Questions for Essay #3     Clas. 4110 Greek and Roman Epic

The Epic Hero

1. How does Aeneas compare with Gilgamesh, Achilles, Odysseus or Jason. (Request question.)
Hint. This topic is huge. You might start to narrow it by picking some defining moment or character trait for each of your two heroes.

2. Why does Virgil give such a prominant role to Aeneas' father? Why does Aeneas need a "father"?
Hints. You might want to compare father-son relationships in various poems (e.g. Odysseus-Laertes, Gilgamesh-Lugulbanda, Zeus-Sarpedon), or discuss surrogate-father and son relationships, e.g. Latinus-Aeneas, arguably even Shamash-Gilgamesh.

3. In book II, Virgil makes it clear that it would it be wrong for Aeneas to kill Helen. Why?
Hint. You might start by onsidering what this episode is telling us about the epic hero's character or values.

4. Do a comparative study of:
A) two or three epic specific epic similes used by more than one poet, or
B) two comparable ecphrases (e.g. descriptions of a shield, temple painting, cloak/tapestry, bow or other weapon).
Hints. Consider what functions the device serves in each context and how the same device may be adapted to different contexts. What's changed? What's kept? Why?

Gods and the Supernatural

1. Is Juno's reconciliation in book XII believable?
Hints. Is this another "convincing" surprise? Is Juno's change of mind plausible, in view of her earlier behaviour or in view of other considerations, e.g. the power structure on Olympus.

2. Does the story of Hercules and Cacus have any relevance to the rest of the Aeneid?
Hints. What purposes, if any, does this digression serve? Any thematic relevance? "Relief"? Are there any Hellenistic precedents for a digression of this nature and subject matter?

3. Is Latinus a "human version" of Jupiter?
Hint. Compare the two on any grounds you consider appropriate (e.g. as father figures, husbands, kings, conduits of "fate"...). How do you explain the abdication of duties?

4. Compare and contrast the nature or uses of magical plants (or potions) in any two texts we have read this term.
Hints. Gilgamesh: plant of rejuvenation. Homer: Helen's potion, Hermes' gift of molu. Apollonius: Medea's prometheion (and other drugs). Virgil: the golden bough. There are other examples, as well.

Women in Epic
1. Compare and contrast the Medea/Dido suicide scenes. (Request question.)

2. How does Virgil (or Apollonius) mark Dido (or Medea) as "foreign" vis a vis the Trojans (or Greeks)?
Hints: For Apollonius, keep in mind that Hellenistic poets were very interested in ethnography, e.g. "strange" customs, distinctive religious practices. In Virgil, you might start by looking for words like "barbarous", "Punic/Carthaginian", "eastern", etc. attached to behaviour or traits.

3. Is Camilla proof that women can be epic heroes?
Xena fans, step up and be heard. Is Camilla a genuine challenge to the "patriarchy" (to quote one of you)?

4. Is it any accident that Virgil should give the "enemy" (Dido, Turnus) a sister (Anna, Juturna) instead of a brother?
Hints. Consider whether these women fill functions that male counterparts could not (why not?). Does Virgilšs choice of a sister over a brother have any interesting implications, e.g. for the representation of women in Virgil, or for the representation of the "enemy"? Why couldn't Turnus have his own Patroclus or Enkidu?

Translation Question
Compare two or three versions of one short (approx. 20 line) passage of the Aeneid (or Metamorphoses). What do the translator's choices, e.g. of meter, diction, style, or tone, reveal about his/her reading of the original text? What discrepancies do you note between different versions of the same passage? Can you account for these discrepancies in terms of other choices the translator makes (e.g. the choice to put the poem into street English, or the English of Romantic poetry)? You may use English, French, Italian, German, Latin, or modern Greek translations for your study. Please provide copies of the passages you discuss! You are encouraged to read the original Latin if possible, but you are not required to do so in order to answer this question.