Virgil’s ambivalence towards Octavian

Gagliardi, Paola (2015) Virgil’s ambivalence towards Octavian. Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 55 (1-4). pp. 457-468. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

There is a clear link between Virgil’s Ecl. 1 and the ending of the Georgics, suggested by the quotation of Ecl. 1. 1 at Georg. 4. 566. Common to the two texts is a dualistic structure, in Ecl. 1 between the different situations of Tityrus and Meliboeus, and in Georg. 4. 559–566 between the different choices of life by Octavian and the poet. But the two texts are also linked by the figure of Octavian, in Ecl. 1 iuvenis deus, but also responsible for the land eviction suffered by Meliboeus, at Georg. 4. 560–562 thundering and shining god, opposite to Virgil’s leisure. It is a symptom of a constantly ambivalent attitude of Virgil towards him, confirmed once again at the end of the Aeneid: here in a new dualism (Aeneas/Turnus, mercy/vengeance) we find a figure (the hero) and a theme (revenge) closely related to Octavian. So these key-points of his poetry offer an opportunity to reflect on the range and limits of Virgil’s consent to the Augustan regime.

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