Ekphrasis in Aeneas' Shield in Vergil's The Aeneid

The opening of Vergil’s The Aeneid begin with the words “I sing of warfare and a man at war” (Vergil 1.1) which signal two important themes of the epic: warfare and the struggles of one man (Boyle). The epic revolves around a Trojan named Aeneas, who follows his destiny to found the city of Lavinium, a precedent to Rome, where his descendants continued to rule until the birth of Romulus. Vergil adapts the Homeric epic and structure to make social commentary on Roman life under Augustus. Like Homer, Vergil uses a shield as an ekphrasis to show a shift in primal to civilized state and the future history of Rome (Boyle). Vergil demonstrates how the Roman values of virtus, iustitita and pietas have prevailed over the barbaric and uncivilized enemies of Rome in the episodes on the shield (Boyle). While Rome became a great empire through warfare, Vergil seems to advocate peace rather than more bloodshed and warn that while peace may have been achieved, it is not a permanent state. Achilles’ shield has festivals and a wedding taking place, but a murder occurs during a seemingly peaceful time (Homer 18. 490-508) similar to the bloodshed and eventual peace on Aeneas’ shield (Vergil 7.746). Vergil uses Aeneas’ shield like Homer as an allegoric symbol to stress that even during peacetime there is violence, link history and myth together and ultimately reveal that no one person or city can escape that fate.

Vergil draws parallels between Achilles and Aeneas to showcase his artistic abilities to those of Homer. Both Achilles and Aeneas receive their shield from their mothers and Hephaistos or Vulcan, the god of fire, forges the weapon. Achilles shield details scenes in nature and the creation of the universe, and depicts agricultural ...

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...he Gauls are similar to the clothes worn by the conquered peoples who parade before Augustus. In addition, the description of Mettus’ body being torn apart are similar to the way the battle of Actium is being fought on the sea. Vergil describes the water as being “torn” (7.715) and how the fighting has caused the sea to become red (7.722), which relates back to Mettus and shows the bloodiest events in Roman history. The symbolic nature of Cocles and Cloelia taking down the bridge seems to show they are tearing down any aspects of kings from Roman history. Through the shield, Vergil shows the importance of peace to avoid history to repeat itself, and also as a warning. Like the great city of Troy, Rome will fall again even under the splendor of Augustus. Vergil like Vulcan shapes and fashions Roman history into his own narrative and creates a new artistic form.