The Aeneid And the Augustan Ideology Virgil s

The Aeneid And the Augustan Ideology

Virgil’s Aeneid Aeneas' Flight from Troy, 1598, Federico Barocci

Publius Vergilius Maro (70 -19 BCE) Virgil l l l B. 70 BCE in Mantua 55 BCE – studied literature at Milan and Rome 49 BCE – Retired to Naples to study philosophy 41 BCE – lost his farm through the reforms of Antony and Octavian 40 BCE - befriended and assisted financially by Maecenas Wrote three major works: 1. The Eclogues, 2. The Georgics, 3. The Aeneid Eclogues ( 40 – 35 BCE) = pastoral poetry Georgics (35 -29 BCE) = panegyric of farm life and the character of the Italian farmer Aeneid (29 -19 BCE) = epic poem modeled on Homer, story of Aeneas’ flight from Troy and his journey to Italy in order to become the progenitor of the Roman people 27 BCE – Young Romans given instruction in Virgil’s poetry 23 BCE – Virgil reads Aeneid 2, 4, and 6 to Augustus and Octavia 19 BCE – Virgil dies while returning from Greece with Augustus; Aeneid still unfinished; Ordered the Aeneid destroyed in his will but Augustus chose to have it published

Composition and Style of the Aeneid l Literary influences and models: l Homer: Aeneid connected to Trojan saga; written in epic meter (dactylic hexameter) l Aeneid a historical epic modeled on Quintus Ennius’ epic the Annals l Aeneid a more literary work than Homer’s (No mnemonic devices; no oral elements; intended to be read rather than recited from memory)

Organization of the Aeneid Divided into 12 books Entire epic can be divided into two parts Books 1 -6 modeled on Homer’s Odyssey (The hero’s wanderings at sea; encounters with mythical monsters; voyage to the underworld; searching for a home) l Books 7 -12 inversion of Homer’s Iliad (Warfare; Trojans are besiegers and Latins are besieged; Aeneas vs. Turnus = Achilles vs. Hector; story is about the foundation of a city not the destruction of one) l Differences from Homer: 1. Aeneid not solely concerned with the heroic exploits of characters. 2. Aeneid is a “nationalist” epic, politically motivated l l l

Summary of the Aeneid l l l l l Story of Aeneas’ flight from Troy to found the Roman race Book 1: The shipwreck in Carthage Book 2: Recounts the fall of Troy Book 3: Trojans lost at sea; encounter terrible monsters Book 4: Dido and Aeneas Book 5: Funeral games in Sicily; burning of the Trojan ships Book 6: Voyage to the underworld; Aeneas learns the future greatness of Rome Books 7 -11: Juno stirs Turnus and the Latins to war; war between Trojans (with Etruscan and Arcadian allies) and Rutulians Book 12: Juno appeased; duel between Aeneas and Turnus; death of Turnus

The Roman Connection with Troy l Aeneas marries Lavinia, daughter of Latinus. l Aeneas founds Lavinium. l Aeneas’ son (Ascanius, aka. Iulus) founds Alba Longa. l Alban kings; Aemulius & Numitor; Rhea Silvia made pregnant by Mars; gives birth to Romulus & Remus. l Romulus founds Rome.

The Legend of Aeneas and the Trojan Migration Before Virgil l l Hesiod Theogony, 1019 ff (700 BCE) associated Latinus with Italy and the Etruscans – No association of Aeneas with Italy Hellanicus of Lesbos (b. 490 BCE) – The first to record connection of Aeneas with Italy Thucydides, 6. 2 associates Trojan settlers with Sicily and Italy but does not mention Aeneas = venerated cultic figure in Eturia and Latium All of Rome’s earliest writers claim Roman descent from Aeneas and his Trojans Cult centre at Lavinium (Varro, “ibi nostri penates sunt”) Q. Ennius (239 -169 BCE) Q. Fabius Pictor (ca. 200 BCE) and M. Porcius Cato (234 -149 BCE) Accepted part of Roman historiography Julius Caesar used the figure of Aeneas on his coins; claimed descent from Iulus For details of the stages of the development of legend see Wiseman

