Vergil Journal 5

Quiz- Book II: Lines 25-34 (Because Tyler Had A Good Idea But Not a Literal Translation)

So basically, here is a literal translation (plus other things) for our Friday (Feb 23) QUIZ!

25 We (Aeneas and his men...Aeneas is still talking) thought they (the Greeks) had departed and went to Mycenas (Greece) by the wind.
26 Therefore, all of Teucria (Troy) loosened itself from its long grief;
27 the gates had been loosened (aka opened), and it is pleasant to go out and to see the Greek camp,
28 the deserted place, and the abandoned shore:
29 here was the hand of the Dolopes (the Greeks), here fierce Achilles was holding;
30 here was the place for the fleet, here they were accustomed to fight in a battle line (an army).
31 Part stood agape at the deadly gift of virgin (unwedded) Minerva
32 and they are amazed by the size of the horse; first Thyometes
33 urges that (the Trojan horse) be lead inside the walls and that it be placed on the citadel,
34 whether by a trick or whether the fates of Troy were heading.

Notes on some of the lines:
25: objects of rati = abiisse and petiisse; Mycenae = direct object of petisse; nos = subject, referring to Aeneas and his men
26: omnis goes w/ Teucria (Troy), meaning all of Troy; longo describes luctu; se = object of soluit, omnis = subject
27: portae = subject of panduntur (nom); iuvat = it is pleasant, takes objects ire and videre; videre takes 3 objects- castra, locos, litus(que); NOTE the use of the tricolon (hic, hic, hic)
28: desertos(que) describes the locos, relictum describes the litus(que)
29: the Dolopes refer to the Greeks of Thessaley; add an est in with every hic clause to make things make more sense; Achilles = subject of tenebat
30: classibus = dative; acies = ablative (despite translation); solebant's object is certare
31: pars = subject of stupet (nom); stupet's object is donum (exitiale describes the donum); innuptae modifies Minervae, both are genitive
32: subject of mirantur is the understood Greeks; the equi refers to the Trojan horse; Thyometes = subject of hortatur
33: muros = acc.; arce = ablative; hortatur takes 2 objects: locari, duci
34: dolo = abl.; Troiae = gen; fata = subject of ferebant

Made by Mia with much input from Karen :D

Good luck on the quiz!

Oh, and for Dr. O (and Tyler too)...AENEAS WILLIAMS!!!

Vergil Journal 4: Impressions of Carthage

Bryn Kass Vergil Journal Tuesday, February 19

Aeneas' response to Carthage... (forgive any spelling errors please)
Upon arriving in Dido's city, Aeneas immediately notices and is in awe of the amazing productivity and construction. Vergil illustrates magnificent buildings and huge shining gates. At the same time, society itself is being formed: "laws were being enacted". One may also notice that, not only is this city built for industrial and economic use, it will also be home to theatres and various forms of entertainment. Aeneas compares the working people of Carthage to bees and their hive. They are busy and focused, and "they" are only the most steadfast to their specific duties.
When he comes to the temple built for Juno, it is clear that the people of Carthage are very proud of and loyal to Juno. He observes the building in an awesome magnificence, noticing its bronze steps and doors. And for some reason, it is here that Aeneas is at peace for the first time. The great walls of the temple bring him comfort and security. Is Juno watching over him? He is able to appreciate the toil of the workers of Carthage.
One question stands in my mind throughout Vergil's narrative; where are the women? If Carthage IS a society, if it IS built for the people, for living and eating and entertaining, where is the second half of the population. Aeneas does not notice or speak of women until he sees Dido. Does this have some significance, or is it just coincidence? Maybe this emphasizes the strength of Carthage and the fact that (and I hate to say this) only the strongest were able to make progress on the city itself

Posting Vergil Journals

Since Mr. O'Donnell suggested that we post our Journals on the blog, I thought I'd explain how you can do it.

You can simply post your jounrals as "Comments" on a journal. A Vergil Journal #4 will be posted tomorrow, so you can add yours as a comment then.

(NOTE: the becoming an "author" idea failed due to site restrictions. I was able to upload one extra author before the site tried eliminating people. Sorry Bryn! So in this case comments can be posts now - Mr. O'D will read your journal if it is attacted as a comment. In fact in this way all journals for a week show up together)

I've changed the settings on the blog so now ANYONE can post without making account (just trying to make your life a little easier). Because of this, make sure that your name/identity is clear when posting the journals (Mr. O'D needs to know who you are!).
Happy Posting!

