The Influence of Classical Literature of Virgil on Later Works of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Virgil, one of the great poets of his time, has had a profound impact on many writers over the past two millennia since his death. His epic poem, the Aeneid, is considered to be one of the most important pieces of classical literature (Mackail).

A bust of Virgil in Naples

Virgil himself was influenced by the Greek poet Homer, and his works the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Aeneid is an epic poem that tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan soldier who flees the city of Troy after it is destroyed by the Greeks during the Trojan War. Similar to the Odyssey, the Aeneid recounts “a series of Mediterranean adventures and an eventual homecoming, and is like the Iliad in recounting a war to capture a city,” (Cox).

However unlike Homer and many poets before him, Virgil could read and write. He didn’t hear the Homeric poems orally, he read them. This allowed him to consult Homer’s work while writing his own. Virgil chose to write his own story, based on Homer’s character of Aeneas, who was briefly described in the Iliad. He, like many Roman thinkers, adapted the philosophical ideas of the Greeks to apply to those of their own situation in the Roman republic and empire. 

"Aeneas and Turnus" by Luca Giordano is a painting inspired by
the work of Virgil.

Soon after his death, his work was modelled by the poet Ovid. The writings of Virgil have been studied almost as long as the language of Latin itself. During the Middle Ages, many religious scholars interpreted his writings as Christian allegories, even though Virgil died decades before the idea of Christianity had even formed.  

These religious interpretations caused the work of Virgil to become widespread during this time, and became a huge influence on the work of Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. For those unfamiliar, the Divine Comedy is an epic poem, written in first person, as Dante travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Dante’s Divine Comedy is considered to be the most important piece of literature composed in the Italian language (Scott). Virgil is even included as a character in the Divine Comedy, as he guides Dante through Hell and Purgatory.

Depiction of Satan by Gustave Dore was inspired by Satan
as description in Milton's Paradise Lost, which was
greatly influenced by Virgil.

During the Renaissance, Virgil’s work became the inspiration for John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost tells the story of the “Fall of Man”, as depicted in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. The Aeneid became the model for Paradise Lost in epic structure, but also writing style (Williams). 

Though Virgil’s influence waned during the Romantic period, as it was believed he lacked the emotion and sensitivity that blossomed during the early 19th century, his popularity once again soared during the Victorian era. Even today, the writings of Virgil, and those who came after him, are still an enormous influence on writers and philosophers alike. I have made a timeline to demonstrate the evolution of writers that Virgil has inspired over the last two thousand years.

Sources:

Cox, John D. "Introduction to Virgil, The Aeneid." Introduction to Virgil, The Aeneid. Hope College, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

Mackail, J. W. Virgil and His Meaning to the World of To-day. New York: Cooper Square, 1963. Print.

Scott, John A. Understanding Dante. Notre Dame, IN: U of Notre Dame, 2004. Print.

Williams, Robert D. "Virgil." Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

Roman Mythology vs Greek Mythology

A main part of both ancient Greek and Roman civilizations was mythology. Mythology was used by these societies to explain world origins, life occurrences,  and many wonders of the world. Greek and Roman Mythology are very similar due to the fact that the Romans adopted most of the Greek's ideas. Greek mythology was created around 2000 BC,  hundreds of years before Roman mythology, which was estimated to be established during the 12th century BC (Delgado). Although the origin of Greek mythology is unknown, the god Timaus and goddess Critias are linked with many stories that involve the beginning of Greek mythology (Delgado). On the contrary, there is a Roman myths that tells of the creation of Rome. The more widely known myth is "Romulus and Remus" (Grant 98). Two twin brothers sent down a river in a basket and rescued by a she-wolf. The two boys grew up and decided to build a city and rule it as kings. They had a contest to decide who would be king, but when it seemed clear Remus would win, Romulus killed him and assumed the role as the first king of Rome. This was an important story to the Romans "since their city was started by the son of a god it had to be more powerful than any other city" (Garcia).

