Virgil's Aeneid as Roman Propaganda
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.
"I sing of warfare and a man at war…Till he could found a city…the high walls of Rome." (Book I, 1-12) There can be no dispute that the Aeneid is an account of the history of Rome. There are several items which with Virgil links the story of Aeneas to the Rome of his time period. Probably the most obvious of these is the surplus of predictions concerning Rome’...
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No one can be entirely sure of Virgil’s true intent in writing the Aeneid. Perhaps he meant it as a glorification of Rome that had some discrepancies in it. Perhaps he meant it as an attack upon the character of Rome with some inconsistencies. Either way, it does not work well. Whatever Virgil’s argument, he compromises it by playing up the opposite argument. If Virgil meant to attack Rome, he failed in some respects. Likewise, if he meant the Aeneid to be a work of Roman propaganda, he was ineffective.
Works Cited and Consulted
Horsfall, Nicholas, ed. A Companion to the Study of Virgil. Leiden, New York, and Köln: E. J. Brill, 1995.
Putnam, Michael C. J. “Anger, Blindness, and Insight in Virgil's Aeneid.” Apeiron 23 (1990): 7-40.
Virgil. Aeneid. Dover Thrift Edition. Trans. Charles J. Billson. New York: Dover, 1995.
Naylor implies that derogatory terms have a twist and are a disguise of acknowledgement to her race. Although it was initially created to humiliate and dehumanize African Americans, ‘the n-word’ develops into a word that admires men of that race.
Braund, Susanna Morton. “Virgil and the Cosmos: Religious and Philosophical Ideas.” The Cambridge Companion to Virgil. Charles Martindale, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. 204-221.
The word “Nigger” was a term used in reference to a slave. A slave meaning, you were the lowest scum of the earth, Illiterate and uneducated in every sense. Today, the usage of the word is spilt in to different context, it is used to refer to one another. A lot of children today use the word freely, not because they are ignorant to the history and putridness of the word, but solely because they are not really offended by it and the only time they hear it, it's being said by someone else who is of color. As I looks back over the years, I can’t really remember anyone distinctively ever calling me the N-word, or better yet, not in a derogative fashion. I don’t think that anyone has ever called me the word to my face or in hearing distance. Growing up in New York City, the only time I ever heard the word “Nigger” was from people who called themselves “Nigger”. I remember sitting in class daydreaming on the word, thinking to myself, “How could anyone call themselves a Nigger and be proud of it?” Yet It’s Hard to hurt me with words, but I had never heard that word used with such vengeances. What does this word mean in my everyday life?
... that war will determine Rome’s fate and how they rise and maintain their power will create their reputation. The shield highlights Roman history and Virgil ends with the triumph of Augustus, which brings the end of strife and civil war of the past.
I can recall the first time I paid close attention to the word nigger. In junior high a school fight would occur about every week and of course the whole school would gather together and watch. Well this particular fight sticks out in my mind because it was between two boys of different races, Hispanic and black. During their conflict the Hispanic boy bluntly called the black boy a nigger, and that was when the rest of the black students became verbally involved. I remember screaming out “ who do you think you are calling him that?” If the white, Hispanic, or any other race calls us a nigger, we as black people become hostile. Now that I have put more thought into that incident, I ask myself who do we think we are calling ea...
Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.
The word nigger is an offensive term used by a white slave owner during the 1800’s. It is used in the beginning of a slaves name to indicate that this person is a slave. It comes from the Spanish word negro and the French word nègre. It is one of the most offensive and controversial words in the English language. With this word comes many years of immoral and unethical treatment of the black man by the white race. This word is used in the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. One of the 60 minutes videos is on the controversy on the N-word in the book Huck Finn. Stating that many different school districts have banned this book because of the word “nigger,” a word so offensive it’s usually called the “N- word.”
