Shields with a Message
Among many other things, Augustus Caesar was a political genius. He understood that true power lay with the favor of the people. To achieve this power, he needed the population to see him as a rightful ruler, without it seeming like he was behind it all. One way he went about doing winning over the people was appointing the Roman writer, Vergil, to write a “history” of the founding of Rome. But the motive of making this story was much more than just for entertainment- it was to paint Augustus as the rightful and destined ruler of Rome. Not only did the Aeneid make Augustus look good, but it negatively portrayed his rivals by likening the antagonist Dido to Augustus’s rival, Marcus, and Marcus's lover, Cleopatra. Through specific choices and aspects of the Aeneid, such as the detailed description of Aeneas’s shield, Augustus was perceived by the reader as the prophesied leader of Rome. The Romans actually believed the events of Virgil’s Aeneid occurred. They believed ...
