Figurações poéticas da vida rural nas Geórgicas

Abstract

In this article we intend to show that Virgil’s Georgics, despite presenting obvious points of contact with some rural practices existing in ancient Rome, should not be taken as a strict document on Roman rurality. Some elements allow us to consider it mainly as a product of poetic creation more than as a pure expression of reality, such as the lack of details and the “selectivity” found in some of the topics incorporated to the teacher’s technical approach. In addition to this, some reviews conducted by Philip Thibodeau (2011) show that even though the slaves were not completely overlooked under Virgil’s precepts, the elimination of the uilicus – rural administrator – allowed the public to interact with the text in a more decent way, making each one of them to become a sort of discipulus in the position of an agricola (“free cultivator”) instead of some kind of slave.