The Personification of Rome essays

The Personification of Rome essays Virgil spent a substantial amount of time and research on his masterpiece, The Aeneid. His goal was to create a piece of literature that would be praised by King Augustus Caesar of Rome. In order to properly display his devotion and gratitude towards his gracious leader, Virgil wrote The Aeneid as an adoration of Rome. The book was designed to exalt the country ruled by Augustus, while simultaneously giving a sense of the new, ordered society. The features and virtues of Rome were indirectly personified through Aeneas. This was proven by the background and roots of the creation of the book, the main characters similarities to Augustus, and his dedication to duty and responsibility, which resembled that of Rome and its people. Virgil first befriended Octavian, or future emperor Augustus, when he was studying law and rhetoric in Rome. During the reign of Augustus, poetry and prose flourished in Rome. Both the king himself and his close advisor, Marcenas were patrons of influential poets and writers of that time. As a result, the relationship between Augustus and Virgil became one of respect for each other and their duty to society. With this is mind; Virgil took on the task of creating an epic poem that would embody the characteristics and hardships of what was historical Rome to him at that time. Virgil took on this task with pride and dedicated years of his life to research and refinement of The Aeneid. Virgil visited various landmarks and sites that me writes about in his depiction of Rome. Upon reaching Athens, and ultimately facing declining health conditions, he came across King Augustus and was asked to accompany him to Italy. The trip was not beneficial to the health situation at hand, and Virgil was not able to survive the voyage. As a final request before his untimely death, Virgil asked that his work up until that point on The Aeneid be destroyed. Such a request was due to the fact that he did not want to present Augu...