Latin Epic Poetry: Defining Features, History, and Key Works
Characteristics of Latin Epic Poetry
- Origin: Defined as literate epic from its beginnings; a written product where an author consciously chooses the theme and stylistic devices.
- Form: Latin epic is written in verse, specifically the dactylic hexameter, which is considered the quintessential heroic verse.
- Topic: Starting from Greek models, Latin authors elevated remarkable and unrepeatable historical events from their past, such as the Punic Wars, to epic status.
- Heroic Figures: The protagonists of the narrated exploits embody moral values and social attitudes deemed worthy of replication.
- Figures of Speech: Common techniques include the repetition of words or groups (known as formulas, which repeat the same metrical pattern and serve as epithets characterizing human or divine figures). Similes are also very common; they mark transitions between episodes, provide plasticity and vividness to the narrative, and relax tension after moments of high intensity (like combat narratives).
- Language and Style: The language and expression acquire a degree of dignity unmatched in other literary genres.
Historical and Legendary Latin Epics
Archaic Period (3rd-2nd Century BC)
The Odusia by Livius Andronicus
A translation or personal version of Homer’s Odyssey. It was written in the traditional Roman verse, the Saturnian, instead of the Greek hexameter. Hellenic deities were substituted with Latin ones.
Bellum Punicum by Naevius
This work combines a historical component (the Punic Wars) with a mythical one (the Trojan origin of Rome). It was written in Saturnian verses.
Annales by Ennius
Narrates the history of Rome from its Trojan origins. Ennius utilized the dactylic hexameter and holds the merit of creating a Latin poetic language and establishing the structure and musicality of the hexameter in Latin.
Classical Period (1st Century BC)
The Aeneid by Virgil
This epic poem is the product of the creative work of a single author, not a compilation of various oral versions. Inspired by the Iliad and Odyssey, it was written in dactylic hexameters and consists of twelve books with the following plot structure:
Plot Structure
- Books I-VI: Recount the journey of Aeneas from Troy to Italy. Aeneas narrates the tragic end of Troy and his escape with his father and son. He encounters Dido, Queen of Carthage, who falls in love with him and wishes him to stay. However, realizing he must fulfill his destiny, Aeneas departs, leading Dido to commit suicide. Aeneas continues his voyage, arriving first in Sicily and then in Italy. In Book VI, Aeneas descends into the underworld, accompanied by the Sibyl of Cumae, to speak with the shade of his deceased father, Anchises. Anchises reveals to his son the great future awaiting his lineage and the city (Rome) to be founded by his descendants.
- Books VII-XII: Narrate the wars Aeneas fought in Italy, inspired by the Iliad. Aeneas reaches Latium, where King Latinus offers his daughter Lavinia’s hand in marriage, fulfilling a prophecy. However, Lavinia is already betrothed to Turnus, king of the Rutulians. This triggers a war between the Trojans and the Latins (allied with the Rutulians), which ends with Aeneas defeating Turnus in single combat.
Features
The Aeneid presents elements of traditional epic: the use of similes and comparisons, formulas, archaisms, and the influence of divine intervention (e.g., the wrath of the goddess Juno). Alongside these traditional aspects, Virgil introduces two major innovative features: the significant use of prophecy and the depth in the description of characters.
Post-Augustan Epic (1st-4th Century AD)
Pharsalia by Lucan
A poem in ten books recounting the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, culminating in Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus. Composed with a scientific spirit and historically well-documented, it notably removes references to the gods, exalting instead the human figure (though often critically). It describes human actions purely as such and includes psychological study of the characters.
Latin Epic Poetry with Mythological Themes
Metamorphoses by Ovid
While much of Ovid’s work is lyrical, his most important composition, the Metamorphoses, is considered a purely mythological epic poem written in dactylic hexameters, although lyrical and satirical elements abound. Its argument continuously changes, covering topics from creation and the universal flood, through tales of gods, goddesses, and heroes, to the Trojan cycle stories. All these stories interconnect, which can sometimes make the narrative thread difficult to follow. However, the continued presence of the narrator provides coherence. The inherent interest of the subjects and the style with which they are treated have made this work one of the classics of world literature.