This dissertation will explore the city wall theme in Vergil’s Aeneid, particularly in the battle scenes, using Homer’s Iliad as a lodestone to help identify significance. Aeneas’s mission is to found the moenia of a city, but he never does so within the epic—yet practically all warfare occurs in the context of fighting over walls. Looking at what walls are being fought over and by whom, an organizing principle emerges: the Trojan walled camp is analogous to the Greek walled camp from the Iliad, and, with some ambiguity, Laurentum is analogous to Troy. The role of the walls in the events is best examined by looking at what the characters themselves actually do regarding the walls. It becomes clear that from the start of the war Turnus is a Hector figure and Aeneas an Achilles figure, despite their own desires. History is to an extent replaying, but Vergil points to key differences to show how the war in Italy is different, even with the Trojan roles reversed.
Chapter 1 begins with examining the wall theme throughout the early portions of the Aeneid, focusing attention on the importance of walls in the proem, the Prophecy of Jupiter, and the simile between Roma and Cybele spoken by Anchises in the Underworld. The theme that emerges is that Rome becomes an idealized concept that is represented by walls, pointing to a new ideology which can apply to all. Chapter 2 looks at the battle books through the behavior of the soldiers as a whole, comparing them to Homer’s Greeks, who are shamed into fighting to defend walls and into fighting metaphorically as walls themselves. Chapter 3 investigates how shame prevents both Turnus and Hector from fighting in ways that defend their walls and benefit their people. This comparison highlights how Turnus actually changes his sense of shame and ends up saving his walls and people. Chapter 4 shows that Aeneas is not merely an Achilles figure in the war, but that is he is closely compared to Achilles specifically in his threat to walls. The major difference is that Aeneas is also a founder figure, and thus Vergil creates a paradox by having Aeneas both threatening Laurentum but eager to preserve it. The Conclusion will place the findings in historical context, showing that Vergil’s theme and conception of Roman national identity fit with other poetry, architecture, plastic arts, and even cult worship of the Augustan period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48898 |
| Date | 29 May 2024 |
| Creators | Kelley, Matthew W. |
| Contributors | Scully, Stephen |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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