Aeneid

Aeneid

Virgil’s Aeneid is arguably the most influential and celebrated work of Latin literature. Written in the epic meter, dactylic hexameter, the Aeneid follows the journey of Aeneas, son of Venus, after the fall of Troy. According to an ancient mythical tradition, Aeneas fled the burning city and landed in Italy, where he established a line of descendants who would become the Roman people.

Virgil (70–19 b.c.e.) draws on the works of numerous authors, such as Lucretius, Ennius, Apollonius of Rhodes, and, especially, Homer. Virgil consistently adopts Homeric style and diction (a good example of this is the first line of the poem: “I sing of arms and a man ...”).

He also re-creates entire scenes from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Books 1 to 6 of the Aeneid show such close parallels to the Homeric epics that they are often called the “Virgilian Odyssey.”


Books 7 to 12, meanwhile, closely echo the Iliad. Virgil’s use of Homeric elements goes beyond mere imitation. Virgil often places Aeneas in situations identical to those of Odysseus or Achilles, allowing Aeneas’s response to those situations to differentiate him from (and sometimes surpass) his Homeric counterparts.

Virgil constructs his epic in relation to the Roman people and their cultural ideals. He defines Aeneas by the ethical quality of piety, a concept of particular importance for Rome at the time of the Aeneid’s composition. The Aeneid also contains several etiological stories of interest to the Roman people, most notably that of Dido and the origin of the strife between the Romans and the Carthaginians.

The Dido episode is one of the most famous vignettes of the Aeneid. Dido, the queen of Carthage—also known by her Phoenician name, Elyssa—aids Aeneas and his shipwrecked Trojans in Book 1. Through Venus’s intervention, Dido falls desperately in love with Aeneas and wants him and his men to remain in Carthage.

But a message from Jove reminds Aeneas that his fated land is in Italy. Immediately, he orders his men to depart. Dido is heartbroken over Aeneas’s leaving: She builds a pyre out of Aeneas’s gifts and commits suicide on it, prophesying the coming of Hannibal before she dies. When Aeneas descends to the Underworld in Book 4, Dido’s shade refuses to speak with him.

Dido’s character shows a great deal of complexity. She appears first as an amalgam of Alcinous and Arete as she hospitably receives her Trojan guests but soon becomes a Medea figure, well acquainted with magic and arcane knowledge.

Aeneid and the sibyl

Dido is a sympathetic character throughout the epic, though much of how Virgil describes her would have brought to the Roman reader’s mind the Egyptian queen Cleopatra (associated with Mark Antony and the civil war).

Interpretations of the Aeneid are numerous and far from unanimous. The Aeneid’s composition coincides with the end of the civil wars and the beginning of Augustus’s regime. Virgil ostensibly endorses the new princeps by referring to him as the man who will usher in another golden age.

Yet several elements of the epic might suggest that Virgil did not wholeheartedly support Augustus. Much of the debate centers on the war in Italy that occupies the second half of the epic, in which some scholars see a reference to the Battle of Perusia in 41 b.c.e., an event Augustus would have preferred to forget.


Scholars also point to the end of the Aeneid, where Aeneas kills Turnus as he pleads for his life, as unambiguously criticizing the new leadership. This anti-Augustan view of the Aeneid has, however, met with opposition.

Many scholars find more evidence of the Iliad than of Augustus’s campaign in the latter half of the Aeneid. Others suggest that in killing Turnus, Aeneas acted appropriately for his cultural circumstances.

The Aeneid has also been proposed to represent, not Virgil’s view of Augustus, but rather the condition of the Roman people. Virgil seems to offer conflicting evidence for his perspective on Augustan Rome and may intentionally leave the matter ambiguous so that the reader may decide for him- or herself.

The Aeneid was highly anticipated even before publication and has since enjoyed immense popularity. Quintilian regarded Virgil as nearly equal to Homer and credits him with having the more difficult task. Latin epic writers after Virgil looked to the Aeneid as their model. Statius even acknowledges that his epic, the The baid, cannot surpass that of Virgil.

The Aeneid became a standard school text of the ancient world and was a critical part of a good education. Virgil, however, considered the work unfinished. At the time of his death he famously called for the Aeneid to be burned rather than published. Augustus saved the Aeneid from the flames and ordered its publication.

Aeschylus - Greek Playwright

Aeschylus - Greek Playwright

The son of a wealthy family in sixth century b.c.e. Attica, Aeschylus was a tragedian at a time when Greek theater was still developing from its beginnings as a form of elaborate dance.

