The Aeneid by Virgil | Summary & Analysis

[Music] the epic poem the Aeneid begins after the fall of Troy in the introduction the trojan fleet carrying the surviving warriors is being battered by a storm in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily sent by Juno Queen of the Gods who holds a grudge against the Trojans and their leader Aeneas the sea god neptune guides their ships to shore they discover they are near the city of Carthage ruled by Queen Dido who welcomes them the Trojans have been traveling since Troy was destroyed worried that Aeneas her son will have no place to rest the goddess Venus makes Dido fall passionately in love with him in the rising action Aeneas tells Dido the epic story of their travels so far beginning with the destruction of Troy Dido impressed by Aeneas and his feats succumbs to her feelings for him hoping it will keep Annius out of Italy and prevent his fates Juno maneuvers Dido into having sex with Aeneas however it is not an official marriage and Aeneas remembering his fate and duty abandons her Dido is terribly distraught and climbs her funeral pyre where her dead body will burn and fatally stabbed herself with his sword as he sails away the trojan fleet stops again and sicily just in time to celebrate the first anniversary event kai seizes death and they make sacrifices and feast before the games of speed and skill after an Kai seizes ghost appears telling his son to set sail and visit him in the underworld Aeneas and the Sibyl an Oracle journey through the underworld eventually reuniting with anti-seize in the Elysian Fields and Kai sees shows his son many of his Roman descendants who will build the Roman Empire the Trojans finally find the Tiber River where they are meant to settle in Nia sends an envoy to make peace with the King of Latian following a prophecy King Latinus offers his daughter Lavinia in marriage but before the deal can be made Juno sends the fury rage hither and yon to rouse Italy to war with the Trojans Turnus gathers allies and Aeneas needs to find allies of his own to fight with him after many dramatic battles the climax of the Indian sees turnus kill prince palace with a spear to his chest faithfully Turnus takes palaces sword belt to wear as a trophy Aeneas enraged by the news of palaces death finally frees the Trojan fort during the falling action after even more back-and-forth battles Ternes unsuccessfully tries to trap Aeneas and the other half of his army and the warrior princess Camilla defends the city Camilla is deadly but she gets distracted allowing the spear to get through her defenses and kill her Ternes agrees single combat with Aeneas in the resolution of the epic poem Ternes is no match for Aeneas and is bested in combat Aeneas is about to grant mercy when he sees Ternes is wearing palaces sword belt in a blaze of fury and Nia stabs Turnus through the heart and becomes ruler of Latian though it's filled with innumerable mortal and God figures the Aeneid has only a handful of main characters the first is Aeneas Aeneas is the hero of the Indian and he's honorable pious measured generous and responsible and like many heroes he carries divine blood his mother is the goddess Venus so he's big handsome and supernaturally strong however Virgil gives him human faults as well at times Aeneas is unsure or conflicted and he can get carried away by his feelings Aeneas has an important fate awaiting him a fictional hero written into historical battles he's destined to found the line of leaders in Italy that develops into Romans the goddess Juno is Aeneas s main antagonist opposing him from start to finish she never stops scheming to try to prevent Aeneas his fate her emnity for the Trojans Springs from losing a contest between goddesses to choose who was most beautiful frustrated in her marriage to Jupiter she is jealous vengeful and holds a grudge but her powers can not change in ESS destiny which has been set by the fates Ternes is the primary hero for the Latin forces that fight in Gnaeus in Italy like Aeneas he's large attractive unusually strong and the son of a goddess a more minor one he fights heroically in battle but unlike Aeneas he's impulsive and arrogant with an exaggerated sense of his own importance Ternes represents the destiny of those who arrogantly oppose the power of Rome they will be defeated Queen Dido is pushed by Aeneas mother Venus and Juno Carthage's own patron goddess into a love for any as' that is very close to madness Aeneas fate inevitably takes him away and the madness drives Dido to dramatic suicide virgil also gives her death historical consequences attributing it as the root of the long conflict between Carthage and Rome Dido is a memorable symbol of the tragic consequences when the careless will of the gods conflicts with the inevitability of fate and kai sees is Aeneas his father wise and strong in character he always does what he thinks is best for his son he isn't always right he too displays human failings but he is clearly the source of Aeneas his values he exemplifies the Roman ideal of respect and honour for family in the all-important relationship between a father and a son Jupiter is the king of the gods and he manages other gods and mediates between them when there's