10/23/2020 0 Comments The Aeneid Book 1 Pdf
Fittingly, her voice is heard first in the poem, and its tone is outrage: She will be the major impediment to Aeneass unfortunate struggles to found a homeland.Why, Virgil asks, appealing to the muse of epic poetry, does Juno, the queen of the gods, harass such a good man He mentions two explicit reasons for Junos hostility: her love for Carthage and corresponding hatred for the future Rome, which is destined to overthrow her favorite city; and her lingering resentment because Paris, a Trojan, did not award her the golden apple, the prize given to the most beautiful woman in the world.She also hates the Trojans because one of their ancestors was Dardanus, the son of Jupiter Junos husband and king of the gods and Electra, a daughter of Atlas and Junos rival for Jupiters affection.Finally, Juno is angry because Jupiter made Ganymede, a Trojan prince, the godss cupbearer.
Aeolus obeys her. Juno will come to love the Romans, and at last a Trojan caesar named Julius, after Aeneass son Iulus not Julius Caesar, but his heir by adoption, Augustus will bring an age of peace. The next morning, Aeneas sets out with his companion Achats to explore the region. They meet Venus, who, disguised as a Carthaginian huntress, tells them that they are near Carthage, a city founded by Dido, who fled with her followers from the Phoenician city of Tyre after her evil brother, Pygmalion, murdered her husband, Sychaeus. Advising Aeneas to go to Didos palace, Venus assures her son that the missing ships and his comrades are safe. As she turns away, Aeneas recognizes her as his mother and reproaches her for always appearing to him in disguise. Entering the temple, they see that its walls are covered with decorative panels that depict scenes from the Trojan War, which fill Aeneas with sorrow. A woman of great beauty and majesty, she seats herself on her throne and holds court. To Aeneas and Achatss joy and amazement, the men from the missing Trojan ships enter the temple and are received hospitably by the queen, who listens sympathetically as they explain who they are and what has happened to them. At this point, the cloud that shrouds Aeneas and Achats vanishes, and they are reunited with their companions. Aeneas sends for Ascanius, whom Venus, fearing that Juno will again cause trouble, replaces with her own son, Cupid, the god of love, in disguise. She knows that Cupid will fill Dido with passion for Aeneas, thus ensuring the heros safety. That night at the banquet, Dido unsuspectingly embraces Cupid, thinking that he is Ascanius, and she is filled with love for Aeneas. Overcome by curiosity and admiration, she invites the Trojan hero to describe his wanderings and misfortunes to her and her guests. The elation that the Trojans all felt as they sailed from Sicily is changed to horror and despair, and although by this time Aeneas has been given many prophecies of his eventual success, he must struggle to summon up a brave front for the benefit of his disconsolate companions. Common to ancient epics, this narrative technique immediately engages readerss attention by getting the story under way at a crucial point in the action. Virgils beginning Aeneass story this way allows the events surrounding the fall of Troy and the adventures that ensue to be narrated afterwards by Aeneas himself. Carthages Queen Dido, already in love with the Trojan warrior, will find many more good reasons to admire him as he unintentionally presents himself to her as a model of heroism. Juno, for example, possesses a seemingly inexhaustible supply of grudges against the Trojans.
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