In Sabine Grebe's article, Grebe explains the meaning of the power of a ruler and his ancestors. A ruler's power depended on his ancestors, as “a Roman official had to act within the boundaries of authority established by his ancestors” (Grebe 36). In ancient Rome, law came second to tradition.1 The ancestors of rulers established not only the scope of Caesar's rule but also how he should rule. As a result, Virgil is making Augustus a more powerful ruler by showing Aeneas as a powerful leader. However, even as Virgil pleases Augustus by making his rule more legitimate, he also establishes Aeneas as the leader of the pietas, causing the people of Rome to expect the same morality and virtue that Aeneas displays from Augustus. Virgil is almost forcing Caesar to become the leader he wants him to be, but his persuasion is still effective because Caesar has tasked him with ascertaining the basis of his power. Virgil knows that as long as he achieves this goal he can add whatever else he likes, thus using his commission to his advantage. Furthermore, since Virgil allowed himself the luxury of defining what pietas would be, he added that a leader of pietas, because of his duty to the citizens, uses only violence to establish peace. Virgil's epic poem is full of anti-war sentiments,