Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BCE) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is written in dactylic hexameter.

The history of the Aeneid

The poetry of the Aeneid is polished and complex; legend has it that Virgil wrote only a single line of the poem each day.

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Although the work is complete, with the same length and scope as Homer's epics which it imitates, it is unfinished: a number of lines are only half-complete. It is common, however, for epic poems to have incomplete, disputed, or badly adulterated text, and because it was composed and preserved in writing rather than orally, the Aeneid is more complete than most epics. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether Vergil intended to complete such lines. Some of them would be difficult to complete, and in some instances the shortness of the lines adds to the dramatic finality of the sentence.

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On his death, Virgil left instructions for the Aeneid to be destroyed if he died with his work unfinished. Virgil had also come to disfavor one of the sequences in Book VIII wherein Venus and Vulcan have marital relations, and had intentions of altering this sequence to conform better with Roman virtues. For this reason as well he wished the epic to be destroyed after his death. Augustus, however, ordered that the poet's wishes be disregarded, and after minor modifications, the Aeneid was published.

Related Topics:
Venus - Vulcan - Augustus

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In the 15th century, there were two attempts to produce an addition to the Aeneid. One was made by Pier Candido Decembrio (which was never completed) and one was made by Maffeo Vegio, which was often included in 15th and 16th century printings of the Aeneid as the Supplementum.

Related Topics:
15th century - Pier Candido Decembrio - Maffeo Vegio - 16th century

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The most famous translation of the Aeneid is that by the 17th-century poet John Dryden. Although it takes numerous small liberties with the text, it is one of the very few examples of a poetic translation that retains the power and flow of the original in a new language, and it is often regarded as a classic in its own right.

Related Topics:
17th-century - John Dryden

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