HUMAN 1A Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Pietas, Manifest Destiny, Aeneid
Document Summary
Trojan survivors must identify, reach, establish themselves in their new home". Trojan losers" must transform themselves into (proto-)roman winners": problem of trojan decadence, cause of trojan war: paris, larbas" scathing remarks about aeneas (p. 134-135 fagles) Books: aeneas must evolve from homer to virgilian heroic type, he must accept his immense responsibilities and forego personal happiness. Aeneas as imperial prototype the one indispensible man bearing on his shoulders the people"s fate: roman notion of heroism: striving for collective good, not individual glory (cf. Aeneas leaving troy) importance of pietas rulers must sacrifice personal happiness for collective good: compare aeneas, dido ratio must prevail over furor: analogy of jupiter"s cosmic reign. The dido episode (2) importance of divine role in dido"s passion: aeneas and dido live together as king and queen of carthage, virgil"s criticism of dido (130) Prelude p. 49: imperial hierarchy: jupiter/neptune aelous winds. Simile of neptune calming storm p. 52: jovian cosmic order ~ roman political order.
