Tuesday, October 18, 2016
The Aeneid
In doing my research on the spirit of Rome, I found that the Aeneid was actually written for Augustus by Vergil. They were friends, and Vergil wanted to paint Augustus in a good light. Augustus was the first emperor, which was the end of the Republic. People weren't thrilled about having an absolute ruler, so Augustus needed some propaganda. Vergil was able to insinuate that Augustus is related to Venus and Aeneas through a long lineage. He also made Aeneas a very loyal and virtuous person, suggesting that Augustus is the same way.
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The relation between Augustus and the Aeneid also plays a role in the values of architecture of the time of Augustus and Trajan as compared to the values seen in the Aeneid. The Aeneid praised strong leadership and obedience to the gods. The "Augustus of Prima Porta" statue from 20 B.C. depicts the might of Augustus's rule on his breastplate. It shows scenes of his achievements and also depicts his favor with the gods. Trajan's equestrian statue depicts Trajan and his horse stomping on the barbarians. Also, Trajan's column depicts Trajan defending Rome against the barbarians and shows his importance as a strong leader.
Roman society thrived under Augustus especially on the literary scene. Augustus have the people shows and is known to have promoted Rome to the point that everyone began going along with the idea of an absolute ruler. The Aeneid furthered this by being Made in Augustus' honor and Augustus was gaining the absolute power that he wanted without being feared by all. The fact that the period after Augustus' reign shows decline an downfall indicates that Augustus had what it took to be a leader and all of these characteristics that were so great about him could be found in the Aeneid thanks to Vergil.
I agree with Rickeia. Augustus certainly did a lot to support the literary scene. He was a patron of Vergil, which is why the Aeneid was written. Augustus commissioned Vergil to right it in his honor. However, Augustus did this for his own gain. He was not actually concerned about literature. He just needed propaganda to justify his absolute power. For example, Vergil depicted August as loyal, manly, and related to the Gods. Augustus ultimately helped the fine arts, but only because he was looking out for himself.
Not only do I see that the Aneid was created for Augustus, but I also find comparisons to Trajan's rule. Aneid was very war-driven and began the Roman race through takeover. Trajan, like Augustus, loved expansion. Expansions was achieved through war. The Aneid possibly contained many Roman valued as a whole. Although The Aneid was said to be written for Augustus, I also see comparisons to Trajan's rule as leader of Rome.
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