Obtaining A Virtuous Identity In The Aeneid By Virgil And Christine De Pizan

Ancient Rome produced a number of literary geniuses, which included Marcus Cicero, Horace, and Virgil. The following excerpt from The Humanistic Tradition describes one of Virgil’s most famous works, “The Aeneid was not the product of an oral tradition, as were the Homeric epics: rather, it is a literary epic . . . No summary of the Aeneid can represent the monumental impact of a work that would become the foundation for the education of the Latin language” (Fiero 146). Ancient Roman works such as The Aeneid have had a profound influence on countless writers, poets, and literary scholars including Shakespeare, James Joyce, and Robert Graves. These ancient civilizations also made a variety of other contributions to western civilization.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE PORTRAYAL OF THE GODS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID AND OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. There is a significant difference in the treatment of the gods in the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, even though both authors were writing in the epic tradition. Virgil wrote his Aeneid in the last ten years of his life, between 29BC and 19BC, after the Battle of Actium, in 31BC, which was significant, as it established Octavian as the sole emperor, Augustus, of Rome. The Aeneid is a celebration of Augustus' achievements and rejoices in the development of Rome. There is a great sense of political propaganda, as well as an historical element, as it illustrates the origins of the Roman people.

However, Valerius, like Cato, associates women with matters that are less substantial and not entirely connected to the empire as a whole. “No offices, no priesthoods, no triumphs, no decorations, no gifts, no spoils of war can come to them; elegance of appearance, adornment, apparel-these are the woman’s badges of honor.” The apparent connection between women and appearance shows that women in Roman society were something to be looked at or shown off. Women were the prizes of men and the better they looked or the more they had been directly linked to his status in society.

In his epic poem “The Aeneid,” Virgil details an account of how the great empire of Rome descended from a Trojan leader named Aeneas. It is an action-packed story, filled with tales from the hardships at sea to the brutality of warfare as Aeneas journeys to Italy following the downfall of Troy. Aeneas, the hero of the story, is depicted in mostly a positive light throughout the poem and shown portraying a wide variety of emotions and traits, some seemingly contrasting one another—from scorching, merciless anger to tender, affectionate love. While he is a three-dimensional, rather well-rounded character, Virgil depicts women throughout The Aeneid in a more one-dimensional, usually negative light, establishing a hint of sexism and misogyny throughout

Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of

The Roman epic of Virgil's Aeneid describes the hardship and misadventures of Aeneas and the Trojans quest from Troy to Italy. Like Homer’s famous epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s narrative style and structure portrays similar attributes in the finding of Rome. Aeneas encounters several women on his journey who play a significant role throughout this epic in assisting or destroying his journey to Rome. His representation of female characters provides the readers with a better understanding of gender politics and reasons why some female leaders failed. Each of Virgil's female characters demonstrates a combination of traits throughout the epic; however, such behaviors of these women tend to develop unwanted conflict due to emotions.

In Virgil’s poem, The Aeneid, the ideal Roman hero is depicted in the form of Aeneas. Not only does Aeneas represent the Roman hero, but he also represents what every Roman citizen is called to be. Each Roman citizen must posses two major virtues, he must remain pious, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In the poem, Aeneas encompasses both of these virtues, and must deal with both the rewards and costs of them.

Prior to and throughout the late middle ages, women have been portrayed in literature as vile and corrupt. During this time, Christine de Pizan became a well educated woman and counteracted the previous notions of men’s slander against women. With her literary works, Pizan illustrated to her readers and women that though education they can aspire to be something greater than what is written in history. Through the use of real historical examples, Christine de Pizan’s, The Book of the City of Ladies, acts as a defense against the commonly perceived notions of women as immoral.

