CHOICE September 2008
Review by C. Fantazzi, East Carolina University

Toward the end of this book, Powell (Univ. of Wales) sums up his approach as "proceeding from ideals expressed to realities suffered." A striking example of this is the chapter titled "The Theft of Pietas," in which the author argues that Virgil, unable to credit Octavian with pietas, creates the image of a pius ancestor, Aeneas, the incarnation of this virtue, which would then be transferred by association to Octavian. Powell himself is much more partial toward Sextus Pompeius--witness Sextus Pompeius, which he edited with Kathryn Welch (2002)--a fierce opponent of Octavian who styled himself Magnus Pius. One of Powell's objectives here is to shift the focus of Virgilian studies from individual works to the whole oeuvre and to see one intention in all of them, to defend the cause of Octavian-Augustus. Although he accepts the premises behind analyses of Virgil's works based on genre and architecture, Powell sees an overarching political structure. In elaborating this thesis he makes good use of neglected ancient historians of the period--Suetonius, Appian, Dio Cassius. His countercurrent argument is bound to stir up much controversy among traditional Virgilian scholars, which is all to the good. An absorbing read. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --