Publius Virgilius Maro Essay Example for Free

Publius Virgilius Maro EssayAside from Christianity at that place is no other force that shape western civilization other than the Greco-Roman enculturation. And there is no better representation of that period in narration other than capital of Italy and Publius Viirgilius Maro, too known as Virgil. A closer examination of Virgil and his kit and caboodle make many to realize that Virgil was a byproduct of events and it is the twin forces of the Roman Empire and Hellenic history that prompted Virgil to write. This paper allow look into the two factors that influenced the writing of Publius Virgilius Maro. This toilette be d single by smell first at the events that transpired before Virgil began writing and this doer tracing back Hellenic and Roman history. The minute of arc way of knowing the connection between history and Virgils writings is to dig into his works and of course this means analyzing the Aeneid. It will be shown later that it is Roman history and kor that shaped Virgil to become the writer that he was destined to be. capital of Italy After to a strikinger extent than two thousand historic period the world is still magnetise by capital of Italy. It is because of its legacy, it military prowess, and form of giving medication. capital of Italy was without equal when it comes to how it help shape Western history.Yet in the early days of Roman history there is not much to see. There is nothing that could win an outsider ascertain its potential to be a dominant ruler of known world in antiquity. Ting Morris traced its early ripening in obscurity and he re kissered, Rome began around 2,800 years ago as a few sm both garnishtlements on wooded hills overlooking the Tiber River (4). merely then Rome began to distance itself from the Latin communities from which it was supposed to be a part of. What happens next began a series of development that will catapult this sm al unneurotic community into the world map, the roman Republic conquered first Latium, then all of Italy.The Romans annexed much foreign territory to their own state, but they also attained a dodge of alliances with all other states. This gave the Romans a vast reserve of manpower that allowed them to overthrow every major power in the Mediterranean (Mackay, 40). A new age has come and a new military superpower was born. except when the Romans began to assimilate remnants of Alexanders Empire, the new European power came face to face with an ancient civilization whose cleverness into religion, politics, and philosophy was outlying(prenominal) ahead of its time. In short the Romans, recognize something in Greek culture that was more impressive than anything Rome itself achieved, in spite of Romes unprecedented military success (Cox). At this point Rome was all brute force. Yes the soldiers led by the Caesars were brave, strong and argon very eager to make their mark in the battlefield but when it comes to culture, the Romans were barbari ans compared to the Greeks. The Romans discovered an effective methodology in fighting wars and they even had the decided advantage of knowing how to build an empire out of disparate tribes and nations.They were experts in campaigns that require traveling far from home and yet they lack whizz more thing. They did not befool a good system that can be put in place afterwards victory. This is similar to the idea that it is easy to kill a war but the more difficult thing to do is how to end it. So when Rome began to feel the success of empire building the more that they felt the need for a way of deportment that will enhance their reputation in Europe while at the same time scissure them an opportunity to enjoy purport more. They found the answer from the sophisticated Greeks.Virgil The Romans had to learn from the Greeks and their history can be characterized not only by empire building but also by the why they incarnate Greek thought and the Greeks way of life into their own unique system. straightaway there is n bingle better who beneathstood the need for assimilating Greek culture than the Roman intellectuals of that time. In fact, Among the adaptors of Greek culture, none was more brilliant than the poet Virgil. He faced a formidable challenge. Everyone who encountered Greek culture recognized how much it was shaped by Homer (Cox).This means that there is a great need to eliminate Homer and if this is not possible then at least equal Homers genius. If this can be achieved then the Romans had done something which other Greek imitators failed to do and that is to provide a great account statement for their existence. A myth has to be pissd, a legend has to be made and the purpose for such an movement is obvious. There is a need for something that will hold the empire together. At the time of writing the Aeneid, Rome was again in the cusp of revolution.Julius Caesar was defeated by Augustus Caesar and so steps must be made to consolidate his powe r and to strengthen the arm of the new emperor. For a brilliant