The Erotica of Battle
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2019 3:30 PM
End Date
19-4-2019 4:45 PM
Keywords
eroticism, violence, classics
Biography
Jillian Wines is a sophomore at Marshall University. She is a history and Latin major.
Major
History, Latin
Advisor for this project
Christina Franzen
Abstract
Euryalus is penetrated violently and sexually in battle, and this violent act is sexualized, which illustrates that, in the Aeneid, any sort of opening of the skin is an erotic act. This is demeaning to the penetrator, and used to attract young men to join the Roman military because of the erotic nature of the violence and their wish to be true Roman men. Agriculture in Rome was something erotic. Euryalus being a flower feminizes him, and makes him penetrable and also emphasizes the relation to him and a virgin, and an aspect of fertility. The use of crimson specifically makes that more prominent because blood has a relation to fertility and fertilizing the land. This fertilizing of the land is erotic because of seeds being sown and fruit to be created, like children. Since crimson also has the word blushing with it, it points to Euryalus being the submissive and penetrated due to its connotation. The idea of flowers, and crimson is erotic because of the association with femininity, fertility and submission. This would attract young men to the Roman army like the other erotic elements of the passage. The men wish to have something to dominate and overpower. They like the idea of the fertility and erotic aspects that these lines show.
The Erotica of Battle
Euryalus is penetrated violently and sexually in battle, and this violent act is sexualized, which illustrates that, in the Aeneid, any sort of opening of the skin is an erotic act. This is demeaning to the penetrator, and used to attract young men to join the Roman military because of the erotic nature of the violence and their wish to be true Roman men. Agriculture in Rome was something erotic. Euryalus being a flower feminizes him, and makes him penetrable and also emphasizes the relation to him and a virgin, and an aspect of fertility. The use of crimson specifically makes that more prominent because blood has a relation to fertility and fertilizing the land. This fertilizing of the land is erotic because of seeds being sown and fruit to be created, like children. Since crimson also has the word blushing with it, it points to Euryalus being the submissive and penetrated due to its connotation. The idea of flowers, and crimson is erotic because of the association with femininity, fertility and submission. This would attract young men to the Roman army like the other erotic elements of the passage. The men wish to have something to dominate and overpower. They like the idea of the fertility and erotic aspects that these lines show.
