The Aeneid (54 page)
Bracketed as questionable by Mynors, lines 6.242, 8.46, and 10.278 are omitted from the translation; 3.230 and 4.273 are included. For a discussion of the inclusion of 2.567-88, see Introduction, pp. 11-12.
NOTES ON THE TRANSLATION
Names in small capitals refer to entries in the Pronouncing Glossary, pp. 426-486.
1.49-55
Minerva could burn the fleet to ash:
Minerva (Athena in the Greek pantheon), though she favored the Greeks, was angry over the Greek chieftain Little Ajax, son of Oileus. He had violated Cassandra, King Priam’s daughter, in the Trojan temple of Minerva, where she had taken refuge (see AJAX). Little Ajax, son of Oileus, is to be distinguished from Great Ajax, son of Telamon, the hero of Sophocles’ play who committed suicide before Troy fell and, questioned by Ulysses (Odysseus) in the Underworld, refused to speak (
Odyssey
11.617-49). Oilean Ajax is mentioned by Virgil as fighting against Aeneas (2.516).
Minerva could burn the fleet to ash:
Minerva (Athena in the Greek pantheon), though she favored the Greeks, was angry over the Greek chieftain Little Ajax, son of Oileus. He had violated Cassandra, King Priam’s daughter, in the Trojan temple of Minerva, where she had taken refuge (see AJAX). Little Ajax, son of Oileus, is to be distinguished from Great Ajax, son of Telamon, the hero of Sophocles’ play who committed suicide before Troy fell and, questioned by Ulysses (Odysseus) in the Underworld, refused to speak (
Odyssey
11.617-49). Oilean Ajax is mentioned by Virgil as fighting against Aeneas (2.516).
1.236-237
Scylla’s howling rabid dogs, / . . . the Cyclops’ boulders:
The stories of the Trojans’ encounter with (or their avoidance of) Scylla and Charybdis and their contact with the Cyclops are told through Aeneas in 3.496-508 and 3.711-86.
Scylla’s howling rabid dogs, / . . . the Cyclops’ boulders:
The stories of the Trojans’ encounter with (or their avoidance of) Scylla and Charybdis and their contact with the Cyclops are told through Aeneas in 3.496-508 and 3.711-86.
1.287-97
Antenor could slip out . . . :
Antenor was a Trojan elder who at one point advised the Trojans to give Helen back to the Greeks. He somehow escaped from Troy with his people, sailed west through the Aegean, north up the Adriatic, passed the Timavus River (adjacent to Aquileia), and founded the city of Padua, some seventy miles farther west.
Antenor could slip out . . . :
Antenor was a Trojan elder who at one point advised the Trojans to give Helen back to the Greeks. He somehow escaped from Troy with his people, sailed west through the Aegean, north up the Adriatic, passed the Timavus River (adjacent to Aquileia), and founded the city of Padua, some seventy miles farther west.
1.320-21 For
Ascanius . . . Iulus . . . Ilus,
see Glossary, especially ILUS (1), and Introduction, pp. 11-17.
Ascanius . . . Iulus . . . Ilus,
see Glossary, especially ILUS (1), and Introduction, pp. 11-17.
1.322-25
thirty sovereign years . . . :
As Austin says (1971, Note 1.269), “a grand periphrasis.”
thirty sovereign years . . . :
As Austin says (1971, Note 1.269), “a grand periphrasis.”
1.351
Gates of War:
This reference would recall to readers of the
Aeneid
the temple of the god Janus at Rome. He was the god of doors and gates and his temple was closed, twice in the Republic’s history but on three occasions under Augustus, in times of peace. See 7.705-15.
Gates of War:
This reference would recall to readers of the
Aeneid
the temple of the god Janus at Rome. He was the god of doors and gates and his temple was closed, twice in the Republic’s history but on three occasions under Augustus, in times of peace. See 7.705-15.
1.352-55
The Frenzy / of civil strife . . . :
for the historical background of recent Italian civil war, see Introduction, pp. 1-3.
The Frenzy / of civil strife . . . :
for the historical background of recent Italian civil war, see Introduction, pp. 1-3.
1.379-80
Suddenly . . . his mother / crossed his path:
Though the reader now knows that the huntress is Venus (Aphrodite) in disguise, Aeneas is not allowed to make the identification until she begins to disappear, and then it comes as a surprise to him, 1.488-97.
