Roman Epic Poetry: Key Works and Historical Evolution
Epic Poetry: Origins and Early Forms
The primary subject of epic poetry is to narrate the deeds of kings, warlords, and disastrous wars. The Romans produced their first epic poems in the late third century BC.
Commendationes
Commendationes are funerary inscriptions in verse, composed in praise of a deceased person. They recount the valor and glorious deeds of the departed.
Convivialia Carmina
Convivialia Carmina (banquet songs) are considered the clearest early record of epic poetry. In the early centuries of Rome, it was customary at the end of banquets to sing of the glory and brave deeds of ancestors.
Triumphalia Carmina
Triumphalia Carmina were songs performed by soldiers accompanying a victorious general during his triumphal procession from the outskirts of Rome to the Capitol. These songs celebrated the general’s exploits as well as their own achievements in the war.
Neniae
Neniae were funeral chants. At the funerals of prominent individuals, relatives and hired mourners would initially recite these chants, praising the deceased, their virtues, and their heroic deeds.
Archaic Roman Epic Poetry
The Odusia of Livius Andronicus
The first epic poem to appear in Latin literature was not an original creation but a translation of Homer’s Odyssey. This work, titled Odusia in Latin, was undertaken by Livius Andronicus and is considered the first Western literary translation.
The Bellum Punicum by Naevius
Gnaeus Naevius is credited with introducing the original, non-translated epic poem to Latin literature. His epic, the Bellum Punicum, chronicled the First Punic War, in which Naevius himself participated as a soldier.
The Annales by Ennius
With Quintus Ennius, Latin epic poetry took a significant step forward and became firmly established. His poem, the Annales, was considered the Roman national epic until the emergence of Virgil’s Aeneid. It comprised 18 books and approximately thirty thousand verses, organized into three groups of six books each.
Classical Latin Epics: The Age of Virgil
A period of about a century and a half passed between Ennius and Virgil, during which no epic poet of significant note emerged. With Virgil, Latin epic poetry reached its zenith.
Virgil: Life and Works
Virgil was born in a village near Mantua around 70 BC into a middle-class family. He studied in Rome and later wrote his Georgics and, subsequently, the Aeneid. He died in 19 BC upon returning from a trip to Greece and Troy, famously ordering the Aeneid to be burned.
The Aeneid: Rome’s National Epic
The Aeneid stands as the great national epic of Rome. It comprises twelve books and approximately ten thousand hexameters. Virgil, following in the footsteps of Homer, imitates the Iliad in the latter six books of the Aeneid.
The narrative structure of the Aeneid is complex. The initial books recount Aeneas’s journey after the fall of Troy, though not in strict chronological order, as a significant portion includes Aeneas himself narrating past events (notably the sack of Troy and his wanderings) to Dido. The poem then details his subsequent adventures and the various territories he visits after departing Troy, eventually guiding him back towards Italy, including a significant stop in Sicily.
The second half of the poem focuses on the wars Aeneas wages on Italian soil. Beyond this broad two-part division, the poem can also be analyzed into other structural blocks, each with its own distinct character. It is believed that Virgil initially considered composing an epic poem celebrating the deeds of Augustus but ultimately opted for a more grandiose subject. The Aeneid is an epic of profound wisdom, a product of vast knowledge meticulously selected and harmoniously integrated into a perfectly designed and executed literary whole. The poem’s hero, Aeneas, is not merely a warrior but is characterized as pius Aeneas—a devout and humane figure, often torn by inner conflict and tragedy.
Neronian Epic Poetry
Approximately 80 years after Virgil’s death, a new form of epic poetry emerged with distinctive features, reflecting the literary trends of the post-Augustan era.
Lucan and the Pharsalia
Lucan, the nephew of the philosopher Seneca, was born in Cordoba. A precocious talent, his poetic success later aroused the emperor’s jealousy. Despite dying young, he authored numerous works, ranging from a poem on the fall of Troy to epigrams. In his epic, the Pharsalia (or Bellum Civile), Lucan chronologically narrates the events of Caesar’s civil war. This marked a departure from the Homeric-Virgilian tradition, as he chose a historical rather than a mythological theme.
Rejection of Divine Intervention
Lucan notably banished the gods from his poem, instead placing full responsibility for human actions, whether positive or negative, squarely on mankind.