Introduction | The emergence of Rome | The beginning of empire
The power of the myth | Pax romana | Seeds of destruction | Find out more

The power of the myth

	Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Livia, Octavia and Augustus: Ingres, c.1812 The Bridgeman Art Library Enlarge Image

In a fascinating exercise in political spin, Augustus and the Roman establishment connived together to cloak the new despotic order with a myth of historic legitimacy.

Augustus the god
Everyone knew that the old system of governance, which had evolved when Rome was simply a local power in central Italy, was inadequate to the task of running a massive empire. But the Romans' self-image was of a nation faithful to its traditions and its roots. So Augustus's first step was formally to return power to the Senate and to rehabilitate the republic after its years in humiliating suspension.

In practical terms, the restoration meant little more than treating a handful of patrician families with passing respect and turning up now and again to their meetings. However, it did have huge symbolic significance. Although powerless, the Senate was restored to its role as constitutional ruler. Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR – then delegated power to its chief executive, the emperor. And to avoid any doubt in this matter, Augustus was declared a god.

Virgil and the Aeneid
At the same time, Augustus turned to the pre-eminent poet of the day, Virgil, and gave him a huge commission amounting to 10 million sesterces to create an epic lineage for him. After three years, Augustus asked Virgil if he could see some of the work in progress. Virgil said he had nothing worth showing. And six years later, when he died, Virgil left instructions that what he had written should be destroyed. Augustus overruled him, and what we have is the Aeneid.

The myth that Virgil created for the emperor told the story of how Aeneas, a Trojan, escaped from the crushing defeat by the Greeks and set off on a voyage that eventually took him to Italy. There he slew the local hero of the town of Latinus in single combat, claimed leadership of the Latins and merged them with the remnants of Troy.

Despite his epic's elegant verse, you can see why Virgil thought he had failed. One of his aims in writing this was to dispel any idea that Rome was inferior to Greece. However, the Aeneid shows its Greek pedigree in every line – at times, it's almost like a translation of the great Homeric epics. Another of Virgil's aims was to create a heroic foundation myth for Rome. But Aeneas is a man afflicted by doubt, hounded by his goddess mother and made treacherous to his love by sanctimonious duty. This ambivalence is embedded in Rome's true history.

Top