Augustus and the Aeneas Myth Vergil’s Aeneid is the perfect propaganda tool for the Augustan Regime and its ideology l Connection through his adoptive father Iulius Caesar to Romulus, Iulus, Aeneas, Venus – divine ancestry provides divine sanction and legitimizes his and Rome’s rule l His connection to Romulus emphasizes his image as the second/third founder of Rome l Aeneas’ heroic qualities reflect Augustan ideology l

Aeneas as an Epic Hero As a hero lacks the selfish characteristics of the Homeric heroes; l He shares physical characteristics of traditional Homeric heroes: he is bigger, better looking, braver than ordinary people, and queens fall in love with them, and they have love affairs. l Aeneas is more concerned with the future of Rome (good of the community) patriotism; pietas (for family, gods, Rome) l For his duty to found the Roman people, he sacrifices himself (his love for Dido) l

Aeneas as the typical hero l “But queen Dido long since had been nourishing deep in her veins the wound of a love that gnawed her with hidden fire. There recurred to her mind his great courage, the equally great nobility of his descent; his face and his words remained fixed in her breast; her concern gave no rest to her limbs. ” Vergil Aeneid, Book 4. 1 -4. L. R. Lind, translator l “There came up the Trojans and happy Iulus; Aeneas, more handsome than any, had joined the company. . ” Vergil, The Aeneid, 4. 135 -6, L. R. Lind, translator

But: he has pietas – the quality of a Roman hero l “ Then come, my dear father, let them place you upon my back. I shall carry you on my shoulder: your weight is not heavy. Let little Iulus walk beside me, my wife keep her distance a long way behind. ” Vergil, Aeneid, Book 2. 748 -751, L. R. Lind, translator l “But Father Anchises, deep in a blooming valley, . . When he saw Aeneas approaching toward him through the grass, he stretched eager hands toward his son, his cheeks bathed with tears, and managed to utter this word: “You have come at last, that loyalty (pietas) which I knew has conquered your difficult course. ” Vergil, The Aeneid, book 6. 687 -694, L. R. Lind, translator

A Patriotic Hero l “ My queen, I shall never deny you are perfectly right when you list all the favors you’ve done me. I shall never be loth to remember Elissa, as long as my memory holds, while my breath still governs these limbs. I shall speak to the point, . I did not hope to conceal my departure by shabby deceit (do not think that) nor ever pretended to be your husband or entered such bonds. If the Fates should allow me to lead my life at my will, and it were my own to settle my cares as I wished, I should cherish Troy city and first the remnants of my loved ones. If Priam’s tall roofs remained, I should have restored Troy’s citadel after the conquest. But Grynean Apollo has ordered me to great Italy, to seize it according to his Lycian prophecy: this is my love, this my country. ” Vergil, The Aeneid, Book 4. 333 -345 (L. R. Lind, translator)

Heroic Values and Augustan ideology l “In my sixth and seventh consulships, after I had put an end to the civil wars, having obtained supreme power by universal consent, I transferred the state from my own power to the control of the senate and people. For this service I received the title of Augustus by decree of the senate, and doorposts of my house were publicly decked with laurels, the civic crown was affixed to my doorway, and a golden shield was set up in the Julian senate house, which, as the inscription on this shield testifies, the Roman senate and people gave me in recognition of my valor (virtus), clemency (clementia), justice (iustitia), and devotion (pietas). ” (Augustus, Res Gestae, 34. Lewis & Reinhold, 1966)

Principal Themes in the Aeneid l Augustan Values (Clemency, Piety, Justice, and Virtue) – all are values embodied in the character of Aeneas l Justification of the regime l Justification of Rome’s empire l Romanizing the Homeric epics

Justification of the Regime l The epic articulates the divine ancestry and line between Aeneas and Augustus l Justifies the war against Antony as a war between Italy and Egypt (Roman values versus decadence of the East) l The rule of Augustus has been divinely fated

The Julian Gens in the Aeneid l “But the boy Ascanius, who bears also the name of Iulus – for he was Ilus while Troy’s kingdom still stood – shall fulfill the rule of Aeneas in thirty long years. ” Virgil, Aeneid, 1. 269 -273, L. R. Lind, translator l “A Trojan Caesar shall spring from a noble source/To bound his rule with Ocean, his fame with the stars, Iulius, a name descended from great Iulus. ” (Virgil, Aeneid, 1. 291 -293 ) This race and your Romans, Here Caesar and all of the clan of Iulus will come to the great vault of heaven. This man, this is he whom again and again you have heard in the promise of prophecy, Caesar Augustus, son of a god. ” l Vergil, Aeneid, 6. 795 -798, LR. Lind, Translator l

