EPIC PROPHECY AS IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA? 'S FIRST SPEECH IN 'S

Karl A.E. Enenkel

Introduction

Ever since Adam Parry introduced his theory of the 'two voic­ es' in Virgil, the issue of the political agenda of the Aeneid never ceased to be under discussion.l Does Virgil glorify Ro­ man imperialism as designed by Augustus (and, if so, to what extent) or does he criticise it (and, if so, to what extent)? Parry and his followers (including Kenneth Quinn, Michael Putnam, Robert Lyne, and James O'Hara 2) emphasized the critical atti­ tude and identified it with Virgil's personal opinion. For them, Virgil focuses predominantly on the victims of Roman imperi­ alism, such as , the Rutuli, , and defends their posi­ tion. Others do not agree with this interpretation. They ascribe to the Aeneid a positive political message, which they, too, identify with Virgil's personal opinion, in a way that is, as for its method, very similar to the one used by adherents of the 'two voices' theory. Antoine Wlosok, e.g., in her otherwise rich and inspiring study Die Gottin , explicitly makes a distinction between Octavian's/ Augustus' propaganda and Virgil's political message in the Aeneid. For her, Virgil does not bluntly give voice to Octavian's political aims with "bloBe Herrscherpanegyrik", but rather gives his own personal inter­ pretation of (contemporary) history, which is a magnificent

1 A. Parry, 'The Two Voices in Vergil's Aeneid', Arion 2, 1963, 266-280. 2 K. Quinn, Virgil's Aeneid, Lon den 1968; M.CJ. Putnam, Vergil's Aeneid. Interpretation and Influence, Chapel Hill and London 1995; R.O.A.M. Lyne, Further Voices in Vergil's Aeneid, New York and London 1987;James]. O'Hara, Death and the Optimistic Prophecy in Vergil's Aeneid, Princeton 1989. 168 KARL A.E. ENENKEL concept, an idea, viz. the "Reichs- und Friedensgedanke". 3 It is obvious that Parry and his followers have problems with im­ perialism as such, which they consider to be ethically repre­ hensible. For them, a great poet like Virgil is unlikely to have been a primitive panegyrist of a morally questionable system. Wlosok and other (predominantly German) scholars have problems not so much with imperialism, but rather with the phenomenon of the panegyric, which they consider to be a morally abject genre. For them it is inconceivable that a true poet would stoop to "eitle Herrscherpanegyrik".4 Fortunately, in recent years also a less biased approach to the political context of the Aeneid developed, partly visible in the collection of essays edited by Hans-Peter Stahl (1998).5 Independently a new and specific interest in the theme of Roman propaganda has arisen. 6 When discussing the political agenda of Virgil's Aeneid, the three 'Roman' prophecies in the first, sixth 7 and eighth book8 naturally play a pivotal role. Currently the question as to their function (literary and political), their content and intention is very much under discussion. Does Virgil in these prophecies offer the reader a kind of guideline of the interpretation of the whole work (and if so, what is the character of his political message)? Or are these prophecies deceptive and false, and does Virgil aim at sowing in his readers' minds the seeds of

3 A. Wlosok, Die GOttin Venus in Vergils Aeneis (Bibliothek der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft, Neue Folge, 2. Reihe, vol. 21), Heidelberg 1967,63 (with respect to Jupiter's prophecy): "Seine (viz. Virgils) Intention bei der Behauptung der gottlichen Abstammung der Julier IieBe sich eher als Protest gegen eitle Panegyrik begreifen. Denn in Wahrheit ordnet er zu Beginn seines Epos durch den Mund Juppi ters [ ... ] das ganze kaiserliche Geschlecht dem Reicks- und Friedensgedanken unter'' (my italics). 4 Cf. phrases like "eitle Panegyrik" or "bloBe Herrscherpanegyrik" (Wlosok, Die GOttin Venus, 63), implying that panegyrics are something vane, unworthy of the true poet. 5 Vergil's Aeneid: Augustan Epic and Political Context, London-Swansea 1998. 6 Cf. the Introduction to this volume. 7 Cf. William]. Dominik, 'Reading Vergil's Aeneid: the Gates of Sleep (VI 893-91)', Maia 48, 1996, 129-138. 8 Cf. R. Faber, 'Vergil's Shield of (Aeneid 8.617-731) and the Shield of Hercules', Mnemosyne 53, 2000, 49-70; U. Eigler, 'Vergil, Aeneis 8,625: Servius und die romische Geschichte bei Vergil', Aevum 68, 1994, 147ff.