The Aeneid

Paper Summary:

The paper first explains the context in which Virgil's "The Aeneid" is written. The hero of the poem is the Trojan warrior, Aeneas, whose mission is to seek a new city for the Trojan gods. Aeneas eventually establishes the city of Rome and the paper contends that his success is due to the gods interceding on Aeneas's behalf, both with coaxing and by providing physical aid. The paper concludes by affirming that the gods are in control and that Rome is destined to be founded by Aeneas. Aeneas's piety is his strongest characteristic, though he occasionally needs prodding by the gods, and especially by his mother Venus, to continue his mission.

From the Paper:

" Publius Vergilius Maro, born in 70 B.C. had a long and close history with the future emperor, Caesar Augustus, and according to legend, Augustus wanted a heroic poem to justify his rule over the Roman Empire, thus, Virgil wrote the "Aeneid," 19 B.C. (Royal pp). The first half is regarded as Virgil's "Odyssey," for it tells of a Trojan warrior named Aeneas, who roams the Mediterranean following the fall of Troy and eventually establishes the city of Rome (Royal pp). The second half is Virgil's "Iliad," for it recounts battles in Italy and connects Roman history with the heroic age of the Trojan War (Royal pp). Aeneas, whose main virtue is piety, braves battle and death to seek a new city for the Trojan gods (Royal pp). Robert Royal notes that part of Virgil's genius is to recognize another ethos, "one that acknowledges something like divine providence in history, especially in the fated nature of Rome" (Royal pp). Virgil writes:
Long labors, both by sea and land, he bore,
And in the doubtful war, before he won
The Latian realm, and built the destin'd town;
His banish'd gods restor'd to rites divine,
And settled sure succession in his line,
From whence the race of Alban fathers come,
And the long glories of majestic Rome. (Virgil pp)."

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