''Eneida'' () is a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

, written by Ivan Kotliarevsky in 1798. This

mock-heroic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...

poem is considered to be the first literary work published wholly in the Ukrainian

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

. The talented depiction of various elements of the life of the

Ukrainian people Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the second largest ethno-linguistic community. At around 46 million worldwide, Ukr ...

in the context of language,

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, traditions and everyday life brought the poem great success among contemporaries, caused many imitations, and led to the final displacement of the old literary language from the literary use by the vernacular. ''Eneida'' is a parody of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', where Kotliarevsky transformed the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

heroes into

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

. It is a loose retelling of N. P. Osipov's 1791 (), written in Russian; the latter being a free translation of Aloys Blumauer's Virgils ''Aeneis, travestiert'' (1784), which in turn hails back to Paul Scarron's 1648 poem '' Le Virgile travesty en vers burlesques''. Critics believe that it was written in the light of the destruction of

Zaporozhian Host The Zaporozhian Host (), or Zaporozhian Sich () is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory in what is Southern and Central Ukraine today, beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River, from the 15th to th ...

by the order of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. The poem was written during the formation of romanticism and nationalism in Europe. At that time, part of the Ukrainian elite was gripped by nostalgia for the Cossack time. The first three parts of the poem were published in 1798 in St. Petersburg, without the author's knowledge. The complete ''Eneida'' was published after Kotliarevsky's death in 1842. The poem is in top-100 list by "From Skovoroda to modern time: 100 most important works in Ukrainian".

Synopsis

І

After the destruction of Troy by the Greeks, Aeneas (Enei) fled with a troop of Trojans by sea. Juno, who did not love Aeneas, the son of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, ran to the wind god

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...

to raise a storm and drown the Trojans. Aeolus let loose the winds and made a terrible storm. But Aeneas gave a bribe to the god of the sea,

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

, and the storm subsided. Venus, worried about her son, went to complain about Juno to

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. He said that the fate of Aeneas had already been decided — he would go to Rome to "build a strong kingdom", "drive the whole world into serfdom" and "they will all be leaders". After long wanderings, the Trojans reached

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, where

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

ruled. The queen fell in love with Aeneas and walked with him so that he forgot about his main goal — the construction of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Zeus, accidentally looking at the earth from Olympus, saw this, got angry and sent Mercury to remind Aeneas of his appointment. Aeneas and the Trojans fled Carthage at night, and Dido burned herself with grief.

ІІ

The Trojans sailed the sea and landed in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where King Acest ruled. The

Sicilians Sicilians () are a European ethnographic group who are indigenous to Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy. History The Sicilian people are indigenous to ...

received them hospitably. Aeneas decided to hold a wake for his father

Anchises In Greek and Roman mythology, Anchises (; ) was a member of the royal family of Troy. He was said to have been the son of King Capys of Dardania and Themiste, daughter of Ilus, who was son of Tros. He is most famous as the father of Aeneas a ...

. During the Trojan feast and games, Juno sent her maid to earth, who persuaded the Trojan women to burn the boats. There was a big fire. Aeneas became angry and went to

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

the gods, asking for rain. The rain went down and some of the ships survived. Aeneas went to bed in grief and saw his father in a dream. Anchises promised that all would be well and asked him to visit him in hell.

III

Leaving Sicily, the Trojans sailed on the sea for a long time, until they landed at

Cumae Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...

. Aeneas went looking for a way to hell and met

Sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

the soothsayer. She promised to take Aeneas to hell in exchange for a bribe to the sun god Phoebus and a gift for herself. They both went down the street to hell, where Drowsiness, Yawning, and Death lived, and behind them stood the plague, war, cold, famine, and other calamities. Across the

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

, the mythical ferryman

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon ( ; ) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and ...

transported Aeneas and Sibyl to hell. At the entrance they were met by a terrible

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...

, to whom the soothsayer threw bread. There they saw sinners tormented in hell: lords, liars, stingy, stupid parents… Aeneas met in hell

and the slain fellow Trojans. Finally he met his father

, who said that Aeneas will found "a great and zealous family", that "will rule the whole world".

IV

After boarding the boats, the Trojans, led by Aeneas, sail on. The guide sailor sees an island ruled by the cruel queen Circe, who turns people into animals. The island could not be bypassed. Aeneas turns to Aeolus and asks to avert trouble. Aeolus helps and the army continues its journey. Aeneas and his Trojans sail to the island ruled by the Latin king. Together with his wife

Amata According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...

, he is going to marry his daughter

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Story ...

to King Turn. Meanwhile, Aeneas sends soldiers on

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

. They tell him that the locals speak Latin. Aeneas and his army learn Latin in a week. Then Aeneas sends the king inns and he receives the Cossacks with honors, wishing that Aeneas became his son-in-law. Meanwhile, Juno, seeing that Aeneas is already allowing himself too much, decides to give him a good lesson for his impudent behavior. The goddess sends Erinys Telphousia, who inhabits first Amata and then visit Turnus. Turnus sees a dream in which his future bride chooses Aeneas as her fiancé. Offended, he sends a letter to the Latin king, declaring war. Aeneas' army accidentally drops

greyhounds The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-coated, "S-s ...

on Amata's nanny's dog. In turn, she begins to turn people against Aeneas. The Latin people are preparing for war.

