An Exploration of Latin Color Terms in Vergil's Aeneid 1-6

This thesis provides an analysis of color terms used by Vergil in his timeless epic, the Aeneid, in order to explore the semantic and symbolic ranges of Latin color terms. The results are twofold. First, we can obtain a better understanding and appreciation of the Aeneid by observing how Vergil is able to utilize culture-derived associations of specific color terms to imbue the text with layers of meaning. Second, we can attempt to properly define and translate Latin color terms by both positioning the terms in their proper cultural context and exploring their uses by Vergil along with other contemporaneous authors. After observing the different ways that Vergil employs Latin words that correspond to “black,” “red,” “purple,” “blue,” and “green” in modern English, it becomes obvious that Latin color did not function as a cultural concept in the same way that “color” does today. Latin colores did not rely primarily on hue, as our colors do today. In some cases, a color can have several layers of meaning that extend beyond the chromatic and even beyond the visual. The wide semantic range of Latin color terms is not only confirmed by their application in Vergil’s epic, but they also add detail and meaning to the story. In addition to the non-chromatic and non-visual semantic ranges of different Latin color terms, we can also construe wide symbolic ranges of meaning that connect the colores to specific aspects of Roman culture such as religion, life, death, emotion, youth, and gender. These themes run throughout the Aeneid and can be traced using its colores, especially in books one through six. By drawing out these various ranges of meaning, modern readers can more closely connect to Vergil’s work and appreciate the world as the Romans seem to have seen it.