Virgil's Influences Of Virgil And Traditional Roman Religion In Roman Literature

Virgil was a man who was born on October 15,90 B.C. in Virgilio, Italy his full name is Publius Vergilius Maro But sadly on September 21 ,19 B.C. in Brindisi, Italy Virgil died. During the time he was living he was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period.Virgil was know for three major work of Latin literature , Eclogues,Geogrics, and the Epic Aeneid . He received his education at Cremona in Milan and Rome where he studied Greek and Roman authors and poets . During his younger years, political and military strife afflicted Italy when the Roman Republic dispelled. Virgil deeply, creating an abhorrence and fear of civil war that was often reflected in his poetry. Virgil’s earliest work was the Eclogues, written between 42 and 37 B.C. The

Epistolary poems are one of the ancient forms in literature which could be traced in Greek and Roman literature.An epistolary poem is written in a form of letter addressed to an individual or to a society. The term epistleis derived from the Latin term Epistula which means a letter. Poets present their poems in the form of letters appealing to emotions and feelings. Epistolary poems may be objective or subjective, formal or colloquial, directed to an individual or to a general public. It may take any form from heroic couplets to blank verse. While exploring the origin of epistolary form in poetry, the scholars could peg varied themes being dealt in the poems, from Philosophical concepts to daily mundane activities.

Ancient Rome produced a number of literary geniuses, which included Marcus Cicero, Horace, and Virgil. The following excerpt from The Humanistic Tradition describes one of Virgil’s most famous works, “The Aeneid was not the product of an oral tradition, as were the Homeric epics: rather, it is a literary epic . . . No summary of the Aeneid can represent the monumental impact of a work that would become the foundation for the education of the Latin language” (Fiero 146). Ancient Roman works such as The Aeneid have had a profound influence on countless writers, poets, and literary scholars including Shakespeare, James Joyce, and Robert Graves. These ancient civilizations also made a variety of other contributions to western civilization.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE PORTRAYAL OF THE GODS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID AND OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. There is a significant difference in the treatment of the gods in the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, even though both authors were writing in the epic tradition. Virgil wrote his Aeneid in the last ten years of his life, between 29BC and 19BC, after the Battle of Actium, in 31BC, which was significant, as it established Octavian as the sole emperor, Augustus, of Rome. The Aeneid is a celebration of Augustus' achievements and rejoices in the development of Rome. There is a great sense of political propaganda, as well as an historical element, as it illustrates the origins of the Roman people.

Virgil came to be regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid can be considered a national epic of Rome and has been extremely popular from its publication to the present day.

In The Aeneid, Virgil uses many prophecies. They begin in the first few lines and last throughout the poem. Many are directed toward Aeneas, but some are to his relatives and friends. The prophecies shown allow the reader to better understand the situation and also provide insight about Rome. Prophecies are an important key to The Aeneid.

Rome was experiencing a great deal of internal turmoil during the period when Virgil wrote the Aeneid. There was somewhat of an identity crisis in Rome as it had no definitive leader, or history. With the ascension of Augustus to the throne, Rome was unified again. Still, it had no great book. The Greeks had their Odyssey, giving them a sense of history and of continuity through time. A commonly held view is that the Aeneid attempts to provide the Romans with this sense of continuity or roots. There is a great deal of textual evidence to support this interpretation. Virgil makes numerous references to the greatness of Rome through "ancient" prophecies. Clearly, the entire poem is an account of

Throughout the history of Rome, from the monarchy to the late empire, religion had played a great role in it's society and was involved in almost every aspect of the life of the Roman citizen. It was common for each house to have it's own patron god/gods and ,on special occasions, the head of the house would make a sacrifice to the personal gods of the family. Also, great festivals were usually held in honor of certain gods and would include spectacles like chariot races and Gladiatorial fights.

