Aeneas and His Ghosts

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Aeneas and His Ghosts

The Aeneid Written by Virgil Translation by Fitzgerald

I.Pious Aeneas (his background and key characteristics)

•Mother is Venus (the Greek Aphrodite) Page 54, Book II, Lines 775-777

“Stepping before me, radiant through the night,My loving mother came: immortal, tall,

And lovely as the lords of heaven know her.”

•“Favored by Jupiter” Page 164, Book VI, Lines 190-193“… A few

Whom a benign Jupiter has loved or whom Fiery heroism has borne to heaven,

Sons of gods, could do it…”

•Fated

oThe gods respect his fate. Page 11, Book I, Lines 319-322

“Surely from these the Romans are to come In the course of the years, renewing Teucer’s line, To rule the sea and all the lands about it,According to your promise…”

He will found the land where Rome will later stand.

Page 12-14, Book I, Lines 352-354, 373-375

“No, he, your son – now let me speak of him,

In view of your consuming care, at length,

Unfolding secret fated things to come-”

“And call by his own name his people Romans.

For these I set no limits, world or time,

But make the gift of empire without end.”

He is fated to go to the Underworld.

Page 164, Book VI, Lines 214-217

“Pull away the bough. It will come willingly,

Easily, if you are called by fate.

If not, with all your strength you cannot conquer it,

Cannot lop it off with a sword’s edge.”

•Receptive and Open.

oAeneas constantly looks for signs from the gods as to what his actions should be and listens/ follows through when he is nudged in the right direction.

Page 110, Book IV, Lines 545-551 “Duty-bound,

Aeneas, though he struggled with desire

To calm and comfort her in all her pain,

To speak to her and turn her mind from grief,

And though he sighed his heart out, shaken still

With love of her, yet took the course heaven gave him

And went back to the fleet…”

oIn all his interactions with his crew, wife, father, Dido, other leaders, the gods, etc., Aeneas listens instead of tooting his own horn (Odysseus), knowing there is a lot to be gained from others.

•Aeneas is dutiful.

oBrings the household gods.

Page 65, Book III, Lines 16-18

“…I took to the open sea,

Borne outward into exile with my people,

My son, my hearth gods, and the greater gods”

oCarries Anchises from Troy on his back and holds his opinion in high regard.

Page 55, Book II, Lines 829-830

“…I looked for him at once,

My first wish being to help him to the mountains;”

Page 58, Book II, Lines 921-924

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