Which author suggests Augustus is connected with Aeneas through a ritual sacrifice?

• A. Isabel Paintin
• B. Edith Hall
• C. Camps
• D. Richard Rutherford

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how modern scholars read the link between Aeneas and Augustus through ritual sacrifice. Isabel Paintin argues that Augustus is connected to Aeneas via a formal, religious act of sacrifice that ties the founder myth to the present ruler. In Paintin’s view, ritual sacrifice becomes the visible channel through which Augustus inherits and embodies the sacred authority associated with Aeneas. This is not just a personal pious act; it’s a political move that uses religious ceremony to legitimize Augustus’s rule by presenting him as the living continuation of Aeneas’s pious mission to found and secure Rome.

Context helps here: Roman propaganda often weaves myth and state power, with sacrifices and cultic rites serving as signs of divine approval. By foregrounding sacrifice in the Aeneas-Augustus connection, Paintin shows how Augustus’ legitimacy is reinforced through ritual, aligning the emperor with the heroic-pious lineage of Aeneas. The other scholars discuss related themes—myth, performance, or rhetoric in Augustan religion—but Paintin specifically centers the ritual act as the bridge between the two figures.