Suddenly . . . his mother / crossed his path:
Though the reader now knows that the huntress is Venus (Aphrodite) in disguise, Aeneas is not allowed to make the identification until she begins to disappear, and then it comes as a surprise to him, 1.488-97.
1.446
Byrsa, the Hide:
The legend was that the Africans sold the Tyrians as much land as they could cover with a bull’s-hide, but the Tyrians cut it into thin strips and so encircled a much larger area than intended. See BYRSA.
Byrsa, the Hide:
The legend was that the Africans sold the Tyrians as much land as they could cover with a bull’s-hide, but the Tyrians cut it into thin strips and so encircled a much larger area than intended. See BYRSA.
1.534-37
the Tyrians . . . first unearthed that sign . . . :
Digging after their first landfall, they unearthed the head of a fiery stallion, which was afterward to be seen on Carthaginian coinage.
the Tyrians . . . first unearthed that sign . . . :
Digging after their first landfall, they unearthed the head of a fiery stallion, which was afterward to be seen on Carthaginian coinage.
1.561-95 The “empty, lifeless pictures” that Aeneas sees on the walls of Juno’s temple in Carthage all portray people and events from the Trojan War. The mention of RHESUS (567-73) alludes to the events narrated in
Iliad
10. Diomedes and Ulysses raid the Trojan camp at night and kill the recently arrived Rhesus, a Thracian ally of Troy. They then drive his magnificent horses back to the Greek camp, because an oracle had said that if the horses could crop the grass of Troy or drink from the river Xanthus, the city would not fall. TROILUS (573-79), a very young warrior, is killed by Achilles (not in the
Iliad
; his story comes from later epic work). The Trojan women (579-83) are seen as unsuccessful suppliants of Athena, who refuses, as in the
Iliad
(6.338-66), to divert the battle fury of Diomedes from the Trojans. In the
Iliad
(Books 22-25), Achilles drags the body of Hector (
Aeneid
1.583-89) not around the walls of Troy but around the tomb of Patroclus, and gives his body back to Priam, his father. The Trojan ally MEMNON (591), from the East, and the Amazon PENTHESILEA (592-95) are all from post-Iliadic epics that exist now only in fragments.
Iliad
10. Diomedes and Ulysses raid the Trojan camp at night and kill the recently arrived Rhesus, a Thracian ally of Troy. They then drive his magnificent horses back to the Greek camp, because an oracle had said that if the horses could crop the grass of Troy or drink from the river Xanthus, the city would not fall. TROILUS (573-79), a very young warrior, is killed by Achilles (not in the
Iliad
; his story comes from later epic work). The Trojan women (579-83) are seen as unsuccessful suppliants of Athena, who refuses, as in the
Iliad
(6.338-66), to divert the battle fury of Diomedes from the Trojans. In the
Iliad
(Books 22-25), Achilles drags the body of Hector (
Aeneid
1.583-89) not around the walls of Troy but around the tomb of Patroclus, and gives his body back to Priam, his father. The Trojan ally MEMNON (591), from the East, and the Amazon PENTHESILEA (592-95) are all from post-Iliadic epics that exist now only in fragments.
1.571-73
high-strung teams . . . :
for the prophecy attached to these fine horses, see Note 1.561-95.
high-strung teams . . . :
for the prophecy attached to these fine horses, see Note 1.561-95.
1.699
Just one is lost:
Orontes. See LEUCASPIS, LYCUS, and ORONTES.
Just one is lost:
Orontes. See LEUCASPIS, LYCUS, and ORONTES.
1.746-47
Teucer, your enemy . . . / claiming his own descent from Teucer’s ancient stock:
See TEUCER (2) and (1).
Teucer, your enemy . . . / claiming his own descent from Teucer’s ancient stock:
See TEUCER (2) and (1).
2.56
Ulysses:
According to a later epic poem, when Ulysses tried to escape service in the war at Troy by pretending madness, Palamedes proved him sane by placing Ulysses’ infant son Telemachus in the path of the oncoming plow. Later, at Troy, Ulysses avenged himself by forging a letter from Priam that exposed Palamedes as a Trojan agent. Palamedes was stoned to death by the Greeks.
