Latin Literature and Mythology.

In your final paper, you were required to evaluate the morality of Aeneas’ killing of Turnus in light of Stoic ethics, Stoicism being the closest thing to real religion the Roman upper class of Vergil’s time would acknowledge. In so doing, you were to review various possible sources for inspiration. Now, in this final examination question, I am slightly reversing the terms. Vergil intended, at least in part, to portray Aeneas as the embodiment of all that was great among the Romans. For your final exam, consider if Aeneas was, in fact, a good Roman, and would he have been a good emperor. Remember, when Vergil died, there had only been an emperor for 8 years or so, too little time to provide an adequate comparison base.For material on which to base your answer, look to Horace’s Roman Odes (sent earlier), works that in various ways defined a good Roman; the Centennial Hymn; the lives of M. Antoninus and Trajan, two of the greatest Roman emperors; and Augustus’ own political testament, the Res Gestae, (which achieved final form around 14 A.D.). All these should offer suitable material for comparison. The life of Commodus provides a negative example. You should address in your answer at least some of the following: was Aeneas a great general; did he lead and inspire his men; was he really pious; did he, like Augustus, strive for long-lasting results; did he show true Roman virtus, which has as its first definition courage, but also encompasses all the things that make a man, as the Romans understood the word (vir being the Latin word for husband and, by extension, father as well); was he a builder; does the evidence suggest he would have been famous on his own, or did he need Vergil to make him famous? You can also employ the relevant sections of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Livy, and the Origo to answer the question. You must cite relevant sections of the Odes, the Res Gestae, and the Lives, as well as the Aeneid, to justify your arguments. If you use Livy, Dionysius, or the Origo, you must cite those as well.For Horace, cite by book, poem and line #, e.g., Odes 3.5 and then line.For the Res Gestae, Res.Ges. or R.G. and section number.For the lives, the standard is the name of the emperor and, in this case, the page # (not quite the way scholars would do it, but the translation lacks the true section numbers found In the Latin version).For Livy, Dionysius, and Origo, you already know, or should.