Dust in the Wind: Late Republican History in the Aeneid (original) (raw)
2019, in I. Gildenhard et al. (eds.), Augustus and the Destruction of History: The Politics of the Past in Early Imperial Rome (Oxford University Press).
This chapter argues that Virgil's uses of late Republican history in the Aeneid are not always partisan, and are better seen as uses of historical writing (historiography). As a case study I look at two stories about general Sertorius, which seem to inspire supernatural episodes in the epic: Hercules' assault on the monster Cacus in Aeneid 6, and the beloved tame deer in Aeneid 7. Sertorius was a rebel, and enemy of Pompey the Great. Nonetheless, Virgil seems to echo historical texts about him without taking a direct political stance.
Related papers
This talk considers Vergil's Aeneid against the background of the history and the politics of the period of the poet’s life and the poem’s composition (c.70-19 BC). This was a tumultuous period indeed in the history of Rome, which saw the collapse of the Roman republic and the rise of a new style of monarchy with the establishment of the principate under Augustus. It looks at allusions to historical characters, both the several appearances of Augustus himself in the poem through the device of prophesying the future, and the poem’s potential use of symbolism and analogy: how far can its hero Aeneas be a version of Augustus, or its tragic heroine Dido a version of Cleopatra? It considers the range of political views to be found in the Aeneid: is the poem supportive of Augustus, and how does it deal with the painful topic of civil war? And what are we to make of the way the poem finishes at the very moment when Aeneas kills his main adversary Turnus, without further interpretation or comment?
CELEBRATION OF EMPIRE OR A CRITIQUE ---THE AENID by VIRGIL.docx
CELEBRATION OF EMPIRE OR A CRITIQUE ---THE AENID by VIRGIL.docx, 2018
The Aeneid is a compelling founding myth or national epic that tied Rome to the legends of Troy, tried to explain the Punic Wars, glorified traditional Roman virtues, and legitimized the Julio-Claudian dynasty as descendants of the founders, heroes, and gods of Rome and Troy. THIS PAPER IS A MAGNIFICENT EXERCISE IN APOLOGETICS AND ANALYSES WHICH IN TURN WILL SERVE AS A PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF COMPARING THE ILIAD AND THE AENEID AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO MODERN SOCIAL SCIENCE. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/is-the-aeneid-a-celebration-of-empire-or-a-critique https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/daniel-mendelsohn CONDE NAST © 2019 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 5/25/18) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 5/25/18). Your California Privacy Rights. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products and services that are purchased through links on our site as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.