P.S. Latin podcast may be on its way! ^_^

P.P.S. Happy Chinese New Year! (year of the piglet.. aka boar)

Amor Vincit Omnia: Love in the Aeneid (In Honor of V-Day)

Longing, infatuation, desire, and love have proven to be deeply embedded in the human character. What makes it all interesting, however, is the fact that love itself has a wide variety of intended meanings- for example: Romantic love (a deep, ineffable feeling of attraction- mostly intimate), Platonic love (affectionate without the physical aspect...Plato's ideal of love!), Religious love (for Him), Familial love (for your family, of course), Selflessness, Friendship, etc. The diverse range of meanings in the concept of "love" reflects its depth, versatility, and complexity. The best part, though, is that love, in its plethora of forms, makes frequent appearances in the context of Virgil's Aeneid! So...let's take a look at two of our main lovers in the story- how their decisions affect their infatuation, and (while partually ruining what we have of the plot up until the end of Book 1).

Aeneas and Love: Choices and Consequences

As a Trojan leader, Aeneas respects prophecy and attempts to incorporate the idea of his own destiny into his actions throughout the story. However, as we have first seen him, Aeneas is filled with conflicting emotions. One part of him is still grieving for his lost city and all the friends and family who died there (like in Bk. 1, line 470 when he is crying as he looks at the artwork depicting the Trojan War). Another part of him is worn out with troubles and worries about whether or not he will ever find a place where his people can settle (as we know, Juno, described as a "force of disorder", is not very happy with Aeneas, and will be looking to bring about the downfall of both Aeneas and the Trojan race). We as readers see that Aeneas has the capacity to hold strong, in spite of emotional impulses that conflict with his fated duties. Yet, we will undoubtedly see Aeneas fall as a result of his desires (nobody, not even characters in novels, are perfect), and be led astray on his path to fate. His compassion for the sufferings of others, even in conjunction with a single-minded devotion to his duty (piety comes into play again), will be a major factor in both Aeneas' decisions, as well as the outcome of the story. Plus, we are nearly upon the description of perhaps the most important the relationship of the journey: that between Dido and Aeneas! <3

Dido Unveiled: From Infatuation to Personal Destruction (SPOILER WARNING)


From what we know of Dido thus far, she is the confident and competent ruler of Carthage, a city she founded on the coast of North Africa. She is resolute, we learn, in her determination not to marry again and to preserve the memory of her dead husband, Sychaeus, whose murder at the hands of Pygmalion, her brother, caused her to flee her native Tyre. Despite this turmoil, she maintains her focus on her political responsibilities. Virgil depicts the suddenness of the change that love provokes in the queen with the image of Dido as the victim of Cupid’s arrow (in the upcoming lines with which we will end Book 1), which strikes her almost like madness or a disease. Dido tells her sister that a flame has been reignited within her. While flames and fire are traditional, almost clichéd images associated with love, fire is also a natural force of destruction and uncontrollable chaos. Dido risks everything by falling for Aeneas, and when this love fails, she finds herself unable to reassume her dignified position. By taking Aeneas as a lover, she compromises her previously untainted loyalty to her dead husband’s memory. Her irrational obsession drives her to a frenzied suicide, out of the tragedy of her situation and the pain of lost love, but also out of a sense of diminished possibilities for the future. She is a figure of passion and volatility, qualities that contrast with Aeneas’s order and control, and interestingly, traits that Virgil associated with Rome itself in his own day. However, until the story of Aeneas and Dido unfolds for us, we must realize that love plays a key role not only in Dido's death, but also in Aeneas' final decision to leave Dido (specifically, his love for the Trojans and his desire to find them a place of rest).



In ending this sequence about love, we must recall one of the most famous Latin proverbs, attributed to our one and only Virgil (written in his Eclogues- 10:69):

amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori
Translation: Love conquers all, let us too yield to love.

In a sense, love will always remain "in medias omnia res" among the characters in the Aeneid, and perhaps in our own everyday lives.



Sources Include:

1. Wikipedia
2. Loeb Edition
3. Pinkmonkey
4. Sparknotes
4. Virgil's Aeneid (by Barbara Weiden Boyd)
5. Google Images

Poetry Device of the Day: Tricolon Crescens

For those of you who were curious about the TRICOLON CRESCENS we talked about in class, here is a little more Info on it:

TRICOLON CRESCENS
an ascending tricolon – a combination of three elements increasing in size.

Non ferar, non patiar, non tolerabo. (anonymous)

Est vidisse satis; laudat digitosque manusque
Bracchiaque et nudos media plus parte lacertos. – Ovid Met. I.500-1

(http://www.frapanthers.com/teachers/white/literary_devices.htm#Tricolon)
^This website also contains lots of helpful information on other literary devices. I added the link to the Interesting Websites as “Latin Literary Devices”.

The key to a tricolon crescens, or ascending tricolon, is that each thing is increasing with magnitude. In the Ovid example above, we see how he goes from fingers, to hands, to arms, to shoulders. Mr. O’Donnell’s example of “I hate your school, I hate you, I hate your parents” displays the increasing magnitude of hate. Hating your school is not as direct or intense as hating you, and according to Mr. O’D not as severe as having your parents hated (some of us may dispute this order of magnitude). Overall though, we can recognize a tricolon crescens if a list of 3 things appear in increasing size/magnitude/intensity. This is just one more poetic device you can add to your bag of witty stuff to pull out on the AP :).

