Virgil’s Vision of the Underworld and Reincarnation in Book VI of the Aeneid

Virgil’s Vision of the Underworld and Reincarnation in Book VI of the Aeneid

“Virgil paints his sad prophetic picture of the Underworld in shadowy halftones fraught with tears and pathos. His sources are eclectic, but his poetic vision is personal and unique” (Lenardon, 312). Despite countless writings regarding the region of the Underworld, such as Homer’s Odyssey and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Virgil bases his book upon traditional elements accompanied with his own vision of the Underworld and reincarnation. In doing so, Virgil’s book VI of the Aeneid serves as an exploration of Virgil’s concept of the Underworld and religious beliefs, one in which the hybrid of the traditional and the personal, create a more poetic vision than standard retelling of past illustrations.

Following his entrance into the Underworld, with his guide the Cumaean Sybil, Aeneas is thrust into the realm of Virgil’s Underworld, beginning first with primarily traditional elements. “Now from the Stygian water the boatman, seeing them in the silent wood and headed for the bank cried out to them (lines 516-518).” Upon reaching the River Styx, the traditional river shades must cross to enter the underworld; Charon the boatman serves as ferryman to transport the two across the river. Upon progressing further, the two come to a fork in the road leading to two separate traditional Underworld realms Tartarus and Elysium: “now of a sudden Aeneas looked and saw to the left, under a cliff, wide buildings girt by a triple wall round which a torrent rushed with scorching flames…they came to places of delight, to green park land, where souls take ease among the Blessed Groves (lines 548-678).” Tartarus, the realm of torment, was reserved for those to be eterna...

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...rgil creates within these passages. Because of the parallels with Christianity within the Underworld passages, and the notion of Aeneas as an anti-hero with false dreams, Virgil’s work connects itself with future works, inspiring Dante and future authors. As illustrated, the Underworld images Virgil leaves the audience with greatly questions the overall integrity of the epic itself, while not completely alienating his audience through the combination of the new and traditional within the book. In the end, the afterlife is a matter of personal opinion, mixed with tradition, and a dash of doubt and ambiguity.

Works Cited/Referenced

Fitzgerald, Robert trans. The Aeneid. Vintage: New York. 1990.

Lenardon, Robert J., Morford, Mark P.O. Classical Mythology. Fourth Edition. Longman: White Plains, NY. 1991. pp. 312-327. Press, Inc.: New York, NY. 1967.