{"id":133,"date":"2014-09-15T14:56:33","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T18:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/?p=133"},"modified":"2015-01-02T08:14:24","modified_gmt":"2015-01-02T13:14:24","slug":"vergils-experience-of-dispossession-and-his-sympathy-for-migrants-and-exiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/vergils-experience-of-dispossession-and-his-sympathy-for-migrants-and-exiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Vergil’s Experience of Dispossession: Sympathy for Migrants and Exiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many know the story of Aeneas, his exile, and his journey to found a great kingdom, but\u00a0how did Vergil’s personal experiences influence his famous poetry? \u00a0 A careful examination of Vergil’s writings, the Eclogues<\/em> and the Aeneid<\/em>, comment upon his own dispossession and reveal his sympathy for exiles and migrants.<\/p>\n

War and Strife in Vergil’s Lifetime<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Virgilius<\/a>Civil war had engulfed the Roman world into which Vergil was born. \u00a0How did political trauma\u00a0affect Vergil’s\u00a0view of the world\u00a0and his nation’s history? \u00a0Vergil was born into a historic era in 70 BCE near Mantua.<\/a>

Slavitt, Virgil<\/em>, P. 3<\/div> \u00a0<\/sup>During Vergil’s youth, as the Roman Republic began to decline, he\u00a0experienced both political and military upheaval over social class, political power, citizenship, and the future of Rome. \u00a0The civil war between Sulla and Marius was followed by conflicts between\u00a0Caesar and Pompey for supreme power.<\/a>
Levi,\u00a0Virgil: His Life and Times<\/em>, P. 23<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Caesar represented the Populares<\/em>, a faction\u00a0that strived to use the power of the people to gain influence. \u00a0Pompey supported the Optimates<\/em>, a faction that wanted to uphold tradition and allow the rich and powerful to benefit over the plebeians. Caesar prevailed over Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalia in 48 BCE and gained power as Rome’s “dictator for life.”<\/a>
\u00a0Levi,\u00a0Virgil: His Life and Times<\/em>, P. 23<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0 After Brutus and Cassius assassinated Caesar in 44 BCE, they\u00a0attempted to reestablish the republic. \u00a0They were unsuccessful, however, because Augustus, then known as Octavian, fought to become a consul, along with Antony and Lepidus, in 43 BCE.<\/a>
\u00a0Levi,\u00a0Virgil: His Life and Times<\/em>, P. 30<\/div><\/sup> \u00a0<\/span>After Brutus and Cassius’s\u00a0removal from Rome, Mark Antony and Octavian defeated them\u00a0in the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Octavian’s Impact\u00a0on Vergil and His Family<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Roman<\/a>After his victory in the Battle of Philippi, Octavian began to repay his veterans by seizing lands in northern Italy, such as Cremona and Mantua, to give to veterans. \u00a0Vergil’s family farm near Mantua was among the lands that Octavian and his government confiscated for his ranks in 41 BCE.<\/a>

Rose,\u00a0The Eclogues of Virgil<\/em>, P. 46<\/div> \u00a0<\/span><\/sup>Perhaps\u00a0Vergil’s family’s political views were among the causes of their dispossession, since they had supported Brutus, Cassius, and the revival of the Roman Republic.<\/a>
\u00a0Levi,\u00a0Virgil: His Life and Times<\/em>, P. 33<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0How did Vergil react to his family’s dispossession? \u00a0A<\/span>lthough losing his land must have had some emotional\u00a0impact\u00a0on his life, scholars do not know Vergil’s thoughts, because his surviving writings never address his own experience directly. \u00a0However, academics have tried to deduce Vergil’s reaction to dispossession and migration by examining what he says about these issues\u00a0in his\u00a0poems, the Eclogues<\/em> and the Aeneid<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tityrus and Meliboeus: Reflections of Dispossession<\/strong><\/p>\n

