Description
The Aeneid, the masterpiece of Latin poetry, depicts the traumatic transformation of a band of vanquished refugees, survivors of the destruction of Troy, into the nucleus of Jupiter's Roman people, destined to bring peace and order to the world. This study interprets this transformation of being as a rite of passage, characterized by a liminal phase involving painful trials, riddles and contradictions. It explores the intriguing liminal imagery and multifaceted ritual symbols, as well as the intricate interplay between gods, humans, and intermediate beings during the transition to a cosmic Golden Age. This monograph examines Virgil's Aeneid through the lens of ritual liminality, challenging the established 'optimist-pessimist' dichotomy. It reveals the epic not as a panegyric, but as a profound meditation on the brutality of existential transition and unresolved trauma.The author demonstrates how associative liminal imagery and narrative diversions generate a unique tension: while poetic devices propel the narrative towards an increasingly inevitable fate, they simultaneously create a space of perpetual potentiality. In this light, the Trojans' journey reflects the subaltern agency of a displaced people rather than a triumphant imperial quest. Their spiritual and gnostic transformation enables Rome to emerge as a 'Citadel of Heaven.' Crucially, the study reconsiders Magna Mater as a pivotal steward of fate-almost on a par with Jupiter.By anchoring ritual studies in a rigorous classical analysis of liminal symbolism, this work demonstrates the centrality of ritual liminal thinking in the poetic texture. It shows why the depiction of Aeneas and the Trojans, in all their bizarre otherness, remains hauntingly relevant for modern readers-offering fresh perspectives for forced migration, religious studies, and gender and identity. Preface1 Introduction-Vulnerable Suspense 2Liminal Imagery in Context 2.1 Some Notions of Ritual and Liminal Theory2.2 Selected Critical Approaches to the Aeneid 2.3 Narratology, Vision, Space, Time, and Memory2.4 Intertextuality, Imagery, and Liminality in the Aeneid2.5 A Different Epic 2.6 The Liminal Approach and its Limitations 3 Diversions and the Journey Up-stream 3.1 The Short Proem-Toil, Hardship, and Problems 3.2 First Vista: The Meaning of Antenor 3.3 Criteria for Determining Liminal Symbolism 3.4 Second Vista: The Grove at the Mouth of the Tiber 4 The Problem of the City Walls 4.1 Sacredness, Liminality, and Symbolism of the City Walls4.2 Doomed Walls and Discord-Troy, Thebes, and Carthage 4.3 Third Vista: Hector, Venus, and the Walls of Troy 4.4 Ships, Walls, and the Horse 4.5 Fourth Vista: Venus, Mercury, and the Walls of Carthage 4.6 Fifth Vista: The Mothers on the Walls 5 Trying to Escape the Sea 5.1 Sixth Vista: The Storm at Sea 5.2 Seventh Vista: The Shore and the Cliff of Carthage 5.3 Eighth Vista: Shores, Prophecies, and the Elusive Walls 5.4 Ninth Vista: Hector's False Grave in False Troy 6 Liminal Spaces 6.1 Tenth Vista: The Body on the Shore 6.2 The Island of Sicily6.3 Thresholds 6.4 The Labyrinth 6.5 Temples as Liminal Junctions 6.6 The Cave of the Underworld 7 The Trojans in Liminality 7.1 Weariness, Estrangement, and Learning 7.2 Marginality, Identity, and Lack of Identity 7.3 Aeneas in Liminality 7.4 Dualities and Symbolic Twinship7.5 Strife and Reconciliation-Ending Liminality 8 Towards a New Golden Age8.1 Eleventh Vista: The Trees of Mater Idaea 8.2 The Gods and Liminality 8.3 Multiple Liminalities 8.4 Apotheosis 8.5 The Citadel of Heaven 8.6 The Ritual Cosmic Transition and its Symbolism 8.7 Jupiter's Fatum, Magna Mater, and the Golden Age Appendix: Liminal Symbols and ConceptsWorks Cited Index of Passages General Index List of Figures Dr. Dr. Marco Menna forscht an der Schnittstelle von Klassischer Philologie, Ritualtheorie und Systemanalyse. Er wurde an der Universität Zürich in Lateinischer Philologie und an der Universität Bern in Informatik promoviert; zudem hält er einen MBA der Harvard Business School. Er ist freier Wissenschaftler in Baar (Schweiz).
