Virgil's Aeneid as Augustan Propaganda: How Rome's National Epic Rewrote Its Founding Myth
In 29 BC, Virgil's Aeneid was commissioned by Octavian, who later became known as Augustus, to serve as an epic that promoted the ideology of the Augustan era. The narrative follows Aeneas, a Trojan prince who escaped Troy and established himself in Italy, reinterpreting Roman history to bolster the new regime. Unlike the works of Homer, the Aeneid was crafted with a clear intention: to celebrate Rome's greatness and its divine purpose, placing Augustus at the forefront. It prioritized themes of pietas and fate over individual ambition, illustrating Aeneas's moral integrity. Virgil connected the Trojan War (c. 1200 BC) with the founding of Rome (8th century BC), associating Augustus with both Aeneas and Romulus. Competing myths diminished, and the Aeneid emerged as a fundamental text in education, impacting later works such as Beowulf and The Divine Comedy.
Key facts
- Octavian, later Augustus, commissioned Virgil to write the Aeneid after emerging from civil war in 29 BC
- The Aeneid was officially commissioned by an imperial ruler, unlike Homer's epics
- The poem promotes pietas, the Roman concept of duty to moral, social, religious, and filial obligations
- Virgil reconciled the Trojan War date of c. 1200 BC with Rome's 8th-century BC founding by separating Aeneas's arrival from Romulus's founding
- Virgil's account matched that of his contemporary Livy, whom Augustus also patronized
- Augustus, a member of the Julian gens, was presented as a descendant of Aeneas, Romulus, and Venus through Ascanius, also called Iulus
- The Aeneid was quoted by the 6th-century British monk Gildas and influenced Beowulf, the Historia Regum Britanniae, The Divine Comedy, and Paradise Lost
- It is unclear how much Augustus directed Virgil's writing versus the poet responding to circulating propaganda
Entities
Artists
- Virgil
- Augustus
- Octavian
- Aeneas
- Homer
- Dido
- Julius Caesar
- Mark Antony
- Romulus
- Livy
- Odysseus
- Telemachus
- Evander
- Hercules
- Cacus
- Latinus
- Anchises
- Creusa
- Ascanius
- Iulus
- Venus
- Aphrodite
- Gildas
- John Milton
- Dante Alighieri
- Cristoforo Majorana
- Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo
- Marcantonio Raimondi
- John Martin
Institutions
- Walters Art Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Collector
- Walters Art Museum, Maryland
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Troy
- Carthage
- Greece
- Arcadia
- Palatine Hill
- Aventine Hill
- Sicily
- Britain
- Maryland
- New York