The emergence of the future Augustus out of the warring leaders of the late Roman Republic to become the first Roman Emperor seems inevitable. But that seeming inevitability was the result of a carefully crafted campaign involving poets, artists and architects, creating the image of Augustus as Imperator, the leader of an ‘empire without limits’.
We will look at various aspects of the transformation of Octavian to Augustus, focussing on the reversioning of the Iliad and Odyssey into the fascinating and complex epic, the Aeneid.
Looking in detail at key scenes, issues and concepts, we will explore the complex ‘translation’ of the Odyssey and Iliad into the story of the Trojan Aeneas’ journey from Troy to Italy and his fight to ensure the building of Rome and founding of the Augustan dynasty. Starting with Aeneas’ arrival in Dido’s kingdom, we will compare his account of his wanderings with those of Odysseus. Then we will discuss the fascinating portrayal of this Queen of Carthage, comparing Aeneas relationship with her with those various goddesses and women that Odysseus encountered.
The most famous words of the Aeneid are those of Aeneas, seeing the events of the Trojan War depicted on the doors of Dido’s temple: sunt lacrimae rerum mentemque mortalia tangunt: tears in the nature of things, a mind touched by the human condition. In the second part of the course, we will ask whether the rewriting of the Iliad into Aeneid books 7-12 celebrate Augustus’ ending of the civil war or reflect on the cost of his victory.
Learning outcomes
- A grasp of the issues involved in the creation of the Image of Augustus
- An understanding of the structure and key issues and values of the Aeneid
- An understanding of the issues involved in intercultural translation