Shield of Aeneas - Virgil (lines 61-83)
- Created by: Holly Cavanna
- Created on: 04-04-13 18:30
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- Shield of Aeneas - Virgil (lines 61-83)
- beginning of line 66 marks change in scene (on the shield). Caesar = Augustus; he is celebrating his "triple triumph" with a ceremony in Rome (29BC)
- one of Augustus' most famous temples was the temple of Apollo on the Palatine hill - completed in 28 BC.
- Virgil mixes the idea of a river-god in human form (grieving etc) and an actual river (with places to hide in- various streams).
- He is moving even further from the idea that this is a picture on the shield which is physically possible to sculpt.
- in lines 74 - 80 Augustus parades defeated prisoners from all over the world to emphasise the extent of Rome's empire:
- Nomadum (nomad tribes from Africa)
- Gelonians & Dahae (tribes from the modern south Russia)
- Lelages & Canans (tribes from Turkey)
- Morini (tribe from Gaul)
- Euphrates, Rhine, Araxes (rivers in Mesopotamia)
- Augustus built and dedicated a number of temples in Rome - he was attempting to gain popularity, consolidate his rule and bring back an era of religious observance in Rome.
- Cleopatra is fleeing back to Egypt after the defeat. Perhaps, surprisingly, Virgil generates sympathy for Cleo, even though she is a barbaric enemy of Rome.
- Mulciber = Vulcan
- even the rivers are part of Augustus' triumph - they have been calmed in the same way that Rome has pacified these tribes.
- Virgil personifies the Araxes as resentful for having a Roman bridge over it.
- in lines 81-83 Aeneas receives the shield
- deliberate contradiction of Augustus defeating the "indomiti" (unconquered) Dahae
- Cleopatra is fleeing back to Egypt after the defeat. Perhaps, surprisingly, Virgil generates sympathy for Cleo, even though she is a barbaric enemy of Rome.
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