Lizzie Hall
HON 101
Fr. Orique
Essay #2 Prompt 4
In the Old Testament, the Jewish people viewed Moses, Abraham, and David as Holy people who were close to God. All three of these individuals united the Hebrew people and had faith that God would bless his ‘favored people’ with a strong kingdom. Although the Jewish people recognized Moses, Abraham, and David all as role models and great leaders, they believed that God would send them an ultimate savior. Hebrews thought that this savior would solidify their success and bring peace to the Hebrew people, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”
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Jesus tells his followers to be selfless saying, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). This is a message of peace encouraging cooperation and good nature. On the contrary, the opening line of the Aeneid tells a lot about ideal Roman policy and what they valued as Roman people in their society: “I sing of warfare and a man at war” (1.1) which directly conflicts with the message of peace preached by Christ. Augustus was a military super power who used his force and strength to gain other countries cooperation and magnify his power, “After all, Augustus always had the army if the senate failed to cooperate” (Burger 121). He used his military force to instill ‘peace’ in Roman society but really this ‘peace’ was the fear and weakness of conquered lands that kept them in check. The Aeneid hints at the king and savior, Caesar Augustus, that will bring on this Pax Romana, “All fated wars will quiet down, and justly, in the end under descendants of Assaracus” (9.895-897). Whereas Jesus tells his followers to, “love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35). Christ encourages his followers to “love your enemies” which is opposite of Augustus’ military tendencies. The concept of loving your enemy is in complete disagreement with the Roman military belief described by Anchises in the Aeneid, "Roman, remember by your strength to rule Earth's peoples—for your arts are to be these: To pacify, to impose the rule of law, to spare the conquered, battle down the proud" (6.1151-1154). In this Roman example strength is admired, however in Jesus’ policy he tells his people, “For the least among all of you is the greatest” (Luke 9:48). The Roman savior Augustus valued strength in his people, while on the contrary, the Christian savior Jesus valued
They both have an epic hero. In The Aeneid, this hero is Aeneas. Aeneas is often compared with Caesar Augustus. He is a strong leader and conquered new lands. “As firm as a sturdy oak grown tough with age when the Northwinds blasting off the Alps compete, fighting eft and right, to wrench it from the earth, and the winds scream, the trunk shudders, its leafy crest showers across the ground but it clings firm to its rock, its roots stretching as deep into the dark world below as its crown goes towering toward the gales of heave - so firm the hero stands: buffeted left and right by storms of appeals, he takes the full force of love and suffering deep in his great heart.” ( Virgil, Book 4, pg. 143, lines 555- 565). This passage using the literary element, simile. In this simile, Virgil is comparing Aeneas to a strong oak tree and able to withstand the elements. The simile also shows that the oak tree, Aeneas, is able to withstand controversy from all around. Since Virgil uses Aeneas as a parallel for Caesar Augustus, he is also saying that Augustus is a firm and strong leader as well. He is also saying that he will be able to handle the controversy in his current time and that he will come out
Augustus cares about his people or that is how he portrays himself in his personal account of his life. He references things such as the money he gives to multiple causes, as well as his service to the people, and the positions they awarded him. He also portrays himself as being a just leader. For example he says “those who assassinated my father I drove into exile, avenging their crime by due process of the law”, he fairly punished them for their crime. Augustus also shows that he is in favor of true justice by saying that he would prefer to let someone live instead of killing them. Augustus’ name was important to him as was his history, and his traditions he mentions refusing offices that
One of the similarities between the Aeneid and the Jewish Scripture is how they view God himself. They both believe that God, or Gods, play a vital role in how the world was created. They also viewed them as irreplaceable, since no one could ever take over their role or roles. When people used their Gods name in vain, they would be punished or if they were told not to do something and they went ahead and did it then they would be punished. Human actions would be conducted by the actions of a God. For example: when Dido and Aeneas fall in love, he was told by a God that he was “delaying his journey for too long and must continue onwards.” After that was said he finally sailed off. Another example is from the Jewish scripture, when Noah was told
For thousands of years people have been talking about the great powerful Caesar. He is one of the greatest known dictators known to people today mostly because of all of the things he was able to accomplish during his rein as emperor. After reading primary sources about Caesar, it has given me a better understanding of what other people thought of him during this time period. It’s safe to say that Caesar was obsessed with power and respect from other people that would explain his thirst for war and land, which is one of his greatest strengths and helped in making Rome a great empire.
In the epic poem The Aeneid, Virgil stressed the theme of ultimate victory over defeat through Aeneas’ adventures to Italy.
Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of the founders of Rome. In some sense, this does make the Aeneid seem as a piece of propaganda. However, upon closer examination, there is another idea that Virgil presents. War is painted as a vicious and bloody, not some glorious event. The image of war condemns the concept of Rome as the all-powerful conqueror of other nations. Not only that, but the strong emphasis on duty is frequently mocked. These underlying ideas would seem to run contrary to the theory that Virgil was simply producing a synthesized history of ancient Romans. In order to determine the true intent of the Aeneid, it is important that both ideas presented be examined.
Book eight of the Aeneid starts with Aeneas in an anxious and nervous mood. With Turnus rallying his troops, and the uncertainty of aid from other territories, Aeneas’ mind is in turmoil. His thoughts are further confused when he sleeps that night and has a prophetic dream. He dreams he is lying on the bank of a river when the God of the Tiber river appears. He eases Aeneas’ troubled mind by saying that he has made it to the new Trojan home. He goes on to say that if he doubts this vision, he will find a white sow on a riverbank the following day, with thirty young pigs around it. He further explains that Aeneas must head for Pallanteum and seek an alliance with the ruler of this land, Evander. The dream ends as the Tiber river tells Aeneas that he will aid him with fair currents.
This phrase is later repeated three more times, in Judges 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25. Since the phrase is repeated several times, it emphasizes the need for a king to govern the people and lead them in better ways. The Davidic covenant also exemplifies this positive view, since God showed favor on David and his descendants. God said that King David’s descendants are God’s sons, and that the LORD will establish a “royal throne forever”, as in a line of kings until the end of time (2 Sam. 7:13). God also promises to give David “rest from all your enemies” (2 Sam. 7:11) and a place for his people to live (2 Sam. 7:10). Just like Abraham, King David is promised descendants, blessings, and land. Hezekiah, another good king of Judah, was also viewed favorably. In the LORD’s sight, Hezekiah did what was right, just like David (2 Kgs 18:3). 2 Kings 18: 5 also states that “and neither before nor after [Hezekiah] was there anyone like him among all the kings of Judah.” Unlike Solomon, Hezekiah observed the commandments and thus, “the LORD was with him, and he succeeded in all he set out to do” (2 Kgs 18:7). Therefore, the Deuteronomistic History looks favorably upon kings, since the need for a king is stated multiple times in Judges, and kings like David and Hezekiah are looked upon with favor by God and the people
In ancient republic Rome, piety was one of the highest virtues. The concept of pietas was a driving force in ancient republic Rome. Pietas was very important in Roman society and many romans lived revolved around it. Pietas means “dutifulness” (Sayre 86) but also has many other meanings. The meaning of “pietas” shaped the literature as shown in the pieces, such as a poem written by Vergil, called “The Aeneid”. As well as “On Duties” an essay by Marcus Tullius Cicero.
This was necessasy, as after Julius Caesar’s death, a period of civil wars ensued, where Augustus aimed to avenge Caesar’s death and consolidate his own role as principate. After this volatile period, Augustus implemented various reforms that brought peace and ‘good government’ to provinces. Eastern citizens showed their gratitude and loyalty in “a manner appropriate to local custom” (Hennessey, 1990). Henry Burton (1912), a credible historian, describes how the East had pre-established practices of placing divine honours onto living individuals that had syncretised from Hellenistic monarchs, including Alexander the Great, and Egyptian pharaohs. Through this, heroes of Rome such as Romulus, founder of the nation, were honoured as deities and considered of divine descent. It was therefore fitting for Augustus, who had founded a new and greater Rome, be “regarded as a god and accorded the same homage” (Burton, 1912). Thus, Augustus did not need to establish the cult, rather, enhance
I believe that the ending of the Aeneid shows that Aeneas is very heroic. According to Webster’s New Dictionary, “a man of distinguished bravery” and “admired for his exploits.” Aeneas is very brave when he fights Turnus, especially because it is known that the gods are on his side. He successfully killed Turnus, which is an achievement that calls for admiration.
Yet, this only made up a fraction of his capacity as the sole imperator of Rome. As Suetonius relates, Augustus subdued his enemies ‘partly under his own command [and] partly under his own auspices’. Victories secured by his subordinates reflected favourably on both him and his command. The monopolisation of military glory ensured that Rome had less risk of repeating the civil wars of the Late Republic as it reduced the incentive for individuals outside the imperial family to use war as a way to further their political goals. It was not a perfect solution.
Even though God saw people as evil, he wanted to show his grace. He wanted to separate certain people in the world as His chosen people. “He wanted a chosen people: 1. To whom He might entrust the Holy Scriptures. 2. To be His witness to the other nations. 3. Through whom the promised Messiah could come” (Mears 47). This covenant is made between God and Abram. This covenant marks the beginning history of Israel, God’s chosen people.
Another thing is that he restored and improved the Roman empire. He rebuilt the destroyed cities. He not only rebuilt the destroyed cities, but he expanded the empire and created new
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).