Time and History in Virgil's Aeneid by Rajesh Paul Mittal A dissertation submitted in partial ...

295 Pages·2011·1.71 MB·English

by  Rajesh Mittal

Time and History in Virgil’s Aeneid

by

Rajesh Paul Mittal

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Classical Studies)
in The University of Michigan
2011

Doctoral Committee:

Professor David S. Potter, Chair
Professor Victor Caston
Professor Bruce W. Frier
Assistant Professor Mira Seo
To Jeb
αὐτὰρ ὁ νόσφιν ἰδὼν ἀπομόρξατο δάκρυ
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Acknowledgments

Producing this dissertation has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my
life, and so it gives me tremendous pleasure to thank all of the people who contributed to
its realization. First and foremost, thanks go to the members of my doctoral committee:
David Potter, Victor Caston, Bruce Frier, and Mira Seo. I feel privileged to have had
Professor Potter as my chair. In addition to being one of the finest Roman historians of
his generation, he is a truly warm and understanding man, and I called upon that
understanding at several points during this process. Professor Seo was truly a godsend,
especially with regard to the literary aspects of my thesis. I am forever in her debt for the
valuable contributions that she made on extremely short notice. Professor Caston was
equally generous, and it pleases me to no end that a philosopher of his caliber has found
nothing objectionable in my discussions of Plato, Stoicism, and Pythagoreanism. Finally,
I must thank Professor Frier, not just for his work on my committee, but for all that he
has meant to me in my time at the University of Michigan. Reading Livy with him for a
prelim in 2007 will always be one of the fondest memories from my time in graduate
school, in part because of Livy (whom I think we both properly appreciate), but even
more so because Professor Frier is a true intellectual and marvelous person.
I would also like to thank all of the professors that I have been lucky enough to
work with during my time at Michigan. Joseph Reed was initially the co-chair of my
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committee, and I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my debt to him. Indeed, this
project began with his encouragement, and I hope that the end result still bears witness to
that fact. I was lucky enough to know and study with Benjamin Fortson, who shares with
me two passions: historical linguistics and the piano. While I never did get to hear him
play, if he is half the pianist that he is linguist, he may have a second career awaiting him.
I also thank Benjamin Acosta-Hughes, unquestionably one of the kindest and most
generous people I have ever met. If I were to recount all that he has done for me, this
section would run to many pages in length. All I shall say here is that I must someday
take him to dinner at Le Train Bleu. Finally, my heartfelt gratitude goes to Professor
H.D. Cameron. Hyperbole is surely common in the acknowledgement sections of
completed dissertations, but I do not exaggerate at all when I say that without Professor
Cameron, none of this would have been possible. Since my first year of graduate school,
he has taken me under his wing, and if I had done nothing besides teach Great Books for
him, the last six years would have been well spent. He has been a teacher, a mentor, and
a friend; with an astonishing insight into my psychology, he has at various times
encouraged and compelled me, according to the demands of the moment; he is a scholar
in the truest sense of the word, and it is reassuring to know that among people who spend
their lives reading Homer and Plato, there are individuals like Professor Cameron who
have learned what it means to truly be excellent.
I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the memory of another friend and
mentor, Traianos Gagos. Traianos was a true Greek, although (like me) more in the
modern sense. Traianos, you will always be in my thoughts, especially when I enjoy
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grilled kasseri with many glasses of Cretan raki, serenaded by the dulcet tones of the
Mediterranean.
I was first inspired to pursue a degree in Classics by my undergraduate Greek and
Latin professors at Marquette University, Stephen Beall and Patricia Marquardt. Both
have influenced me tremendously. In particular, Patricia taught me to “follow my bliss,”
and gave me one of the most precious gifts that anyone ever could: a love of Homer. No
matter where I go, I shall always carry with me the copy of the Iliad that I received from
her.
Thanks to the generosity of many people, I have been lucky enough to spend the
past year in Paris, unquestionably the most beautiful place in the world. For its endless
inspiration and charm, the city itself deserves my thanks. But my experience would not
have been half so pleasant had not my wonderful friend Jeanne-Marie Malauzat treated
me like a son, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. The kindness of Professor
Jean Trinquier enabled me to do the majority of my research at the library of the École
Normale Supérieure, and in addition to the vast collection there, I derived equal profit
from my walks up to 45 Rue D’Ulm, on paths once tread by Aquinas and Abelard. Often
I would go out of my way to visit the Vierge des Étudiants at Notre Dame, to whom I
also offer thanks.
During the past six years, I have made more friends than I could ever hope to
adequately acknowledge in this space, so I mention only a few: Jason Parnell and Mike
Sampson, who love football even more than I do; Alex Conison, who shares my
appreciation for all the finer things in life; Davorka Radovcic, who is a ray of Dalmatian
sunshine in the wretched Ann Arbor winter; and Alexander Angelov, a friend who passes
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the “Lorenzo” test, and the only person with whom I could ever share a tiny apartment
for three months. Then of course there are my dear, oldest friends, Keita Fukuyama,
Russ Casper, and Stephen Wolfe, with whom I grew up, in so many ways.
My deepest thanks go to my wonderful family, who have truly made me all that I
am. This project would have been unthinkable without them. My brother Riki and sister
Anne-Louise spent so much time proofreading my drafts. My aunt Dorothy has always
been like a second mother to me, and I felt her prayers during my most trying moments.
Whatever intellectual curiosity I have, I inherited from my grandmother, the other scholar
in our family, who herself knows something about Virgil. And finally, I thank my
wonderful father and incomparable mother, who have always loved and supported me,
regardless of what I do. I hope that I have made them proud.
Lastly, I thank Virgil himself (as well as Augustus, who kept the Aeneid from
being destroyed after Virgil’s death), for showing me what it means to have a beautiful
soul, and for having graced humanity with art that will never cease to be relevant to the
vital questions of our existence.
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Table of Contents

