The Aeneid Power Quotes Page 2

This prophecy given to King Latinus expresses, once again, the Aeneid's pervasive theme of a future world dominated by Roman power. This quotation in particular illustrates the popular saying that "history is written by the victors." This can be seen in the fact that Latins will have their name "lifted starward" – and thus recorded in the annals of history – if they join forces with the Trojans. The implication seems to be that if they don't join forces with the Trojans, they will soon be forgotten. As the rest of the quotation notes, conquerors seek to remake the conquered in their own image, and blot out the traces of what was there before; if the Latins don't get to "see all earth turned Latin at their feet," then some other conquering people will see it turned into a reflection of themselves. Do you think this is an accurate portrayal of how empire works? More importantly (since we are talking about literature after all), do you think the rest of the Aeneid confirms this portrayal of how empire works?

These lines come from the description of the shield made for Aeneas by Vulcan in Book 8. The "Caesar" they refer to is Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who was just consolidating his political power when Virgil wrote his poem. Why do you think Virgil might have wanted to emphasize that Caesar made "offerings to the gods of Italy" in a poem that depicts Augustus's supposed ancestor, Aeneas, making war against the Italians? Between this brief image and the rest of the Aeneid, who do you think is more important in guaranteeing political power: the gods, or the people?

The preceding quotation shows Augustus's domestic power, expressed in his people's fervent love for him; these lines show Augustus's power over foreign nations (though the line blurs a bit when he hangs up his trophies on "the tall portals" of Rome, which is clearly designed to impress his own people). We think the final lines of this passage are especially amazing. If you want, you could take Virgil's reference to the rivers as an instance of the poetic technique of "metonymy," in which you refer to something by something connected to it. Thus, the "Euphrates" would really just mean "the people who live around the Euphrates." On the other hand, you could also take it literally, or at least as a literal representation of the vanity of emperors, who would love it if geography itself resented their power – just as here the River Araxes resents having a bridge built across it.