What was Vergil to do after he found himself on the wrong side of politics and thrown off his land? \u00a0Many people believe that Vergil wrote the Eclogues<\/em> in order to earn the favor of Octavian, so he could regain his land. \u00a0Through Eclogue\u00a01, however, Vergil is able not only to praise Octavian, but also to voice his reaction to rural land dispossession indirectly. \u00a0Peasants and shepherds must have viewed these sudden transfers of ownership with extreme alarm, making dispossession a common\u00a0topic of conversation.<\/a>

\u00a0Levi,\u00a0Virgil: His Life and Times<\/em>, P. 32<\/div><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

In the first Eclogue, two shepherds who live near Mantua, Tityrus and Meliboeus experience and discuss two different scenarios surrounding dispossession. \u00a0The government has seized Meliboeus’ land, while Tityrus, an ex-slave,\u00a0went to Rome and earned the right to keep his land.<\/a>

\u00a0Rose,\u00a0The Eclogues of Virgil<\/em>, P. 45<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0 Meliboeus mourns his loss and reveals his awe\u00a0for Tityrus during\u00a0their first encounter:<\/p>\n

\"Tityrus<\/a>Nos patriae finis et dulcia linquimus arva;
\n<\/em>nos patriam fugimus; tu, Tityre, lentus in umbra
\n<\/em>formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.<\/em> (Ec<\/em>.1.3-5)<\/p>\n

We leave the boundaries and sweet fields of the fatherland; we flee the fatherland; you, Tityrus, lazy in the shade teach the woods to echo\u00a0“fair Amaryllis.”<\/p>\n

Meliboeus’ opening statement not only encompasses the physical loss of land, but also the loss of love, leisure, and kinship with nature that Tityrus still enjoys.<\/a>

Leach,\u00a0Vergil’s Eclogues: Landscapes of Experience,\u00a0<\/em>P. 118<\/div> <\/sup>Could Vergil have written these lines without thinking of his family and their dispossession?<\/p>\n

Tityrus’ Praise of a Mystery Man
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can scholars ever know the mind and intentions of an author, particularly an author from antiquity? \u00a0The significance and identity of characters in ancient texts are frequently disputed since scholars cannot know exactly what the author was trying to portray. \u00a0For example, during Tityrus’ journey to Rome\u00a0to obtain his freedom, he encounters an unidentified iuvenis<\/em>, or young man, who tells him that he can continue his usual tasks, and will not be exiled from his property to make room for the ranks of Octavian’s veterans.<\/p>\n

\"Tityrus<\/a>Hic illum vidi iuvenem, Meliboee, quotannis
\n<\/em>bis senos cui nostra dies altaria fumant.
\n<\/em>Hic mihi reponsum primus dedit ille petenti:
\n<\/em>“pascite, ut ante, boves, pueri; submittite tauros.”<\/em> (Ec<\/em>.1.42-45)<\/p>\n

Here, Meliboeus, I saw that young man,
\nfor whom our altars smoke twice six days a year.
\nHere, that man first gave an answer to me begging:
\n“Feed the cattle, boys, as before, rear the bulls.”<\/p>\n

Many academics have argued, through much debate and disagreement, that this\u00a0iuvenis<\/em> can be no one but Octavian, the leader in charge of seizing land for soldiers.<\/a>

\u00a0Rose,\u00a0The Eclogues of Virgil<\/em>, P. 46<\/div><\/sup>\u00a0 Yet, why would Vergil praise the man who caused his misfortune as a god worthy of sacrifices? \u00a0Perhaps Vergil wanted to depict Octavian as good-natured and willing to exempt a small, innocent herdsman in order to\u00a0urge the powerful statesman to return his family’s land.<\/a>
\u00a0Rose,\u00a0The Eclogues of Virgil<\/em>, P. 46<\/div><\/sup>. Some scholars go so far as to suggest that Vergil might have served as a spokesman for the other citizens of Mantua from whom Octavian\u00a0seized land, which is why the iuvenis<\/em> may have addressed Tityrus as pueri<\/em>, the plural form of boy.<\/a>
\u00a0Rose,\u00a0The Eclogues of Virgil<\/em>, P. 46<\/div><\/sup><\/p>\n

