Aeneid
Also known as: Aenēis · Aeneis · Eneid · Æneid · Verg. A.
- 1The Aeneid was written by Virgil over a ten-year period ending in 19 BC.
- 2The poem is composed of 9,896 lines structured in dactylic hexameter.
- 3Aeneas is the central protagonist who flees Troy to establish a new lineage in Italy.
- 4The narrative is divided into two halves, covering both the wanderings and the war against the Latins.
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.
Connections2
exemplifies the katabasis motif in Roman epic poetry
In Book VI of Virgil's epic, the hero Aeneas performs a katabasis to the underworld to consult the shade of his father, Anchises, regarding his future destiny.
Contemporary Roman epic counterpart
Virgil's Aeneid established the standard for Roman epic poetry, and Ovid's Metamorphoses is often read as a playful, genre-bending response to the gravity of Virgil's work.
The Aeneid is a foundational Latin epic poem composed by the Roman poet Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. It chronicles the legendary journey of Aeneas, a Trojan survivor who escapes the destruction of Troy to reach Italy, where he is destined to become the ancestor of the Roman people.
Paul Cézanne, Aeneas Meeting Dido at Carthage, c. 1875, Princeton University Art MuseumWikimedia Commons: File:1875,_Cézanne,_Aeneas_Meeting_Dido_at_Carthage.jpgMap of Aeneas' legendary journeyWikimedia Commons: File:Aeneae_exsilia.svgAeneas Flees Burning Troy, by Federico Barocci (1598). Galleria Borghese, Rome, ItalyWikimedia Commons: File:Aeneas'_Flight_from_Troy_by_Federico_Barocci.jpg The poem consists of 9,896 lines written in dactylic hexameter and is divided into twelve books. The narrative is split into two distinct halves: the first six books detail the arduous wanderings of Aeneas, while the final six books focus on the war against the Latins. This epic serves as a crucial piece of Roman literature, establishing a national myth that links the origins of Rome to the heroic traditions of the Trojan War.