Pomponius Laetus’ commentary on the Aeneid: samples from Aen. 1 and 2

This paper introduces the main witnesses of Pomponius Laetus’ commentary on the Aeneid and explains the most important features of this exegetical corpus. On the basis of samples taken from the commentary on the first two books of the Aeneid, this article also studies Pomponius’ relationship with the so-called Apronianus (the famous codex Mediceus of Virgil), with Servius and with Ps.–Probus’ commentary on the Bucolics and the Georgics (which Pomponius considered authentic). The analysis shows the novel features and the peculiarities of what can be considered the first modern commentary on Virgil’s Aeneid.