Hannah Clargo
In what ways can the Aeneid be described as a nationalist poem?
Though a modern definition of nationalism has evolved since the
conclusion of the Second World War, throughout Virgil’s Aeneid the
classification of this notion as loyalty and devotion to one’s country, as
well as an element of unification within this, is made clear in a number of
ways. As such, this epic can be viewed as a nationalist poem due to its
presentation of the war, including the depictions of the Battle of Actium on
the Shield of Aeneas; the role of fate and the gods; the portrayal of the
Roman ideal; finally, the physical descriptions of Italy.
The first way in which the Aeneid can be described as a nationalist
poem is through its presentation of the war. As Pogorzelski argues, this
depiction of the Latin War as a civil battle allows for new concepts of
Italian unification to be projected onto the ancient past as a ‘natural and
permanent state to which Augustan Rome gives political expression’
(Pogorzelski, The Reassurance of Fratricide in the Aeneid, 2009). Thus, as
scholars including Hardie claim, this allows for a displacement of military
chaos to the ancient Latin War, causing the future to remain open and
untarnished, without the stains of military chaos which are present
throughout the poem (Hardie, Virgil’s Cosmos and Imperium, 135).
However, this is not simply presented as a civil war, but even a familial
one between brothers. This is explicitly claimed as Juno gives Allecto the
power to ‘arm for battle like-minded brothers’, ‘unanimos armare in
proelia fratres’ (Aen. 7.335). As such, by enhancing the close, domestic
relationship of those participating in this war, Virgil is able to further
emphasise the need for Italian unification, presenting Italy as an
unstoppable force and creating a sense of nationalist pride. As well as
this, by presenting the war in such a manner, there is the possibility to
create a sense of unity and ‘overcome the individual experience of death
and loss with collective identity’ (Anderson, Imagined Communities:
Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, 9-11), thus further
elevating the atmosphere of brotherhood as the men are drawn together
through grief and loss in instances such as Book 5’s funeral games for
Anchises (Aen. 5). Additionally, both Otis (Otis, Virgil, A Study in Civilised
Poetry, 317) and Putnam (Putnam, The Poetry of the Aeneid: Four Studies
in Imaginative Unity and Design, 192) argue that this interpretation of a
civil war helps to draw parallels with Augustus, as can be seen in the
depictions of the Battle of Actium found on the Shield of Aeneas, creating
a greater sense of nationalism and inciting imperial support for the
contemporary readers.
Pogorzelski claims that ‘by representing the Latin War as a civil war,
the Aeneid asserts that the ancient inhabitants of Italy, although
temporarily and tragically divided, have always formed a natural unit’
(Pogorzelski, The Reassurance of Fratricide in the Aeneid, 2009), and this
idea seems to be greatly supported in Virgil’s portrayal of the Battle of
Actium. This is firstly made clear in the stark difference between the
Italian troops and those of the enemy. Whereas there is a singular Italian
leader as ‘here is Augustus Caesar leading the Italians into battle’, ‘hinc
Augustus agens Italos in proelia Caesar’ (Aen. 8.678), Virgil places
1
In what ways can the Aeneid be described as a nationalist poem?
Though a modern definition of nationalism has evolved since the
conclusion of the Second World War, throughout Virgil’s Aeneid the
classification of this notion as loyalty and devotion to one’s country, as
well as an element of unification within this, is made clear in a number of
ways. As such, this epic can be viewed as a nationalist poem due to its
presentation of the war, including the depictions of the Battle of Actium on
the Shield of Aeneas; the role of fate and the gods; the portrayal of the
Roman ideal; finally, the physical descriptions of Italy.
The first way in which the Aeneid can be described as a nationalist
poem is through its presentation of the war. As Pogorzelski argues, this
depiction of the Latin War as a civil battle allows for new concepts of
Italian unification to be projected onto the ancient past as a ‘natural and
permanent state to which Augustan Rome gives political expression’
(Pogorzelski, The Reassurance of Fratricide in the Aeneid, 2009). Thus, as
scholars including Hardie claim, this allows for a displacement of military
chaos to the ancient Latin War, causing the future to remain open and
untarnished, without the stains of military chaos which are present
throughout the poem (Hardie, Virgil’s Cosmos and Imperium, 135).
However, this is not simply presented as a civil war, but even a familial
one between brothers. This is explicitly claimed as Juno gives Allecto the
power to ‘arm for battle like-minded brothers’, ‘unanimos armare in
proelia fratres’ (Aen. 7.335). As such, by enhancing the close, domestic
relationship of those participating in this war, Virgil is able to further
emphasise the need for Italian unification, presenting Italy as an
unstoppable force and creating a sense of nationalist pride. As well as
this, by presenting the war in such a manner, there is the possibility to
create a sense of unity and ‘overcome the individual experience of death
and loss with collective identity’ (Anderson, Imagined Communities:
Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, 9-11), thus further
elevating the atmosphere of brotherhood as the men are drawn together
through grief and loss in instances such as Book 5’s funeral games for
Anchises (Aen. 5). Additionally, both Otis (Otis, Virgil, A Study in Civilised
Poetry, 317) and Putnam (Putnam, The Poetry of the Aeneid: Four Studies
in Imaginative Unity and Design, 192) argue that this interpretation of a
civil war helps to draw parallels with Augustus, as can be seen in the
depictions of the Battle of Actium found on the Shield of Aeneas, creating
a greater sense of nationalism and inciting imperial support for the
contemporary readers.
Pogorzelski claims that ‘by representing the Latin War as a civil war,
the Aeneid asserts that the ancient inhabitants of Italy, although
temporarily and tragically divided, have always formed a natural unit’
(Pogorzelski, The Reassurance of Fratricide in the Aeneid, 2009), and this
idea seems to be greatly supported in Virgil’s portrayal of the Battle of
Actium. This is firstly made clear in the stark difference between the
Italian troops and those of the enemy. Whereas there is a singular Italian
leader as ‘here is Augustus Caesar leading the Italians into battle’, ‘hinc
Augustus agens Italos in proelia Caesar’ (Aen. 8.678), Virgil places
1