Rome’s Destiny l Jupiter: “For these I shall set no limits of time or possessions; I have given them endless power. Vergil, The Aeneid, 1. 282 -284 l “Others will fashion the molten bronze with more skill )at least I believe this), will carve from marble live faces, will plead cases better, and sketch out the paths of the heavenly bodies with pointers, and forecast the rising of stars. You, Roman, remember to govern the peoples with power (these arts shall be yours), to establish the practice of peace, spare the conquered, and beat down the haughty. ” Vergil, Aeneid, 6. 856 -862, L. R. Lind, translator

Justifying the Past – The Enmity with Carthage l Dido to Juno: “. . and hear my request. . . Then O Tyrians, exercise hate toward his race and posterity and give this reward to my ashes. Let there be no love, no treaty between his people and ours. Let some avenger arise from these bones of mine to harry the Dardan settlers with fire and sword now or in future, whenever they grow to strength. Let shore be opposed to shore, our waves against theirs, our arms against theirs; let them and their offspring fight. ” Vergil, Aeneid 4. 619 -637, L. R. Lind, translator

Justifying the Regime The Shield of Aeneas “In the middle a bronze-clad fleet at the battle of Actium. You could have discerned all Leucate aboil with ranked ships, the waves shining in gold. Here was Caesar Augustus, who led the Italian navy, with the Senate, the People, the Little Gods and the Greadt, standing high on the stern; twin flames flashing out at his temples; on his head shone the star of his father. At one side Agrippa with the help of the winds and the gods led his towering squadron, the proud ensign of war, the beaked naval crown, on his temples. Here Antony sailed with barbarian forces and varied arms, the victor from lands of morning, the Red Sea and farthest Bactria; his Egyptian wife - O sinful! – came following. ” l Vergil, The Aeneid, 8. 685 -700, L. R. Lind, translator. l

The Gods become Roman Gods The Shield of Aeneas l “ The queen in the middle with her ancestral sistrum marshalled her fleet; not yet did she see twin asps at her back. Dog-barker Anubis and the monsters of all kinds of gods held their weapons against Neptune and Venus, against Minerva. Mars raged in the middle of battle, embossed in steel, and fierce Furies out of the heavens; and Discord, striding in tattered robes, rejoiced. Bellona came after her, swining a bloody whip. Apollo of Actium, viewing the scene, bent his bow from above Each Egyptian, every Indian, all the Arabs and all the Sabaeans turned tail in fear. The queen herself could be seen, having called on the winds, to set sail as she loosed the slackening ropes more and more. The Mighty-With-Fire had pictured her, pale at the death which was coming, amid the slaughter as she sailed through the waves rolled up from the West-North-West. Before her the Nile, grief-stricken in that huge body, spread open his robe and called her with all of his garments to rest on is blue bosom, the vanquished to hide in his secret streams. But Caesar, borne through Rome’s walls in a triple triumph, was making a deathless vow to Italian gods: He would build three hundred great temples throughout the whole city…” Vergil, Aeneid, 8. 706 -727, L. R. Lind, translator

Troy Returns to Italy Apollo: “ Long-suffering Dardanians, the land which first bore you from parent-stock will take you back with joyful breast. Seek out your ancient mother. ” (Aeneid 3. 107 -110) l King Latinus: “. I remember – the story has grown somewhat dim with the years – that the elder Auruncans were accustomed to tel how Dardanus, risen among these fields, had travelled to Idaean cities of Phrygia and Thracian Samos, now called Samothracia. (Aeneid 7. 218221) l l

The Gods of the Aeneid l l Fate plays a very important role The gods have a very ambiguous role, they are the guardians of morality, justice, law and order We can see many influences by philosophy on views of gods, death and the afterlife in the Aeneid. Everything is controlled by Fate – divine cosmic order with no room for individual free will.

The Divine Cosmic order Jove: “Do not fear, Cytherea; the fate of your people remains unchanged. You will see the city and promised walls of Lavinium rise”. (Aeneid, 1. 265 -266) l “for these (the Romans) I shall set no limits of time or possessions; I have given them endless power. ” (Aeneid, 283 -285) l