The word is taught by many to be said to any slave during this time period. I thought that there were white slaves? Where they called “niggers” as well? Indeed, there were white slaves that were called “niggers” along with black slaves. Many people are unaware of this fact and only subject the term to only be meant for black people. Since this new knowledge had be brought to light, the word “nigger” consequently does not refer to just blacks but rather both blacks and whites. The term groups together any property owned during this time period that was marked as a slave. The African American slave owners during this time were not called subject to the word. This is because a “nigger” was someone of low class or even just a piece of property that could be replaced. Another misconception is that there were in fact many black slave owners as well as white slave owners. The meaning of the word is arguably the most contemptuous word in the english language. “You are a white nigger!” “You are black nigger!” These two sentences mean the exact same thing. This term, as horrible as it is, should be just as offensive to white as it is to
An empire is, literally, a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government. However, what is sacrificed or given up during the process of creating and maintaining an empire; what is the “cost” of empire? In the Aeneid of Virgil, Virgil depicts these costs from three different perspectives. The first viewpoint is on a personal level; during the course of the epic, Aeneas paid the price when his father, wife, lover, and son of his ally were killed, or killed themselves. The second perspective is on a much grander scale, claiming that cultures and beliefs of other nations will either be retained or destroyed while creating and expanding the empire through almost constant and necessary war. Lastly, a cost is associated not only before, but even after constructing the empire; the emperor or leader will face (almost certainly clandestine) opposition to his methods of the formation or rule of the empire. This premise is largely supported by Virgil himself because the epic in its entirety is both a commendation and more importantly, a criticism of Rome, ingeniously crafted and written right under the emperor’s nose. For these reasons, the cost of empire is defined like so: that in order to create the empire, the pain brought about by the death of many individuals, possibly cherished by the founder, is required; the combination, assimilation or destruction of many other cultures by means of necessary war will occur; and the recognition of the formation of opposition who will contradict the customs of the empire is inevitable.
...ribal Indians had to face yet once time passed, all was forgotten and now American Indians continue to be oppressed yet they are not speaking or activating on their struggles as they once did.
Vergil shows the duty to Rome with the love between Dido and Aeneas. Venus ordered Cupid to shoot Dido with one of his magic arrows so that she would fall in love with Aeneas. This was very unfair to Dido because Aeneas had to go on and found Rome. After Cupid hit Dido with an arrow she does fall madly and deeply in love with Aeneas but a problem develops : Aeneas starts to fall in love with Dido. This can not happen because he has such a bright and definite future and Dido just does not fit into it. He eventually has to leave her and fulfill his destiny. This is a good place to see how strong the duty to Rome is. It is expecte...
Everybody has a different perception on how the N-word should be used. The N-word was first used during the nineteenth century to categorized African americans as “black”. The N-word used as “Nigger” or “Nigga” has evolved to have many different meanings. “Nigger” and “Nigga” have two different meanings. “Nigger” shows the offensive discriminative background that was used when African Americans were slaves. This was used to downgrade them as humans. “Nigga” holds the meaning of friendship within this new generation. It is not used in an offensive way nowadays. Some people see this as a non offensive word as others see it as offensive. If many people, including African Americans use the N-word then why is the word so offensive?
As in Book I of "The Aeneid," Book II and Book III are authored by Publius Vergilius Maro, but the entirety of the books is written as exposition delivered by the character Aeneas. Aeneas could thus be considered the "author" of the piece, and his audience is Dido and her Phoenician people. Aeneas narrated the contents of the pieces as a response to Dido's request for his story, and his reluctance apparent in the opening lines suggests that he disagrees with the prospect of recalling such painful memories, but complies regardless. Therefore, Aeneas's motivation in relating his story (and, in a way, Virgil's as well) is to reveal what events transpired on his voyage from Troy to Carthage. His actions during the fall of Troy in particular lend
My new proposal for my senior project is to set up a sports clinic for special needs children. My idea is for the group to meet two days a week and two play sports and meet other children like themselves. I thought of this idea because my brother has special needs and sometimes I do not have time to play with him or help him. This group will help him and other children meet each other, make friends, and be
Norhan Amani, a young girl growing up in India shared some of her experiences with colorism on her blog. She mentioned that when she was growing up in a South Asian community, she frequently heard comments about “forsha”, or lighter skin, and “kaalo” or darker colored skin. When she would take trip back to her home in Bangladesh her relatives would compliment her “forsha” complexion. She expressed that these comments “made [her] squirm uncomfortably”, but she never thought much of it until she grew older (Amani). She then realized that lighter complexions were constantly being looked to as ideal, while individuals with darker skin tones were being degraded. While the exact origins of colorism in the Indian subcontinent are unknown, it can be attributed to many different reasons. In the pre-colonial era, the wealthy did not have to toil outside like the peasants and workers, and therefore often had lighter complexions. This led lighter skin to be equated with higher social castes and classes. After Europeans started colonizing the Indian subcontinent, they started enforcing the idea of themselves being the master race. This further led many South Asians to consider lighter skin and European-like features more desirable. Amani also explains in her blog post that advertisements for skin-lightening creams, such as Fair and Lovely, are rampant. She further explains that, “these ads often depict women who are unable to get a job or