Significance of Palinurus

Virgil’s Use of Palinurus In writing The Aeneid, Virgil subtly describes his perspective of the Roman civilization through various means, primarily through the characters in his epic. Rather than using the characters to build the idea that a great Rome is to be created, he instead, compares characters such as Palinurus and Aeneas, to depict a society that will be more inferior. According to Virgil, Rome cannot be successful because its inhabitants do not …

…of a brilliant Rome. He is the origin of the Rome of Virgil’s time. Thus, the death of Palinurus is significant because Virgil uses him to strengthen his point that Rome is not and cannot be a great empire. By killing the man that is the embodiment of good Roman virtues, he makes Rome a lower-grade society. Palinurus is the key to the understanding of Virgil’s point of view toward the Roman society.