Virgil included the Roman people in his epic with the intent of glorifying Roman citizens, Roman culture, and Roman leaders, to help keep Rome stable.
The Aeneid very clearly paints the Romans out to be some magnificent group of people destined to rule everything graced by the sun’s warm glow. They have fate on their side and with the help of mighty Jupiter, they are destined for greatness (1.264-313). However, if Virgil told a tale of an all-powerful Roman people gifted the entirety of the planet from birth, it would make for a boring of propaganda in its rawest form. Instead he started them at the bottom with their home, the great city of Troy, being destroyed by the Greeks (2.1-10). Virgil would need to create a mighty hero capable of leading …show more content…
His story is full of heart-break and pain; he has lost his home (2.1-10), his wife (2.952-980), his father (3.818-826), and most of his ships (5.767-773). Such a tragic story allows the reader sympathize with him, allowing for a deep connection to take root. Additionally, Aeneas possess many prized Roman traits, such as loyalty, determination, and dignity. This paints an image of the perfect Roman man, an inspiration for all and a perfect role model for the Roman populace. Let’s not forget that Aeneas is a demigod (1.394), this isn’t may not seem like an important trait, but for the patricians it is. This enforces the belief that certain people are born to be leaders, while others are not. If an idea like this is accepted by a nation, the populace is less likely to rebel when there is a great difference in political power between social …show more content…
Anchises, tells his son that some people are so great that they will be reborn in a new body, it just so happens that these “great people” were all important Roman political leaders. The before mentioned “great people” included the Seven Kings of Rome, Romulus the founder of Rome, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, and many others (6.878-999). However, it is important to note how much emphasis is put on Augustus “Here is the man, he’s here! Time and again/ you’ve heard his coming promised-Caesar Augustus! / Son of a god, he will bring back the Age of Gold (6.913-915)”. Augustus was the first emperor of Rome, so I suppose he deserved a fair bit of praise. However, Augustus was ruling at the time Virgil wrote the Aeneid, which leaves the reader with a fair number of questions. Was Virgil trying to suck up to Augustus? Was Virgil forced by his superiors to glorify Augustus? Was Virgil simply a big fan of Augustus? It seems more likely that Virgil wanted to help ensure the stability of the Roman
The Aeneid very clearly paints the Romans out to be some magnificent group of people destined to rule everything graced by the sun’s warm glow. They have fate on their side and with the help of mighty Jupiter, they are destined for greatness (1.264-313). However, if Virgil told a tale of an all-powerful Roman people gifted the entirety of the planet from birth, it would make for a boring of propaganda in its rawest form. Instead he started them at the bottom with their home, the great city of Troy, being destroyed by the Greeks (2.1-10). Virgil would need to create a mighty hero capable of leading …show more content…
His story is full of heart-break and pain; he has lost his home (2.1-10), his wife (2.952-980), his father (3.818-826), and most of his ships (5.767-773). Such a tragic story allows the reader sympathize with him, allowing for a deep connection to take root. Additionally, Aeneas possess many prized Roman traits, such as loyalty, determination, and dignity. This paints an image of the perfect Roman man, an inspiration for all and a perfect role model for the Roman populace. Let’s not forget that Aeneas is a demigod (1.394), this isn’t may not seem like an important trait, but for the patricians it is. This enforces the belief that certain people are born to be leaders, while others are not. If an idea like this is accepted by a nation, the populace is less likely to rebel when there is a great difference in political power between social …show more content…
Anchises, tells his son that some people are so great that they will be reborn in a new body, it just so happens that these “great people” were all important Roman political leaders. The before mentioned “great people” included the Seven Kings of Rome, Romulus the founder of Rome, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, and many others (6.878-999). However, it is important to note how much emphasis is put on Augustus “Here is the man, he’s here! Time and again/ you’ve heard his coming promised-Caesar Augustus! / Son of a god, he will bring back the Age of Gold (6.913-915)”. Augustus was the first emperor of Rome, so I suppose he deserved a fair bit of praise. However, Augustus was ruling at the time Virgil wrote the Aeneid, which leaves the reader with a fair number of questions. Was Virgil trying to suck up to Augustus? Was Virgil forced by his superiors to glorify Augustus? Was Virgil simply a big fan of Augustus? It seems more likely that Virgil wanted to help ensure the stability of the Roman