Thought I'd do some summaries on Aeneid articles since it'll probably be the only way to motivate me to read them (especially longer ones). Here's the other one I did back in 2018.
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Hall, Louis Remy Inglis. “Replacing Romulus: Distance from and Dependence on Livy in Vergil’s Aeneas.” Vergilius (1959-) 69 (2023): 37–58.
Introduction
- During his composition of the Aeneid, Vergil had access to Livy’s pentad, which was written by 27 BCE (with additions in 25 BCE).
- “However, the existence of Livy’s later revisions does present the possibility that aspects of the first pentad could themselves respond to Vergil’s work...”
- Both works made use of Roman foundational works by authors such as Naevius, Fabius Pictor, and especially Ennius.
- “I suggest that Vergil’s chosen protagonist Aeneas not only attempts to replace Romulus as the canonical Roman and Augustan founder, emblematic of the Aeneid’s attempt to replace Ab urbe condita as the canonical Roman and Augustan foundation narrative, but does so through detailed use of the literary model Livy’s Romulus provides.”
Livy’s Aeneas
- Livy spends little time on Aeneas and doesn’t show him as a conditor on the level of Romulus, “but as a necessary component of Romulus’s backstory, an explanation of the true founder’s royal ancestry to be covered as briefly as possible.”
- Livy puts Aeneas on the same level as Antenor, with some sources interpreting this as an attempt by Livy to give his own hometown of Padua (founded by Antenor) the same prominence as Rome. Hall sees this as Livy giving Aeneas a twin, which diminishes his importance and makes him unexceptional. On the other hand, Romulus “ensures his own unique status through the murder of his twin.”
- Hall also points out that Livy suggests that Aeneas and Antenor were traitors by befriending the Greeks and opposing the war, although he adds that disconnecting Aeneas from Rome’s foundation removes any impact from the suggestion, “primarily serv[ing] to further mark Aeneas as the lesser founder.”
- Finally, Hall notes that if Livy had access to the Aeneid during his revisions, he conspicuously resisted the Vergilian interpretation of Aeneas.
Livy’s Romulus
- Hall again emphasizes Romulus’ killing of Remus and how this gives him sole control as a conditor (vs. Aeneas/Antenor). He also mentions Livy’s inclusion of Titus Tatius, who functions as another twin made to perish “to further emphasize Romulus’s self-creation, superiority, and unique status as leader of an ever-expanding Rome.”
- Hall notes how Livy links Romulus and Augustus, both of whom have paradoxical ideologies: “Livy’s uncertainty over Romulus, from his divine ancestry to the nature of his death, create a deeply ambiguous figure, both legitimate politician and divinely mandated ruler, reflecting Augustus’s own status as first man and divi filius...”
- “Livy’s composition of Ab urbe condita is in itself an engagement with the new world of Augustus—it is no surprise that within this engagement, Romulus plays a part.”
Vergil’s Aeneas
- Conversely, Vergil repeatedly connects Aeneas and Augustus just as Livy did with Romulus and Augustus: “Vergil creates an equally complex and divisive figure within his Aeneas, providing the same opportunity for interrogation beneath the apparently uncontroversial surface of a patriotic hero.”
- “By affording to Aeneas the significance Livy afforded Romulus, and preempting the historian with his own Augustan founder, Vergil initiates a complex literary rivalry while also equipping himself to continue and extend Livy’s investigation of Augustus through analogous founder figures.”
Vergil’s Romulus
- While Vergil also connects Romulus and Augustus, he is a less significant and complex Augustus analogue than Aeneas.
- The mention of Remus in the first book “suggests that Romulus was not ultimately able to remove his twin rival, much as the presence of Antenor was used to downplay Aeneas’s unique founder status by Livy.”
- Just as Livy used Titus Tatius as another twin for Romulus to outlive, Vergil emphasizes the presence of Tatius on the Shield (8.638) by presenting him as a dual ruler with Romulus (8.639) and making no mention of his death (as with Remus).
- Hall also points out that Romulus is never depicted alone, being either with Remus or Tatius, “emphasizing his nonprimary position.”
