How Does Virgil Use Gods In The Aeneid

The Aeneid, written by Virgil, is an epic story about War and Gods, as it tells the myth of the creation of Rome. Virgil wrote this piece for Rome’s first emperor Augustus, as a propaganda to ensure Rome’s people that August was the rightful heir to the empire and a descendant of those who created it. Virgil’s use of Gods within the Aeneid symbolizes the Roman Emperor, displaying how they both have an absolute power, along with a careless feeling for the common man, and their lives, believing the sole purpose of these common people is to serve a higher power, such as a god or emperor.

Augustus Caesar became the adopted heir to the Roman Empire after the sudden death of Julius Caesar. Once he gained the Empire, It wasn’t hard for him to easily

Like said above, Virgil uses Juno as a symbol for Greed. She, throughout majority of the story, cares only for herself, and her own personal goals. She shows little interest in anything else, especially if she gains nothing from it. One of the recurring themes along with the greed of immortals, is the tragedies of warfare. These tie together because within the Aeneid, a war takes place, but the only reason the war happens is because of the gods. They manipulate men to do their dirty work for their own personal gain. The war is mainly caused by Juno, because she cares little for her actions, because the consequences that her actions have don’t affect her in many ways, or sometimes not at all. Juno starts the war between Aeneas and Turnus because she alters Turnus’ mind to hate Aeneas. She fills Turnus with hostility and rage towards Aeneas, and teaches Turnus to hate him. Within the war, both sides have much detestation for each other, and it always ends in a bloodbath with many lives lost. Virgil explains this within the Aeneid to show the hatred between the two by saying “When Two bulls head horns, and charge in full combat. In sheets of blood and the whole woodland bellows.” (The Aeneid 6.90-91) He compares the two sides to fighting bulls, who fight and bleed. This is similar to Augustus, and his influence on

Being able to control men from above gave the Gods a power to control the world. In a way it is the same for an Emperor, they have soldiers to control citizens, and they have followers to keep things in way. Juno had a ton of power, because of her god like abilities. Augustus had an absolute power because he was a dictator, and he controlled an entire empire. For example, In 8 B.C. Augustus had the Roman month of Sextilius renamed after himself—as his great-uncle and predecessor Julius Caesar had done with July. August was the month of several of the emperor's greatest victories, including the defeat and suicide of Antony and Cleopatra. He was vain, and boastful, making him think he was unstoppable, which made him believe he could do what he wanted, and no one had the right to stop him.(History.com) Naming something as big as a month after yourself shows a sense of vanity, and pride. This is analogous to Juno, the goddess that is within the Aeneid. "Give up what I began? Am I defeated? Ama I impotent To keep the king of Teucrians from Italy? The Fates forbid me, am I to suppose?" (The Aeneid 1.56-59) Just like Augustus, Juno was boastful and too prideful. She had the power to control and manipulate many men, which gave her the power to try and alter the fate of Aeneas. She was confident in herself and thought that she could mess with