Ulysses:
According to a later epic poem, when Ulysses tried to escape service in the war at Troy by pretending madness, Palamedes proved him sane by placing Ulysses’ infant son Telemachus in the path of the oncoming plow. Later, at Troy, Ulysses avenged himself by forging a letter from Priam that exposed Palamedes as a Trojan agent. Palamedes was stoned to death by the Greeks.
2.149-52
With blood you appeased the winds . . . :
The oracle refers to the prewar sacrifice of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, and the future sacrifice (i.e., of Sinon) which the oracle foresees.
With blood you appeased the winds . . . :
The oracle refers to the prewar sacrifice of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, and the future sacrifice (i.e., of Sinon) which the oracle foresees.
2.211
the fateful image of Pallas:
The Palladium; a small, sacred statue of Pallas Athena in full armor, and a talisman that safeguarded Troy, but was carried away from its shrine on the city heights by Diomedes and Ulysses, leaving the city vulnerable and the goddess outraged, 9.180.
the fateful image of Pallas:
The Palladium; a small, sacred statue of Pallas Athena in full armor, and a talisman that safeguarded Troy, but was carried away from its shrine on the city heights by Diomedes and Ulysses, leaving the city vulnerable and the goddess outraged, 9.180.
2.259
Laocoön, the priest of Neptune picked by lot:
Laocoön and his sons are the subject of a famous statue, probably copied from a Hellenistic original, discovered in Rome in 1506, now housed in the Vatican Museum.
Laocoön, the priest of Neptune picked by lot:
Laocoön and his sons are the subject of a famous statue, probably copied from a Hellenistic original, discovered in Rome in 1506, now housed in the Vatican Museum.
2.551
under a tortoise-shell of shields:
The “tortoise” formation was a screen formed when soldiers held their interlocked shields over their heads as they advanced.
under a tortoise-shell of shields:
The “tortoise” formation was a screen formed when soldiers held their interlocked shields over their heads as they advanced.
2.686-92
Such was the fate of Priam . . . :
For the historical resonance of these lines, see Introduction, pp. 24-25.
Such was the fate of Priam . . . :
For the historical resonance of these lines, see Introduction, pp. 24-25.
2.702-28 For a discussion of the Helen passage, the debate it has prompted, and its authenticity and effectivness in context, see Introduction, pp. 11-12.
2.795-96
I have seen / one sack of my city:
Anchises refers to an earlier sack of Troy at the hands of Hercules, in payment for Laomedon’s reneging on his offer of famous horses as a gift to Hercules. See 3.558-59 and Note ad loc.
I have seen / one sack of my city:
Anchises refers to an earlier sack of Troy at the hands of Hercules, in payment for Laomedon’s reneging on his offer of famous horses as a gift to Hercules. See 3.558-59 and Note ad loc.
2.804-5
the Father . . . scorched me with its fire:
As Williams relates it (1972, note 2.649), “the story was that Anchises boasted of Venus’ love for him, for which Jupiter resolved to punish him with a thunderbolt; Venus however diverted it so that he was scorched but not killed.” See Austin, 1964, Note 2.649.
the Father . . . scorched me with its fire:
As Williams relates it (1972, note 2.649), “the story was that Anchises boasted of Venus’ love for him, for which Jupiter resolved to punish him with a thunderbolt; Venus however diverted it so that he was scorched but not killed.” See Austin, 1964, Note 2.649.
2.862
thunder crashes on the left:
In Roman augury, signs appearing on the left were generally regarded as favorable. The opposite is true for Greek divination. See 9.717-20.
thunder crashes on the left:
In Roman augury, signs appearing on the left were generally regarded as favorable. The opposite is true for Greek divination. See 9.717-20.
2.888
an old shrine of forsaken Ceres stands:
“Forsaken” here probably means solitary. In other words the temple would be a safe spot for the refugees to meet.
an old shrine of forsaken Ceres stands:
“Forsaken” here probably means solitary. In other words the temple would be a safe spot for the refugees to meet.
2.983-86
Three times I tried to fling my arms around her neck . . . :
These lines echo the lines that, beginning with Homer, describe the grief of the living who try but cannot seize a cherished ghost, of Achilles to seize Patroclus (
Iliad
23.111- 19), then of Ulysses to seize his mother (
Odyssey
11.233-39), here of Aeneas to seize his wife, Creusa, and later (6.808-11) his father’s spirit in the Underworld. Each encounter demonstrates that, between the living and the dead, “there yawns a gulf,” as Auden might express it, “embraces cannot bridge.”