V

Aeneas is thinking about how to defeat Turnus, because the Olympic gods were in no hurry to help. Aeneas fell asleep, and in a dream an old man advises Aeneas to make friends with the Arcadians, who were enemies of the Latins. Thus he decides to seek help from the Arcadians (Evander is the king of the Arcadians, Pallant is his son). Aeneas sacrifices to the gods and goes to Evander. He agrees to help and sends his son Pallant with the army.

asks Vulcan the blacksmith to make her son Aeneas a strong weapon. Juno sends a maid to warn Turnus about a possible attack by Aeneas and advises to strike first. He besieges the Trojan fortress, but can not take it. Then he burns the Trojan fleet. Venus complains to Cybella (mother of the gods), and she, in turn, complains to Zeus. The supreme god turns the ships of the Trojans into sirens, and the Rutuls flee in fear. Then there was silence again. Nyz and Evrial, young warriors, are on guard. Nyz offers to get into the Rutul camp and beat the enemies. He wants to do it himself, because Evrial has an old mother, and he has no one. However, his comrade does not agree, and they go together. Nyz and Evrial showed great courage, cut out many enemies, and when they returned, they came across Latins going to their camp. The young men try to hide in the woods, but the Latins tracked them down, surrounded the forest, from which "you can not slip away", and began to look for a "brave couple". When Evrial was caught, Nyz climbed a willow tree, dropped his spear, and thus revealed himself. Colonel Wolsent executed Evrial, and Nyz thrust his sword into the enemy and fell in battle. A fierce battle begins. Turnus goes with the army to the assault fortress, and the Trojans bravely defend themselves; Juno intervenes again and defends Turnus. The Rutuls are beating the Trojans and they already want to leave the fortress. Then the artillery chief begins to embarrass them, to remind them that Aeneas "considers us soldiers, the grandchildren of the most glorious grandfathers". The embarrassed Trojans rallied and went on the offensive, and Turnus fled.

VI

Angered at the gods for their intervention, Zeus forbids the gods to do anything for either party. Venus comes to the supreme god, begins to flatter him and complain about Juno. Juno, hearing this, starts a quarrel. At this time, Aeneas sails on a ship with Pallant to help the Trojans. When everyone is asleep, he thinks about how to defeat Turnus. Suddenly he sees a '' mavka'' in the water. She tells him that Turnus and his soldiers have already started fighting the Trojans and nearly burned their fleet. Aeneas rushes to the rescue and immediately rushes into battle. Turnus kills the brave Pallant. Jul tells Aeneas what had happened in his absence. Zeus, drunk, goes to apologize to his wife Juno. She deceived God with her cunning and put him to sleep. Juno turned into the image of Aeneas and lured Turnus to the ship so that he would sail home and not die. The next day, Aeneas buried the dead. Envoys from Latin came to him. He tells them that he is not fighting against the Latins, but against Turnus, and offers to arrange a one-on-one duel with him. The ambassadors liked it and they retold the words of Aeneas to Latin and Turnus. The latter reluctantly prepares for a duel. Amata opposes the marriage of her daughter and Turnus, because she is secretly in love with him. The next day, both sides took up positions to watch the battle. Juno sends Juturna to help Turnus. She starts a fight between the Trojans and the Rutuls again. Aeneas was wounded during the skirmish. Venus collects for him all sorts of potions that help heal the wound. Thinking that Turn is dead, Amata decides to hang himself. This news frightened everyone. Aeneas goes to a duel with Turn, knocks him out of the sword. Juno, with the hand of Juturna, gives Turnus another sword. For this, Zeus quarrels with Juno and says: "We have already told all the gods: Aeneas will be with us in Olympus to eat the same pies that I tell you to bake." The duel continues. Having knocked Turnus to the ground, Aeneas is going to kill him, but Rutul's words touched his heart. Suddenly he notices Pallant's armor on Turnus' body and kills him.

Analysis

According to Ukrainian philosopher Myroslav Popovych, ''Eneida'' belongs to the

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

and

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

literary tradition, playing on the contrast between the epic-heroic tone of Virgil's original poem and the "lowly" style of Kotliarevsky's text. The humorous effect is amplified by separate passages, which are written in a macaronic mix of vernacular Ukrainian and

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...

. The poem also contains references to numerous elements of Ukrainian folk tradition and represents an important source on material culture,

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

and other aspects of daily life in Ukraine during the 18th century.

English translation

Partial translations of ''Eneida'' date back to 1933 when a translation of first few stanzas of Kotliarevsky's ''Eneida'' by Wolodymyr Semenyna was published in the American newspaper of Ukrainian diaspora Ukrainian Weekly on October 20, 1933. Another partial translation was published by

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

in 1963 in the anthology ''Ukrainian Poets 1189–1962'', by C. H. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkconnell. However, the first full English translation of Kotliarevsky's

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

''Eneida'' was published only in 2006 in Canada by a Ukrainian-Canadian Bohdan Melnyk, most well known for his English translation of Ivan Franko's Ukrainian fairy tale "

Mykyta the Fox ''Mykyta the Fox'' () is the first Ukrainian animated series made in the country since it declared independence. The series is based on Ivan Franko's satirical fairy tale poem "Lys Mykyta". History of creation The series is based on the epon ...

" ( Ukrainian: Лис Микита).

List of English translations

* Ivan Kotliarevsky. Aeneid: ranslated into English from Ukrainian by Bohdan Melnyk — Canada, Toronto: The Basilian Press, 2004. — 278 pages. .

Adaptations

* '' Eneida'', a 1991 Ukrainian animation film directed by Volodymyr Dakhno.

References

{{Authority control History of Ukrainian literature Poetry based on works by Virgil Ukrainian poems Works based on the Aeneid Humorous poems