Virgil’s Aeneid Augustan Propaganda?

Virgil – the man & the poet Publius Vergilius Macro Born: 70 BC in Cisapline Gaul (ie Northern Italy today) Son of a farmer with a fondness for rural life Studied rhetoric, medicine and astronomy at an early age Abandoned these pursuits to study philosophy Was an established poet by the time he wrote the Aeneid (cf the Bucolics, the Eclogues and the Georgics)

The Aeneid: Virgil’s Masterpiece Virgil spent 11 years on The Aeneid, but unfortunately died in 19 BC before it was finished. He wanted the poem to be burnt, but the emperor Augustus would not allow this and had it published after his death. The poem is now over 2000 years old and is still considered to be one of the greatest poems ever written… Although the Aeneid has the Odyssey and the Iliad as its models, and indeed used both a Homeric plot and a time period when heroes and gods were commonplace, Otis states that Virgil was the first poet ‘truly to recreate the heroic- age epic in an urban civilisation’.[1] The Aeneid combines the Homeric age, with the Augustan period, merging myth with historical fact, and Otis continues to explore how Virgil managed to do this. The reader notices in the Aeneid that Virgil manages to include the past, present and future, in a way that we do not see in Homer, through the use of prophecy, myth, Roman legends, and finally, Stoic philosophy used by the humans and gods in the poem. [2] Despite the fact that Homer was writing after the Heroic age, the concept of heroes, gods and their communication was still an idea accepted by both him and his audience. However, Homer defined myth and heroes as the proper subjects of poetry, making it difficult for later poets to rival his success, as in the time they were writing; these ideas were no longer acceptable, or even believable. Myth had stopped being realistic and historical and had in fact become the complete opposite, used mainly by tragedians as ‘exemplum’, to demonstrate their ideals [1] [2] Otis, p2

A National Poem? Written at a time of optimism: to represent a new and exciting time. It gave the Romans an equivalent to Homer and explored what they were like, what they should be like and what they could achieve. For the majority of Virgil’s life, Rome was either in a period of civil war, or civil war was around the corner. The Aeneid combines the Homeric age with the Augustan period, merging myth with historical fact. Virgil manages to include the past, present and future (in a way that we do not see in Homer) through the use of prophecy, myth, Roman legends, and finally, Stoic philosophy used by the humans and gods in the poem

A Very Brief History of Rome… After the founding of Rome, there were seven kings. The last king was ousted by Brutus (not that one, an ancestor!) and the Republic was created in 509 BC The Romans were very proud of the way Rome was run and feared those who sought absolute power. This was the problem with Julius Caesar.

Brutus the Second Brutus and Cassius killed Julius Caesar in 44BC and were hailed by many as saviours of the Republic. Many Romans feared a dictator or king coming to power again. Enter Octavian (Caesar’s grand-nephew and adopted son & heir)

Civil War 48 BC – end of civil war between Caesar and Pompey. After Octavian returns, another period of civil war between him and The Liberators. Another possibility of civil war with Antony over leadership of Rome, but the formation of he Second Triumvirate delays further civil war (for a while, at least!)

Antony v Octavian Tension rises with Antony and Octavian, but Antony marries Octavian’s sister Lepidus and Octavian fall out – Octavian now has complete power over the West, whilst Antony has the East. Antony had been living in the East with Cleopatra Antony called Caesarion (the illegitimate son of Julius Caesar & Cleopatra) King of Kings – direct attack on Octavian’s inheritance. Octavian used this and the Donations of Alexandria (34 BC) to portray Antony as a defector from Rome, who had created an independent Eastern Empire.

War between Octavian & Antony When senators loyal to Antony attacked (verbally) Octavian in the senate, Octavian reacted so strongly that those senators fled to Egypt. Augustus then claimed that they were setting up their own senate in Egypt. Octavian then seized Antony’s will and published it – within it, Antony stated he wanted to be buried next to Cleopatra in Egypt. Octavian showed this to be a betrayal of Rome and his sister, and waged war against Cleopatra Another civil war: ends with the Battle of Actium, 31 BC)

Octavian in control Cleopatra and Antony were easily defeated in Egypt. They both committed suicide and both Antony’s son and Caesarion were killed by Octavian. Octavian had now become the single most powerful man in the Roman world and had to protect his position. Aware of the Romans’ feelings about dictatorship or kings, Octavian did everything he could to show he did not want absolute power. If he was ever bestowed with honours, he made it appear as though it was the senate’s idea and often refused them. He even offered to resign his powers in 27 and 23 BC; the senate fearing another civil war (by those who sought his position) begged him to stay.

