Aeneas - Tumblr Posts
Back on my classics bullshit.
Classics-tober Day 5: Pietas (Duty)
troy has fallen, but you’re still carrying your father
The Argonauts adaptation all the mortals are muppets. Only the gods are humans
The Iliad adaptation is that everyone is human. Only Achilles is a muppet
The Odyssey adaptation is that everyone is muppets. Only Odysseus is human
The Aeneid adaptation all gods are muppets and the mortals are humans
Today in my Latin class, I said aloud that I could imagine Aeneas as Orlando Bloom, and I meant that in my head Aeneas now looks like Orlando Bloom. My friend looked at me in confusion and said, “He can’t play Orlando Bloom. He’s dead.”
Things That Were Said in A Single AP Latin 4 Class
The Doctor:
“Pious Aeneas can really rage.”
“Because that’s wrong. That’s why.”
“It says mo-moliqu-moliriquarcet.”
“This is wonderful. Only half the class is paying attention, but the other half is quiet enough that the first half can actually hear me.”
(It is important that you know there was a bowl of thumbtacks on his desk from another teacher that uses this classroom, and he kept reaching for handfuls of them every now and then only to put them all back)
Us : “Doctor, why?”
The Doctor: “I keep thinking it’s a candy bowl.”
*fifteen minutes later, as the Doctor reaches for the bowl again*
Us: *yelling* “Doctor, NO!”
The Doctor:
“I like the danger”
~Funky fresh tune here~
Now,
this is a story
all about how
a man, who first from the boundaries of Troy, exiled by fate, came to Italy and the Lavinian shores – he was tossed much both on land and on sea, by the power of the gods, on account of the mindful anger of savage Juno, he having suffered many (things) and also from war, until he could found a city, and was bringing in the gods to Latium, from whence [came] the race of Latins, and Alban fathers, and of the high city walls of Rome. Muse, recall the causes to me, by what damaged nod, or grieving what, the queen of the gods compelled a man marked by piety to undergo so many misfortunes, to come to so many labors. Can there be such great anger in the minds of the gods? There was an ancient city, ((which) Tyrian colonists held) Carthage, long opposite Italy and the mouths of the Tiber, rich in resources and most fierce in the pursuits of war; Juno is said to have cherished this one city more than all lands with Samus having been esteemed less; here were her arms, here was her chariot; if in any way the fates would allow it, the goddess both hoped and cherished this (city) to be a seat of power for the nations. But indeed she had heard that the offspring derived from Trojan blood, which, one day, would overturn the Tyrian castles. From whence was going to come a nation, ruling far and wide and proud in war for the destruction of Libya: Thus the Fates unfolded. Saturn’s daughter, fearing this and remembering the Old War, which she foremost had waged for her dear Greeks (nor yet even then had the causes of anger and cruel pain perished from her mind; Judgment of Paris remains repositive in her deep mind and the injury to her rejected beauty, and the hated race, and the honors of the seduced Ganymede – Further inflamed by these (things), she was keeping a long way from Latium the Trojans having been thrown on the whole ocean, the leavings of the Greeks and of fierce Achilles, and they were wandering through [or for] many years, having been driven by the Fates around all the oceans. So great was the burden to found the Roman nation.
Wow 🤩
pious Aeneas is b a b i e 🥺
What do I even do with all my love for him??
This becomes way funner, if the Aphrodite child is Aeneas
aphrodite child: how often do you think about the roman empire?
jason (not understanding): every day.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680)
Apollo and Daphne
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers)
Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
The Rape of Proserpina
David
She was degraded by the Aeniad, she was a powerful queen of an important kingdom (Carthage) and she was a good one even so being under the mentoring of Juno (most important olympic godess); but as always Aphrodite's (Venus) shipping reflexes went a little to far, uniting her son (Aeneas) and her; reducing her character as another vapid women who decides to unalive herself and while doing so cursing Rome to be enemies of her kingdom. Rendering her character to a 2 dimensional charicature of her true self.