Virgil Journal 3: Aeneas' Pietas

The character and legend of Aeneas, which was first established in Homer’s Illiad, reappears in Virgil’s Aenied. Virgil drew Aeneas’ future role as the ancestor of the Romans from Achilleus’ rampage in the Illiad. In this scene, Aeneas, encouraged by Apollo, challenges Achilleus to a battle. During the battle Poseidon says:

“But why does this man, who is guiltless, suffer his sorrows
for no reason, for the sake of others’ unhappiness, and always
he gives gifts that please them to the gods who hold the wide heaven.
But come, let us ourselves get him away from death, for fear
the son of Kronos may be angered if now Achilleus
kills this man. It is destined that he shall be the survivor,
that the generation of Dardanos shall not die, without seed
obliterated, since Dardanos was dearest to Kronides
of all his sons that have been born to him from mortal women.
For Kronos’ son has cursed the generation of Priam,
and now the might of Aineias shall be lord over the Trojans,
and his sons’ sons, and those who are born of their seed hereafter. (20.297-308)”

This passage sets the basis for Virgil’s Aenied. It is evident Aeneas was destined to survive at Troy and will one day lead over its decedents. While researching I also found an interesting connection to why Virgil chose Aeneas as the founder of the Roman race:
“As the Romans came into contact - and conflict - with the Greeks in the third and second centuries B.C., they sought to link themselves with Greek legends, and gradually adopted Aeneas - an enemy of the Greeks - as an ancestor and a founder of a city, Lavinium, that was a precursor of Rome itself. In the Aeneid, Virgil elaborated upon these legends, reworked some of them, and organized them into a grand epic that stressed Aeneas’ role as the ancestor of the Roman people and linked his personal destiny with the historical destiny of Rome to become the seat of a great empire. At its core, though, is the hero whom Homer destined for survival in the Iliad (Virgil’s Aeneid: Introduction).”

The piety of Aeneas, attributed to him by Poseidon in the Illiad, develops into a defining characteristic throughout the Aenied. I also noted, that Virgil used the words of Poseidon as his own starting point for the Aenied. In the Illiad, Aeneas is described as a “guiltless” man who must “suffer his sorrows for no reason”. Similarly, Virgil begins the Aenied by saying, “Tell me, O Muse, the cause; wherein thwarted in will or wherefore angered, did the Queen of heaven drive a man, of goodness so wondrous, to traverse so many perils, to face to many toils.”

It is in these lines we are first introduced to Aeneas, described as a man of insignem pietate (Aenied 1.10). Later, I noticed that Aeneas introduces himself to the huntress by declaring, “I am the loyal/pious Aeneas” (“sum pius Aeneas”, Aenied 1.378). It appears as if Virgil uses Aeneas to portray the Roman hero, displaying the qualities of pietas and duty. He is a good man who is forced to suffer at the hands of a larger divine plan. Roman pietas consisted of three main duties: duty towards the Gods, duty towards country, and duty towards family/followers (Wikipedia). It is already evident that Aeneas has submitted himself to the will of the gods. From Jupiter’s prophecy we learn that Aeneas will rage a great war in Italy, crush proud nations, establish Latium, and found the Roman race. Reading ahead, I know that Aeneas’ pietas will cause him to leave Dido in order to continue to fulfill his destiny. This example provides evidence of his duty of country and the gods, but not to his family.

Curious, I decided to search the Internet for a peek ahead. From my research I learned that Virgil greatly explores the relationship between fathers and sons as the poem continues. Apparently, Aeneas had rescued his father, Anchises, and son, Ascanius, from Troy. The image of him departing with Ascanius, while carrying the Trojan ancestral gods in his arms and his father on his back, is the epitome of the three duties associated with pietas.

On a side note, I also found that many scholars believe Aeneas’s piety was a direct attempt by Augustus to establish himself as a pious ruler. Virgil had been commissioned by Augustus to write the Aenied. This would explain his obvious flattery of the Roman’s and the rulers during Jupiter’s speech. As Mr. O’Donnell put it, “he was sucking up to his commissioner.” Virgil may have in way alluded to Augustus through Aeneas. It heavily suggested that gods “work their ways” through humans. The people of Rome must accept their fate, just as Aeneas accepted his fate to found Rome, and Augustus’ fate to lead it. In a way, this gave Augustus an unquestionable god given power.

From what little we have already seen of the Aenied, and the additional information I have learned online, I can tell pietas will be a resounding theme. Its obvious importance will make it a likely AP question (2005 AP asked about it), so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more supporting evidence!


Sources
1. http://vergil.classics.upenn.edu/comm2/legend/legend.html#pius
2. http://www.answers.com/topic/aeneid
3. Wikipedia
4. http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~demilio/2211unit3/vrglcint.htm
5. Loeb Translation