Divinities in Eclogue 1

The following are mentions of divinities in Eclogue 1:

Lines 5-10: Tityrus explains that a god is responsible for his leisure

Line 18: Meliboeus inquires about Tityrus’ yet unnamed deity

Line 36: Meliboeus describes Amaryllis has having called out to the gods in sadness

Line 41: Tityrus explains that he needed to search elsewhere for gods and aid

Lines 42-45: Tityrus indirectly identifies his god as Octavian

Lines 59-64: Tityrus explains that it will be a long time before he forgets his god’s face

Eclogue I begins the series of poems by blending religious devotion with political devotion, particularly through the eyes of the character Tityrus. This shepherd found his occupations to be unprofitable and his own self, as he says, in need of libertas (28-36). He goes to Rome to seek potentially divine aid and finds it from Octavian. Tityrus describes Octavian as having smoking altars in Rome (44), and when Octavian orders Tityrus to be a cowherd, Tityrus himself begins to hold Octavian as a god, sacrificing lambs to him on an altar (6-8). Thus both by identification and by practice though not by name, Vergil describes Octavian as a god and through this use of religion he introduces Roman politics into the tradition idyllic setting in the poem.