Literary epic in a politicised and sophisticated culture. Draws on Homer in a number of ways.

Vergil lived through a bunch of different momentous events.

• Born 70 BC
• Conspiracy of Catilina 63BC
◦ Aristocrat wanted to get power and got plebs to support him
◦ Cicero put down the conspiracy, but killed a few roman citizens (illegal, so Cicero was
exiled)
◦ Troubled time.
• 60-53BC First Triumvirate, civil war between caeser and pompey
• Murder of Julius Caesar 44BC
◦ Octavian was adopted by him, and thus inherits his millions, his name, and his armies.
• Second triumvirate 43BC
◦ Antony, Lepidus, Octavian
◦ Antony, lieutenant of Caesar, recognised Octavian’s power. (Lepidus another lieutenant)
• Civil war between Antony and Octavian
• Defeat of Antony and pax romana 31BC
• Octavian is supreme and Augustus - end of roman republic, 27BC
◦ Augustus title unprecedented
◦ Took the title princeps civitatis, first citizen. principate, period between republic and start of
the empire. He claimed to be restoring the values of the republic.

Vergil’s works
• Eclogues - short poems on pastoral themes.
• Georgics - longer poems that purport to represent an agricultural handbook
◦ reflects the back to the old republican values message of Augustus
◦ aimed at the literati
◦ References his intention to write a great epic about Augustus (the Aeneid)
• Aeneid
• dactylic hex
• under Maecenas’ patronage. Maecenas was a close friend and ally of Augustus. 
• It seems pretty clear that Vergil was encouraged to write in celebration of pax romana,
traditional roman values, and Augustus. 

Things we’ll focus on

• literary tradition of secondary (non oral) epic; comparison with Il and Od
• Significance of Aeneid as a roman epic
• significance as a composition of the Augustan period
• Mission of Aeneas
• Development of Aeneas towards the ideal man of Augustan ideology
◦ we see some development in Telemachus, but not Odysseus. T’s development is through oral
traditional formulas and stuff.
◦ Aeneas’ development through his action.
• conflict between pietas and furor
◦ between fate and counterfate (jupiter and juno)
◦ pius aeneas (aeneas possessor of pietas) and his own passions
◦ aeneas and the impii (undutiful people)

pietas - relationship between higher status and lesser status. e.g. men and gods. reciprocal.
and ruler of a community vs community. father and family.
furor - passion, absence of rational self control. emotional decisions. not a good thing for the
romans. ties in with stoicism, believing in the rule of reason. lots of lit arguing for Vergil as a
Stoic.