Aeneas to stay in Carthage and marry Aeneas? Given what
we know about Greek mythology, why does this god's decision
carry more weight than the two goddesses?
- What messenger does Jove send to Aeneas? What magical
item does this messenger wear that allows him to travel
quickly from place to place?
- What is the gist of this message?
- How does Aeneas respond to this message?
- Why do you suppose Aeneas doesn't tell his fiancée
Dido about the message?
- Dido is no dummy. How does she figure out Aeneas is
up to something?
- Why does Dido say, "You are the reason I am hated"
when she discusses with Aeneas her political situation?
- Why does Dido claim her fame or reputation has been
tarnished by Aeneas?
- Why does Dido fear destruction of the city if Aeneas
leaves her?
- What is Aeneas's outward reaction to Dido's hurtful
words? Why does he react that way?
- How does Aeneas say he will remember Dido?
- Where does Aeneas say he would be if he had permission
to to live his life according to his own wishes?
- What reasons does Aeneas give to justify his departure?
- Where does Aeneas say his love lies?
- [Xeroxed Excerpts from Book 4, 602-971]
- When Aeneas gets ready to leave, and Dido goes to place
offerings offerings before the altars to beg the gods
for help, what omens appear at the altar? What do you
suppose these omens mean?
- What does Dido seem to hear at night when she tries
to sleep?
- What lie does Dido use to get her sister Anna to help
her build a pyre out of Aeneas's old belongings?
- When Dido suffers from insomnia, what are some of the
options she considers while in bed? What do these options
reveal about her mind set?
- When Mercury appears to Aeneas a second time, this time
in a dream, what warning does he bring that spurs Aeneas
into immediate departure?
- When the Queen sees the departing ships, what does she
nearly order her guardsmen to do?
- What horrible food does the Queen imagine serving to
Aeneas as punishment for his betrayal?
- What curses does Dido proclaim for Aeneas, his men,
and his descendants? What does she proclaim her Tyrians
(i.e. Carthaginians) should do to Aeneas's future sons
and race as an offering to her own ashes? What two things
does Dido declare will never tie her people to Rome?
- When Dido climbs on top of the pyre, what item does
she use to stab herself? Where did it come from? (Hint:
look up the word Dardan in a dictionary or mythological
guide if you need to.)
- Near the conclusion of Dido's death scene, the narrative
voice comments upon her death. Does the narrating
voice think Dido deserved this fate? Why or why not?
- Book VI: Excerpts in Textbook
- What is the name or title for the dreadful priestess
of Apollo who watches over Diana's grove?
- What are some of the images carved on the temple walls?
- What happens to the Sibyl when she is possessed by Apollo
and prophesies?
- Why does Aeneas consult the Sibyl? What does he want
to find out? (i.e., where does he want to go so he can
find out information about the location of Italy?)
- What, according to the Sibyl, is the difference between
going down to Dis (Hell) and coming back to life?
- What magical plant, sacred to Proserpine, does the Sibyl
guard in the grove? What power does this plant have?
- What is one religious task the Sibyl says the crew has
left undone for their crewman Misenus?
- What omen appears before Aeneas to guide him to the
sacred grove of Avernus?
- The entrance to the underworld is called Avernus. According
to Virgil, what is the original etymology of this word
and what does it mean?
- When Aeneas and the Sibyl begin their descent into the
underworld, what frightening apparitions appear to confront
them? List one or two examples. What does Aeneas discover
when he draws his sword to attack these monsters?
- Who is Charon and what is his job in the afterlife?
- What is the river Styx and what sort of being wants
to cross this river? Why are some of these beings unable
to cross over?
- What comfort does Aeneas provide to the dead Palinurus,
even though he is unable to bury Palinurus's body?
- Why is Charon unwilling initially to let Aeneas onto
his boat? What bribe does the Sibyl offer him to change
his mind?
- Who or what is Cerberus?
- How do the Sibyl and Aeneas get past Cerberus?
- Who or what is Minos? (Check out a mythological guide
online if you need to.)
- What sort of spirits inhabit the Fields of Mourning?
- Who does Aeneas encounter in the afterlife that really
surprises and upsets him?
- Who does Dido turn to for comfort in the afterlife?
- How is Aeneas's goodbye to Dido in the underworld a
reversal from his good-bye to her when he left her in
Carthage?
- How do the ghosts of the dead Greeks react when they
see their enemy Aeneas?
- When Aeneas overhears the sobbing and groaning of the
damned, the Sibyl explains at length what monsters and
villains are imprisoned there behind the adamantine gates.
What does she finally tell Aeneas to quell his curiosity
about this part of hell?
- In what part or region of the Underworld does Aeneas
finally find the ghost of his father, Anchises?
- When the Sibyl asks one of the blessed dead where Anchises'
house is located in the underworld, how do the local spirits
correct her?
- What happens when Aeneas tries to embrace Anchises?
How does this connect to an earlier part of the story?
- What do the dead souls do when they want to forget their
pains and miseries before being reborn in new bodies?
- Anchises shows Aeneas a long procession of souls waiting
to be born. Who (in general) are all these spirits? Name
one or two specifically who become famous in history.
Why do you suppose Anchises wants to show his son these
unborn Roman souls before Aeneas continues his journey
to Italy?