man like Virgil, multiplication like this one is an opportunity that must be grabbed by both hands. Virgil proceeded to hit two birds with one stone. First he would write an epic that will explain the origins of Rome. He will do so by using stories that are already familiar among the people that he wants to see linkd under Augustus Caesar and during that time there was no other story quite like the one weaved by Homer centuries before.Virgil saw that epic shin for good and evil battles between grinderes and the self-sacrificial behavior of some heroes simply because they conceptualise in something higher than themselves proved to be a formula hard to resist. Virgil was ready to accept the challenge. But it is pull ahead from the beginning that it would not be an easy task. Aside from that Homer is a world unto itself. And as they say there is no way one can improve on perfection, the Iliad and the Odyssey are the b lueprints for creating great epics and so what else can be done to make it better.Virgil was able to solve this problem by universe inventive and by starting where Homer ended his story. When Troy fell, one of her sons went on to build another(prenominal) kingdom. But then again Virgil cannot escape the past. Virgil could not resist using a successful formula. As they say there is no need to fix what was broken. Judging from the power of the Iliad and the Odyssey to move people it is close out(predicate) not to use the same method and technique of telling a great story. And so Virgil copied many ideas from Homer. In the introduction to the Aeneid Levi Robert pointed out thatVirgil borrowed from Homer a great many items his verse form, the stratum into twelve books, mythology, many episodes and similes. In the Aeneid Venus doubles for Nausicaa, Dido for Calypso and Circe, and Drances for Thersites. The funeral games the desecent into Hades, where Aeneas meets Dido as Odysseus met Ajax, the prophecy of Anchises, the catalogue of ships, Turnus feat to burn them, a broken truce a quarrel of two Italian leaders and a final single combat (Robert, xiii). Aeneid The Aeneid is basically the story of Aeneas, the god-like leader of a band of Trojan refugees fleeing to Italy after the fall of Troy.In the beginning, Aeneas built a fleet with the goal in mind of settling in a foreign land and to finally establish a new nation of Trojans. In Virgils mind, he wanted the world to see the basis for the establishment of the Roman Empire. And there is nothing as perfect as that. Hornstein, Percy and Browns book, The Readers Companion to World Literature, was very right-hand in understanding the context from which Virgils Aeneid was write, and they said that it was written at a time of conflict. Italy was ravaged by more than fifty years of revolution and civil war.When the long-sought peace came, a new form of government was fashioned from a battle weary nation. And with the new set-up, ultimate power was in the hands of one man- Augustus Caesar. It was during this time that the Roman Virgil began working on the Aeneid. Hornstein, Brown and Percy wrote Vergil began the poem in 29 B. C. , two years after the battle of Actium brought this period of civil war to an end. He had long been preparing for the task. His purpose was national he desired to glorify the Roman people by his theme and exalt the Emperor in the somebody of his hero. (5)Homer Putnam acknowledge that Virgil is under the towering shadow of Homer when he made this judgment, Homer himself, against whose innate insights into humanity, Virgils own achievement will always be measured. Homers success allowed him to set the standard upon which others who will come after him will be forced to measure up. Allen Mandelbaum tells of how his previous record prevented him from fully appreciating Virgils works and he said, One was a tag line of mark train Doren that echoed through my youth with tenacious resonance Homer is a world Virgil, a style. It also did not help that the critics saw Virgil as write Homer, Gaskell said, The overall plan of Virgils epic was manifestly Homeric, with its main elements reversed now the odyssey of the man comes first and the armed fighting follows it but the Homeric parallels are many and obvious. (161). The only major dispute was that Homer was illiterate and therefore had to express the beauty of his verse line in oral reform. On the other hand Virgil was literate and he could study Homers Iliad and Odyssey in written form as well as compose his own epic and was able to write it down.This explains the difference in style but all the more strengthens the view that Virgil was strongly influenced by Homer. Conclusion Now the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall down into its proper places and one can now see the large picture. It was mentioned earlier that it was in 168 BC when the Romans began to conquer the remnants of Alexanders Emp ire and it is through the conquest of former Greek states that the Romans saw first hand the beauty that was Greece. In short