M.

K SRB

Virgil Question Sheet

1A) This passage tells us that the battle of Actium in the Aeneid was largely
represented as a foreign war against strangers and demonic races – ‘’Orient…Far
away Bactria… Egyptian wife’’, ‘’Neptune, Minerva, and Venus…Mars’’ – the Romans
were very religious people and they had high respect for the Gods, and therefore
anyone who was loyal and knowledgeable of the Gods. Therefore, it’s important to
show Augusts fighting with the Gods aiding him. ‘’Anubis’’ this on the other hand
works in the completely opposite way. As religious as the Romans were to their own
Gods, as much did they hate any other Gods – therefore Anubis is here to trigger
disgust and further emphasize their foreignness. Further vocabulary in the passage
further emphasizes the points listed above. Mark Antony was almost completely
excluded from it. This is most likely to gain political support for Augustus, as the
Romans hated civil wars, and he could not afford to be seen as a civil warrior.

1B) All other sources at least partially support this view. Horace, in his Epode 9
‘’Rejoice for victory at Actium’’ emphasizes Caesar’s and Cleopatra’s role in the fight,
and actually completely excludes Mark Antony, only to note that Roman soldiers
were commanded by Cleopatra. Horace’s Odes 1.37 Suicide of Cleopatra also
supports this. It insults Cleopatra in the start. However, it is extremely worth noting
that in Odes 1.37 Horace does go on to feel pity, sympathy, and even respect for
Cleopatra – ‘’Bravely Grasped…Humble Woman’’ – this has several explanations, of
which the one I prefer to state here is that Horace wanted to retain some of his
authenticity as a poet and not completely give in to propaganda. He might have
actually felt for Cleopatra, and wanted to state his honest opinion in the poem,
rather than that which benefits Augustus.

1C) I believe that this and the other representations of the Battle at Actium
mentioned are far from accurate and correct. They all have at least some political or
poetic purpose, and little purpose of stating history. The only source I could even
think about partially excluding from this category is Horace’s Odes 1.37 – but that
arguably does have a political purpose – one can celebrate more when he has
defeated a great, brave, mighty woman, than when he has stomped on a weak,
feeble, and mad one. Firstly, Mark Antony played a great role at the battle of Actium
– he was commanding the fleets with Cleopatra – and Caesar played a smaller one –
he was aiding Agrippa in commanding the fleets, but his role is much exaggerated in
these sources. The reason why Mark Antony isn’t mentioned and his role diminished
is that Romans despise civil wars. As Augustus has essentially become a tyrant, he
cannot afford to have public hatred such as that. Therefore, he tries to remove Mark
Antony from the picture and instead re-paint it as a battle against demonic foreign
enemies. The reason why Augustus’ role is exaggerated is obvious – he is the tyrant
and wants to be seen as a great Roman hero, not an ‘’aid’’. Furthermore, in these
sources the battle is described as epic, bloody, and violent. In fact, Mark Antony and
Cleopatra did not even intend to fight. They were trying to flee to Egypt the whole
time to re-gather their forces. Arguably, pursuing them and challenging them [with
the majority of the Egyptian fleet being merchant ships] was cowardly! Augustus
swiftly defeated them, and there was not much resistance. In addition, quite a few
of the Egyptian ships DID escape – both Mark Antony and Cleopatra did. As stated
above, the reason the battle is represented like this is for Augustus’ benefit. He has
just become a tyrant – a very unstable position for a man, especially his age and
experience. He therefore needs to make sure he solidifies his position as soon as
possible and avoids all of the mistakes of his Great Uncle – Gaius Julius Caesar.
Otherwise, he might end up with the same fate, or worse.