Aeneid

In the 6th century BCE, the Roman civilization flourished as a continuation of the perfect culture in Etruria (Truri, alb., = The Brain, eng.) and Latium (Albanum / Arbanum). In the 5th century, the book Mythologiæ or the Science of Untruth got published for the first time. Since the book would not have tilted the scale if it was alone, the creation of the poems Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid co-occurred. Iliad itself does not prove the Castle of Star (Illi, Ylli, Illion, alb.) or Troy as a place at the entrance of the Strait of Dardanelles.

The article offers a case study in the nature of uses of the European past in East Asia at a time when the search for the knowledge of the West was not yet motivated primarily by any sense of its civilizational, moral, or technological superiority. In the course of the later eighteenth century, as Dutch philological expertise gradually became another available tool – alongside the long-established Sinological erudition – for generating knowledge about the world, commentators around the Japanese archipelago began to turn not only to the medical and astronomical manuals of the occidentals but also to their histories. The translation-cum-commentary Miscellanea from the western seas by Yamamura Saisuke (1801) is a case in point. The text became effectively a crossroads of two philological and historiographical bodies of knowledge that intersected in unexpected ways as the European past was subjected to a reinterpretation in terms of the classical Chinese precedent, while the product of that reinterpretation informed a different understanding of the recent and contemporary historical trajectory of a Japan now exposed to the dynamics of the global European presence.

Julius Caesar, one of the protagonists of Lucan’s Pharsalia, disappears from the scene for a long time after the Battle of Pharsalus. He reappears at the end of Book 9, when he pays a visit to the ruined city of Troy. The function and the source of this historically unsupported scene are both worth examining. Earlier research disclosed as the literary source of the Troy scene the episode in Aeneid Book 8, when Evander shows Aeneas the future site of Rome. While fully accepting that, I would like to present another possible source that might have as much effect on the constructing of Lucan’s Troy as the Evander–scene: the katabasis in Book 6 of the Aeneid. Definite parallelisms can be identified between the two scenes on both motivic and textual levels. Furthermore, the connection between these three scenes can be proved on the level of content, since by examining them together the real purpose of the Troy scene can be decoded: Lucan predicts Rome’s destruction in this episode.

Anchises’ speech (Aen. 6,724-751) synthesizes, in twenty-eight verses, the great themes of the cosmos (724-727), the animated beings (728-732), the soul imprisoned in the body (733-738), the destiny of the souls (739-751). The synthesis is obtained by means of a carefully designed structure: the different parts are proportionate to each another, and are linked through internal references. In the analysis of Anchises’ speech I use the weaving images (warp, weft, meshes). The warp consists of the various threads of the speech (corresponding to the themes of the main sections: cosmos, animated beings…), while the weft is the main
thread, consisting of internal references and of verbal and conceptual parallels.

From antiquity to the eve of the modern era, rulers of Western empires inspired hero worship by proclaiming their divine origins. In this fascinating original study, Marie Tanner presents the history of the emperor's mythic image and its continuing influence on Western political thought. She shows that these pretensions to divinity were based on the Trojan legend and the myth of Rome as developed in Vergil’s Aeneid and that later Christian emperors expanded these claims by tracing their lineage not only to the pagan gods but also to the priest-kings of the Old Testament. Through this amalgam of heritages each successive Holy Roman emperor proclaimed that he was the last descendant of Aeneas, destined to yield the terrestrial rule of Rome to Christ and thereby inaugurate millennial peace.

By examining a wide range of literary, artistic, and historical sources plus a corpus of new illustrations, Tanner discovers remarkable chains of evidence for this process, one that culminates with the Renaissance Hapsburgs who imbued the holiest symbols of the faith with dynastic meaning as they attempted to consolidate all priestly and secular powers in their grip. On these foundations Philip II of Spain, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the first monarch to rule the four known continents, created a new concept of absolute monarchy that shaped the principles of modern statecraft and determined the dominant form of government in Europe for the next two centuries.

“Anthony Burgess and Science Fiction”, Jim Clarke, SFRA Review 313, Summer 2015, pp. 28-35. Anthony Burgess was a reluctant writer of SF, but a highly influential one. This article, for the SFRA Review, introduces the author and his SF work and seeks to explain the reason behind his sudden reversal of attitude towards SF in mid-career.

This paper focuses on mythological Sinon in Spanish Golden Age drama as a character. After a commentary on Greek and Latin Literature sources depicting Sinon, this paper analyzes five Spanish mythological plays: La destrucción de Troya (1647), «entremés» wrongly attributed to Góngora, La destrucción de Troya (XVIIth century), by Cristóbal de Monroy, wherein Sinon is the play's «gracioso», Troya abrasada (ca. 1640), by Calderón de la Barca and Juan de Zabaleta, wherein Sinon is a tragic traitor, El robo de Elena y destrucción de Troya (XVIIth century), a sacramental play by Rojas Zorrilla wherein Sinon is an allegory of Godly Love, and Los amores de Dido y Eneas (XVIIth century), by Cristóbal de Morales, wherein Sinon is a remnant of the Renaissance Theatre prologue. A quotation from a fictitious play called Astucias de Sinón, in El Diablo cojuelo (1641), by Vélez de Guevara, is also examined.

