Titus Andronicus: The Classical Presence

Summary

This paper has to do with the play’s Romanitas. By that I mean, not its tenuous relation to historical fact, but rather the characters’ awareness of Rome’s cultural traditions. The plural is needed, because there were two such traditions. When, as Horace said, ‘Captive Greece made her rough conqueror captive’ (Epistles 2.1.156), she brought to Latium her poetry and mythology (along with much else). The point is so familiar that one tends to forget its exceptional nature. In the annals of imperialism how many victors have learned the language of the vanquished and set about acquiring their culture? From Homer and his successors the Romans learned about Priam, Hecuba, and the rest; and when, with their growing sense of power, they looked for a pedigree that would rival the Greeks’ in age and prestige, they found it in Troy. The link was supplied by the story of Aeneas, that was eventually given its classic form by Virgil. But first the contribution of Aeneas had to be reconciled with the other, native, tradition that Rome was founded by her eponymous ancestor Romulus. This was achieved by making Aeneas’ descendant Ilia (‘Trojan woman’) Romulus’ mother. Rome’s subsequent fortunes, as they passed gradually from legend to history, were recounted by Livy, and the two traditions together were presented by Ovid and Plutarch.