I apologize for using also the greek gods names, in my opinion Venus is in this part mostly Aphrodite's. Her syncretism with Venus (a roman fertility goddess) is still really recent in the Aeniad and to be honest is still very much her greek counterpart, in some parts she is Venus Generatrix but in Dido's tale she is still Aphrodite Pandemos. The Aeniad if you look really closely in it's structure is really similar to the Illiad and Odyssey and more obvious in it's final part, not mentioning the protaganists of this epic are Troyans.
So to sum this up, Dido was setted up as a really good character that lossed most of her agency after meddling with Aeneas.
Sorry for the ramble but is a pity what happened to her; if he could have been a bit more clever and set sailed with her, maybe nothing bad could have happened; founded Rome (not really, down the line Remulus and Remus where the ones, mostly Remus); then after settling move back to Carthage and supervise everything there, with a loving wife, a great kingdom and more.
But then we will forgetting that the Aeniad was written by Virgil as a foundational tale and Dido's role was to set up an excuse for the rivalry between Carthage and Rome (that will sublimmate in the Punic wars); so either way she is bound to lose because of the narrative, making her a tragic character to an unforgiving narrative.
this could be a very niche post but i mourn dido. she was a refugee who built a civilisation from the ground up!! she was a queen!! she was everything aeneas needed to be!! when we first meet her, she's compared to diana. diana goddess of the moon, diana goddess of the hunt. dido was so radiant and loving and warm, even without venus' fatal meddling, she opened her arms to the trojans and welcomed them to her land.
dido of carthage was such a powerful woman, she was the epitome of a person - she was pious, she was strong and she was so, so beautiful. venus ruins her. venus is a real villain of the trojan war and it does not get talked about enough‼️ yes the whole helen thing but cmon!! dido!! venus ruined dido's life - this rational, calm-headed woman is rendered a helpless victim to Love and its follies.
she believes her and aeneas to be married and then he just turns around and walks out on her. (I don't blame aeneas, i actually really like him. he too was a victim of the gods' whimsies - "I seek Italy not of my own will.") but it ruins her. aeneas has up and left and with it venus' interest in dido wanes but the arrow of desire remains stuck in her very soul, staining sticky red love all over her life.
when i think about dido's death i honestly get so sad because the last cry for help to diana when the priestess is performing the death rituals is just fucking heartbreaking. it's a jarring reminder of how dido used to be before aeneas, before the gods sunk their claws into her life.
beautiful dido, who glowed like the moon, now lies dead and burnt to ash on a pile of clothes and carvings of a man who never even loved her.
Hector and Aeneas SWAP AU: Queen Andromache
A queen is a woman who marries a king simply put it, but she gave a new definition. Her mature, experienced expression reflects the hardships she had undergone as she gently smiles like a lily pad on water. Her caved cheeks, embracing her rosy cheeks, compliment her thin lips that curve like a bow with strings neatly fixed in by Diana herself with great craftsmanship and pure dove-like elegance. Her hair was draping over her side cheeks, reminding me of a statue made from only the finest artist - even better was her nose that stuck out like the spotlight favoured it.
“Hector dear, please tell me more, tales of your past they inspire me!” A buttery silk tone laughed out in a high pitch echoing across the vastly empty hall. I couldn't help but gulp at my own nerves: sweat dripped down my forearms, and my hands shook as she clasped them. “I suppose i could but only for you, my queen. It is hard to swallow but I remember the days I'd walk across the vivid citadel with peace a peace that danced with me and took me along the stone temples of Minerva and Apollo with glitter in my naive eyes!” My voice betrayed me as it croaked bitterly the once beautiful memories tormenting me with nostalgia and a sense of home that I lost. Before I could apologise for my turbulent behaviour, I felt a warm stroke under my eye, bringing my attention back to the light that was her. “You miss it just like I. The home we both shared in distant lands is so unreachable now, but we made our way with the gods at our shoulder, crowning us with victory called hope so my dear Hector, remember your past and present. The gods have guided you to your new home with me.” as if I had been blessed by a god the cold tears soaked into my skin leaving a warmth in me even with Juno working for my demise it felt right to be here in Carthage with her, Queen Andromache.