The Aeneid and the Glory of Rome

Between 43 and 32 BC capital of Italy was split up through the second triumvirate upon the death of Caesar. The triumvirate was a mien to split the military and political power because the senate fe ard that they would once again declivity under a dictatorship, which is the ultimate reason Julius Caesar was murdered. Civil war skint out in Rome between the Octavian and Mark Antony, but Antony was foiled in 31 BC in the battle at Actium (Joe). Octavian, afterwards renaming himself Augustus, was the emperor in Rome, a city with a refreshed beginning. With his new power Augustus reorganized the military and political power.He also began to design a program to create buildings like those in Athens (Joe). maybe his most notable achievement was commissioning Virgil to write, The Aeneid. Virgil, born October 19 in 70 BC, was and still is regarded as the best poet in Rome (Virgil). As a citizen in Rome Virgil felt a sense of easing when the civil war had ended and like the rest of Ro me was super grateful to Augustus for making this possible. Augustus cherished to return Rome to their previous traditions and actuate the republic of their moral nonplus that were once highly regarded.These values include bravery, family devotion, duty, and responsibility. Virgil wanted to model his large poem after those that were so historied in Greek literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey and also present Aeneas as the ideal papistical citizen (Virgil). In his epic poem Virgil tells the boloney of Aeneas and his journey from troy weight to Italy, where he was destined to found Rome (Sparknote Editors). The glorification of Rome is shown throughout the apologue of Aeneas. Virgil begins his story introducing Aeneas and exemplifying the moral value of duty when he says, I sing of warfare and a man at war.From the sea-coast of Troy in early days He came to Italy by destiny, To our Lavinian western shore, A fugitive, this captain, buffeted Till he could found a city and ge t hold of home His gods to Laetium, land of the Latin race, The Alban lords, and the high walls of Rome. Tell me the causes now, O Muse, how irritate To undergo so many perilous days and enter on so many trials. Can anger black as this exploit on the minds of heaven (Virgil 930)? These lines discuss his journey that is his destiny.Virgils usage of the phrases ingest home and his gods are representative of Aeneas duty and responsibility to Rome and the roman Gods. To undergo so many perilous days and enter on so many trials, shows how Aeneus will make this journey no return how hard it may be. another(prenominal) moral displayed in The Aeneid is family devotion and duty. In book two Virgil describes Aeneass departure from Troy with his generate on his back, Did you suppose, my father, That I could tear myself away and bring you? Unthinkable how could a father say it? Now if it pleases the powers about that nothing.Stand of this great city if your ticker Is set on adding your own death and ours To that of Troy, the doors considerable open for it. This quote shows how dutiful Aeneas is to his father Anchises because he would not leave his father and would do anything to get him to safety. An example that is a little much extreme in promoting the glory of Rome comes in book IV when Virgil writes, Roman, remember by your strength to rule Earths peoplesfor your humanities are to be these To pacify, to impose the rule of law, To spare the conquered, battle pop out the proud (Virgil ).This is from the speech that Anchises gives Aeneas and Virgil uses this as a way to voice the values that he thinks Rome should stand on. The speech can be tagged as propaganda and is one of the first clear examples of propaganda in the epic poem. Another clear example of propaganda comes in Book IIV when Vulcan makes the justification of Aeneas. On this resistance is a scene of the Battle at Actium and Augustus is depicted conquering Cleopatra. This leaves the model on readers that Augustus was the clear victor in the battle and his ideals and rule shall be the one that Rome issue forths.To understand if The Aeneid is written as propaganda you first affect to recognize what propaganda is. As listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary propaganda is, ideas, facts, or allegations spread purposely to further ones cause or to damage an opposing cause. Following this rendering the author of this paper believes that The Aeneid is propaganda. The first reason this epic poem is propaganda is because Augustus wanted to tell the story, so he appointed Virgil to write the story and set the standards for the style it was to be written in.The only line that is unclear is who is rattling telling the story. It is never mentioned in history whether Augustus told Virgil what to say or if these are the ideals and opinions of Virgil himself. The example given about the depiction of the Battle of Actium on Aeneas shield directly follows the definition of propagand a because it is showing the battle which is fact, but skews it to be in the favor of Augustus. It also helps to damage the opposing cause of the Triumvirate and helps to unify Rome. This story is also propaganda because of the traits seen in Aeneas.Aeneas displays all of the qualities that Augustus and the Roman people believe Romans should have. These qualities include the moral values of responsibility, duty, family devotion, and bravery. Augustus was extremely smart in his appointing Virgil to write the epic poem The Aeneid. It set out exactly what he intended it to do, which was to follow the Greek format of The Odyssey to give Romans their own story. It glorified Rome and was propaganda in the ideals and facts that were spread to further Romes cause.