I apologize, again, for being away for five-ish days. It's been a long week coaching kids and helping run camp. I lost my voice, but my teams won the championship games. You can leave comments of congratulations if you'd like. While I was away, I hope you pondered about The Aeneid. This epic poem is essentially the Roman answer to the Iliad and Odyssey. The poem was written between 29 and 19 BCE. Virgil writes about the triumph of the Roman culture, the transformation of the devastation of Troy, and Aeneas's struggles and successes.
Since I've been gone all week, I'm going to give a short summary of the entire poem. I apologize for not giving this text the time it deserves, but such is life. The story takes place after the fall of Troy. The Trojan prince, Aeneas, leads a small group of survivors in search of a new home in Italy. As luck would have it for our epic heroes, as the group sails away, they are seen by the goddess Juno (Greek and Roman gods and goddess have a lot of similarities, but some differences as well. This link has a chart describing them both and which ones represented each other--i.e. Hera is Juno in Roman: Greek vs. Roman gods/goddesses). Juno doesn't like the Trojans because she carries a grudge. The Trojans are destined to become Romans, who will end up destroying Carthage, her favorite city. With the help of the god of winds, Juno has a storm force the Trojans to take refuge in Carthage.
Good thing the Trojans have Aeneas. His mom is Venus, who introduces him to Dido. Dido happens to be the gorgeous queen of Carthage and is recently widowed. Venus gets Amor (love) to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneas. That night, a feast is held in his honor. Aeneas tells Dido the story of how Troy was destroyed and his escape. His wife happened to die in the destruction of the city--which makes this affair rather convenient. Aeneas also talks about he and the other survivors' travels across the ocean and their encounter with many mythological creatures (kind of like Odysseus's story). The story ends with the death of Aeneas's father.
Aeneas and his band of survivors end up staying the winter in Carthage. During that time, he and Dido become a couple. Jupiter (who is the king of gods like Zeus) is a little worried that Aeneas won't complete his destiny of founding Rome. He sends the god Mercury to tell Aeneas he better start getting a move on it. Dido kills herself.
A storm forces the Trojans to land in a new city, Sicily, the place where they buried Aeneas's father a year before. The Trojan men hold athletic events to honor him (like Achilles did in the Iliad). While these sporting events are going on, the women are convinced by Juno to set the Trojan ships on fire. Aeneas realizes that everyone doesn't want to go to Italy like he does, so he leaves most of them in Sicily, only taking his VIP group. Their first stop is Cumae, in the Bay of Naples, where the prophetess Sibyl is. She takes Aeneas to the underworld, where he talks to his father and also sees the future Roman heroes, waiting to be born. He also sees Dido, but she refuses to talk to him.
Shaken up by what he sees in the underworld, Aeneas sails to Latium. The king of Latium, Latinus, has had a recent oracle tell him that his only child, Lavinia, must marry a foreign husband. Guess who that lucky guy is? Yes, Aeneas. One problem with this deal is that Latinus's wife wants their daughter to marry a local prince named Turnus. Juno, who is excited by this tiff, sends down Fury to make Latinus's wife and Turnus enraged. She then tricks one of Aeneas's men to shoot a deer kept as a pet by Latinus's gamekeeper. This starts a war between the Italians and the Trojans.
While the Italians are trying to find people to help them, the god of the River Tiber comes to Aeneas in a dream and tells him to make an alliance with the Arcadian King Evander. Aeneas does as he's told (we've seen what happens when you don't listen to gods/goddesses). Evander gives Aeneas some men, including his own son, Pallas. He also tells Aeneas to team up with the Etruscans. After Aeneas goes to speak to them, Venus gives him some armor made by the god Vulcan. It has scenes depicting the future of Rome.
As Aeneas is gone, Turnus attacks the Trojan fort, but can't capture it. That night, two Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus, try to break through the Italian lines to get to Aeneas, but they end up being killed. Two days later, Aeneas shows up with his new friends. In battle. Turnus kills Pallas. The next day, Aeneas and the Italians agree on a twelve-day truce to bury the dead, but like many truces, it's broken three days later. The following battle leads to the death of Camilla, a warrior queen who was allied with Turnus.
That evening, Turnus fights Aeneas one-on-one for Lavinia and the kingdom. The next day, before the fight begins, Turnus's sister, Juturna, who is a nymph, eggs on a Trojan soldier to throw a spear at the Italians. A new battle begins. After a lot of death and fighting, Aeneas and Turnus go at it. Aeneas wounds him and Turnus begs for his life. Aeneas considers it until he sees Turnus is wearing a belt he stole from Pallas. He then kills Turnus. That's the end, folks.
Since this week is so loopy, I'll make a long post on Sunday about why this text is important. If you've felt a little cheated (I don't blame you, since I've been gone), you should read it within the next few days before I post. The next post will hopefully make up for my absence. I apologize, for the last time.
Until then,
Cassy
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