Livy’s Romulus in Vergil’s Aeneas
- Aeneas’ killing of Turnus in the Aeneid diverges from the Livian tradition, in which Aeneas doesn’t survive the war. Hall also emphasizes Vergil’s use of condere to describe the killing, making it “explicitly an act of violent foundation.”
- Livy’s pentad ended with Camillus (the new Romulus) triumphantly refounding Rome, and Vergil remakes the climactic act of foundation as something disturbing and ambiguous, “with an emphasis on the pitiful human cost.”
- Hall argues that in the Aeneid’s final line, there may be a nod to Camillus’ presence in the character of Camilla, whose death scene shares the same line (11.831 = 12.952).
- Hall also argues that the idea of a male victim to Augustan foundation “irresistibly suggests” Mark Antony.
- “Vergil’s disturbing rewrite of Livy’s foundational conclusion subordinates the story of Romulus and the later founders not just to the Aeneid as a whole but specifically to Aeneas’s murder of Turnus.”
- By remaking Livy’s death of Remus, Vergil sharpens Livy’s critique of Augustan foundation and turns it on its original creator.
- “Aeneas is finally given a twin to kill in the parallel figure of Turnus, allowing him to self-create and justify his status within the Aeneid as the more significant founder.”
- Hall then notes the art on Pallas’ baldric, which depicts “a violent action itself dependent on the fraternal discord between Aegyptus and Danaus...” Hall also notes that Aeneas’ farewell to Turnus (poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit) recalls Romulus’ final words to Remus in Ennius’ Annales (nam mi calido dabis sanguine poenas).
Conclusion
- “By giving Romulus-like characteristics to Aeneas, particularly the Livian-specific reading of fratricide as self-creation, Vergil subordinates Livy’s founder to his, and the pentad to the Aeneid at large.”
- Hall emphasizes that Livy’s work and founder are not only distanced and subordinated, but more importantly absorbed, using Aeneas to “correct, mirror, and extend Livy’s own investigation of foundation, made at the very start of the Augustan period.”
- The Aeneid emerged as the definitive Augustan work, Hall concludes, partly through the framework provided to it by Livy.
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Hall, Louis Remy Inglis. “Replacing Romulus: Distance from and Dependence on Livy in Vergil’s Aeneas.” Vergilius (1959-) 69 (2023): 37–58.
Introduction
- During his composition of the Aeneid, Vergil had access to Livy’s pentad, which was written by 27 BCE (with additions in 25 BCE).
- “However, the existence of Livy’s later revisions does present the possibility that aspects of the first pentad could themselves respond to Vergil’s work...”
- Both works made use of Roman foundational works by authors such as Naevius, Fabius Pictor, and especially Ennius.
- “I suggest that Vergil’s chosen protagonist Aeneas not only attempts to replace Romulus as the canonical Roman and Augustan founder, emblematic of the Aeneid’s attempt to replace Ab urbe condita as the canonical Roman and Augustan foundation narrative, but does so through detailed use of the literary model Livy’s Romulus provides.”
Livy’s Aeneas
- Livy spends little time on Aeneas and doesn’t show him as a conditor on the level of Romulus, “but as a necessary component of Romulus’s backstory, an explanation of the true founder’s royal ancestry to be covered as briefly as possible.”
- Livy puts Aeneas on the same level as Antenor, with some sources interpreting this as an attempt by Livy to give his own hometown of Padua (founded by Antenor) the same prominence as Rome. Hall sees this as Livy giving Aeneas a twin, which diminishes his importance and makes him unexceptional. On the other hand, Romulus “ensures his own unique status through the murder of his twin.”
- Hall also points out that Livy suggests that Aeneas and Antenor were traitors by befriending the Greeks and opposing the war, although he adds that disconnecting Aeneas from Rome’s foundation removes any impact from the suggestion, “primarily serv[ing] to further mark Aeneas as the lesser founder.”
- Finally, Hall notes that if Livy had access to the Aeneid during his revisions, he conspicuously resisted the Vergilian interpretation of Aeneas.