The picture above is of the infamous statue of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. A similar Greek myth is the one regarding the creation of Athens. The city, according to Greek Mythology,  was in contest between Athena and Poseidon about who would become the protector of the city. The myth details that Poseidon gave a spring with sea water, while Athena offered an olive tree. The people chose Athena hence the city having the name Athena. This myth is symbolic to the Greeks because the two gods symbolize the strength of Athens not only as a city of wisdom, but also as a sea power (Athens History).

The picture above is of Athena and the olive tree she gave to the city of Athens that supplied its people with food, oil, and wood. My product was to compare Roman Mythology and Greek Mythology and their founding stories. I used a prezi format for my product because I believe it shows the clear connections between Roman mythology and Greek mythology.
Prezi

Works Cited

"Athens History." History of Athens Greece a Brief Reference to Athens History. Ancient Greek 

Guide, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

Delgado, Jose. "Roman Mythology vs. Greek Mythology." Kean.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

Donn, Linn. "Athena & Poseidon." Athena (Minerva). N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

Garcia, Brittany. "Romulus and Remus." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 

21 Dec. 2014.

Grant, Michael. Roman Myths. New York: Scribner, 1972. Print.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. Baltimore: Penguin, 1955. Print.

K, Sai. "Myths and Legends." Greek Mythology vs. Roman Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

Roman Poetry(Virgil) vs Modern Poetry(Robert Frost)

Before I knew anything about the Ancient Roman poet Virgil, I read parts of his most famous poems which included The Georgics, The Eclogues, and the epic Aeneid in which was modeled after Homer's  Iliad and the Odyssey.  They confused me but I wanted to know more about him and his life so I could truly understand them and their meanings.  Virgil wrote poetry during the Augustan period and from 70 B.C.E. to 19.  He is considered one of the greatest poets thanks to what is considered the epic of his time (Aeneid).  This epic consists of 12 books which tells the journey of a young Aeneas who was considered to be Augustus or the ruler of the Roman Empire at the time.  Although this story was fictional, what made it so interesting was the connection to the current Roman Empire and its future.  The Aeneid also displayed some of Virgil’s feelings of the Empire at the time.  Overall what Virgil did was base his writing off some of the great poets including Theocritus and Homer and create great pieces of work that we remember and read today.  

Sculpture of Virgil in Naples

Today there are so many poems which makes it tough to find the best poets because they are very similar in the way they write, but particular poems stand out above others due to their meaning and importance.  One in particular that is a popular modern poem is the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.  This in comparison to Virgil’s Aeneid is not as long, does not have as much depth, and word choice is totally different but the two both express an indirect point of view on life during each of their times. Virgil more so directed at leadership and an Empire while Frost shows a more personal life message.  In reality the two are almost completely different but what has not changed from Virgil’s time to Frost’s time is the goal of wanting to display an important message in life.  Robert Frost most likely did not consider the way Virgil wrote when he was writing the Road Not Taken, but Virgil has left a mark on modern poetry no doubt. 

https://docs.google.com/a/egsd.net/document/d/1cgQoRVve67UPGZZc-D_P_2IOmwHsNb3Sgz8OhqFInE0/edit?usp=sharing
My product is comparison between Virgil's poems and Robert Frosts. How they relate but also how they differ.


Sources:

Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

"The Road Not Taken - Poem by Robert Frost." The Road Not Taken - Poem by Robert Frost. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

Caesar's War Tactics

Our overarching topic is the battle tactics employed by Julius Caesar. Within that, we also researched battle formations, combat styles, and strategies to steal supplies. War was an essential part of Julius Caesar's life including most notably the Gallic Wars. As we researched, it is clear that battle tactics in ancient Roman times greatly vary from those used today. Stealth and patience was not a main Roman tactic; common tactics for them included attacking the enemy head on and risking their lives much quicker. Had they waited and held back, rather than constantly sacrificing the front lines, lives could have potentially been saved. However, the Roman's had many battle formations used at the time to protect as many soldiers as possible. While such strategies would not be as effective in modern day, they seemed to have success during ancient times.