The protagonist of the Aeneid and known hero to many, Aeneas, was a man of many virtues. His courage and obedience towards the Roman gods are clearly shown all throughout the book, as well as his passion for justice. When he leaves his lover, Dido, at the bidding of the gods, he shows obedience even when it went against his own will. The time Aeneas travels into the underworld to find his deceased father, it shows great bravery. It is even seen by the example of the crew of Aeneas that he was an incredible person, judging by how loyal they were to him. But, even with all these wonderful attributes, Aeneas wasn’t the entirely heroic person we believe him to be.

Intro – Begin by talking about how people often see Aeneid by Virgil as focusing on the events surrounding the Trojan war, but an equally important part of the story is the prevalent theme of duty. For instance, if one looks at Aeneas one can see his devotion towards caring for his people, and his persistence to follow his duty. Because of the emphasize that Virgil places on Aeneas devotion to his people and his duty to obey the gods, one can begin to theorize that Virgil believed duty was the most important quality a man could possess. Thesis: Often times, the Aeneid carries the reputation as a book centering around the founding of Rome, however, without the constant reminder of duty, one cannot fully view Virgil’s story as he intended.

The Aeneid, written by Virgil, was written in Rome between 30 and 19 B.C. Virgil wrote many of his writings during the time of Octavian, the estranged nephew to Caeser. During the beginning of the times of Octavian and the time of these writings Rome was in a state of civil war, which later turned into the most peaceful place in the world. Many people were torn from their homes and new boundaries were created. It is important to know the culture and gender roles of the people, the person in power, and the system of government in place at the time of the writing.

The Aeneid was written during the time of Augustus (27 BC), the first Emperor of Rome. After Caesar’s death in 44BC, Augustus had the immense task of bringing Rome back to her original stability and unity that had been shattered during the Civil Wars and decline of her Republic. In the establishment of this empire Augustus had legislation encouraging marriage and the birth of children. Thus it makes sense that Virgil’s The Aeneid promoted the theme of marriage in a beneficial light. In Book 12 Aeneas was fated to marry Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus of Latium. By marrying Lavinia Aeneas would be in alliance with Latinus, conquering Latium to further the founding of Rome. Aeneas explains this alliance with the following: “May both nations, undefeated, under equal laws, / march together toward an eternal pact of peace. / I shall bestow the gods and their sacred rites. / My father-in-law Latinus will retain his armies, / my father-in-law, his power, his rightful rule. / The men of Troy will erect a city for me— / Lavinia will give its walls her name.” This shows that through the alliance, not only would Aeneas rise in power and land, but it also describes the unity and peacefulness that would result from the alliance. Therefore, The Aeneid promoted political marriages due to the benefits and success that resulted from those marital alliances.

Virgil came to be regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid can be considered a national epic of Rome and has been extremely popular from its publication to the present day.

The medieval church taught that women were inferior to men and that they should be compliant and obedient to their fathers and husbands. Men look down to women as their respect for their ladies are limited as in Canterbury Tales were these women start out as beneath men. These same men who feel the need to arrogate women of their dignity find their fate is later put into the women’s hands. Although a women is taciturn and does not speak out to the men and talk of their animadversion toward the men’s behavior, these same ladies have the power to then decide how these men should serve their punishment for their sacrileges and unruly decisions as in the “Wife of Bath’s Tale”, were after his life was saved by an old lady, in return this old women requested to him to “take me as your wife” (p.138). A women’s love and passion should be approached with appreciation and admiration otherwise being inconsiderate and impassionate will turn a women against a man.

When reading stories of great leaders like Jesus, Gandhi, and Mandela we come across breathtaking messages. The message sent is one of selflessness, the selflessness of leaders. These trailblazers teach us to pack up all personal emotion, bias, and ego and think of the greater good. Whether that be for the greater good of a project, company or even a nation; try to see the big picture.Virgil’s Book IV of the Aeneid: The Passion of the Queen. In Book IV a desperate Queen Dido falls in love with a handsome stranger; neglecting her city and becoming consumed with lust. Virgil argues that Dido’s selfish neglect of her city is the most significant effect of her bewildering actions.