the father-son relationship reflects the continuity of the Roman race
Aeneas' father and son allow him to look backwards and forwards
family relationships give potential for maximum pathos in highlight the cruelty of war
most families will have been affected by the deaths of loved ones in the civil wars, and are likely to be engaged by the issues raised by the presentation of families in the Aeneid
the tracing of Augustus' line back to Iulus is a key them of the Aeneid
families can span the human and the divine
the immortals have family relationships, which add another level of complexity to the story
the Aeneas-Venus relationship highlights the huge burden that Aeneas carries of being a hero
Augustus was keen to promote the family as part of his reforms
Augustus saw himself as the father of the country, and promoted the worship of the genius of his family