Battle tactics in Roman times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhSc_wIofyM

Battle tactics now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3NwEAM8c4

There are five main Roman battlefield positions.

Wedge Formation: The Roman's had a  line of soldiers in the back row and a triangle formation in the front to provide concentration to the center in order to could smash through the enemy
Single Line Defense: This was simply an extended line of soldiers.
Cannae Tactic: The formation had a weak center on purpose so that all of the outside soldiers could attack.
Manniple Channels: The Roman's would leave room between rows of soldiers so the enemy would come through them and be surrounded by both sides.
Strong Right Flank: This formation focused on a strong right flank to concentrate on the enemy's left flank. The Roman's would then sneak and attack from the back.
Protected Flank: This strategy is different, as the army is psychically protected by a natural barrier, such as mountain's, rather than forming a human barrier.

Less popular formations include the following. 

Testudo (Turtle) Formation: Roman's would resemble a turtle-like form of protection, forming a square completely covered with shield both around and above. However, such a tight formation caused the soldier's to cover little ground. 

Orbis Formation: The soldier's would form a circle shape with shield covering all sides. At the center of the circle would be the officer, who was fully protected by outside soldiers. This was only used when soldiers were detached from a smaller unit or when encircled by the enemy.

There are three combat styles used depending on the situation. 

Hand to Hand: Hand to Hand contact was typically only used after the release of missile type weapons. During the chaos and damage that ensues after, such a strategy is less dangerous than had it been done during open fire. Such fighting also included the use of swords and shields. 

Acute Shock: This strategy entails fighting the enemy in short and painful bursts. Rather than quickly fighting until death, enemies would battle for a period of time and then draw back to collect themselves. As they waited, other soldiers repeated the same process. The idea was such a long process eventually becomes mentally and physically draining for the enemy. 

War Machines: This tactic relied on heavy firing of both machines and balls of fire. After the attack the Roman's would then advance forward in lines, continuing as each front line got taken down. Eventually, they would gain on the enemy. 

Roman's also had specific ways of stealing the enemies resources. They first strategy used would be to attack the enemy resource location and grab as many of their resources as they could. However, often times it was not this simple. Roman soldiers also had a way of intercepting enemy supplies while in transit. The soldiers would locate the enemy's main supply place and set up a stopping point, so when the enemy soldiers stopped, the Roman's would raid the supplies. Finally, the soldiers could resort to the most violent of strategies. The soldiers would surround a major supply place, such as a town, and cut off all outside contact. This eventually led to an enemy surrender. The Roman's would then quickly build a wall around the place to ensure security. From there, the enemies inside the walls would either surrender or be killed. 

Overall, the different strategies employed by Roman armies were very interesting. The most fascinating part of the Roman army was the neat and structured formations. To walk and approach the enemy while staying in formation and closing all gaps truly takes skill. Many of the strategies mentioned above were used by Caesar and his army during the Gallic Wars. For our product, Jen and I made a play book, further illustrating the purpose and details of each strategy. We discuss a major battle during the Gallic Wars that went wrong and "re-create" the battle using tactics that we have developed ourselves. While the tactics mentioned above show clear skill and thought, Jen and I have learned that all tactics can be improved, which is what our product shows. 

https://docs.google.com/a/student.egsd.net/document/d/14OdDjlaOO3saOdn0NdkrnhrgO2WgrfugXm-F4h1x8k8/edit

Sources 

Cavazzi, Franco. "The Orb." The Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Wilson, Andy. "The Romans." The Classics Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Swain, George R. The Classic Journal. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"The War in Gaul." The Gallic Wars. N.p., 05 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Morris, Graham. "Julius Caesar, Man, Soldier and Tyrant." Battlefield Anomalies. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014.       Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Caesar War Tactics

Formations:
Wedge- This tactic has thin lines that are used to break through the enemy lines. The shape is like a pyramid so the lines get increasingly longer as the lines go farther back.
Single Line Defense- soldiers are sent out in a single line to be able to overlap the enemy or meet a wider formation if they come across it.  
Cannae Tactic-The center is left weak to 'invite' the enemy into the middle. The surrounding flanks are stronger to surround the opposing army.
Zama Tactic-Channels are left between maniples to lead enemy war elephants away from heavy infantry. This is very dangerous because flanks are left vulnerable.
Strong Right Flank- Strength would be on the right flank in order to break the enemies left flank. The 'roll up line' would then attack the enemy from the rear.
Protected Flank-He would use a natural barrier to protect one side of the flank.

