Aeneid by Virgil

Introduction

"I sing of arms and the man." Virgil's Aeneid (19 BCE, unfinished at his death) was commissioned by Augustus to give Rome an epic equal to Homer's. Aeneas, a Trojan prince, flees the burning city and leads his people across the Mediterranean, through storms and wars, to found what will become Rome. The poem is simultaneously a celebration of Roman destiny and a lament for its human cost.

The Cost of Empire

Aeneas is not Achilles or Odysseus—he is pius Aeneas, dutiful Aeneas, whose personal desires are perpetually sacrificed to his mission. His affair with Dido, Queen of Carthage, ends when the gods command him to leave; her suicide produces a curse that explains the historical Punic Wars. The poem's most famous line—"sunt lacrimae rerum" (there are tears in things)—suggests that even the grandest imperial destiny is built on suffering.

Key Takeaways

• Duty requires sacrifice
• Empires are built on personal tragedy
• Virgil rivals Homer while acknowledging he stands on Homer's shoulders