Dedication……………………………………………………………................................ii
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………................iii
List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………..............xi
Chapter
1.Introduction……………………………………………………………...............1
I. Virgil and the Philosophy of History........................................................1
II. Methodology.........................................................................................12
III. Terminology.........................................................................................19
2. Auctoritas and the Forum of Augustus..............................................................24
I. Introduction............................................................................................24
II. The Forum of Augustus.........................................................................27
1. Basic Physical Layout................................................................28
2. Issues in Dating the Project........................................................32
3. Augustus and Ultio.....................................................................37
III. Agency and Auctoritas in the Augustan Program...............................39
1. The Memory of the Proscriptions..............................................41
2. Sextus and Gnaeus Pompey......................................................46
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3. Pietas, Virtus, and Clementia in the Forum of Augustus.........51
a. Pietas..............................................................................52
b. Virtus..............................................................................57
c. Clementia.......................................................................60
IV. Sulla, Pompey, and De-Politicized History........................................62
V. Conclusion............................................................................................69
3. History as Sacrifice............................................................................................72
I. Introduction...........................................................................................72
II. Sicily in the Aeneid...............................................................................76
1. Sextus Pompey..........................................................................76
2. The Palinurus Episode..............................................................86
3. Eryx............................................................................................94
III. History as Sacrifice............................................................................106
1. Intimations of Doom in Aeneid 5............................................106
2. Turnus.....................................................................................109
3. The Bugonia and the Idea of Sacrifice....................................113
4. Stoicism in the Aeneid............................................................120
5. Creation, Destruction, and Sacrificial History........................126
IV. Conclusion.........................................................................................132
4. The Augustan Saeculum..................................................................................135
I. Introduction.........................................................................................135
II. Apollo and Augustus..........................................................................138
1. The Temple of Apollo Palatinus..............................................138
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2. The Etruscan Saecula...............................................................143
3. The Libri Sibyllini...................................................................146
4. The Ludi Saeculares...............................................................153
III. The Ara Pacis....................................................................................158
IV. Conclusion........................................................................................174
5. Mythical and Historical Time in the Aeneid....................................................178
I. Introduction.........................................................................................178
II. Mythical vs. Historical Time..............................................................184
III. Stoic Ekpyrosis in the Aeneid, Revisited..........................................188
IV. Virgil and the Ages of Man..............................................................193
1. Pyrrhus and the Iron Age.........................................................193
2. The Metallurgic Ages in Virgil’s Works.................................196
3. The Literary Tradition, After and Before Virgil.....................198
a. Ovid Metamorphoses 89-150......................................198
b. Catullus 64.397-408.....................................................201
c. Aratus Phaenomena 96-136.........................................203
d. Aratus, Virgil, Ovid, and Historical Decline...............204
4. Virgil’s Historical Golden Age................................................207
V. Virgil’s Metaphysical Golden Age: The Underworld........................219
1. Pythagoreanism.......................................................................221
2. Neopythagoreanism................................................................228
3. Virgil’s sedes beatae................................................................233
4. The Parade of Heroes and the Gates of Dreams.....................243
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VI. Conclusion: The Death of Turnus Revisited.....................................247
6. Conclusion: Nostalgia and Hope.....................................................................253
Bibliography....................................................................................................................266
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