Mythology
Delahoyde

VIRGIL'S AENEID:
BOOK I

"Arma virumque cano" -- "I sing of warfare and a man...." So begins Virgil, self-consciously placing his epic in the tradition of Homer's works. The "warfare" should remind one of the Iliad and the "man" the Odyssey. Linguistically, Latin relies on word endings to determine grammatical function, so there's a wide latitude for placement of the words without obscuring the meaning. Virgil takes advantage of this linguistic feature to take us from "Troiae," the fourth word in the sentence, all the way to "Roma," the last word in a long first sentence which therefore mirrors Aeneas' journey.


Aeneas' Journey

Virgil adheres to epic conventions in calling on the Muse (1.13f), stating his theme, and beginning in medias res. (We'll backtrack in Book II to fill in the blanks.) A slight variation registers in that he asks the Muse not to tell the story but to explain the reasons the divine powers allow suffering (Aeneas' in this case).

The existence of Carthage is an anachronism in this epic, not founded for several centuries until after these events, but Carthage was Rome's rival for Mediterranean supremacy, so its function in the tale is politically symbolic.

Some questions for now and eventually:


Virgil: Introduction

Aeneid: Book 2

Aeneid: Book 4

Aeneid: Book 6


Orpheus