The last Trojan hero. A cultural history of Virgil's 'Aeneid'

256 Pages·2014·13.23 MB·English

by  Hardie

Philip Hardie is a senior research fellow at Trinity College Cambridge and
Honorary Professor of Latin at the University of Cambridge. His many books
include Virgil’s Aeneid: Cosmos and Imperium, The Epic Successors of Virgil,
Ovid’s Poetics of Illusion, The Cambridge Companion to Ovid and, edited with
S. Gillespie, The Cambridge Companion to Lucretius.
‘The Last Trojan Hero will become the primary resource for anyone interested in the reception of Virgil and
his poetry, and it will serve as an excellent introduction to the topic for under-graduates and the general
educated reader. But it is also a book I would recommend to anyone approaching Virgil for the first time.
Hardie skilfully combines a sense of Virgil’s place in ancient literary culture, a masterful overview of
debates about the Aeneid in classical scholarship, and a panorama of poetic, artistic and political responses
to the epic. Insightful readings are presented throughout, of texts from Ovid – Virgil’s “earliest reader” – to
Seamus Heaney. The Aeneid’s influence is traced through scatological travesty, the work of nation-
building, and personal voices of protest or desire. The reader comes away from The Last Trojan Hero with
a profound sense of how and why Virgil’s poem mattered at different times and in different places. Hardie
achieves a fine balance of encyclopedic scope and detailed reading, covering with a light touch an
extraordinary breadth of material. His learning and interpretative sensibility brilliantly illuminate each text
under discussion.’
– Ellen O’Gorman, Senior Lecturer in Classics, University of Bristol
‘I enjoyed Philip Hardie’s book immensely. It is not only a treasure trove of information about the ways
Virgil’s Aeneid has been read, but also a subtle and complex reading of the text itself, as well as a richly
emotional engagement with western culture. Written by one of the most important living scholars of the
Aeneid and its reception, this rich and resonant book will endlessly reward its readers, regardless of whether
or not they are already familiar with Virgil’s masterpiece.’
– Helen Lovatt, Associate Professor in Classics, University of Nottingham
‘Fast-paced and learned, The Last Trojan Hero is a tour-de-force through the reception of Virgil’s Aeneid.
One of the world’s most eminent Latinists has condensed a lifetime of research into a slim volume whose
every page offers a dazzling wealth of ideas clearly expressed – a delight for the specialist and the
uninitiated alike. Some adaptations are as well known as Dante’s underworld and the Christian Virgil, some
are surprises, such as Queen Elizabeth I in Dido’s guise and the American Aeneas. Hardie ranges over
German, Spanish, French, Italian, English and Portuguese as he collects nods to Virgil in art and literature
from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa with a span from Ovid to Ursula Le Guin. More than a
collection of references with rich visual documentation, Hardie offers a reading of the Aeneid, its heroes
and heroines, its stance on foundation, empire, exile and passion through its variegated reception. His light
touch and the simplicity of the presentation belie the depth of thought on display.’
– Michèle Lowrie, Professor of Classics and the College, University of Chicago
‘In his new book Philip Hardie not only tells the story of Virgil’s Aeneid, but also of a significant part of
western culture. As one would expect from this author, it is a masterful selection and presentation of the
rich material at his command. Pursuing the reception of the central text (which is itself already an instance
of reception), leads to intriguing insights into the development of literature, art, science and scholarship
from antiquity to the present day. Hardie’s unrivalled knowledge of Virgil and of later periods means that
one learns as much about the Aeneid itself as about its later reception. A careful selection of relevant
examples opens up a number of different perspectives and creates the framework for a comprehensive
history of the legacy of this major epic. At the same time, this is such a well-written book that it will be
accessible to all kinds of readers, specialist or not: it can enjoyably and rewardingly be read from cover to
cover. Anyone interested in the history of epic will benefit from it and (re)discover new friends and old
acquaintances.’
– Gesine Manuwald, Professor of Latin, University College London

Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
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Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by
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Copyright © 2014 Philip Hardie
The right of Philip Hardie to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
ISBN: 978 1 78076 247 0
eISBN: 978 0 85773 506 5
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro by A. & D. Worthington, Newmarket, Suffolk
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Underworlds
3. ‘La donna è mobile’: Versions of Dido
4. The Many Faces of Aeneas
5. Empire and Nation
6. Imperium sine Fine: The Aeneid and Christianity
7. The Aeneid and New Worlds
8. Parody and Burlesque
9. Art and Landscape
Notes
Bibliography
Plates
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURES
1. The Parade of Heroes. Engraving by François Chauveau, from Michel de
Marolles, Les Oeuvres de Virgile traduites en prose (Paris, 1649). Reproduced
by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (X.7.22).
2. Fama in Aeneid 4, woodcut in Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera, ed. Sebastian
Brant (Strassburg, 1502). By permission of the Fitzwilliam Museum,
Cambridge.
3. Meeting of Dante and Virgil. Tapestry after design by Francesco Salviati.
Getty Research Library Photo Study Collection.
4. Aeneas plucks the Golden Bough. Engraving after drawing by Franz Cleyn, in
The Works of Publius Virgilius Maro, translated by John Ogilby (London,
1654). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge
University Library (X.7.2).
5. Mercury descends to Aeneas in Carthage. Engraving by François Chauveau,
from Michel de Marolles, Les Oeuvres de Virgile traduites en prose (Paris,
1649). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge
University Library (X.7.22).
6. Juno and Aeolus. After design by Bartolomeo Pinelli, in A.J. Church, Stories
from Virgil (London, 1880). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of
Cambridge University Library (Sc.2.74).
7. Quos ego: Neptune calming the storm. Engraving by Raimondi after Raphael.
© Trustees of the British Museum.
8. Arch of Londinium, from Stephen Harrison, The Arch’s of Triumph Erected in
Honour of the High and Mighty Prince James I (London, 1604). © Trustees of
the British Museum.
9. The Italian Arch, from Stephen Harrison, The Arch’s of Triumph Erected in
Honour of the High and Mighty Prince James I (London, 1604). © Trustees of
the British Museum.
10. The Naval Arch, from John Ogilby, The Entertainment of His Most Excellent
Majestie Charles II, in his passage through the City of London to his
coronation (London, 1662). © Trustees of the British Museum.
11. The Tiber appears to Aeneas in a dream. After design by Bartolomeo Pinelli,
in A.J. Church, Stories from Virgil (London, 1880). Reproduced by kind
permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (Sc.2.74).
12. Title page to Alexander Ross, Virgilii Evangelisantis Christiados Libri XIII
(London, 1638). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge
University Library (Syn. 8.63.123).
13. Achaemenides and Polyphemus. Engraving by Giuseppe Zocchi, in L’Eneide
di Virgilio del commendatore Annibale Caro (Paris, 1760). Reproduced by
kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (7706.c.59).
14. The Harpies attack the Trojans. Engraving by François Chauveau, from
Michel de Marolles, Les Oeuvres de Virgile traduites en prose (Paris, 1649).
Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University
Library (X.7.22).
15. Aeneas and Iapyx, Pompeii, Casa di Sirico (VII 1, 25.47; Naples, Mus. Naz.
inv. nr. 9009). From Pirro Marconi, La Pittura dei Romani (Rome, 1929).
Courtesy of the Faculty of Classics, Cambridge.
16. Dido offers a sacrifice, from the Vergilius Vaticanus. Reproduced by kind
permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (899.bb.151).
17. Aeneas and Achates approach the Sibyl in front of the temple of Apollo,
from the Vergilius Vaticanus. Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics
of Cambridge University Library (899.bb.151).
18. Ascanius shoots Sylvia’s stag. Engraving after drawing by Franz Cleyn, in
The Works of Publius Virgilius Maro, translated by John Ogilby (London,
1654). Reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge
University Library (X.7.2).
19. Dido and Aeneas in the cave. Engraving by Giuseppe Zocchi, in L’Eneide di
Virgilio del commendatore Annibale Caro (Paris, 1760). Reproduced by kind
permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (7706.c.59).
20. Bernini, Aeneas and Anchises, from R. Norton, Bernini and Other Studies in
the History of Art (New York, 1914). Reproduced by kind permission of the
Syndics of Cambridge University Library (9400.b.112).
21. Raphael, The Fire in the Borgo, Stanza dell’Incendio, Vatican. From J.M.C.
Ady, Raphael in Rome (London, 1907). Reproduced by kind permission of the
Syndics of Cambridge University Library (1909.6.856).
22. The death of Laocoon. Cast. Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge
University.
23. ‘In the coils’, cartoon from Punch, 16 June 1909, 425. Reproduced by kind
permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (T992.b.1.199).
24. Claude Lorraine, Landscape with Ascanius shooting the Stag of Sylvia.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
PLATES
1. Simone Martini, frontispiece to Petrarch’s copy of Virgil. From Francisci
Petrarcae Vergilianus codex [facsimile] (Milan, 1930). Courtesy of the
Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, Cambridge.
2. Joseph Wright of Derby, Silius Italicus in the Tomb of Virgil. Yale Center for
British Art.
3. ‘Sieve Portrait’ of Elizabeth I. Bridgeman Art Library.
4. Peter Paul Rubens, The Voyage of the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand of Spain
from Barcelona to Genoa in April 1633, with Neptune Calming the Tempest,
1635. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Alpheus Hyatt Purchasing Fund,
1942.174.
5. James Gillray, Emma, Lady Hamilton (‘Dido, in despair!’). National Portrait
Gallery, London.
6. Pietro da Cortona, Neptune calming the storm. Palazzo Pamphilj, Rome.
Bridgeman Art Library.
7. G.B. Tiepolo, Aeneas presenting Cupid in the guise of Ascanius to Dido.
Bridgeman Art Library.
8. Sir Joshua Reynolds, The death of Dido. Royal Collection Trust/© Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2013.
9. Henry Fuseli, Dido. Yale Center for British Art.
10. François Boucher, Venus and Vulcan. Wallace Collection.
11. N. Poussin, Landscape with Hercules and Cacus. Bridgeman Art Library.
12. Claude Lorraine, The Landing of Aeneas at Pallanteum. Courtesy of the
National Trust.
13. J.M.W. Turner, Dido building Carthage. © The National Gallery, London.
14. J.M.W. Turner, The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire. Courtesy of Tate
Britain.
15. Thomas Cole, Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire. Bridgeman
Art Library.