In contrast to the first dramas, performed in honor of Dionysus and under the influence of copious amounts of wine, Aeschylus’s work emphasized natural law and punishment at the hands of the gods, by examining the role of his characters in a larger world.

His participation as a soldier in the Battle of marathon in 490 b.c.e., when the invading Persians were successfully repelled by vastly outnumbered Greek forces, probably informed his approach. The Persians told the story of the battle and was first performed 18 years later.


Of Aeschylus’s 70-some plays, only seven survive. They are the earliest known Greek tragedies, as he is one of only three tragedians (with Euripides and Sophocles) whose works have survived to the modern era. Seven against Thebes is another battle narrative, concerning that of “the Seven” mythic heroes against Thebes in the aftermath of the death of the sons of Oedipus.

The Suppliants is a simpler story about the daughters of Danaus fleeing a forced marriage, while the Oresteia is a trilogy of plays about the house of Atreus, starting with the return of Agamemnon from the Trojan War.

The Oresteia has had enduring appeal in the modern world: 20th-century playwright Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra was based on it, substituting the Civil War for the Trojan War in the backstory of O’Neill’s trilogy.

Composers Richard Strauss and Sergey Taneyev each based operas on the Oresteia, and many more writers and artists have found compelling the idea of the Furies who in Aeschylus’s trilogy bring down the wrath of the gods upon Orestes for having killed his mother.

In a sense the Oresteia is not just the earliest surviving trilogy of Greek plays. It is also one of the earliest horror stories, with the Furies tracking Orestes by following the scent of his mother Clytemnestra’s blood, and the play’s emphasis on the idea, so resonant in horror literature and ghost stories, of the supernatural exacting horrible justice on transgressors.

Legend claims that Aeschylus met his death under the strangest of circumstances, when a passing eagle dropped a turtle on his head.

Aesop

Aesop

A slave in ancient Greece in the sixth century b.c.e., Aesop was the creator or popularizer of the genre of fables that bear his name. Little about him is known: More than half a dozen places have claimed him as a native son, and although Herodotus records that he was killed by citizens of Delphi, he gives no indication of motive.

Aesop’s fables were brief stories, appropriate for children and structured around a simple moral lesson. Most of them featured anthropomorphized animals—animals who spoke and acted like humans, often motivated by some exaggerated human characteristic.

Unlike the animal tales of many mythic traditions—the Coyote stories of North America, for instance—Aesop’s animals did not represent spiritual or divine beings, nor did they explain the nature of the world. They were comparable instead to modern children’s literature and cartoons, though with an educational bent.


The fables remain some of the best-known stories in the Western world, often lending themselves to proverbs. Some of the most famous include The Fox and the Grapes, from which the idiom sour grapes is derived, to refer to something that, like the grapes the fox cannot reach, is assumed to be not worth the trouble.

The Tortoise and the Hare, which concludes that “slow and steady wins the race” and has been adapted to a number of media, including a Disney cartoon; The Ant and the Grasshopper, the latter of which suffers through a harsh winter he had not prepared for as the ant did; and perhaps most evocatively, The Scorpion and the Frog.

In this tale a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across the river, and when the frog refuses out of fear of being stung, the scorpion brushes the concern aside, pointing out that should he sting the frog, both will die as the scorpion drowns. Nonetheless, the frog’s fear proves warranted—when the scorpion stings him partway across the river, he reminds the frog that such behavior is plainly the nature of a scorpion.

Alcibiades

Alcibiades return to Athens

Alcibiades was an Athenian who was influential in the creation of turmoil in his home city that went a long way to explaining the defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 b.c.e.). Alcibiades was a controversial and divisive figure, and his legacy in part continues to be colored by his character flaws even millennia after his death. Thucydides, Plato, and Plutarch recount the adventures of Alcibiades in their histories.

Alcibiades was born into a powerful family, and his father commanded the Athenian army at the battle in which he was killed. Alcibiades was then only about seven years old, and he became the ward of the statesman Pericles. He subsequently entered into Athenian public life in the political and military fields. Owing in part to his background, he quickly achieved high office and served with distinction.

At the Battle of Delium, he assisted Socrates who had been wounded and in turn benefited from the older man’s advice. However, Alcibiades was too extravagant a personality to abide by the moral strictures that Socrates required of his pupils. Indeed, association with Alcibiades was later part of the charge brought against Socrates for corrupting the youth.


Alcibiades was busy establishing himself as a leading personality in the Athenian assembly, the Ekklesia, while also becoming known as a budding socialite. His family had enjoyed personal relations with Spartan interests, and he had anticipated that he could call on these connections to broker a peace agreement to end the Peloponnesian War.

