Damon Hatheway (Boston University)
Vergil’s Victores: A Study of the Epithet Victor in the Georgics
Vergil’s fear that Octavian will become an authoritarian ruler is a primary concern of the poet in
the Georgics . Indeed, Vergil’s concern for the nature of Octavian’s rule provides an overarching
frame for the narrative. In the proem to Book 1, Vergil advises Octavian to consider carefully
which domain of the universe he wishes to rule, lest too dreadful a desire of ruling should take
hold of him (1.37). When Octavian next appears in Book 2, Vergil praises his imperial conquest
in Asia and violent suppression of the unwarlike peoples there (2.170-172); finally, in Book 4,
Vergil portrays Octavian handing down laws to willing peoples (4.559-562). This paper argues
that one of the ways in which Vergil delineates the progression of Octavian, from dreadful ruler
to benevolent law-giver, from authoritarianism to authority, is through his use of the epithet
victor . My analysis of the ten instances of victor in the Georgics concludes that Vergil instructs
Octavian to use strategic violence to quell political challengers in order to avoid increasingly
authoritarian rule.
The epithet victor has special significance for both Vergil and Octavian. In the two places where
Octavian is dramatically present in the narration of the Georgics , Vergil describes him as a victor
(2.172, 4.561). These two uses of victor to modify Octavian bookend the ten occurrences of the
epithet in the Georgics . Further, because victor is absent from the Eclogues , Vergil marks it as a
highly symbolic word for the Georgics and for Octavian by reserving its first appearance in his
corpus for the ascending ruler (2.172). An analysis of victor in the Georgics also helps uncover
the relationship between the poet and ruler. Notably, when Vergil, wearing royal purple, rides
into the poem at its midpoint, he twice adorns himself with the epithet (3.9, 3.17). Here, as noted
by Meban, Vergil presents himself in close alliance with Octavian. However, when Vergil
returns as a character in the narration in the final lines of the Georgics (5.563-566), the epithet
does not accompany him, but is now reserved solely for Octavian. Through both the strategic
presence and absence of the epithet victor , Vergil carefully portrays his relationship with
Octavian.
This paper expands upon Balot’s (1998) analysis of the relationship between Vergil and
Octavian based on their shared epithet by showing that a fuller study of victor demonstrates
Vergil’s concern for the character of Octavian’s rule. As previous scholars (Adler, Grebe, et al. )
have demonstrated, Vergil appears to take an ambiguous stance on the legitimacy of rule through
violence. Ultimately, this paper concludes that Vergil directs Octavian toward an effective and
limited use of political violence. Just as the diligent beekeeper allows only one victorious bee to
rule (4.85-90), by selectively eliminating political rivals Octavian can avoid the danger of
authoritarianism that threatens—as the unrestrained victor , fire, does (2.307)—to destroy
everything in its path.