history and mythos

Question 1

Rome as Homeric hero in Livy

Answer 1

The ‘death’ (as it is described in the text) of Rome is described as the tragi-heroic death of a homeric hero might be.

Proceeded by the sacrifice of the elders, which feels pretty epic coded.

epic language: ‘sonitus flammae’ (Georgics 4.409), also in the fall of Rome and I THINK in Aeneid 2 or 6 -> poetic language bleeding into historical writing

‘death’ of Rome similar to death of Hector which is framed as a spectacle - running sentences, asyndetic listing, shifting perspectives

flames are reintroduced to the narrative regularly - parallels with Troy

The hesitation of the Gauls , not wanting to destroy the city for no reason - elicits a similar response to the narrative hiccups in the death of Hector - where he temporarily gains the upper hand / appears to get away

built environment of Rome is fated to perish (‘fatum ergens’ 5.36.6)

Question 2

epic references in the sack of Veii

Answer 2

Camilla’s concludes the siege by undermining the war, putting the Roman’s in the position of the Greeks, then the emergence of the tunnel next to the temple of Juno (5.21.10) conjures Aeneas’ flight from Troy

repetition of the Aenean references at 5.40 when a man carries the vesta as he flees Rome (Aeneas carrying his family and household idols) - this example is both didactic, teaching piety and also historicising