The Aeneid
Book 1
Why is the first book of the Aeneid important?
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It sets the scene by giving the time and the place of
the tale
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Most of he main characters are introduced. You meet
Aeneas and Dido, and the gods Jupiter, Juno and
Venus.
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You are introduced to the mixture of legend, history
and the timeless supernatural world of Fate and the
gods that together make up the poem.
Why is the first book of the Aeneid important?
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It indicates the plot. The hero is trying to reach
Italy, but it is by no means certain that he will
succeed.
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The main themes are introduced. Aeneas is a
man with a divine mission, driven by Fate to
establish in Italy the race that will found Rome
and rule the world.
Themes
 The themes are given by Virgil in the beginning of the
poem:
1) War, the terrible strife caused by the god Mars
2) Fate, and its forcing of a good man, Aeneas into exile.
His duty as an agent of fate/destiny in the establishment
of the roman race and nation
3) Divine conflict, caused by the goddess Juno’s unrelenting
hatred of the Trojans, and its resolution
4) Aeneas’ long labours, his wandering and troubles on land
and at sea
5) The founding of the Roman nation, and the Roman race.
The succession of Aeneas’ line to Augustus.
6) Roman Imperialism and Patriotism/ Rome’s world
mission/The many amazing achievements of Rome
7) Human suffering and the rancour of the gods
What happened to Dido before we
meet her?
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Dido has been married to Sychaeus, but her
brother killed her husband. So she left her
homeland, Tyre, and migrated with companions
to Africa where she was building Carthage.
What event at the end of Book 1
skillfully leads into Book 2, and the
tale of Aeneas’ adventures?
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Dido gives a banquet to welcome the Trojans
and asks Aeneas to tell his story, which he does
in book 2.
The meeting of Dido and Aeneas and the
welcome Dido gives Aeneas have been
manipulated by Juno, Jupiter and Venus. What
part does each play?
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Juno caused the storm which blew Aeneas’ fleet
to Africa, p.32.
Jupiter sends Mercury to make sure Dido
welcomes Aeneas, p.36.
Venus makes Dido fall in love with Aeneas to
make extra certain Dido won’t harm him, p.47
The role of the gods in book 1
God
Action
Motive
Jupiter
Juno
Venus
Neptune
Mercury
Cupid
The role of the gods in book 1.doc
Result
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Character of Aeneas in Book 1
Skim through the book and write notes on Aeneas
character each time we see him. Explain what he is
thinking and doing and feeling and what each event
shows us about his character. You are very likely to be
asked questions on his character, and his character
development throughout the whole poem in the exam.
For example
Eg. The first time we see Aeneas is in the middle of a
storm that Juno has inflicted on him. We expect him to
be brave in such danger but instead he is terrified and
afraid, and wishes he had died in Troy when a Greek
warrior almost killed him. He says he is Jealous of
those who did get to die. This shows that Aeneas is a
normal human who is weak and gets scared rather than
an all-powerful superman. Aeneas his done his best for
seven years through disaster after disaster and is nearly
at the end of his tether.
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In the Storm
Landing on the coast of Africa
Killing Stags
investigates the land
Conversation with Venus
Seeing Carthage being built
Visiting the temple to Juno and seeing Images of the
Trojan war
Seeing his friends from the Trojan war again
Appearing out of his cloud and addressing Dido and
the crowd
Missing his son and Instructing Achates to get items
for the boat
Talking to Dido at the banquet