the highly militaristic Romans lacked the cultural refinements that one can find in abundance in Greek societies.It is through the process of incorporating Greek culture into the Romans way of life that they rediscovered the power of Homeric poetry. It took the genius of Virgil to use Homers works and use it as the origination for his own epic. And so in 29 BC Virgil began writing the Aeneid with the purpose of emulating what Homer has achieved in Greece. Homers Iliad and Odyssey provided a sense of identity for all Greeks and Virgil was hoping to achieve the same results. But the desire to incorporate Greek life into Roman life is easier said than done.But everyone who will try to copy from someone begins by copying almost everything that one can see and the eye can appreciate. For instance the Romans copied the design of their temples and they also set fo rth their gods using the same attributes found in Greek society. But there is no need to disturbance because the Roman changed the Greek sounding names of their gods into Roman names for their statues. Virgil attempted to accomplish two major things when he wrote the Aeneid.He wanted to impress the new emperor (Augustus Caesar) and secondly he wanted to have a unique Roman epic that will help unite the people. Virgil was successful in achieving both. The hero of the Aeneid was behaving in much the same way as Augustus Caesar especially with regards to his conquest and the subsequent creation of a new nation out of that sheer determination to succeed. Now for the second part, Virgil was also able to create an epic that can be comparable to Homer. It is true that he copied many things from Homer and yet at the same time his stories were never simply a rehash of what Homer did.Virgil simply needed an brainchild to get going and he found it in the character of Aeneas whom Homer briefl y mentioned in his work. From this midget known character, Aeneid began to build a story that made the peoples pulse to race. It was indeed an epic story of battles, of struggle between good and evil, of heroes who most of the time failed to achieve their potential and sometimes die a sad death. The Aeneid is basically an explanation as to the existence of Rome. For many there is a need to have that soma of idea, that kind of emotional anchor in times of trouble.And there is no way to fully understand the impact of Aeneid towards the people of Rome. But one thing is sure Virgils work was able to unite the whole of the empire and is instrumental as to why the empire endured for so long. It is now very clear that that Virgil was influenced by historical events and the circumstances that surrounded his life. If there were two streams where these influences came from then Homer is a in good order source of inspiration while the politics and warfare in ancient Rome provided Virgil wi th more materials to use.In Romes struggle to carve out a nation in Europe was unadorned in Aeneid where the hero had to travel and faced with numerous risks just so he can establish a new nation. It was Homer who provided much influence for Virgil. If Homer did not produce the Iliad and Odyssey it is hard to consider Virgil able to make his own. This is not to take away anything form the accomplishments of Virgil but it would be almost impossible for him to write beautifully without Homer as guide. Homer did not only provide the seed from which Virgil will grow a powerful story, Homer also provided the correct format.And so putting it all together it is now very clear that Virgil was a byproduct of the events that surrounded him. Yet even before he was born, Homers influence and genius was already felt in many parts of the Western world. When Virgil was still very young it is easy to imagine that he was already familiar with the Iliad and Odyssey and no head the stories found in those epics help to shape the way he thinks.Works CitedAppelbaum, Stanley. Ed. The Aeneid by Vergil Trans. Charles J. Billson. Canada Dover Publications, 1995. Cox, John. entree to Virgil, The Aeneid. 2008. General Education at Hope College. 03 April 2008. http//www. hope. edu/academic/ids/171/Aeneid. html Gaskell, Philip. Ed. Landmarks in Classical Literature loot Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999. Hemminger, Bill. Exploring Ancient World Cultures Rome. 1997. EAWC at University of Evansville. 02 April 2008. http//eawc. evansville. edu/ropage. htm Hornstein, L. H. , G. D. Percy, and Calvin S. Brown. Eds. The Readers Companion to WorldLiterature New York Penguin Putnam, Inc. , 1973. Knight, G. R. Wilson. Trans. The Aeneid by Virgil New York Penguin Putnam, Inc. , 1956. Mackay, Christopher. Ancient Rome A Military and Political History. New York Cambridge University Press, 2004. Mandelbaum, Allen. Trans. The Aeneid by Virgil calcium University of California Press, 1971. Morford, Mark P. O. and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology 7th ed. New York Oxford University Press, 2003. Morris, Ting. Ancient Rome. MN Smart Apple Media, 2007.