Religion played a significant role in the Roman civilization but, “many people believe that Rome was not a religious place. What they probably mean is that it was not a moral place.” (Burrell, 65) The Romans had innumerable gods that they worshiped which included giving gifts and sacrificing for their gods. Sacrificing animals was common for ancient Roman civilization. The idea of sacrificing came from the people before the Roman Empire was built. Religion primarily used sacrificing as a means of showing appreciation to the gods but later became a way to get things from the gods. The increases in the expansion of Rome lead to an increasing number of sacrifices. Roman sacrifice was done in many different ways and there were numerous

Although to remain pious and to remain loyal are virtues that every roman should possess, there are some costs that sometimes outweigh the rewards. By following his destiny, Aeneas was put in an enormous amount of danger, that he would not have been put in if he had not fled Troy, in search for Rome. When he first leaves Troy, he knows that he may have to put himself in dangerous positions, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to please the Gods. Also, Aeneas lost nearly everything that he once had during the course of the poem. He lost his father, his lover, and ultimately, he loses his identity. Losing your own identity is the greatest loss that anyone could suffer and Aeneas does experience that loss. These losses that Aeneas endures, greatly outweigh the rewards that Aeneas acquires in the end of the poem. Aeneas defeats Turnus and gains the Roman empire, but that is how the story is left. There are no celebrations, there is no wedding for Aeneas and Lavinia. It is just over. The reward is that he has accomplished what he set out to do, but the reader is not shown how or if Aeneas is rewarded in a physical way.

Arguably, like the fathers of the Old Testament, he foresaw what would occur though not precisely knowing the saving details. Also, like the Hebrew prophets, his work is filled with an underlying sadness. The Aeneid ends, not with the joy or inevitably glory and majesty that would be Rome, but with the bitter, angry Aeneas plunging his sword into the breast of Turnus, howling for revenge for the dead Pallas. Thus, it is not surprising that Virgil ends up in precisely the same place as the writers of the Old Testament: Limbo. While in the first circle of the damned, a list is given of these souls which include Moses, Noah, Abel, “the patriarch Abraham” (IV.58), etc. However, “Out of our midst [Christ] plucked [these shades]” (IV.55) shortly after the poet’s death. These are not the only similarities between Virgil and the old prophets: as many came to reach goodness in and through the Old Testament, so did the poet Satius, who appears in Purgatorio reach Christianity only by the help of Virgil. True, there is some awkwardness when Statius confesses this fact to Virgil, but this awkwardness translates also to the rift between the old prophets and the new, as depicted in the Earthly Paradise in Purgatorio:

The Aeneid, written by Virgil, was written in Rome between 30 and 19 B.C. Virgil wrote many of his writings during the time of Octavian, the estranged nephew to Caeser. During the beginning of the times of Octavian and the time of these writings Rome was in a state of civil war, which later turned into the most peaceful place in the world. Many people were torn from their homes and new boundaries were created. It is important to know the culture and gender roles of the people, the person in power, and the system of government in place at the time of the writing.

The book of Romans is considered, by many in Christianity, to be the greatest book comprised in the Holy Bible. This is a very strong view to hold, considering the great details of Jesus and His ministry that are given in the book of Luke, the direct, to the point style of truth written by James, and the great lessons of faith in Hebrews. The other books in the New Testament are all great within themselves also but, Romans is very distinctive in itself. Written by the Apostle Paul, Romans can be viewed as the Christian Life handbook or the Christianity 101 manual. When we read Romans, we can see that Paul took every thought and possible counter thought by any

The role of the gods in the aeneid is clear from the onset: it is the journey aeneas must make to fulfill the will of the gods at the same time as enduring the fury of other gods in order to become founder of the roman race (find a quote). Aeneas is able to do this through his self-sacrifice and ability to resist temptations and own desires, whereas those that do not and resist the will of the gods die tragic deaths eg dido and turnus.

I believe countries tell stories of origin to keep their history alive. If stories were not told and passed down from generation to generation no would ever know the history much less the origin of their own people. This is how “history” is made, thus, we are able to not only learn about our origin, but, the origin of other countries as well. I feel that we share many commonalities as well as many differences with the Roman’s story of origin as well as their reasoning. In comparison both were told to keep their history alive. To ensure that for generations to come all would know where they came from and how it originated. I also feel that both story plots are similar as they are both about being self-made, creating something out of nothing