Aeneid Scholars

• Stephen Harrison- Book 2

  "This is an eye-witness account full of drama and pathos, told by a narrator with a close involvement with the events described."
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas' emotions

  "Emotional colouring and reactions."
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas' emotions

  "He is a man of feeling and humanity"
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas' character

  "Aeneas shows resolution and leadership"
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas in Book 2

  "Strongest impression we get of Aeneas in the account of the sack of Troy, that of his isolation."
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas' loneliness

  "The loneliness and burden of responsibility stay with Aeneas throughout the poem"
• Stephen Harrison- Aeneas' loneliness and Fate

  "The founding of the Roman race are a lonely business for Aeneas; as with the traumas of his past, the labours of the future are for him to face alone."
• Hutchinson- Aeneas in Book 2

  "Virgil insists on self-restraint as necessary to the preservation of our humanity"
• Camps- Dido

  "She is a pawn, an object not of hostility but of indifference"
• Camps- Gods

  "... accidental result of scheming and counter scheming amongst the gods"
• Hardie- Dido

  "Housewife to Queen"
• Hardie- Dido

  "A mere woman"
• Servius- Virgil

  "A lackey to Augustus"
• Juan Franco- Women

  "By having women like Camilla and Dido occupying roles normally reserved for men, Virgil compliments the exceptionality of their gender."
• Juan Franco- Women

  "Aeneas' mission is influenced by mortal and immortal female characters."
• Juan Franco- Women

  "Virgil provides his audience with a Queen and a warrior, their deeds are marginalised by their demise."
• Juan Franco- Women

  "We still see Aeneas diverted from his path repeatedly by situations seemingly out of his control involving female characters."
• Juan Franco- Women

  "It is worth noting how Virgil places women, who were influential in their roles, on Aeneid's path to complete his journey."
• Juan Franco- Women

  "Significant female characters in The Aeneid present a strong matriarchal theme in the storyline... Male characters continue to hold the weightier positions. Which we expect in traditionally patriarchal ancient literature."
• David West- Juno

  "Juno, the greatest liar in the Aeneid"
• David West- Juno and Jupiter

  "This final interview between Juno and Jupiter is the solution to a central problem of the Aeneid"
• David West- Juno

  "Having yielded, she now lays down her stipulations. Her essential point is that she will allow these Trojan men to settle in Italy and marry Italian wives, but only on condition that they forfeit all trace of their Trojan origins."
• David West- Romans

  "The discussion between Jupiter and Juno ends with his assurance that the Romans will surpass all men in piety and also all gods"
• David West- Focus of Aeneid

  "Praise is one thing. Flattery is another, and the Aeneid is not flattery."
• David West- Focus of Aeneid

  "It is the story of a human being who knew defeat and dispossession, love and the loss of love, whose life was ruled by his sense of duty to his gods, his people and his family."
• David West- Venus

  "When Venus persuades, she seduces."
• David West- Jupiter


  "Sometimes Jupiter is not always the all-powerful lord of the universe, but the father of a rowdy family where there is constant trouble between jealous wife and unruly daughter."
• Williams- Turnus

  "Turnus resembles Dido as an obstacle to the divine which must be overcome."
• Hutchinson- Aeneas

  "It is ironic that with the sword thrust that kills Turnus and begins the founding of Rome, Aeneas' humanity deteriorates"
• Hutchinson- Turnus/ Aeneas connection

  "Aeneas and Turnus reverse roles: Aeneas is now the raging enemy of compassion pietas... Through Aeneas, Virgil pleads for self-restraint as the most critical virtue in maintaining one's humanity: but as Turnus learns to his peril, violent passion will usually conquer even the best of men"
• Gale- Turnus

  "Turnus can be viewed as an innocent victim of the gods"
• Gale- Turnus/ Aeneas connection

  "The crucial difference between Turnus and Aeneas is a distinction between personal glory and impersonal duty, private desires and public pietas"
• Gale- Turnus and Similes

  "Turnus is repeatedly likened to a lion, tiger, wolf or eagle. These similes are obviously calculated to bring out the aggressive, bloodthirsty nature of Turnus' 'Homeric' heroism"
• Gale- Turnus' helmet

  "He is an enemy of reason, order, and the gods"
• Gale- Aeneas' Shield

  "Aeneas' shield, does not refer directly to the hero himself, but represents the future exploits of his distant descendants"