Three times I tried to fling my arms around her neck . . . :
These lines echo the lines that, beginning with Homer, describe the grief of the living who try but cannot seize a cherished ghost, of Achilles to seize Patroclus (
Iliad
23.111- 19), then of Ulysses to seize his mother (
Odyssey
11.233-39), here of Aeneas to seize his wife, Creusa, and later (6.808-11) his father’s spirit in the Underworld. Each encounter demonstrates that, between the living and the dead, “there yawns a gulf,” as Auden might express it, “embraces cannot bridge.”
3.20-21
here I sail / and begin to build our first walls:
Aeneas has been told by Creusa (2.967-72) that he would travel very far and found a city in Hesperia, through which the Tiber runs, so his building of a city in Thrace at this point is one of the details that Virgil might have corrected if he had had the opportunity to revise the poem later.
here I sail / and begin to build our first walls:
Aeneas has been told by Creusa (2.967-72) that he would travel very far and found a city in Hesperia, through which the Tiber runs, so his building of a city in Thrace at this point is one of the details that Virgil might have corrected if he had had the opportunity to revise the poem later.
3.102
Grant us our own home, god of Thymbra:
THYMBRA was the site of a famous shrine to APOLLO. It was there, according to some ancient sources, that Achilles killed Troilus. See Note 1.561-95.
Grant us our own home, god of Thymbra:
THYMBRA was the site of a famous shrine to APOLLO. It was there, according to some ancient sources, that Achilles killed Troilus. See Note 1.561-95.
3.123
the land of our return:
For Aeneas’ arrival in Italy as a kind of
nostos
or return, see DARDANUS.
the land of our return:
For Aeneas’ arrival in Italy as a kind of
nostos
or return, see DARDANUS.
3.126
Crete, great Jove’s own land:
Jupiter was born on the island of Crete, where, according to legend, he was watched over by the nymphs of Mount Dicte and fed by bees, as described by Virgil in Book 4 of his
Georgics
(4.152).
Crete, great Jove’s own land:
Jupiter was born on the island of Crete, where, according to legend, he was watched over by the nymphs of Mount Dicte and fed by bees, as described by Virgil in Book 4 of his
Georgics
(4.152).
3.159
the old Curetes’ harbor:
See CURETES. The noise made by the clashing cymbals of the Curetes hid the wailing of the baby Jupiter from his father, who would otherwise have devoured him.
the old Curetes’ harbor:
See CURETES. The noise made by the clashing cymbals of the Curetes hid the wailing of the baby Jupiter from his father, who would otherwise have devoured him.
3.205
There Dardanus was born:
See DARDANUS.
There Dardanus was born:
See DARDANUS.
3.219
He recalls at once the two lines of our race, two parents:
Anchises had previously forgotten the double Trojan ancestry, from Teucer (1) and Dardanus, a native of Italy.
He recalls at once the two lines of our race, two parents:
Anchises had previously forgotten the double Trojan ancestry, from Teucer (1) and Dardanus, a native of Italy.
3.258
after Phineus’ doors were locked against them all:
Phineus was blinded by the gods for having blinded his own sons. He was harried by HARPIES sent by Jupiter, and the demons snatched away his food and contaminated what was left. He was rescued by two sons of the Northwind, Boreas, the Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
after Phineus’ doors were locked against them all:
Phineus was blinded by the gods for having blinded his own sons. He was harried by HARPIES sent by Jupiter, and the demons snatched away his food and contaminated what was left. He was rescued by two sons of the Northwind, Boreas, the Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
3.262
Styx’s waters:
Milton has made the names of the infernal rivers and their Greek etymologies resonate in
Paradise Lost:
Styx’s waters:
Milton has made the names of the infernal rivers and their Greek etymologies resonate in
Paradise Lost:
. . . four infernal rivers that disgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams:
Abhorred Styx the flood of deadly hate,
Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep;
Cocytus, named of lamentation loud
Heard on the rueful stream; fierce Phlegethon
Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage.
Far off from these a slow and silent stream,
Lethe the river of oblivion rolls
Her watery labyrinth, whereof who drinks,
Forthwith his former state and being forgets,
Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain. 2.575-86
(See ACHERON, COCYTUS, LETHE, RIVER OF FIRE, and WAILING RIVER.)
