Aeneid Book 6- question

Hi,

I have a question when Aeneas goes to the underworld and Anchises tells him of his future. He says that a Ceasar will rule, does he mean Julius Ceasar or Augustus Ceasar? As I would need this info to link to Augustan propaganda because later on in book 8, it says that on the shield given to him by Venus in the fight against Turnus, Augustus Ceasar is seen fighting against the Mark antony. For a level classics lol

Reply 1

anna.sprules

Hi there!
both Julius Cesar and Augustus are mentioned. I'm not sure what translation you're doing (for my a level I'm using translation by David West), and in chapter 6 my book says 'Here is Caesar, and all the sons of Iulus about to come under the great vault of the sky', this line would be referencing Julius Caesar here. The next line states 'Here is the great man whose coming you so often prophesied, here he is, Augustus Caesar'. Both are mentioned and you should be able to use both in propaganda questions, I've been told the chapter generally is good for propaganda because chapter 6 is meant to uplift Augustus and his family generally, because it makes him to look better as an emperor to also have a good family, because it would boost his public image.
Hope this helps! 🙂