Livy’s Romulus
- Hall again emphasizes Romulus’ killing of Remus and how this gives him sole control as a conditor (vs. Aeneas/Antenor). He also mentions Livy’s inclusion of Titus Tatius, who functions as another twin made to perish “to further emphasize Romulus’s self-creation, superiority, and unique status as leader of an ever-expanding Rome.”
- Hall notes how Livy links Romulus and Augustus, both of whom have paradoxical ideologies: “Livy’s uncertainty over Romulus, from his divine ancestry to the nature of his death, create a deeply ambiguous figure, both legitimate politician and divinely mandated ruler, reflecting Augustus’s own status as first man and divi filius...”
- “Livy’s composition of Ab urbe condita is in itself an engagement with the new world of Augustus—it is no surprise that within this engagement, Romulus plays a part.”
Vergil’s Aeneas
- Conversely, Vergil repeatedly connects Aeneas and Augustus just as Livy did with Romulus and Augustus: “Vergil creates an equally complex and divisive figure within his Aeneas, providing the same opportunity for interrogation beneath the apparently uncontroversial surface of a patriotic hero.”
- “By affording to Aeneas the significance Livy afforded Romulus, and preempting the historian with his own Augustan founder, Vergil initiates a complex literary rivalry while also equipping himself to continue and extend Livy’s investigation of Augustus through analogous founder figures.”
Vergil’s Romulus
- While Vergil also connects Romulus and Augustus, he is a less significant and complex Augustus analogue than Aeneas.
- The mention of Remus in the first book “suggests that Romulus was not ultimately able to remove his twin rival, much as the presence of Antenor was used to downplay Aeneas’s unique founder status by Livy.”
- Just as Livy used Titus Tatius as another twin for Romulus to outlive, Vergil emphasizes the presence of Tatius on the Shield (8.638) by presenting him as a dual ruler with Romulus (8.639) and making no mention of his death (as with Remus).
- Hall also points out that Romulus is never depicted alone, being either with Remus or Tatius, “emphasizing his nonprimary position.”
Livy’s Romulus in Vergil’s Aeneas
- Aeneas’ killing of Turnus in the Aeneid diverges from the Livian tradition, in which Aeneas doesn’t survive the war. Hall also emphasizes Vergil’s use of condere to describe the killing, making it “explicitly an act of violent foundation.”
- Livy’s pentad ended with Camillus (the new Romulus) triumphantly refounding Rome, and Vergil remakes the climactic act of foundation as something disturbing and ambiguous, “with an emphasis on the pitiful human cost.”
- Hall argues that in the Aeneid’s final line, there may be a nod to Camillus’ presence in the character of Camilla, whose death scene shares the same line (11.831 = 12.952).
- Hall also argues that the idea of a male victim to Augustan foundation “irresistibly suggests” Mark Antony.
- “Vergil’s disturbing rewrite of Livy’s foundational conclusion subordinates the story of Romulus and the later founders not just to the Aeneid as a whole but specifically to Aeneas’s murder of Turnus.”
- By remaking Livy’s death of Remus, Vergil sharpens Livy’s critique of Augustan foundation and turns it on its original creator.
- “Aeneas is finally given a twin to kill in the parallel figure of Turnus, allowing him to self-create and justify his status within the Aeneid as the more significant founder.”
- Hall then notes the art on Pallas’ baldric, which depicts “a violent action itself dependent on the fraternal discord between Aegyptus and Danaus...” Hall also notes that Aeneas’ farewell to Turnus (poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit) recalls Romulus’ final words to Remus in Ennius’ Annales (nam mi calido dabis sanguine poenas).
Conclusion
- “By giving Romulus-like characteristics to Aeneas, particularly the Livian-specific reading of fratricide as self-creation, Vergil subordinates Livy’s founder to his, and the pentad to the Aeneid at large.”
- Hall emphasizes that Livy’s work and founder are not only distanced and subordinated, but more importantly absorbed, using Aeneas to “correct, mirror, and extend Livy’s own investigation of foundation, made at the very start of the Augustan period.”
- The Aeneid emerged as the definitive Augustan work, Hall concludes, partly through the framework provided to it by Livy.
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