In Book XX of Homer’s Greek epic The Iliad, Olympic Gods watch a battle rage between Aeneas and Achilles. Poseidon speaks of the future of the Trojan hero Aeneas when he foretells, “It is fated, moreover, that he should escape [the Trojan War], and that the race of Dardanus, whom Jove loved above all the sons born to him of mortal women, shall not perish utterly without seed or sign. For now indeed has Jove hated the blood of Priam, while Aeneas shall reign over the Trojans, he and his children's children that shall be born hereafter.”(1) In short, Aeneas was not to die with his fellow Trojans but would carry on the legacy of the Trojans into a new land. Centuries later, the Roman writer Virgil took the character of Aeneas from the pages of Homer, wrapped in Poseidon’s prophecy, and made him the founder of the Roman people. Aeneas became the centerpiece of Virgil’s his own twelve book epic, The Aeneid, finalized just before Virgil’s death in 19BC.

The Aeneid was more than a story to the Roman people; it did more than amuse and entertain. The epic gave the Roman people supremacy among other peoples in the ancient world. Throughout The Aeneid, Virgil makes reference to the glory and superiority of Rome. In addition, Romans would have read in the The Aeneid well known events of their history. In Aeneas, too, the Roman people saw in reflected the pietas, the revered duties and virtues that were expected of them. The Aeneid also served to give legitimacy to the reign of Octavian, the first emperor, who was princeps and Pater Patriae(2) of Rome. In giving authority to Octavian and in espousing the prophecy of Aeneas to the both of them, The Aeneid also gave legitimacy to the existence and the greatness of the empire itself. The Aeneid would have lasting influence. It would serve as a model for other writers who would mimic parts of the plot or use quotes for inspiration. The Aeneid would also become a part of school curriculum. Away from the traditional, The Aeneid would be used as a tool of fortune telling.


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End Notes

1 Homer, “The Iliad,” The Internet Classics Archive, (22 September 2007).

2 Pater Patriae means “Father of his country,” and princeps means first citizen. The title gave Octavian status as the leader of men but lacked the connotation of the title King, which Romans were notoriously fearful of due to their treatment under the Etruscan Kings. Such a fear had led to the assassination of Julius Caesar.

3 Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert, A Brief History of the Romans (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 165-166.

4 Ibid, 179-180.

5 William T. Avery, “Augustus and the Aeneid,” Classical Journal 52 no.5 (February 1957): 225.

6 Virgil, The Aeneid, translated by Robert Fitzgerald (New York: Vintage Classics, 1990): 190.

7 Ibid, 119.

8 R.J. Edgeworth, “The Death of Dido,” The Classical Journal 72, no. 2 (December, 1976 - January, 1977): 130-131. On a side note4, Hannibal became such a frightening legend to the Roman people that parents would tell misbehaving children that if they didn’t start behaving, Hannibal would get them.

9 Virgil, 253-255.

10 Kenneth McLeish, “Dido, Aeneas, and the Concept of ‘Pietas,’ Greece & Rome 19, no. 2 (October 1972): 131-132.

11 Virgil, 187-188.

12 James Morwood, “Aeneas, Augustus, and the Theme of the City,” Greece & Rome 38, no. 2 (October 1991): 217.

13 Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, trans. Joseph Gavorse (New York: Random House, 1931), 5.

14 There is also a scholarly theory that Aeneas was supposed to represent Julius Caesar and Ascanius represented Augustus. The explanation of this theory says that Ascanius was the one who developed Rome while his father laid the original foundation for him just as Augustus’ ‘father’ Julius did for him before his own death. For more information on this theory read L. A. MacKay, “Hero and Theme in the Aeneid,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 94 (1963): 157-166.

15 Virgil, however, cannot take Dante through Paradiso (Paradise) because, as a Pagan, he cannot enter Heaven. Because Dante considers Virgil virtuous, he doesn’t put in him in Purgatorio or Inferno. However, since Virgil was not a Christian, he cannot enter Heaven no matter how virtuous he was in life. Dante also places other classical writers such as Ovid in Limbo.

16 Kenneth C. M. Sills, “Virgil in the Age of Elizabeth,” The Classical Journal 6, no. 3 (December 1910): 124 & 127.

17 M. G. Kendall, “Studies in the History of Probability and Statistics. XII. The Book of Fate,” Biometrika 48, no. ½ (June 1961): 221.


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Bibliography

Avery, William T. “Augustus and the Aeneid.” Classical Journal 52 no.5 (February 1957): 225.

Boatwright, Mary T., Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert. A Brief History of the Romans. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Edgeworth, R.J. “The Death of Dido.” The Classical Journal 72, no. 2 (December 1976 – January 1977): 130-131.

Homer. “The Iliad.” The Internet Classics Archive. (22 September 2007).

Kendall, M. G. “Studies in the History of Probability and Statistics. XII. The Book of Fate.” Biometrika 48, no. ½ (June 1961): 220-222.

McLeish, Kenneth. “Dido, Aeneas, and the Concept of ‘Pietas.’ Greece & Rome 19, no. 2 (October 1972): 131-132.

Morwood, James. Aeneas, Augustus, and the Theme of the City.” Greece & Rome 38, no. 2(October 1991): 212-223.

Sills, Kenneth C. M. “Virgil in the Age of Elizabeth.” The Classical Journal 6, no. 3 (December 1910): 123-131.

Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Translated by Joseph Gavorse. New York: Random House, 1931.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Classics, 1990.