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Roman Civilization: Virgil’s
The Aeneid
John Smith
History 321 – Ancient World of Greece and Rome
28 February 2021
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Virgil’s
The Aeneid
is one of Rome’s greatest works of art, and rightfully so as Virgil
himself is regarded as Rome’s greatest poet. Virgil loved Italy with great passion and appreciated
the people that cultivated it. He was often influence by the Italian countryside and conveyed his
affinity for it through his work. When Virgil was young, he experienced a very uncertain and
war-torn society. Civil war was always a threat and one-way Virgil coped with this is by using it
to influence his work.
The Aeneid
is evidence of this as the story takes place after the Trojan War
and is full of fighting and interference of god’s in mortal affairs. Virgil was well educated and
had acquired a thorough knowledge of Greek and Roman authors but was drawn to poets. The
purpose of
The Aeneid
is to bring to fruition Virgil’s idea of the creation of a perfect Rome. Virgil
was highly influenced by Homer who wrote
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey
and model
The Aeneid
after them. The timeframe of when he began writing The Aeneid is important because it
coincides with both his influence of Homer and the influence of Augustus’ victory in Italy which
ended the civil wars. Since it takes place after the Trojan War, it allowed Virgil to connect it to
Homer’s
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey
in that his main character, Aeneas, flees Troy after Odysseus
and the Greeks defeat the Trojans. This creates the perfect opportunity for Virgil to make his epic
poem a branch from Homer’s work. This is relevant because Virgil is now providing Roman
Civilization with their own epic hero, much like Homer did for Greek Civilization.
Virgil provides readers with relatable human trials and tribulations of that time-period,
roughly 30 – 19 BCE. No matter what Aeneas went through, he always continues forward to
reach his goal. Much of Italy was feeling defeated after many years of civil war and social
unrest, and to read about Aeneas defying all odds, even divine interjection, was like a beacon of
1. Virgil. The Aeneid. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg. Accessed February 28, 2021.
2. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
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hope for Roman Civilization. Aeneas also exhibits great leadership skills throughout his journey,
which was a good influence for children and adults who perhaps needed some guidance in their
lives.
Virgil also utilized another source of influence in
The Aeneid
, Rome’s legend about the
war fought under Romulus against the Sabines.
“This legend preserves, in a historical disguise,
an original Indo-European myth about a conflict between the gods of sovereignty and war and
the gods of fecundity, ending with the unification of the two divine races.”
Virgil develops this
theme by using Aeneas and the Etruscans to represent the gods of sovereignty and war, and the
Latins to represent the gods of fecundity.
Ultimately it is Virgil’s excitement and enthusiasm of Augustus’ victory that planted the
seed for him to begin working on his first epic poem. Virgil wanted nothing more than the save
Italy’s culture and folklore, and he ended up contributing to the culture in a big way with his
works of art. Many writers have been influenced by Virgil’s contributions to Roman Art Culture.
“Virgil’s poetry immediately became famous in Rome and was admired by the Romans for two
main reasons—first, because he was regarded as their own national poet, spokesman of their
ideals and achievements; second, because he seemed to have reached the ultimate of perfection
in his art (his structure, diction, metre).”
It is evident that Virgil is a very influential figure for
Roman Civilization and Education of the arts.
2. Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.
3. Weigel, James, Jr. 2019. “Aeneid by Virgil.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
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Bibliography
1.
Virgil. The Aeneid. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg. Accessed February 28, 2021.
https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1085009&site=eds-live&scope=site
.
2.
Williams, Robert Deryck. “Virgil.”
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Encyclopedia Britannica,
inc., 1999. Last modified 1999. Accessed February 28, 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Virgil
.
3.
Weigel, James, Jr. 2019. “Aeneid by Virgil.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=87575021&site=eds-
live&scope=site
.