Is Virgil's 'Aenied' an Anti-War Poem?
Is Virgil's Aeneid an Anti-War Poem?
Virgil opens the Aeneid' with the words ARMA virumque cano ( I sing of arms and of men). The central role that war plays in this Roman epic is made apparent from the very first word of the Aeneid' by the emphatic placing of the word arma at the very beginning of the poem. A fair chunk of Virgil's Aeneid' is set on the battle field but its violent and gory descriptions of death and its frequent battles alone cannot make this poem an anti-war poem. Virgil does not merely use the notion of war to further his plot but deals with many types and aspects of war throughout the entirety of his book; mythological wars; recent wars; their effects; their causes; and often one is able to find Virgil's own opinion on such a matter, subtly incorporated into the thick of things. What messages does Virgil try to convey to his readers, in what ways does he do this and can we argue that the Aeneid' is an anti-war poem rather than an epic that simply narrates particularly tragic wars?
The first war in which Virgil goes into detail is the Trojan War which he dedicates an entire book to. Aeneas recounts the fall of Troy whilst in the company of Dido in book two of the Aeneid' and explains how the Greeks managed to sack Troy and how Aeneas and his men managed to escape to safety. Aeneas describes many horrific deaths in this flashback such as that of Priam's son, Polites in which we hear that "he finally appeared before his parents' eyes and fell before their faces and poured out his life with much of his blood" . As opposed to condemning war, this brutal account is more likely to have been described in such a manner as to flaunt Virgil's literary ability and smooth use of language. Aeneas' account is for descriptive and informative purposes. Book two is essential in linking the foundation of Rome back to Troy and is also able to link Rome to what much of the Ancient World believed was the greatest war of all time. Virgil's handling of
Virgil opens the Aeneid' with the words ARMA virumque cano ( I sing of arms and of men). The central role that war plays in this Roman epic is made apparent from the very first word of the Aeneid' by the emphatic placing of the word arma at the very beginning of the poem. A fair chunk of Virgil's Aeneid' is set on the battle field but its violent and gory descriptions of death and its frequent battles alone cannot make this poem an anti-war poem. Virgil does not merely use the notion of war to further his plot but deals with many types and aspects of war throughout the entirety of his book; mythological wars; recent wars; their effects; their causes; and often one is able to find Virgil's own opinion on such a matter, subtly incorporated into the thick of things. What messages does Virgil try to convey to his readers, in what ways does he do this and can we argue that the Aeneid' is an anti-war poem rather than an epic that simply narrates particularly tragic wars?
The first war in which Virgil goes into detail is the Trojan War which he dedicates an entire book to. Aeneas recounts the fall of Troy whilst in the company of Dido in book two of the Aeneid' and explains how the Greeks managed to sack Troy and how Aeneas and his men managed to escape to safety. Aeneas describes many horrific deaths in this flashback such as that of Priam's son, Polites in which we hear that "he finally appeared before his parents' eyes and fell before their faces and poured out his life with much of his blood" . As opposed to condemning war, this brutal account is more likely to have been described in such a manner as to flaunt Virgil's literary ability and smooth use of language. Aeneas' account is for descriptive and informative purposes. Book two is essential in linking the foundation of Rome back to Troy and is also able to link Rome to what much of the Ancient World believed was the greatest war of all time. Virgil's handling of
Bibliography: Virgil, ‘Aeneid ', trans. with intro. D. West (Penguin Classics: London 2003) ‘Collins Latin Dictionary plus Grammar ' (Harper Collins: Glasgow 1997) Hardie, P. , ‘Greece and Rome – New Surveys in the Classics No.28 : Virgil ' (Oxford University Press: Oxford 1998) Mackail, J. W. , ‘Virgil and his Meaning to the World of Today ' (The Plimpton Press: Massachusetts 1922) All Latin original texts from: http://vergil.classics.upenn.edu/workspace/display_frame.html All Latin texts translated by myself