3.374
where’s my Hector now?:
As Williams reasons (1960, note 3.310-12): “Andromache can hardly believe that Aeneas is really present in person . . . She half believes he is a phantom, come in response to her invocations at Hector’s tomb (303)—why then has he come and not Hector?”
where’s my Hector now?:
As Williams reasons (1960, note 3.310-12): “Andromache can hardly believe that Aeneas is really present in person . . . She half believes he is a phantom, come in response to her invocations at Hector’s tomb (303)—why then has he come and not Hector?”
3.384-85
She was the one, / . . . Priam’s virgin daughter:
Polyxena, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was sacrificed on the tomb of Achilles.
She was the one, / . . . Priam’s virgin daughter:
Polyxena, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was sacrificed on the tomb of Achilles.
3.389-400
But I, our home in flames . . . :
See ANDROMACHE. After Hector’s death and the fall of Troy, she became the slave and concubine of Achilles’ son, Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus). He deserted her in favor of Hermione, a daughter of Helen and one to whom he had been affianced. Hermione was also pursued by Orestes, however, who killed Pyrrhus, his bitter rival for her affections. Andromache, abandoned by Pyrrhus, married Helenus, her fellow captive and a son of Priam with prophetic powers, and together they founded at Buthrotum a miniature town modeled after Troy. See HELENUS and HERMIONE.
But I, our home in flames . . . :
See ANDROMACHE. After Hector’s death and the fall of Troy, she became the slave and concubine of Achilles’ son, Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus). He deserted her in favor of Hermione, a daughter of Helen and one to whom he had been affianced. Hermione was also pursued by Orestes, however, who killed Pyrrhus, his bitter rival for her affections. Andromache, abandoned by Pyrrhus, married Helenus, her fellow captive and a son of Priam with prophetic powers, and together they founded at Buthrotum a miniature town modeled after Troy. See HELENUS and HERMIONE.
3.405
whom in the old days at Troy:
As Williams observes (1960, note 3.340), “This is the only half-line in the
Aeneid
where the sense is incomplete, for it is impossible to regard it as an aposiopesis like Neptune’s
quos ego—!”
(
Aen.
1.135).
whom in the old days at Troy:
As Williams observes (1960, note 3.340), “This is the only half-line in the
Aeneid
where the sense is incomplete, for it is impossible to regard it as an aposiopesis like Neptune’s
quos ego—!”
(
Aen.
1.135).
3.558-59
Twice they plucked you safe / from the ruins of Troy:
Once when Hercules sacked the city, and then again when the Greeks did the same. See Note 2.795-96.
Twice they plucked you safe / from the ruins of Troy:
Once when Hercules sacked the city, and then again when the Greeks did the same. See Note 2.795-96.
3.644
Hercules’ town:
Hercules is the greatest of the Greek heroes; he eventually, after his death, became an immortal god. He was the son of Jupiter and a mortal woman, Alcmena. Jupiter intended that he should lord it over all who dwell around him, but Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, contrived to have that destiny conferred on Eurystheus, king of Argos, to whom Hercules was to be subject. At Eurystheus’ command, Hercules performed the famous Twelve Labors: among them was the capture of the three-headed dog, Cerberus, the guardian of the entrance to the Underworld (6.452-54). For Hercules’ adventures on the site of Rome, where he kills the villain Cacus, see CACUS, 8.220-320, and Note 7.770.
Hercules’ town:
Hercules is the greatest of the Greek heroes; he eventually, after his death, became an immortal god. He was the son of Jupiter and a mortal woman, Alcmena. Jupiter intended that he should lord it over all who dwell around him, but Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, contrived to have that destiny conferred on Eurystheus, king of Argos, to whom Hercules was to be subject. At Eurystheus’ command, Hercules performed the famous Twelve Labors: among them was the capture of the three-headed dog, Cerberus, the guardian of the entrance to the Underworld (6.452-54). For Hercules’ adventures on the site of Rome, where he kills the villain Cacus, see CACUS, 8.220-320, and Note 7.770.
3.713
My father Adamastus was poor, and so I sailed to Troy:
He would have received money in payment for services as a mercenary.
My father Adamastus was poor, and so I sailed to Troy:
He would have received money in payment for services as a mercenary.
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