- Near the end of the long list of heroes yet unborn,
Anchises makes one of the most famous statements in literature
concerning Roman national character. Though he declares
that other races will be better craftsmen and artists,
better orators and philosophical debaters, better astronomers
and scientists, he asserts that Rome will have its own
talents or "fine arts." What are these fine
arts that will be Rome's "forever"?
- When Aeneas and the Sibyl end their tour of the underworld,
they find two exits or "twin gates." What sort
of spirit or vision exits through the gate made of polished
horn? What sort of dream or vision exits through the white
gate made of ivory? Which one do Aeneas and the Sibyl
take? What does this suggest about the vision Aeneas has
just had?
- [Xeroxed Excerpts from final battle scene in
Book XII, lines 1178 onward]
- [From Lecture:] What are Turnus and Aeneas fighting
over?
- When Aeneas accuses Turnus of being a coward, what does
Turnus say is the only thing he is frightened of?
- What happens when Turnus picks up a boundary stone like
Superman and hurls it at Aeneas? Why do you suppose it's
a boundary stone and not just a boulder or an oak? (i.e.,
how might this be symbolic?)
- When Turnus lies helpless before Aeneas after Aeneas's
spear penetrates his thigh, Aeneas hesitates. What does
Turnus say or that causes Aeneas to hesitate (i.e., what
or whom does he evoke in Aeneas's memory?)
- What does Aeneas do with Turnus after capturing him?
Why does this conclusion seem especially disturbing or
especially appropriate as a concluding point for a glorious
national epic celebrating Roman virtue?
Sample Passage Identifications:
A. Arms and the man I sing, the first
who came,
Compelled by fate, an exile out of Troy,
To Italy and the Lavinian coast,
Much buffeted on land and on the deep
By violence of the gods, through that long rage,
That lasting hate, of Juno's. And he suffered
Much, also, in war, till he should build his town
And bring his gods to Latium, whence, in time,
The Latin race, the Alban fathers, rose,
And the great walls of everlasting Troy.
B. Are you crazy, wretched people?
Do you think they have gone, the foe? Do you think that
any
Gifts of the Greeks lack treachery? Ulysses,--
What was his reputation? Let me tell you,
Either the Greeks are hiding in this monster,
Or it's some trick of war, a spy or engine,
To come down on the city. Tricky business
Is hiding in
it
Do not trust it, Trojans,
Do not believe this horse. Whatever it may be,
I fear the Greeks, even when bringing presents.
C. Speaker One: "How goes it, Panthus? What stronghold
still is ours?"
Speaker Two: "It has come, this day
Will be our last, and we cannot escape it.
Trojans we have been, Troy has been, and glory
Is ours no more. Fierce Jupiter has taken
Everything off to Argos, and Greeks lord
it
In a town on fire. The horse, high in the city,
Pours out
armed men, and Sinon, arrogant victor,
Lights up more fires."
D: "What are you doing,
Forgetful of your kingdom and
your fortunes,
Building for Carthage? Woman-crazy fellow,
The ruler of the gods, the great compeller
Of heaven and earth, has sent me from Olympus
With no more word than this: what are you doing,
With what ambition wasting time in Libya?
If you own fame and fortune count as nothing,
Think of [your son] at least, whose Kingdom
In Italy, whose Roman land, are waiting,
As promise justly due."
E. "Never, O Queen, will I deny you merit
Whatever you have strength to claim; I will not
Regret remembering [you], while I have
Breath in my body, or consciousness of spirit.
. . . If I had fate's permission
To live my life my way, to settle my troubles
At my own will, I would be watching over
The city of Troy, and caring for my people.
. . . But now
It is Italy I must seek, great Italy,
Apollo orders, and his oracles
Call me to Italy. There is my love,
There is my country."
F. "Unhappy Dido, so they told me truly
That your own hand had brought you death. Was I--
Alas!--the cause? I swear by all the stars,
By the world above, by everything held sacred
Here under the earth, unwillingly, O queen,
I left your kingdom. But the gods' commands,
. . . complled me on. I could not
Believe my loss would cause so great a sorrow.
Linger a moment, do not leave me; whither,
Whom, are you fleeing? I am permitted only
This last word
with you.
G. But the queen,
Unmoving as flint or
marble, turned away, her eyes
Fixed on the ground: the tears were vain, the words,
Meant to be soothing, foolish; she turned away,
His enemy forever, to the shadows
Where Sychaeus, her former husband, took her
With love for love, and sorrow for her sorrow.
And still Aeneas wept for her, being troubled
By the injustice of her doom; his pity
Followed her going.
H. "Others, no doubt, will better mould the bronze
To the semblence of soft breathing, draw from marble
The living countenance; and others plead
With greater eloquence; or learn to measure,
Better than we, the pathways of the heavens,
The rising of the stars; remember, Roman,
To rule the people under law, to establish
The way of peace, to battle down the haughty,
To spare the meek. Our fine arts, these, forever."
Z. Aflame with rage--his wrath was
terrible--
[he] cried: "How can you who wear the spoils of my
dear comrade now escape me? It is Pallas
who strikes, who sacrifices you, who takes
this payment from your shameless blood." Relentless,
he sinks his sword into the chest of [the prisoner].
His limbs fell slack with chill; and with a moan
his life, resentful, fled to Shades below.
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