Propoganda From The Aeneid
Virgil is writing the Aeneid while he is in the court of Augustus, who won the last in a series of civil wars in Rome that destroyed its republican government and created a dictatorship that would last for centuries. During Virgil’s life, he didn’t know that this would be the end of the civil wars and that Augustus and his successors would actually lead Rome to even greater power and glory than it had previously known. The only thing the people could know is that under Augustus’ reign, things had become more stabilized and that is how Augustus wanted it to stay. When Virgil writes about the future glory of Rome, he’s writing about what he hopes will happen along with writing to praise the accomplishments of Augustus such as bringing this stability to Rome as its emperor. He’s also writing in favor of continuing to put Rome’s fate in the hands of Augustus, which I see as Augustan propaganda. Some of the ways he adds to the propaganda of Augustus’ power and glory is through Aeneas’ relationship with Dido, Aeneas’ visit to the underworld and the shield he receives a the end of Book VII. The real subject of the Aeneid is the origin of Rome and Augustus. Since Virgil’s epic does not go near these events in t
The shield is made by Vulcan for Aeneas and on it, there are the twins, Romulus and Remus being suckled by the she-wolf along with many other descendants of Aeneas but the most important part of the shield is the center of it. In the center of the shield, the battle of Actium is portrayed. In this scene, Augustus (the embodiment of pietas) is shown pitted against the barbarian forces of the East, with their zoomorphic gods and their female leader Cleopatra, along with her traitor-lover, Antony (all of these are embodiments of impiety and furor). One interesting question when looking at this propaganda is whether the voice behind the propaganda is Virgil or is it Augustus. An interesting passage to look at when considering whose voice is speaking is in Anchises’ direction to the Roman . Was Virgil addressing Augustus and trying to advise him on the essential principles that he should adopt in order to succeed both morally and in establishing an empire, or did Augustus instruct Virgil to pose such matters to influence his contemporary Roman audience. While Aeneas visits the underworld, Anchises shows his son the progression of leaders that will be produced from his loins and it culminates in Marcellus, Augustus’ nephew. Augustus believed that Marcellus would rule Rome after him but Marcellus died at a young age. Not only does this show that Augustusâ€
Some topics in this essay:
Roman Virgil,
,
Aeneas Augustus,
Romulus Remus,
Augustus Aeneas,
Augustus Virgil’s,
Augustus Virgil,
Julius Caesar,
Augustus Augustan,
Rome Marcellus,
power glory,
augustus’ power,
aeneas’ visit underworld,
augustus stay,
he’s writing,
rome augustus,
augustus aeneas,
visit underworld,
city people,
aeneas’ visit,
rule rome,
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Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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