However, Spartan leaders refused to countenance this personal approach and insisted on formal arrangements. Subsequently, Alcibiades pursued an anti-Sparta policy that probably perpetuated the war, arguably from a sense of pique.

He organized the alliance with the Peloponnesian city-states of Argos, Elis, and Mantineia. The alliance was defeated at the Battle of Mantineia in 418, which led to Spartan dominance of the land and forced the Peloponnesian League to seek new fronts in the war.

Alcibiades being taught by Socrates

It was the necessity of opening a new front that led to the Syracusan campaign in Sicily. Alcibiades positioned himself to be one of the leaders of this campaign, but on the verge of the expedition leaving, statues of the god Hermes were found to have been mutilated and, on rather circumstantial evidence, Alcibiades became accused of violating the Eleusinian Mysteries.

He sailed with the expedition, but inquiries continued during his absence. When it was determined that he should return to Athens to answer the charges against him, Alcibiades fled to Sparta and ensured his safety by providing the Spartans with valuable military advice. He made himself less popular by supposedly seducing the wife of the king of Sparta.

Eventually the Spartans tired of Alcibiades, and he sought to make a new career for himself by courting the Persians, who saw the turmoil on the Greek mainland as a possible opportunity to expand their influence.


For several years Alcibiades switched sides from Persia, to Athens, to neutrality, depending on the political winds. Brilliance of expression and savoir-faire were combined with total lack of scruples as he sought for the best advantage for himself.

Finally Spartan naval victories secured a decisive advantage, and they took the opportunity to cause the governor of Phrygia, where Alcibiades had been taking shelter, to have him killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most vivid personalities of ancient Athens, who could surely have achieved genuine greatness if he could have married his gifts with some sense of personal integrity.

The death of Alcibiades

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was born in a town called Pella in the summer of 356 b.c.e. His father was Philip of Macedon, and his mother was Olympias. Philip II ascended to the throne in 359 b.c.e., at the age of 24. Under Philip II, Macedonia thrived and emerged as a strong power.

Philip reorganized his army into infantry phalanx using a new weapon known as the sarissa, which was a very long (18-foot) spear. This was a devastating force against all other armies using the standard-size spears of the time.

Alexander’s birth and early childhood are unclear, related only by Plutarch, who wrote his Life of Alexander around 100 c.e., many centuries later. In his youth Alexander had a classical education, with Aristotle as one of his teachers. One of his tutors, Lysimachus, promoted Alexander’s identification with the Greek hero Achilles.


Later, Philip II took another wife, Cleopatra, who bore him a son named Caranus and a daughter. This created a second heir to the throne. Olympias was a strong-willed woman who jealously guarded her son’s right to succession. She had given Philip his eldest son, however, she was no longer in favor with Philip.

At the age of 18, Alexander and his father led a cavalry against the armies of Athens and Thebes, which were fighting the last line of Greek defenses against Philip’s conquest. Philip had set a trap with his maneuver and at the decisive moment, Alexander, with his cavalry, sprung the trap.

This victory at the Battle of Chaeronea in August 338 completed Philip’s conquest of Greece. In 336 Philip was murdered by Pausanias, a bodyguard. Upon the death of his father, Alexander and his mother, Olympias, did away with any of his political rivals who were vying for the throne. Philip’s second wife and children were slain.

Alexander the King

Alexander became king in 336. He was an absolute ruler in Macedonia and king of the city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. As a new king, he had to prove that he was as powerful a ruler as his father, Phillip II, had been. Revolts against his rule first occurred in Thrace.

In the spring of 335, Alexander and his army defeated the Thracians and advanced into the Triballian kingdom across the Danube River. Alexander faced the challenge of placating the recently conquered Greek city-states. While Alexander was in the Triballian kingdom, the Greek cities rebelled against the Macedonian rule.

Alexander journey

The Athenian orator Demosthenes spread a rumor that Alexander had been fatally wounded in an attack. News of Alexander’s death sparked rebellions in other Greek states, such as Thebes. The Thebans attacked the Macedonian garrison of their city and drove out the Macedonian general Parmenio.

Their victory was due to a Greek mercenary named Memnon of Rhodes. Memnon defeated Parmenio at Magnesia and pushed him back to northwest Asia Minor. Alexander returned to Thebes after his victories and faced strong opposition from the Thebans, but Alexander defeated them swiftly.

Campaign Against Persia

Alexander embarked on a campaign against Persia in the spring of 334. The Persians had attacked Athens in 480, burning the sacred temples of the Acropolis and enslaving Ionian Greeks. Alexander, a Macedon, won great favor with the Greeks by uniting them against Persia.


