"Arma virumque cano"- so began one of the most famous texts that the world has seen- Vergil's Aeneid was not just a normal historical fiction, it was a text that became praised by Augustus and many other emperors, and went down in history as one of the most brilliant masterpieces humanity has ever produced- a work that its author spent 10 years on; a work that Vergil was so dedicated to that he ordered his books to be burned after he died since he was not content with the result. Luckily for us though, Emperor Augustus overruled this decision and the epic poem was allowed to survive and flourish.
Right in the first sentence, Vergil cleverly showcased his elite education as he made a reference to Homer's Iliad and his Odyssey- two epics that dates back to the 8th century BCE. Homer's Odyssey began with "Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices" and his Iliad began with "Sing, goddess, of the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus". Vergil, who had clearly perused these texts closely, started his epic with "I sing of arms and men"- a clear reference to the works before him, and also a reference to hybridity of cultures, where Graeco styles of writing has clearly becom embedded within Roman culture.
The Aeneid was also clever with its use of epic similes. One of the most famous examples of this is the comparison of Carthaginians to bees. Vergil wrote "even as bees when summer is fresh over the flowery country ply their task beneath the sun." This shows not only the hardworking nature of the people, but also their unwavering loyalty to their queen, Dido. There were also lots of comparisons made between events and seasons- a prominent example is the autumn analogy and the "falling leaves" simile. This was when Vergil compared souls gathering around the River Styx to leaves falling, invoking the idea of the ineluctable death of the body.
Vergil also carefully crafted a subtle connection between myths and realities- for example, Dido's curse on Rome, the prophecies Aeneas's father made in the Underworld where he talked about how Augustus will make a golden age, and etc. could all be linked to actual historical accounts.
There is much more to this masterpiece that could be talked about in one blog. When we read classical texts, we should not just focus on the superificial meaning of the passage, but also make references to the history of the passage, the ethical dilemmas main characters faced, and also look for intertextualities and references to other works.