Heroic Divinization and Catasterisms in Virgil's Poetry: Polysemy and Poetic Appropriations of the Caesar’s Comet/Star

Abstract:

The topic of heroic divinization, of Hercules, Aeneas and Romulus, gained wide acceptance in Augustan literature, thanks in part to the memory of Caesar's consecration, associated with a celestial body and worshiped after death, as diuus in a temple of the Roman Forum. Not only the theme of heroic apotheosis, but also the topic of sidereal elevation, or catasterism, belonging to the repertoire of myths, was used as a poetic resource to illustrate Caesar's connection with the star of 44 BC. This paper intends to demonstrate how this astral portent gained varied connotations throughout Vergil's main poems (Bucolics, Georgics, and Aeneid) that span a period of more than thirty years. Through hermeneutic analysis we seek to approach the representations of Caesar's death and astral apotheosis in Virgilian poetry, in view of different genres and the historicity of each poem.

Keywords:
Divinization; Catasterism; Polysemy; Virgílio; Astrum Caesaris