This early fifth century Etruscan bronze sculpture--showing Romulus and Remus nursing from a wild, female wolf--represents the eclectic nature of the Roman State. As an oxymoron of sorts, the bronze statue characterizes benevolent despotism. The She-Wolf roams over vast territory and is powerful and vicious like the Roman military. At the same time, the predator nurtures those who swear allegiance to the State--in this case the founders of Rome. This political mythology is also apparent in Virgil's epic The Aeneid. In the underworld Aeneas' Father tells him: "But you, Roman, must remember that you have to guide the nations by your authority, for this is to be your skill, to graft tradition onto peace, to show mercy to the conquered, and to wage war until the haughty are brought low." As a visual image, the She-Wolf characterizes a synthesis of mercy and absolute authority as Roman art.