In this article, the variants of the Toledo Bibl. Capit. Ms. 102-2 manuscript are analysed. These variants do not coincide with those of Vergil’s Aeneid, which are more recent. Some of the referred lines are explained by means of critic and literary comments and notes.

This discussion outlines the poetical features of style and narrative technique which contribute to Virgil's psychological characterisation and considers the role of audience response - in terms of reception, intertextuality and ideology - in determining Virgil's characterisation.

In this essay on Virgil's Aeneid, I explore the role of memory and historical consciousness as the basis for the general formation of the epic and the outcome of the interpersonal events between Aeneas and Dido, and Aeneas and Turnus. More specifically, I argue that the image on the shield of Aeneas forged by Vulcan is the key to understanding the imagery and story arc of Virgil's grand epic.

The noticeable analogies between the funeral laments of Anna and Juturna in the Aeneid have been often explained as a means of linking the sisters of the two main Aeneas’ opponents. But the common features of the two passages (and their differences) become more clear if we trace back them to the tradition of the historical funeral lament, already included in the Iliad and used by Virgil to represent nature and feelings of these two sad characters.

This study focuses on the analysis of the direct speech between divine and human characters in Vergil’s Aeneid, with particular emphasis on the presence of features regarded as familiar and colloquial. Given that the Vergilian epic is a genre habitually regarded as an artificial construction and of a style which distances itself from normal, everyday language, this study will seek to confirm whether there is a significant accumulation of features of spoken language in the gods’ discourse. The approach of this analysis will be essentially syntactical and in necessary correlation with a pragmatic point of view.

Framing the mission of Aeneas in the underworld, Palinurus’
disappereance in the waters of the Sirens at the end of Aeneid 5 and Circe’s indirect appearance at the beginning of Aeneid 7 mark the last stages of the Trojan hero’s journey. In both cases Vergil deviates and distances himself from Homer, excluding the Sirens and Circe from the narration. The aim of the article is to consider Circe’s and the Sirens’ ambiguous exclusion from the official plot of the Aeneid through a gender-informed perspective. While formally discrediting the figures of Circe and the Sirens, the author invites the reader to glimpse their presence beneath the surface of the text. If these characters, who stand for a problematic model of femina sapiens, lose body and voice, their figures are conveyed through symbols, and they end up embodying two complementary ways of reading Vergil’s epic: intertextuality
(the Sirens) and semiotics (Circe).

Augustus’ success in implementing monarchical rule at Rome is often attributed to innovations in the symbolic language of power, from the star marking Julius Caesar’s deification to buildings like the Palatine complex and Forum Augustum to rituals like triumphs and funerals. This book illumines Roman subjects’ vital role in creating and critiquing these images, in keeping with the Augustan poets’ sustained exploration of audiences’ role in constructing verbal and visual meaning. From Vergil to Ovid, these poets publicly interpret, debate, and disrupt Rome’s evolving political iconography, reclaiming it as the common property of an imagined republic of readers. In showing how these poets used reading as a metaphor for the mutual constitution of Augustan authority and a means of exercising interpretive libertas under the principate, this book offers a holistic new vision of Roman imperial power and its representation that will stimulate scholars and students alike. (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, spring 2018)

«Божественная комедия» итальянского поэта Данте Алигьери по праву считается одним из величайших произведений мировой литературы. Вергилий в «Энеиде» в загробном мире поместил Катона Утического, или Младшего, среди праведников. У Данте Катон становится стражем Чистилища. В статье предпринята попытка исследовать, в чем причины такого выделения этого политического деятеля-язычника, к тому же покончившего жизнь самоубийством. Делается вывод о том, что Катон олицетворяет собой, с одной стороны, идею справедливости, с другой – идею свободы.