The Customs of the Ancestors More power than any other citizen, yet no one could claim he wanted to be king or dictator. Augustus: return to a golden age, or returning to the mos maiorum (customs of the ancestors). After a long period of civil war, the Romans were optimistic and believed Augustus could save them. Augustus promoted piety, marriage, proper behaviour, peace, family life and started a building regime.

Augustan Propaganda? Augustus presented himself as the ideal Roman citizen, but with pietas and auctoritas (like Aeneas) He wanted to be viewed as a father to the Roman people and under Maecenas, his friend, many poets were encouraged to write pro–Augustan literature. Maecenas supported and influenced struggling poets. This literature highlighted and praised Augustus’ ideals, e.g. Horace’s ode on the battle of Actium.

The Aeneid Virgil attempted to write an epic both showing the greatness of the Roman race (and what they could become) and linking the hero – Aeneas – with Rome’s new hero – Augustus. The legend was developed, made more well known and used to highlight a link between Augustus and both Aeneas & the gods. Augustus is represented as the culmination of years of history and his rule is made to appear fated. He would make Rome glorious again.

Aeneas: the prototype Like all the Latin poets, Virgil built on the solid foundations of his Greek predecessors. The story of Aeneas, the Trojan prince who came to Italy and whose descendants founded Rome, combines the themes of the Odyssey (the wanderer in search of home) and the Iliad (the hero in battle). Virgil borrows Homeric turns of phrase, similes, sentiments and whole incidents: his Aeneas, like Achilles, sacrifices prisoners to the shade of a friend and, like Odysseus, descends alive to the world of the dead.

Aeneas: the prototype (2) But unlike Achilles, Aeneas does not satisfy the great passion of his life, nor, like Odysseus, does he find a home and peace. The personal objectives of both of Homer’s heroes are sacrificed by Aeneas for a greater objective. His mission, imposed on him by the gods, is to found a city, from which, in the fullness of time, will spring the Roman state.

Aeneas: the prototype (3) Homer presents us in the Iliad with the tragic pattern of the individual will: Achilles’ wrath. But Aeneas is more than an individual. He is the prototype of the ideal Roman ruler. Aeneas’s qualities are the devotion to duty and the seriousness of purpose that were to give the Mediterranean world two centuries of ordered government after Augustus.

Mere Propaganda? Summarized like this, the Aeneid sounds like propaganda, which, in one sense of the word, it is. It is saved from the besetting fault of even the best propaganda – the partial concealment of the truth. This is because of the fact that Virgil maintains an independence from the power that he is celebrating and sees his hero, Aeneas (and, therefore, Augustus?) in the round. Praise is one thing; flattery is another and the Aeneid is not flattery

Aeneas’s sacrifice He knows that the Roman ideal of devotion to duty has another side: the suppression of many aspects of the personality and that the man who wins and uses power must sacrifice much of himself, must live a life that, compared with that of Achilles or Odysseus, is constricted. This is the burden of Aeneas and. . . Augustus.

References to Augustus The action of the Aeneid is set 1000 years before Augustus and praises him in 2 ways: It tells the story of his great ancestor (the first founder of Rome) in such a way that it resembles the story of Augustus (the third founder) There is direct allusion to Augustus in prophesies and visions: at the start of the epic (Book 1), when Aeneas descends to the Underworld (end of Book 6) & on the great shield of Aeneas (at the end of Book 8)

The Key Passages Explicit reference to Augustus: Book 1.286-296 – Jupiter’s prophecy Book 6.791-805 – in the Underworld Book 8.671-728 – the shield of Aeneas Implicit reference to Augustus see pp 56-59 in the Sabine Grebe article (Augustus’ Divine Authority & Virgil’s Aeneid)