Virgil

There are many ways in which one’s own present landscape can be introduced into the description of the past. Sometimes history is told, or an attempt is made to influence it, through the use of legend or the pretext of a literary work. One of the clearest such cases can be found in Virgil’s Aeneid. (5)

(5) Virgil lived between 70 and 19 b.c.e. The poet began his masterwork as Augustus was consolidating the empire following the battle of Actium. Thanks to his earlier works, The Bucolics and The Georgics, Virgil was already a celebrity. But starting with The Aeneid, he gained the favor of the emperor. Of course, he was not a courtier like Theocritus or a mercenary like Pindar, but nonetheless he was someone whose interests coincided with those of officialdom.

Within the epic Aeneid Virgil embeds the genealogy of Rome. There he traces the history of Rome back to the moment at the end of the Trojan War when the gods prophesy to Aeneas that his descendants will govern the world. On the shield that Vulcan forges for the hero appear the images of the history that is to come, up to the central figure of Octavian (Augustus), the emperor who will bring universal peace.

In Virgil, the meaning of history is divine, because it is the gods who direct human actions to fit their own designs (as also occurs in the Homeric source of his inspiration). However, this does not prevent Virgil from interpreting this destiny from the perspective of the earthly interests of the poet and his protector. In the fourteenth century, The Divine Comedy will appear, in which another poet will take up the story, making Virgil the guide in his incursions through mysterious territories and considerably reinforcing the authority of the Virgilian model.

In: Historiological Discussions, Silo

Chapter 1: The Past as Viewed from the Present 1.1 The Distortion of Mediated History

Virgil (70 - 19 BC)

Poet and epic poet

Biographical information

70 BC Virgil was born on 15 October 70 BC in a rural area of northern Italy (Andes near Mantua). His peasant background influenced his works.
53–50 BC: Studies in Cremona, Mediolanum (Milan) and Rome: comprehensive education in rhetoric, philosophy, astronomy, medicine and literature, which shaped his development as a poet.
42 BC Expropriation of his family's property after the Battle of Philippi: the political turmoil led to the confiscation of Vergil's land, which later put him under the protection of patrons such as Maecenas.
37 BC Publication of the Eclogues: this collection of pastoral poems made Vergil famous and is considered one of the first major works of Latin literature.
29 BC Completion of the Georgics: This didactic work on agriculture was supported by Maecenas and cemented Virgil's reputation as an important poet.

19 BC Unfinished Aeneid and death: Virgil worked on the Aeneid, a national epic about the founding of Rome, until his death in Brundisium on 21 September 19 BC. Although it remained unfinished, it was published posthumously and became the central work of Roman literature.

Themes

Roman virtues, identity and ideals

In the ‘Aeneid’, Virgil uses Aeneas not only to showcase Roman values such as a sense of duty, bravery and destiny, but also to present his journey as a symbol for the search for identity and destiny, both for the hero and for Rome and its civilising mission.

Fate and divine providence

Aeneas is guided by the gods to fulfil his predestined destiny, with the divine direction of human fate at its centre.

War and peace

Virgil addresses war as a destructive force, but also as a means to establish peace and order, reflecting on Rome's historical wars.

Major works

Bucolica (42 BC): A collection of ten pastoral poems.
Georgica (between 37 and 29 BC) : An educational poem about agriculture.
Aeneid: Vergil's most famous work and the Roman national epic. He began writing it in 29 BC, but was unable to complete it before his death in 19 BC.

These three works are often referred to as Vergil's major works and have been preserved in their entirety.

Influence

Literary influence: From Dante to Milton.
Linguistic influence: His style shaped Latin literature and rhetoric for centuries.
Cultural influence: The Aeneid became the Roman national epic and contributed significantly to the formation of the Roman identity.
Education system: For centuries, Vergil's works were an integral part of the educational canon in Europe. They were taught and studied at schools and universities.

Christian reception: In the Middle Ages, Vergil was seen as a kind of ‘heathen prophet’ whose work contained premonitions of Christianity.

Why is he mentioned by Silo in ‘Historiological Discussions’?

Virgil is cited as a clear example of the intentional distortion of history or historical narrative in order to use it to serve one's own or powerful interests.

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