The Journal of the Core Curriculum
Aeneas as Role
Model
J
I
E N N A
n approximately the year 30 BC,
the author Virgil was commissioned by Emperor Augustus
Caesar to write a work glorifying
him and legitimizing his role as emperor. The result of that commission was
the Aeneid. It is the story of a seemingly virtuous man and his journey to
establish Rome in Italy. In Book VI,
Aeneas descends into the Underworld
and sees a line of his descendants—all
influential people in the establishment
and governing of the Roman Empire.
Among Aeneas’ descendants is
Augustus Caesar. Due to Virgil’s creation of this relationship between
Augustus and Aeneas, one could assume
that he would also give them similar personality traits. The question that is
derived from this assumption is whether
Virgil intended these inherited qualities
to be positive or negative. Is the character of Aeneas really meant to legitimize and glorify Augustus Caesar?
Part of the answer to this question
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K
I L E Y
comes in the form of another question,
the Virgilian question: can you be a
nationalist and hold onto your personal
integrity? It has been reported that
prior to his death Virgil requested that
the unfinished Aeneid be burned
because he did not want to be remembered for it. To many, this was the most
blatant evidence that Virgil had in fact
betrayed his integrity and portrayed
Rome and Augustus falsely. Others
believe that Virgil wanted the work
burned because he did not want to be
remembered as an opponent of the
Roman Empire. On that topic, there is
much to suggest that Virgil used the
character of Aeneas to illustrate the
character flaws of Augustus Caesar.
One of Aeneas’ central flaws is his
inability to remain focused on the task
that he has been assigned by the gods:
to journey to Italy and form the Roman
Empire. Along the way he meets the
beautiful Dido, visits the Underworld,
and ventures to Sicily. During each of
Jenna Kiley
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The Journal of the Core Curriculum
these detours he must be constantly
reminded of his goal and pried away
from what he is presently doing. When
he is with Dido, he is visited by Mercury,
who brings him the message that he
must think of his father and his heir
Iulus, “to whom the Italian realm, the
land / Of Rome, are due” (IV, 105,
375). Upon his visit to the Underworld,
it is not until his father “fired his love /
Of glory in the years to come” (VI, 191,
1200) that he felt ready to depart again
for Italy. Virgil also portrays Aeneas as
indecisive in some of these same
instances. Following his difficult and
emotional breakup with Dido, Virgil
shows Aeneas confused, wondering if
he had made the right decision. Virgil
displays this further through Aeneas’
meetings with Dido in the Underworld:
“Am I someone to flee from” (VI, 176,
625)?
Perhaps one of Aeneas’ greatest
faults is his unsympathetic attitude
toward the women in his life. This is
exemplified first by his nonchalant attitude towards his wife’s protection when
they are escaping Troy. She is forced to
walk behind everyone, and, when she is
lost, Aeneas feels there is no hope in
getting her back: “Never did I look back
/ Or think to look for her (II, 59, 960).
Aeneas has a similar attitude when leaving Dido. He even goes so far as to suggest that they were never truly married
(IV, 107, 465). Then before he leaves
for Italy, he says that he wishes that he
had never met her (IV, 108, 475). This
lack of sympathy leaves Dido so distraught that she builds a funeral pyre
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and stabs herself with a sword.
Even with evidence suggesting that
the Aeneid was not meant to be a flattering portrayal of the Rome, it was
adopted by Augustus and the Roman
nobility as the central history of the
Empire. In fact, after reading the work,
much of Augustus’ opposition relented
on the basis that Augustus possessed
the same seemingly redeeming qualities
as Aeneas. The Aeneid became a standard text, and it is maintained as a dedication to the Roman imperial ideal. Yet,
some are still left wondering if that ideal
is actually what it appears to be and
whether Aeneas was a true embodiment
of the character of Augustus Caesar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert
Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage,
1990.