Through his characterizations of Tityrus and Meliboeus in the\u00a0Eclogues, <\/em>Vergil depicts the sense of loss felt by the dispossessed, and the wave of gratitude and relief felt by those who held onto or regained their land.\u00a0 Nevertheless, it is hard not to attribute praise of Octavian to a calculated plan by Vergil to win back his family’s land in Mantua.<\/p>\n

Aeneas: Trojan Exile, Italian Immigrant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within the first two lines of the Aeneid<\/em>, Vergil describes Aeneas as fato profugus<\/em>, an exile because of fate.<\/a>

Vergil,\u00a0Aeneid<\/i>, 1.2<\/div><\/span> <\/sup>\u00a0This early description\u00a0of Aeneas establishes two overarching themes of Vergil’s Aeneid: exile and migration.\u00a0 So, does Vergil’s sympathetic representation of Aeneas throughout his journey from Troy to <\/a>
\u00a0Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for more information about the Italians and Romans as\u00a0immigrants<\/div> allow us to see any parallels with the experiences of the people dispossessed in Italy for the benefit of Octavian’s veterans?<\/p>\n

Aeneas’ exile begins with his flight from Troy after the Greeks slyly captured Troy through the deceitful wooden horse.\u00a0 His migrations encompass the wanderings around the Mediterranean Sea and his struggle to find a home in Italy. Aside from instilling sympathy in readers of the Aeneid<\/em>, Aeneas’ meeting with the ghost of his wife, Creusa, as he flees Troy maps out the migratory path he must follow. Creusa’s prophesy directs Aeneas toward his future and away from his Trojan past.\u00a0 Despite promising an eventual reward, she\u00a0does not spare Aeneas in her foretelling of future wanderings and lengthy exile.<\/a>

Akbar, Exile and the Kingdom : Creusa’s Revelations and Aeneas’ Departure from Troy<\/em>, P. 907<\/div><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Aeneas<\/a>Longa tibi exsilia, et vastum maris aequor arandum\u00a0<\/em>
\net terram Hesperiam venies, ubi Lydius arva<\/em>
\ninter opima virum leni fluit agmine Thybris.\u00a0<\/em>
\nIllic res laetae regnumque et regia coniunx\u00a0<\/em>
\nparta tibi<\/em>\u00a0(Aen<\/em>.2.780-784).<\/p>\n

Long is your exile and a vast wave of the sea must be plowed
\nand you will come to Hesperian land, where the Lydian Tiber
\nflows with a gentle stream among the rich fields of men.
\nThere will be happy situations, a kingdom, and a royal wife
\nas your gains.<\/p>\n

Creusa’s prediction of Aeneas’ hardships provokes sympathy for him as an exile, but our empathy for him deepens when he does not understand the meaning of Creusa’s prophesy and tries to throw his arms around her neck to prevent her from fading away.\u00a0<\/sup> Perhaps Vergil wanted his audience to sympathize with Aeneas’ exile and suffering in seeking a new home and losing his beloved wife.<\/a>

Smith,\u00a0The Primacy of Vision in Virgil’s Aeneid<\/em>, P. 78<\/div><\/span><\/sup> \u00a0In addition, other moments of Aeneas’ difficult\u00a0migration from Troy to Italy cause the reader to sympathize with loyal Aeneas, including the death of his father, Anchises, at Drepanum in book 3, Mercury’s orders\u00a0to abandon his happy life with Dido in Carthage in book 5, and his grief at the loss of any comrade throughout his travels.<\/a>
Akbar,\u00a0Exile and the Kingdom : Creusa’s Revelations and Aeneas’ Departure from Troy<\/em>, P. 912<\/span><\/div><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0 With this litany of loss in mind, perhaps the question becomes whether the depiction of Aeneas’ experience can credibly be distanced from Vergil’s own emotional and physical loss and “exile” from his land.<\/p>\n

