Zackary Park

T/Th 1PM
What is depicted on the shield of Aeneas?
In Book 8 of The Aeneid, more than one hundred lines are dedicated to describing the
shield of Aeneus. Venus, the mother of Aeneus, asks her husband, Vulcan, to forge weapons for
Aeneus. She gives him the beautifully crafted arms, but the most significant among them is the
shield. It was a giant shield that was able to withstand all the weapons of Latium; it was layered
seven times, disc on disc. Due to Vulcans skill in prophecy, the shield of Aeneas displayed
many events in the centuries to come. The events are divided into three categories: scenes of
early Rome, scenes of the Battle of Actium, and scenes of the peaceful Roman world led by
Augustus.
This first part describes the scenes of early Rome. There is a she-wolf gives birth to
twins, Romulus and Remus. Romulus will be the founder of Rome, which will eventually
become the Roman Empire. Adjacent to the she-wolf are the early Roman kings. Next is the
story about the siege done by Porsenna, which is followed by the Gaul invasion of Rome, in
which the Romans took refuge in the citadel and were alerted, by a goose, that the Gauls were
advancing in the dark of the night. Beside that is Catiline in Tartarus for trying to overthrow the
Roman Empire.
The second part describes the scenes of the Battle of Actium. Present in the center of the
shield are bronze ships carrying Augustus and Agrippa in a gold sea, preparing for battle. Next is
the story of Antonius and Cleopatra. Antonius has a huge army consisting of eastern people.
Anubis and gods of every kind battle the Olympian gods to show that Antonius and Cleopatra,
the queen of Egypt, are fighting against the Roman Empire at sea. It shows that the queen is
destined to die. Then, there is the intervention of Apollo. Apollo uses his bow to scare the
foreigners away, signifying their defeat. The Battle of Actium is in the middle of the shield
because it is the most important event. If Antonius had won, the fate of the Roman Empire
would have been altered completely.
The third part describes the scenes of the Roman world at peace led by Augustus. He will
have a triple triumph (three significant victories) and make many offerings to the gods. There is
joy and cheer in the city, and the streets were filled with constant festal joy. It also includes how
the countless conquered races varied among each other, and it even mentions some of the races.
Virgil describes the shield as it is read, and he is very specific in his descriptions.
Beginning with the history of early Rome, he also displays the Roman Empire at war and the
Roman Empire at peace. Aeneus knows nothing about the events imprinted on the shield. When
he places it over his shoulder, he has the weight of the entire destiny of the Roman Empire on his
shoulders.