AP Latin Unit 4 Notes: Vergil’s Epic Poetry in *Aeneid* 1–2

Dactylic hexameter

The six-foot quantitative meter of Greco-Roman epic (e.g., Homer’s Iliad/Odyssey; Vergil’s Aeneid), built from long and short syllables.

Metrical foot

A repeated unit of rhythm in a metrical line; in hexameter, there are six feet per line.

Dactyl

A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short syllables (— u u).

Spondee

A metrical foot consisting of two long syllables (— —), often substituted for a dactyl in epic to slow the rhythm.

Quantity (quantitative meter)

A system of meter based on syllable length (long/short) rather than stress accent.

Caesura

A meaningful pause within a metrical foot, usually at a word break; often prominent in Vergil’s 3rd foot.

Elision

In verse, the “smoothing over” of a word-final vowel (or vowel + m) when the next word begins with a vowel or h, affecting syllable counting and pace.

Long by nature

A syllable that is long because it contains a long vowel or a diphthong.

Diphthong

Two vowels pronounced as one syllable and counted as long in meter (e.g., ae, au, oe, ei, eu, ui).

Long by position

A syllable that is long because its vowel is followed by two consonants (within a word or across a word boundary); x counts as two consonants (ks).

Anceps

A syllable that can be either long or short; in hexameter the final foot is — x (long + anceps).

Scansion

The process of marking a line’s syllables as long/short and dividing them into metrical feet to analyze rhythm and meaning.

In medias res

A narrative technique that begins “in the middle of things,” with backstory filled in later (used at the start of the Aeneid).

Pietas

A Roman virtue of dutiful loyalty to gods, family, and destiny/community; a defining trait of Aeneas.

Fatum

Fate or destiny as a driving force in the epic, often in tension with divine opposition (e.g., Juno).

Epic simile

An extended comparison (often several lines) that pauses the action to add vividness and guide interpretation (e.g., Neptune likened to a statesman calming a riot).

Ecphrasis

A vivid description of a work of visual art, used to develop theme and emotion (e.g., Aeneas viewing Trojan War murals).

“Sunt lacrimae rerum”

A famous Vergilian phrase expressing the poem’s emotional worldview (that there are “tears for things,” or that suffering is woven into reality).

Dolus

Trickery or deception, especially as a key Greek weapon in Book 2 (the Wooden Horse).

“Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis”

“I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts,” a warning that captures suspicion and the tragedy of ignored insight.

Omen

A sign interpreted as revealing divine will; in the Aeneid, omens can guide or mislead human decisions under pressure.

Penates

Household gods representing continuity of identity and home; Aeneas’ carrying them signifies preserving Troy’s spirit into the future.

Hyperbaton

A word order device where words that belong together (often adjective + noun) are separated to create emphasis, suspense, or mimic disorder.

Chiasmus

An ABBA word pattern that creates a sense of balance, enclosure, or inevitability, often used for pointed statements.

Enjambment

When a sentence or phrase runs over a line break without a pause, creating momentum, suspense, or emotional overflow.