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Registration for our next online course withĀ Christopher Tanfield:Ā Virgilās AeneidĀ is now open here:
https://www.hellenicandromanlibrary.org/Events/Event-Registration/EventId/28
WednesdayĀ 17, 24 June, 1, 8 and 15 July, 6-7.30pm (UK time)
Watch the sessions live, or catch up by watching the recordings later at your own convenience.
VirgilāsĀ Aeneid, for centuries mostly viewed as an unequivocal endorsement of the emperor Augustus, has over the last seventy years been reappraised in a series of different interpretative approaches. This course starts from the themes laid out at the start and follows them through the whole poem. It will include theĀ Aeneidās relationship to history and geography, the role of the gods and fate, Virgilās use of philosophy, the notion of the hero and portrayal of character, the way the text alludes to the literature that had preceded it and its reception since it was first published. The course aims to explore the power and originality of theĀ AeneidĀ as well as the challenges it poses, and to enable modern readers to appreciate Virgilās achievement. Participants are not expected to know Latin but please ensure that you have read the poem beforehand or you will find the talks hard to follow.
WednesdayĀ 17 June
SessionĀ 1
The challenges of theĀ Aeneid: detailed reading of the Proem to highlight especially (but not only) the importance of history (lecture 2), the role of the gods (lecture 3), the redefinition of āheroā (lecture 4) and the use of intertexts (lecture 5); Aeneas andĀ furor, the poemās ending.
Wednesday 24 June
SessionĀ 2
History and a little geography: the poem as Romeās foundation myth; Augustus; theĀ AeneidāsĀ use and view(s) of history; geography of the journey and of Italy.
Wednesday 1 July
SessionĀ 3
Religion and philosophy: Roman ābeliefā; the gods (major and minor), fate; personal religion; Stoicism and Epicureanism in the poem.
Wednesday 8 July
Session 4
Characterisation: Roman ideas of character; techniques of portraying character ā focalisation; Aeneas, Turnus, Evander; Dido, Creusa, Camilla, Lavinia; Jupiter, Juno, Venus; consistency?
WednesdayĀ 15 July
SessionĀ 5
Towards an interpretation of oneās own: Role of the intertext; reception of the poem at different times and in different places.
For more information and to book:Ā Ā
https://www.hellenicandromanlibrary.org/Events/Event-Registration/EventId/28