The references in the text concerning Aeneas bearing his father on his shoulder and holding the household gods (Penātēs) are shown on Roman coins, this one dating from c46BC i.e. during the rule of Julius Caesar.
That incident was firmly
fixed in the Roman psyche as an example not only of heroism but of devotion to
the gods and to family. It is also associated with the story of how Rome came
into being. That Caesar mints the coin with his name on it does, in my view,
create a subliminal link with him and the greatness of Rome, its heroism and
its lineage.
Later, a coin was minted
that showed Caesar’s face, something which had never been done before and, it
is claimed, was one of the reasons why he was murdered. One of the
conspirators, Brutus, then had a commemorative coin minted celebrating the Ides
of March – with his face on it!
Nothing changes: politicians
still love to associate themselves with “greatness”, historical and national
identity – and (as Brutus did) hypocrisy.
One of the most terrifying
examples were the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia who called themselves Angka (the
organisation) but no Cambodian could have disassociated that name with Angkor
Wat, the largest religious monument on the planet and the one that
represented their own ancient history. Again, there is an implication that such
a vicious political group had some sort of historical right to be there.
And it wasn't just Caesar
who wanted to associate himself with the greatness of Rome. Someone else was
rather keen on Albert Speer's designs for 'Germania' that scream Roman
influence.
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