Masters of Propaganda: Virgil

Most people think that the father of public relations was Edward Bernays. But the origin of PR is much older by almost 2000 years!

In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was a little power-hungry and got assassinated. Rome spent the next fifteen years indulging in its second favorite pastime, civil war. Eventually, Julius' adopted son, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius, emerged as Rome's first official emperor, Augustus.

But Augustus had some image problems. Romans were wary of kings, and Augustus had to convince people that he had a right to be in charge of everything. Additionally, Romans were feeling a little inadequate. Barely five hundred years old, Rome had very little history or original mythology. Compared to Greece, Rome looked like an uncultured upstart.

So in 29 BC, the poet Virgil began composing The Aeneid. The epic tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan prince who escapes the burning city as the Greeks are pillaging it. Aeneas and the other refugees travel around the Mediterranean, piss off Carthage, and finally settle in Italy, becoming the Latins. Virgil takes every opportunity to point out that Aeneas is the son of Venus, the goddess of love. He also explains that Iulus, Aeneas' son, is the source of the Julian clan - the family of Julius Caesar, and the adopted family of Augustus.

Virgil died upon completing the epic, but The Aeneid became a popular tale. The Romans were actually the descendants of the Trojans, and therefore had a history as old as those snobby Greeks. And the Punic Wars were not just a trade dispute, but the culmination of an ancient rivalry. And their new emperor wasn't some tyrant, but the descendant of the hero Aeneas and the goddess Venus!

So what can we learn from Virgil, the father of public relations, the master of propaganda? If you want to make your client look good, find a way to link them to a heroic past. The GOP likes to point out that Lincoln was a Republican, while Democrats idolize FDR and JFK. Old companies worship their founders.

The other lesson is to link the audience to your client. Virgil made an implicit deal with Roman audiences: "If you accept that Augustus has a right to be emperor, you can have a glorious history. But if you reject Augustus' pedigree, then deny yourself of greatness." Philosophers know this as the "appealing to vanity" fallacy.

Virgil never crafted press releases, organized events, or did any of the other things modern public relations professionals do. But he improved the image of Augustus and made Romans proud of their heritage. That is why Virgil is our first Master of Propaganda.