Combats:
Hand to Hand- This occurred after the missiles were fired
The Acute Shock- bursts of shots to shock and scare the enemy
War Machines- Machines the threw rocks and balls of fire

Resource Tactics:
1. intercept supplies while they are in transit. find main supply place of enemy and make a stopping point so when the enemies stopped the Romans would run and steal supplies
2. attack resource area and grab as many things as they could until they were forced out.
3. army would surround location and cut off supplies. This would cause the enemy to eventually have to fight or surrender.

Structure:
1. Contubernium-8 men
2. Centuria-80 men
3. Cohort-6 centuries or a total of 480 fighting men
4. Legion-10 cohorts
5. Field army: a grouping of several legions and auxiliary cohorts
6. Equites: Each legion was supported by 300 cavalry (equites)
7. Auxilia and velites: allied contingents and specialist fighting services, like archers, slingers or javelin men. 
8. Non-combatant support: the dirty work
 Link to project is HERE Sources:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3286647

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_infantry_tactics
http://www.the-romans.co.uk/weapons.htm
http://www.ancient-rome.biz/the-gallic-wars.html
http://www.battlefieldanomalies.com/caesar/  

Julius Caesar VS Adolf Hitler: Leading Through Adversity

I have always been very curious about the world's greatest and most powerful leaders. Whether or not their intentions were good or bad the events and secrets behind the world's most powerful leaders are enticing. Thus, leading me to do my common task on the comparison of two of the world's most infamous leaders, Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler. In this comparison I focused on an element the two had in common, medical issues. Caesar had epilepsy and suffered from seizures during the last couple years of his life (Jones). The evidence of Caesar's epilepsy is based off the ancient sources of Suetonius, Plutarch, Pliny, and Appianus. The sources suggest evidence that most of Caesar's family also suffered from epilepsy and he had inherited it from his grandfather and father, who died of sudden seizures (Hughes Jr.). 

Julius Caesar

Suetonius wrote in one of his accounts that Caesar suffered from "morbus comitialis", this is what the Romans called modern day epilepsy. "Morbus caducus [the falling sickness]; morbus comitialis [disease of the assembly hall.] It was a standing Roman custom to shut down the public assembly [comitia] for ritual purification whenever any legislator experienced a seizure; morbus sacer [the sacred sickness]; or morbus demoniacus [the demonic sickness]" (Jones).

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, similarly to Julius Caesar, also suffered from medical ailments during his role. The only difference being that Hitler's drug addiction had a far more serious affect on his role then Caesar's epilepsy. Hitler suffered from a neurological disorder of anxiety and hypochondria. Throughout his reign he became overwhelming obsessed with his health and asked for the help of the polish Jew physician, Morell. Morell supplied Hitler with over 28 different types of experimental drugs to help him cope with his "ailments." This eventually led to Hitler's drug addiction that overtime wore down him down both mentally and physically (Morell). The evidence of Hitler's drug abuse comes from the personal journal of Morell who supplied experimental drugs and cared for Hitler during his reign as the Fuhrer of the Third Reich.

The product I made is a comparison of the two leaders, Caesar and Hitler. I researched this topic because of my curiosity of "what was behind the curtain" of two of the world's most infamous and powerful leaders. The information I found was remarkable and provides evidence for some of the actions and events that took place under their leadership. The comparison I made showcases the information I found during my research. 

The link to my product is here Caesar VS Hitler .

Sources

-Hughes JR., "Dictator Perpetuus: Julius Caesar." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

-Jones, Jeffrey M., Dr. "'The Falling Sickness' in Literature." Southern Medical Journal. Medscape, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.

-http://www.fpp.co.uk/books/Morell/Morell.pdf (This link wouldn't let me cite for some reason..) 

Origin Myths by Harrison Timperley

Throughout history Civilizations have created stories explaining the origin of the world and themselves. Currently we only know of the ancient world through writing and physical evidence. An other myth has been past down through oral tradition. These types of stories are quite inconsistent and like a huge telephone game are distorted the original. Most cultures have no idea where their people came from since the only way they remembered their history was through their elders which eventually died along with their history unless of course if it is written down. The origin of the world and its people has always been a question among humans and such is the nature of people to explain away the mysteries of the world rather than leave them as holes in their knowledge. These explanations are almost always fantastical, full of intercourse and connected with the most powerful beings in the world.

How Authors and Style Make History

Most of the time, people take history for what it is. Unfortunately, time machines have yet to be invented, so we do not have any option but to take what we are given. As a society, we are forced to believed that our historical facts have not been diluted or forged, but are simply the truth. We have to trust the people of our past, because our eyes can never see what they saw. However, I see no problem, in a little doubt.

For my project, I wanted to explore how the perception of history can be contorted and mangled by the people who have given us historical literature, and the style they used to create such literature. Things like journals and autobiographies are a huge part of our access into the past. It is these works of literature that paint the hazy image for our present day minds. Yet, I wanted to consider why our reenactments look the way they look and feel the way they feel. Considering the fact, that ancient history is told by writers and artists, it must be these authors that sway us into seeing the past the way it is. 

They do not do it on purpose. It is something they have no control over. They simply write in hopes that one day, people like us can gather some understanding of what they went through. It is people like Seneca the Younger and Pliny the Younger, who wanted to literally write out their own history. 

Claudius Galen and the Plague

Example of Galen's writing (in Latin)

Some of the greatest literature from the ancient world comes from research and medicine of the time. Sanitation was not something that was very developed, resulting in diseases that went rampant. Therefore, it was important to incorporate these aspects of life into writing.


One man, Claudius Galen (130 A.D. - 210 A.D.) was a master at this. Born in Pergamum to Greek parents, Galen became a renowned physician, writer, and philosopher. He studied in Greece, Alexandria and Asia Minor. Missing his homeland, he moved back to Greece to become a doctor in gladiator school. There, he gained real life practice in treating wounds. In the 160s A.D. he moved to Rome and was doctor under Marcus Aurelius and other emperors down the line. Why was he so important you may ask? Well, essentially he was the father of the experimental method. He began dissecting animals to better understand how the body works. He fundamentally changed medicine in the Roman Empire. He proved things such as the fact that urine forms in the kidneys and that arteries carry blood through the body. The research that he conducted transcended fifteen centuries after his demise into the Renaissance era. He was perhaps the single most important figure in medicine following Hippocrates (and we all know the Hippocratic oath of doctors, right?) The reason historians today know of this is through his writings. He wrote about his experiments, his medical innovation, and especially about the Antonine Plague. His strengths resided in both informative and philosophical styles of writing.

Depiction of the Antonine Plague (165-180 A.D.)

For my product, I decided to create a free-form poem about the Antonine Plague, something a little different than Galen would have done. I really wanted to do a spin off in a more creative direction while also sort of describing the environment of the plague as Galen had done centuries ago.


My product is found here.


As a result of this project, my knowledge about medical advances in the ancient world has developed immensely. I also learned how disease and adversities were portrayed in the culture (literature, etc.) of the people during this time.

Works Cited

Dawson, Ian. Greek and Roman Medicine. New York: Enchanted Lion, 2005. Print.

"Plague in the Ancient World." Plague in the Ancient World. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

Whitney, Elspeth. Medieval Science and Technology. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004. Print.

Woods, Michael, and Mary B. Woods. Ancient Medical Technology: From Herbs to Scalpels. Minneapolis: Twenty-First
Century, 2011. Print.