| This dissertation examines how Augustus' program of promoting reconciliation between the cultures and worlds of Greece and Rome was perceived and expressed by Vergil, one of the most prominent literary representatives of the Augustan Age. In the Aeneid, this ideal integration of Greco-Roman culture, what I call "Greco-Roman synthesis," is mainly celebrated in the portrayal of three Greek characters, Evander, Diomedes and Achaemenides. The portrayal of these figures intentionally contrasts with the image of Greece and Greeks in Book 2, and suggests that Aeneas, and with him the Augustan Romans, should abandon biased antihellenic stereotypes that had haunted Romans for generations. The characters of Diomedes, Evander, and Achaemenides represent collectively a model of Greece in Vergil's time, and, accordingly, allude to cultural integration between Greece and Rome, mutual acceptance, and collaboration. Vergil's intention to compose a positive image of Greece stands behind not only his selection of these particular Greek figures, but also his emphasis on numerous otherwise obscure details in their traditions, their appearance in settings that are mostly Vergilian innovations, and the moral aspect of the episodes in which these heroes act.;In the opening two chapters I first discuss the term "Augustan Greco-Roman synthesis," the complex integration in Rome of Greek and Roman ideals, which by the time of Augustus had become a part of the daily Roman experience. Then I focus specifically on Vergil's presentation of this cultural synthesis in the Aeneid. In chapters three through five, the core of my work, I examine the new image of the post-Homeric Hellenic world and its interactions with Aeneas' emerging Rome as it is reflected in the figures of Achaemenides, Evander and Diomedes. Achaemenides' character was invented by Vergil in toto, as was the encounter between Aeneas and Evander in Pallanteum, and the particular narrative of the negotiations between Venulus' embassy and Diomedes. All three Greeks share the characteristic that they have been forced to renounce their previous identity and assume a new one, just as Aeneas is destined to do, and their determination in doing so functions within the poem as inspiration for Aeneas. I dedicate one chapter each to Achaemenides, Evander and Diomedes, since each one represents a different aspect of the old Greek world. |
