Date of Award
2012
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Philosophy
Keywords
Philosophy, religion and theology, Social sciences, Aeneid, Epicureanism, Ethics, Roman, Stoicism, Virgil
Supervisor
C. Tindale
Supervisor
T. Najem
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This thesis aims to determine which philosophical school, either Epicurean or Stoic, Virgil's Aeneid more accurately reflects. Explored are the characters of Anchises, Dido and Aeneas; the portrayal of piety, justice, emotions and anger and; the philosophical issues of freedom of will, Fate and the composition of the cosmos. In conclusion, the presence of freedom of will afforded to human characters within this work and the distinction made by Virgil between Jupiter and Fate, lead to the conclusion that it is unlikely that this is a Stoic work. Also, this thesis argues that Virgil's presentation of piety, justice, emotion and anger are consistent with an Epicurean conception of these characteristics. Therefore, if the Aeneid can be attributed influence from either philosophical school of thought, it lends itself much more readily to an Epicurean reading.
Recommended Citation
Mulvaney, Tamilyn H., "The Source of Morality for Virgil's "Aeneid" " (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4831.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/4831