Latin 401: Advanced Latin – Readings in Latin Literature (Selections from Vergil’s Aeneid)

This course will introduce you to the beauty and the glory of Vergil’s Aeneid, the greatest work of Roman poetry and “the classic of all Europe”. The poem relates the myth of Aeneas, a son of the goddess Venus and a refugee from the Trojan war who is, according to Roman legend, the ancestor of the Roman people.

We will hone your Latin translation, analytical, scansion and recitation skills through careful, intensive reading of a considerable chunk of Vergil’s epic poem. We will focus on analysis of grammar and vocabulary building, with attention to rhetorical and cultural elements of the text and analysis of style, meter, genre, and theme.

By the end of this class, you will be able to read Vergil with some fluency and, as a result, youwill understand, and appreciate Vergil’s most famous work. After this course, you should be prepared for 500-level courses in Latin literature.