Vergil’s Aeneid as a millennial text

I. What should we look for in millennial texts?

II. Time of composition (29-19 B.C.)
What was happening in the world?

III. Vergil’s life.
Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 B.C. in Mantua, Italy – September 21, 19 B.C. in Brundisium, Italy)

IV. The story and its subject: Rome and Roman history
What historical events does Vergil mention in the Aeneid?

V. The hero: Aeneas
The Greek Aeneas vs. the Roman Aeneas

VI. Prophecy and Temporal Perspectives
Watch out for prophecies and predictions in the Aeneid. Sometimes they deal with events already past in Vergil’s day. Sometimes the predictions are still in the future.

PAST: Greek myth and Roman history

PRESENT: Vergil’s Rome

FUTURE: ???? What does Vergil expect?

VII. Role of the Gods
Note especially Juno, Venus, Poseidon, and Jupiter. What are their relationships to Aeneas, to Rome, and to each other?

VIII. Homer and Epic Poetry
Vergil’s use of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Characteristics of Epic Poetry

Packet / List of Characters / Slide Lecture / Vergil Homepage

These questions were prepared by Prof. Tom Sienkewicz for his students in Honors 210 "Reading Through the Millennia" at Monmouth College. If you have any questions about this material, you can contact him at toms@monm.edu.