Dido: A Sympathetic Parallel for Aeneas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Venus’ account of Dido’s exile from Tyre in book 1 of the Aeneid serves to provide Dido with a background similar to Aeneas’ own.<\/a>

Dyck,\u00a0Sychaeus<\/em>, P. 239<\/div><\/sup>\u00a0 Her greedy brother, Pygmalion, killed her beloved husband, Sychaeus in order to gain gold and absolute power in Tyre. \u00a0Afterwards, Pygmalion\u00a0hid the deed for a long time.<\/a>
Vergil, Aeneid<\/i>, 1.335-1.368<\/div><\/sup>\u00a0 Dido’s loss and innocence as a victim\u00a0increases the reader’s sympathy for her. \u00a0 As a ghost, Sychaeus appeared to Dido in her dreams, revealed all of Pygmalion’s evil deeds, and advised her to leave Tyre:<\/p>\n

\"Dido<\/a>tum celerare fugam patriaque excedere suadet
\n<\/em>auxiliumque viae veteres tellure recludit
\n<\/em>thesauros, ignotum argenti pondus et auri.
\n<\/em>his commota fugam Dido sociosque parabat.<\/em>\u00a0(Aen<\/em>.1.357-360)<\/p>\n

Then he urges her to hasten flight and to leave her homeland
\nand he reveals ancient treasures in the earth as an aid for the way,
\nan unknown weight of silver and gold.
\nDido, moved by these thing, was preparing flight and allies.<\/p>\n

Sychaeus’ revelations increases pity for Dido as she becomes an exile from Tyre. \u00a0In addition, Vergil explicitly describes her as infelix<\/em>, unfortunate because of her longa iniuria<\/em> and longae ambages<\/em>, or long injustices and long journeys while fleeing Tyre and founding <\/a>

\u00a0Click here<\/a> for more information about Carthaginian immigrants<\/div><\/span>.<\/a>
\u00a0Vergil,\u00a0Aeneid<\/i>, 1.341-342<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0Infelix<\/em> also applies to Dido with tragic foreshadowing of her suicide after Aeneas must leave her to continue his journey.<\/a>
Covi,\u00a0Dido in Vergil’s Aeneid<\/em>, P. 57<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0 Vergil portrays Dido as furens<\/em>, or raging, and prompts the reader to pity Dido through her pleading, crying, violence, and cursing because he had explained her past hardships as a migrant. \u00a0After Dido commits suicide, Vergil continues to urge\u00a0the\u00a0reader to sympathize with her by describing her as dying a death that was neither deserved nor predestined, but premature: a poor woman that was swept up by the \u00a0fire of madness.<\/a>
\u00a0Vergil,\u00a0Aeneid<\/i>, 4.697-698<\/div><\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Dispossession’s Impact on Vergil<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Virgil<\/a>Tityrus earned the right to keep his land by appealing to a powerful young man. \u00a0Dido overcame her exile from Tyre and founded the powerful and beautiful city of Carthage. \u00a0Aeneas pursued his fate, accepted his exile from Troy, and migrated to Italy\u00a0to found a kingdom, thus leading to the foundation of Rome and the great Roman Empire. \u00a0In the face of exile, the characters within Vergil’s poetry have created powerful names\u00a0for themselves by\u00a0persevering through their hardships. \u00a0So how did Vergil’s dispossession and exile from his land impact his legacy? \u00a0The loss of his land for political reasons, followed by the gift of property in recognition of his poetic talents, must have informed his representation of migration, exile, and the quest for belonging in his poetry. \u00a0Vergil’s\u00a0personal experience of exilic feeling contributed to the framework and compassion in his poetry, especially the Eclogues<\/em> and the Aeneid<\/em>, which ultimately created his legacy as one of the most famous and influential Roman poets.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0Sources<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many know the story of Aeneas, his exile, and his journey to found a great kingdom, but how did Vergil’s personal experiences influence his famous poetry?","protected":false},"author":5768,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5768"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":82,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":968,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}