conflict he is responsible for ensuring that what the fates have predicted it comes to pass sooner or later he indulges his wife Juno and his daughter Venus in their efforts up to a point Virgil portrays him as mostly common measured in contrast to Juno's vengeful anger and as the enforcer of India's fate Jupiter supports its inevitability venus is Aeneas 'as mother and his most ardent supporter she repeatedly advocates on behalf of her son and intervenes in events to protect Aeneas as much or more than Juno intervenes to obstruct him like all the gods she doesn't think about how her meddling affects other mortals Venus represents the spectrum of love from rental to passionate fire the magical Golden Bough the shield of Aeneas and the gates of war are the most important symbols in the Indian fire is an uncontrollable force in the poem symbolizing both destruction and inspiration it physically destroys Troy and damages the Trojan ships in Sicily and figuratively describes the fury of battle that obscures even Aeneas is rational thinking and mercy also Dido is driven to suicide by her love for Aeneas burning herself on a giant pyre the fire is also a symbol of destiny and inspiration next is the Golden Bough a symbol of Aeneas is extraordinary an inevitable fate to enter the underworld he must find and pluck this bow and he will only be able to do so if fate allows it like his fates his access to the bow has already been determined the shield of Aeneas is another important symbol this shield is made that buyer god vulcan and is engraved with images of roman history which have not happened yet in the epics timeframe because these events happen in Virgil's time they're inevitable as Aeneas his future the shield functions is a symbol of the destiny of Rome and Aeneas is fate while simultaneously ensuring Aeneas is fates by protecting him in battle the gates of war were symbolically open during wartime and closed in times of peace in book seven Virgil places an early version of the gates of war in Latian Jupiter predicts in book 1 that the gates of war are destined to be bolted shut symbolizing the long and peaceful rule that Virgil envisions for Caesar Augustus and successors the epic poem the Aeneid is rife with important themes most notably the inevitability of fates the destiny of Rome honor and respect and the will of the gods a person's destiny is determined by the fates three goddesses who spin measure and cut the thread of life and one set even the gods cannot change fate Aeneas is inevitable fate is to found a new city in Italy that builds the groundwork for the city of Rome and the Roman Empire this theme primarily glorifies Rome but hopes for the inevitable fate of the Roman Empire to be a long and peaceful future some characters try to alter the course of Aeneas his fate especially the goddess Juno who repeatedly uses her divine powers to cause trouble for him but she only manages to lengthen and twist in Nice's path to his fate not block it of course Aeneas his fate is supported by his family especially his father his mother the goddess Venus and all his fellow Trojans another important theme is the destiny of Rome the most obvious purpose of the Aeneid is to glorify the history of Rome and its leader Caesar Augustus but Virgil also laid out his own purposes making a case for peace by highlighting the dangers and costs of war and demonstrating the traits of an ideal Roman Aeneas his faith is inextricably linked to the destiny of Rome by placing this legendary hero into a historical framework virgil uses his heroic qualities to explain the historical rise of rome up to his time and to predict the continued greatness of the roman empire into the future another key theme is honor and respect Aeneas is repeatedly called pious a concept that encompassed much more than paying respect to the gods in Roman culture piety also includes honoring and being mindful of one's duties to family and country however Aeneas has great piety can be overcome at least temporarily by passion and anger especially at the end of the poem when his rage over palaces death prompts him to kill Ternes rather than show him mercy Naurang his father's directive to spare the defeated Virgil seems to be warning readers about the dangers of war and acting in anger and vengeance most of the conflict in the Aeneid is caused by the changing will of the gods far from being infallible the gods of Rome like their greek counterparts act more like squabbling children than higher beings in this frame virgil seems to invite the reader to question whether or not the gods merit the respect they demand of human beings a consideration that would not have been alien to philosophical considerations of Romans at the time unfortunately the gods also have a lot of power so they can cause great trouble but as powerful as the gods are it cannot be overstated that they can't change fate [Music]

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Keywords: virgil (author), virgil, aeneid, aeneas, vergil, homer, troy, rome, trojan war, roman history, augustus, poem, dido, ancient history, classics, the aeneid, aneid, aenied, eneid, anied, aneas

Id: jShpsDnmVKE

Length: 11min 22sec (682 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 11 2019