He set out with an army of 30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and a fleet of 120 warships. The core force was the infantry phalanx, with 9,000 men armed with sarissa. The Persian army had about 200,000 men, including Greek mercenaries. Memnon, the Greek mercenary general, led the Persian force.

Alexander had an excellent knowledge of Persian war strategy from an early age. In the spring of 334 he crossed the Hellespont (Dardanelles) into Persian territory. The Persian army stationed themselves uphill on a steep, slippery rocky terrain on the eastern bank of the river Granicus. Here they met Alexander’s army for the first time in May 334. Alexander was attacked on all sides but managed to escape, though he was wounded.

The Persians left the battle, thinking they had claimed victory, and left behind only their Greek mercenaries to fight, resulting in a very high casualty rate on the Persian side. Alexander’s armies advanced south along the Ionian coast. Some cities surrendered outright. Greek cities, such as Ephesus, welcomed him as a liberator from the Persians.

Memnon’s forces still presented a threat to Alexander. They stationed themselves at sea, and as Alexander did not wish to join in a sea battle, they were unable to stop his advances on land. In the city of Halicarnassus, Alexander and Memnon met in battle again.

Alexander took the city, burned it down, and installed Ada, his ally, as queen. The Persian cities Termessus, Aspendus, Perge, Selge, and Sagalassus were taken afterward without much difficulty. This ease of conquest continued until he reached Celaenae, where he ordered his general Antigonus to placate the region.

“Divine” Ruler of Asia

Throughout his military campaign people perceived Alexander to be divine. Even the ocean, according to legend, seemed to be servile toward him and his armies. There was a legend involving a massive knot of rope, stating that he who could unravel the knot would rule the world. Many had tried, while Alexander merely cut through the knot with his sword.

Upon hearing this, King Gordius of Gordium surrendered his lands. The story of this divine prophecy being fulfilled spread quickly. Memnon’s death was also regarded as proof of Alexander’s divine quality. This hastened Alexander’s progress through the Persian territories of the eastern Mediterranean, which were long-held, conquered Greek states.

The Battle of Issus in the gulf of Iskanderun was a decisive battle fought in November 333. The Persian king Darius himself led the Persians forces. Darius had a massive force, much larger than Alexander’s army. Darius was brilliant, approaching Alexander’s army from the rear and cutting off the army’s supplies.

The battle occurred on a narrow plain not large enough for the massive armies; it was fought across the steep-sided river Pinarus. This lost the advantage for the Persians, and Alexander emerged victorious as King Darius III fled.

The Battle of Issus was a turning point. Alexander moved from the Greek states that he liberated to lands inhabited by the Persians themselves. He conquered Byblos and Sidon unopposed. In Tyre he faced real opposition.

The city fortress was on an island in the sea, and his prospects were worsened by his lack of a fleet. To his aid came liberated troops, defected from the Persian fleet. The army and the people of Tyre were defeated—most were tortured and slain, some were sold into slavery. Other coastal cities then readily surrendered.

In 331 Alexander marched on to Egypt. Egyptians welcomed him as he was freeing them from Persian control, and the city of Alexandria was founded in his name. Alexander took a journey across the desert to the temple of Zeus Ammon, where an oracle told him of his future and that he would rule the world. From Egypt, Alexander corresponded with Darius, the Persian king. Darius wanted a truce, but Alexander wanted the whole of the Persian Empire.

The same year he marched into Persia to pursue Darius. He conquered the lands around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Alexander encountered Darius at Gaugamela and defeated the Persian army. Babylon and Susa fell, and he reaped their riches. After conquering the Persian capital of Persepolis, he rested there for a few months and then continued his pursuit of Darius. However, his own men had already assassinated Darius.

Alexander started to adopt Persian dress and customs in order to combine Greek and Persian culture as a new, larger empire. He married Roxane, creating a queen who was not Greek, and this lost some of his Greek supporters. Still he gathered enough military support to invade India in 327.

After many conquests he encountered Porus, a powerful Indian ruler, who put up a great battle near the river Hydaspes. After this his men were then reluctant to advance further into India. Alexander was seriously injured with a chest wound, and his armies retreated from India.

Alexander died on June 10, 323 b.c.e., at the age of 33. Different scenarios have been proposed for the cause of his death, which include poisoning, illness that followed a drinking party, or a relapse of the malaria he had contracted earlier.

Rumors of his illness circulated among the troops, causing them to be more and more anxious. On June 9, the generals decided to let the soldiers see their king alive one last time, and guests were admitted to his presence one at a time. Because the king was too sick to speak, he just waved his hand. The day after, Alexander was dead.