Lycia and the Lycians in the Aeneid: Virgil’s Herodotus

Abstract

Close reading of Virgil’s references to Lycia and the Lycians in his Aeneid reveal the influence of Herodotus’ account of the early history of the people, notably the Lycian migration from Crete to Asia Minor. Virgil’s employment of Lycian lore and Herodotean allusions serves to highlight certain developments in the Roman civil wars, not least the Lycian help afforded to Octavian at Philippi.