En el libro IV de Eneida se desarrolla la trágica relación amorosa de Dido y Eneas. Ella, consumida por las llamas del amor, decide quitarse la vida con la espada de Eneas que él le había obsequiado. Esta figura femenina, construida por Virgilio como una mujer fuera del sistema para el imaginario romano, reúne un conjunto de características propio de un modelo genérico opositor: extranjera, reina de Cartago, viuda que avasalla la condición de univira, practicante de la magia y suicida, al tomar la decisión de acabar con su vida tal como lo haría un soldado romano.
De todas estas notas, se llevará a cabo el análisis de la relación de Dido con las artes mágicas a lo largo de dos episodios: el conjuro de encantamiento para retener a Eneas y el ritual mágico que antecede a su suicidio donde decide maldecir al héroe. A partir de la consideración de que el hecho mágico se funda en una ley de simpatía —las cosas actúan recíprocamente a distancia mediante una atracción secreta regida por principios de semejanza o de contacto—, se procurará reconocer cómo funcionan, según esos condicionantes fácticos, ambos rituales. Estos, cuyos fines están dirigidos a la obtención de un beneficio individual o a la imposición de una voluntad personal, se diferencian de una ceremonia religiosa en la que debe prevalecer el beneficio del pueblo o del estado. Por lo tanto, desde esta perspectiva se busca visibilizar a Dido como una figura transgresora, quien por ser practicante de la hechicería, se convierte en un individuo condenable para la sociedad romana.

Zoals zoveel dingen in de Eeuwige Stad is ook het toerisme (of althans de aanwezigheid van buitenlandse bezoekers, toeristen of niet) iets van alle tijden. Maar in tegenstelling tot latere perioden hebben we uit de oudheid relatief weinig egodocumenten van Romereizigers over die de ervaring op dezelfde manier beschrijven als we die kennen uit latere tijden. Als we dus iets over het antieke ‘toerisme’ willen zeggen, moeten we het vooral met (vaak latere of fictieve) literaire evocaties doen. Één daarvan staat in dit artikel centraal. Het zal blijken dat antieke literaire impressies van de reis naar Rome toch van alles met de moderne ervaring gemeen hebben. Meer in het bijzonder bewijst de hier behandelde passage dat ook in de oudheid al menig bezoeker werd geconfronteerd met de overweldigende historische gelaagdheid van de stad.

A narratological commentary on parts of Vergi'l's Aeneid, aimed at Dutch teachers.

Een commentaar bij het examenpensum Latijn 2020, Vergilius, in Nederland. Het commentaar is bedoeld voor docenten en heeft specifiek aandacht voor Vergilius' verteltechnieken.

Samengesteld door: Suzanne Adema, Antoinette Doekes, Farnaz Farshadpour, Mannus Goris, Boris Hoetjes, Milou Kerkhof, Astrid Landa, Marije van der Steege

In het eerste deel gaan we in zeven hoofdstukken in op een aantal narratologische begrippen en illustreren we ze aan de hand van het examenpensum Latijn 2020. Het tweede deel van dit document heeft de vorm van een commentaar. De lemmata richten zich voornamelijk op de verteltechnieken die in de tekst van het pensum gebruikt worden.

We stellen ons voor dat een docent het commentaar kan gebruiken bij de voorbereiding, maar ook nog ter plekke in de klas kan raadplegen om samen met leerlingen te herkennen welke verteltechnieken de verteller inzet. Vervolgens kan men er samen over nadenken waarom de verteller doet wat hij doet, waarom hij in zijn presentatie bepaalde keuzes maakt.

Nationalism, tragedy and divine intervention are the principal themes of Virgil’s Aeneid and each of these is carefully linked to the geographical setting of the poem.  Virgil’s characterisation is strongly influenced by the physical environment, which he uses to help show the variety of virtues of his characters. He uses a assortment of literary devices like imagery, personification, dramatic tension and metaphors to compare characters to their natural landscapes. For example Virgil draws parallels between nature of the characters and the physical environment, whether this be rough, barron terrain or calm and serene landscape.
The catalogue of the Italians is a prime example of how Virgil uses powerful imagery contrasting characters from different regions for dramatic effect to show the disunity of the nation. Furthermore it gives Virgil the necessary locations to identify his Aeneid as his own and not a copy of Homers Iliad. The natural surroundings’ help shape and form the nature of the people that live there, this will aid Aeneas understanding of what it is to be a Roman.

This paper analyzes Ivan Kotliarevs’kyi’s Eneïda (1798, 1842), a travesty of Virgil’s Aeneid, and its two contemporary adaptations released in 1991: Serhiy Bedusenko’s rock opera and Volodymyr Dakhno’s animation film of the same title.  It demonstrates how these three works localize the Roman epic both by translating Virgil’s Latin into Ukrainian and by transforming the Aeneid into a recognizably Ukrainian literary artifact.  This imaginative appropriation is done through stylistic, linguistic, and generic mixing that is original and grounded in an established tradition of classical reception in the vernacular, thus making the Eneïda at once “national” and “European.”  The paper also demonstrates how these works draw on and contribute to the mythology of the Ukrainian Cossacks, which is linked to the reawakening of Ukraine’s national consciousness and cultural identity.

“Anthony Burgess and Science Fiction”, Jim Clarke, SFRA Review 313, Summer 2015, pp. 28-35.

Anthony Burgess was a reluctant writer of SF, but a highly influential one. This article, for the SFRA Review, introduces the author and his SF work and seeks to explain the reason behind his sudden reversal of attitude towards SF in mid-career.