Virgil’s Aeneid in Neronian Literature (Murley)
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چکیده
Virgil’s Aeneid has left an infinitely quotable legacy. Considered by many generations the pinnacle of Latin literature, it was all-but-required reading for the Roman elite from Augustus onward. The influence of the Aeneid on the extant works of the Silver Age of Latin literature is clear, though it takes various forms. Lucan’s Bellum Civile explicitly draws from the epic tradition Romanized by the Aeneid. But works outside the Aeneid’s style often recall the famous poem. Seneca’s moralizing letters frequently quote Virgil, sometimes with named source and sometimes leaving the identification up to the reader. Petronius’ Satyricon, epic-like in scope but picaresque in construction, alludes to the high-culture Aeneid to underscore the lowness of its own characters. This paper will examine more precisely Seneca’s and Petronius’ relationship to the Aeneid and how the celebrated work is treated in the age of Nero. Though the majority of the Satyricon is lost to time, what remains gives a modern reader a general sense of the work. The story progresses episodically, often with nonsensical transitions, characters disappearing and reappearing as suits the plot. A mixture of prose and poetry, the Satyricon straddles genres, tones, and styles. However, while the work has a Virgilian scope, the subject matter defines it as an epic farce. This vast dichotomy is underscored in two main ways. At times Petronius openly parodies the Aeneid in substance and style. Moreover, storytelling within the Satyricon, both prosaic and poetic, is treated with the respect of an epic, especially when that respect is undeserved. A few passing moments in the Satyricon refer casually to the Aeneid. In Chapter 72, as Encolpius and company try to escape the chaos of Trimalchio’s dinner, a dog attacks Ascyltus
منابع مشابه
Greek and Roman Perceptions of the Afterlife in Homer’s <em>Iliad</em> and <em>Odyssey</em> and Virgil’s <em>Aeneid</em>
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تاریخ انتشار 2014