by Quintus Pomponius Atticus on Sat Dec 11, 2004 12:54 pm
Salvete omnes,
Apart from a legitimisation of Augustus' rule, I think the Aeneid also expresses the glory of Rome itself, its history and the values that had - from the perspective of the conservative elite - made it great but were waning in Augustus' age.
But while showing a strong political and moral tendency, the Aeneid is of course more than just a propaganda pamphlet. Above all perhaps, Virgil made it into a great epic story, treating such universal themes as the quest for identity (in Aeneas himself), the overcoming of human suffering, the struggle between the forces of order and disorder, the relationship between people and fate, etc.
Valete,
Atticus
Quintus Pomponius Atticus
Praetor
"Ars longa, vita brevis" - Hippocrates