but Aeneas, when we come right down to it, has not the faintest idea of what he is doing, historically. for augustus, it is clear that cleopartra and antony are 'enemies to the state', but aeneas has no state, and insofar as his state can be equated with the goal of founding a state, deciding who is an enemy can be tough. clearly turnus, but what about, for example, dido? is it fair to call her an enemy in the same sense that antony and cleopatra, or turnus are? or maybe that's just it--the old adage, all is fair in love and war. but then what about aeneas himself? he is, in some way, his own enemy. and if for vergil we must battle those who are enemies to our goals, which i think may be correct, then the distinctions between hero and villain disappear. but i could be wrong--i'm only a lowly sophomore afterall. -matthewspencer
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Perhaps Virgil consciously chooses to compare Aeneas to Augustus, in the idea > that just as Augustus defeated Cleopatra and Antony, enemies to the state and > his own advancement of Rome's power and prestigue, so too must Aeneas fight > against those who try to thwart his own founding of a homeland? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
