Why Virgil Prefers The Epithet 'Father Aeneas'

After reading Book 1, you should know the following:
1. Identification of characters and places:
• Aeneas, Achates, Ascanius, Iulus (Ilus), Dido, Sychaeus, Pygmalion
• Juno, Neptune, Venus, Jupiter, Cupid
• Carthage, Tyrians, Teucrians
2. Cite lines where Virgil specifically describes Augustus (twice)
3. Cite lines where Dido’s future is foreshadowed (twice)
4. Explain how the future is really the past
5. Explain why Virgil chose bees for extended simile
6. Explain why Venus is worried and her plan to remedy her worries
7. Explain why Virgil prefers the epithet “father Aeneas” (1.817, 977) in Book 1
8. Discuss differences seen between the folk epics and literary/art epic (See GQ3 – 1)
9. Identify epic conventions found
(See GQ3-1)

As is necessary for an epic to be an epic, the story begins in medias res. Aeneas is almost at the end of his wanderings, trying to find this fated new land. Use these brief notes below to help guide yourself through the reading:

Lines 1 – 18 Introduction
Lines 19 – 220 Juno starts storm; Aeneas and men in storm; Neptune stops storm
Lines 221 – 311 Aeneas’ ships land; men eat; Aeneas calms fears
Lines 312 – 417 Venus appeals to Jupiter; Jupiter tells Aeneas’ future
Lines 418 – 430 Jupiter sends Mercury to prepare Dido for Aeneas’ arrival
Lines 431 – 521 Aeneas explores; Venus disguised tells history of Dido
Lines 522 – 549 Aeneas briefly tells his story
Lines 550 – 594 Venus tells Aeneas other ships are safe; Aeneas scolds Venus; Aeneas heads out for Carthage
Lines 595 – 697 First view of Carthage; Aeneas views artwork depicting Trojan War
Lines 698 – 790 Introduction of Dido; Aeneas sees lost men; men ask Dido for help
Lines 791 – 917 Dido welcomes Trojans; Aeneas and Dido’s first conversation; exchange of gifts
Lines 918 – 970 Venus worried for Aeneas; puts plan in place
Lines 971 – end Banquet; Ascanius (i.e., Cupid) does his job; Dido asks Aeneas to tell his story

Book 2

After reading Book 2, you should know the following:
1. Identification of characters and places:
• Laocoon, Sinon, Priam, Anchises, Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus), Creusa
• Venus, Palladium
• Tenedos, Pergamus
2. In this book, the first three lines are the only lines not spoken by Aeneas.
• Punctuation used to show that Aeneas is speaking
• Punctuation when Aeneas is telling what another person said
• Explain what these punctuation marks are telling the reader: o Beginning of line 107 o End of line 148 o Beginning of line149 o End of line 152 o Beginning of line 153
3. Virgil’s choice of topics for similes
4. Rome had just been through a turbulent time in its history. Civil wars, assassinations, the fall of the republic, power struggles and more had left Rome a broken republic. Morals and ethics had disappeared. The gap between rich and poor was huge. After defeating Antony, Augustus was left to put the pieces back together again into a new governmental format—an empire with an emperor. For more details about the differences between the republican type of government and the empire, read the easy to understand blog at http://www.historum.com/showthread.php?t=4266. 5. What does the model Roman look like, how does he act, what’s important? No one existed in past or present that obtained all of Augustus’ visions of that perfect Roman. So he did the next best thing. He hired his fellow classmate Virgil to create one—a model Roman, one every Roman would strive to emulate.
6. Just as you, earlier in the year, built a hero on your personal vision of a model hero, Virgil set to that task. But what does a model Roman look like, how does he act, and what’s important? The answer is in the reading.
7. Aeneas doesn’t start out as a founding/national hero. He is molded into one as his quest continues. But he does possess the qualities of an epic hero. Cite lines and brief description of these characteristics
• Remarkable warrior
• Leadership skills
7. Prove these characteristics to be true by citing lines and giving a brief explanation
• Family is first
• Great respect for ancestors
• Acceptance of the destiny-is-supreme belief
• Great faith in omens
• Virtue achieved through effort and temperance (moderation; restraint)

This book is the most famous book of the epic. This is the only extant version of the fall of Troy. Unlike Homer’s epics where see the war through Greek eyes, we now see the fall through Trojan eyes. Use these brief notes below to guide yourself through the reading:

Lines 1 – 18 Introduction
Lines 19 – 29 Description of Trojan horse
Lines 30 – 55 Options about horse
Lines 56 – 80 Laocoon’s advice about horse
Lines 81 – 148 Greek Sinon’s persuasive story that hose is a gift
Lines 149 – 152 Aeneas stops story to interject personal comment
Lines 153 – 203 Sinon’s story continues
Lines 204 – 213 Priam questions Sinon
Lines 214 – 227 Sinon prays to gods
Lines 228 – 275 Sinon continues with reason why Greeks built the horse
Lines 276 – 280 Trojans believe Sinon
Lines 281 – 324 Bloody snakes entwine Laocoon and his sons and lie at foot of Palladium
Lines 325 – 345 Trojans bring horse inside gates
Lines 346 – 370 Greeks sail back from Tenedos; horse opened
Lines 371 – 407 Hector comes to Aeneas in a dream
Lines 408 – 427 Aeneas describes sounds of destruction
Lines 428 – 456 Aeneas continues to describe fall of Troy
Lines 457 – 479 Aeneas meets companions and urges them to fight
Lines 480 – 527 Aeneas and companions join the battle; Androgeneos mistakes them for Greeks
Lines 528 – 539 They continue to their fight in Greek disguise
Lines 540 – 588 Saving Cassandra
Lines 589 – 626 Aeneas continues to describe the fall
Lines 627 – 648 Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus), Achilles’ son, breaks into inner room of Priam’s palace
Lines 649 – 679 Pyrrhus, Agamemnon, and Menelaus find daughters, Hecuba, and Priam in palace
Lines 680 – 750 Death of
Priam
Lines 751 – 761 Aeneas envisions same end for his father, wife, and son; companions killed
Lines 762 – 792 Aeneas sees Helen huddling in a corner and wants to kill her
Lines 793 – 842 Aeneas’ mother Venus appears and tells him gods not the Greeks are to blame
Lines 843 – 877 Venus leads Aeneas safely to his father Anchises; Anchises plans to stay and kill himself
Lines 878 – 908 Aeneas pleads with Anchises; asks if she protected him to see his family killed
Lines 909 – 937 Aeneas’ wife Creusa begs him to protect his family; Iulus’ hair catches fire; Anchises prays to Jupiter
Lines 938 – 953 Jupiter answers and Anchises agrees to go with Aeneas
Lines 954 – 1003 Aeneas takes family out, plans place to meet servants; couldn’t go by route planned and loses
Creusa
Lines 1004 – 1070 Aeneas retraces steps to find Creusa; her ghost appears
Lines 1071 – end Aeneas returns to group and they he