Scholarship

• Semple on War


  War must be portrayed somewhat positively, as war and thus the making of the empire, was very positive for the Romans
• Tarrant on Augustus 


  Tarrant notes Virgil’s closeness to Augustus, and the fact Virgil read Augustus and his sister some of the books
• Tarrant on the politics 


  The poetry is remarkable in the way it engages with the political realities of the time
• Tarrant on Virgils purposes


  The Aeneid can be seen as reflecting the great political events of the time
• Griffin on Augustus 


  The Aeneid glorifies the uncontrolled domination of a man whose whole career was illegal
• Parry on propaganda 


  The Aeneid is only a great work of Augustan propaganda
• Parry on loss


  There is a sense of loss in the Aeneid which gives the epic a mood of frustration, loss and sadness
• Hardie on Aeneas 


  Rather than being driven by ambition and desire, Aeneas is forced into a mission by circumstances beyond his control - he is colourless
• Lyne on Aeneas 


  Virgil appears to neglect Aeneas’ relationships
• Parry on Aeneas’ destiny 


  He is absorbed in his own destiny, which ultimately doesn’t relate to him
• Williams on Aeneas 


  Aeneas must be social and care for others, not aiming to achieve personal satisfaction
• Mackie on Pietas 


  Aeneas’ ability to facilitate fate is the cornerstone of his pietas
• Gransden on Aeneas 


  Aeneas is a complex character, Pius but also a great soldier
• Gransden on Dido


  Book 4 is like a tragedy
• Syed on cultures 


  The depiction of other cultures enables a Roman reader to work out what is really ‘Roman’
• Syed on women


  Women symbolise their nations
• Gransden on fate 


  Although the events are fixed to happen, the exact time and circumstances by which they happen is not fixed
• Ross on religion 


  The Aeneid is not a poem about religion, but gods and fate are everywhere and always in control
• Oliensis on gender 


  Virgil links women to unruly passion and men to reasoned mastery
• Reilly on women 


  Women are presented in ways that are simultaneously a threat to Roman gender roles and also and example of Roman values
• Reilly on women’s roles 


  Women are essential, but subordinate and weaker than men
• Reilly on untraditional women 


  Women who step out of traditional gender roles are doomed to fail
• Ross on heroism 


  Heroes cannot be too great, they must resemble humans
• Ross on divine intervention 


  The gods take bad choices away from Aeneas, leaving him only to strive to fulfil his destiny