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A Homeric Episode in Vergil's AeneidAuthor(s): Helga NehrkornSource: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 92, No. 4 (Oct., 1971), pp. 566-584Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/292664 .

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A

HOMERIC EPISODE IN

VERGIL'S

AENEID.

The discussion of

Vergil's

debt to Homer

goes

back

to

Vergil's

own

time

(Vita

Donati,

46)

and

lists

of clear

reflections

of

Homeric influence

upon

Vergil's

poetry

were

established

long

ago.

Nevertheless

this

field

of

investigation

has

proved

far

from

being

exhausted.

New discoveries

concerning

structure,

com-

position,

style,

and

poetical purpose

in

the

works of

both

poets

continue

to

fill

the

pages

of modern

scholarship.'

The

present

paper is limited to the investigation of certain

elements

from a

single

Homeric

episode

(Iliad,

V,

239

ff.)

which

appear

in

different

parts

of the

Aeneid and

in

different contexts.

Its

larger

purpose

is to

cast additional

light

on

some

of

the

ways

in which

Vergil

handles Homeric material.

In the

episode

in

question

Homer describes

how

Aeneas,

observing

Diomedes

slaughtering

the

Trojans,

decides

to

face

him in

single

combat.

He

drives his

chariot,

drawn

by

the

famous horses

of

Tros, against Diomedes,

Pandarus

standing

at his side.

Diomedes

kills

Pandarus

with a

spear

thrust

and

hurls

a

stone

against

Aeneas.

The

stone

damages

Aeneas'

hip-bone

and

he falls to

the

ground.

Diomedes

is

ready

to kill

him when

Aphrodite quickly

flings

her arms

around

Aeneas,

covering

him with

the

folds

of her

garment.

As

she

is

bearing

Aeneas

from

the

battlefield,

Diomedes

attacks

her

and

wounds

her

near

the

wrist.

She

drops

Aeneas

and returns

to

Olympus

bitterly weeping.

There Dione

and Zeus

comfort

her

while

1

On

the

question

of

the

Homeric

influence

upon

Vergil

the

following

books

of

Vergilian

scholarship

have

been useful

to

the author.

They

subsequently

will

be

referred

to

by

the

name of

the author: R.

Heinze,

Virgils epische

Technik4

(Darmstadt,

1957);

K.

Biichner,

R.-E.,

s.v.

"Vergilius

Maro";

G.

E.

Duckworth,

Structural

Patterns

and

Propor-

tions

in

Vergil's

Aeneid

(Ann

Arbor,

1962);

V.

Poschl,

The

Art

of

Vergil (Ann Arbor,

1962);

B.

Otis,

Virgil,

A

Study

in Civilized

Poetry

(Oxford,

1964);

G.

N.

Knauer,

Die

Aeneis

und

Homer

(Gottingen,

1964); M. C. J. Putnam, The Poetry of the Aeneid (Cambridge, 1965);

K.

Quinn,

Virgil's

Aeneid

(Ann

Arbor,

1968);

W.

S.

Anderson,

The

Art

of

the Aeneid

(Englewood

Cliffs,

1969);

G.

K.

Galinsky,

Aeneas,

Sicily,

and

Rome

(Princeton,

1969);

W.

A.

Camps,

Virgil's

Aeneid

(Oxford,

1969).

Additional

books

and

articles

on

specific

topics

will

be

listed

in

the

footnotes

as

they

become

relevant

to the

present

discussion.

566



A

HOMERIC EPISODE IN

VERGIL'S

"

AENEID."

6

Hera

and

Athena

cannot resist

mocking

her

with

biting

allu-

sions. In the meantime Apollo saves Aeneas, taking him to his

temple

where

Leto and

Artemis

heal

him.

Apollo,

fashioning

an

Aeneas-phantom,

sends

it

into

battle. Around

this

phantom

Trojans

and

Greeks

renew

the

battle until

finally

Aeneas,

restored,

returns

to

the

battlefield.

Imbedded

in

the aristeia of

Diomedes,

this

episode,

after

serving

its main

purpose

of

celebrating

the

martial

prowess

of

the

Greek

hero,

turns-as Kenneth

Quinn

observes

(p.

239)-

into "one of Homer's more light-hearted passages . . . a story

that

hardly

reflects credit

on

Aeneas."

It

seems

to

me that

in

these

qualities

of

the

episode,

its

double

features of

bloody

war-

fare

among

brilliant

heroes

and

a heaven filled

with

divine

tenderness and

"light-hearted"

mockery,

Vergil

sensed

the

possibility

for

developing

the

story.

In

addition

that little

"blemish"

on

Aeneas'

honor-to be

carried

from the battle-

field

in

the arms of

a

woman

2-could

not be

ignored

by

the

Roman poet. That Vergil recognized the challenge and accepted

it

becomes evident

from

his

choice

between

the

two

Homeric

passages

(one

in

Iliad,

V,

239

ff.,

the

other

in

Iliad,

XX,

302

ff.)

that offered

him

at some

length important

information

about

the

character and

fate

of

Trojan

Aeneas.3

Of

the obvious

passage (Iliad,

XX,

302

ff.)

featuring

Poseidon's famous

prophecy

of Aeneas'

survival and

future rule

over

the

Trojans-

especially

suited therefore

(as

it

might

seem)

for

transformation

and incorporation into the plan and purpose of the Roman

epic-,

of

that

passage

Vergil

translated

only

the two

key-lines

(the

prophecy

proper,

lines

307-8)

in

Aeneid,

III,

97-8,

add-

ing

them

to

an

oracle

given

to

Aeneas

by

Delian

Apollo.

Turn-

ing

to

the

other

Homeric

passage

(the

episode

of

Iliad,

V,

239

ff.,

related

above),

he used all

his

skill for

its

exploration

and

poetical

elaboration.

Through

constant

allusion he

filled

it

2

The

popularity

of the

story

of

Aeneas'

rescue

by

Venus

among

ancient craftsmen is shown by a number of Greek and Etruscan vase

paintings

depicting

the

scene.

See

Galinsky,

plates

102, 104,

and

105.

8

A full

account of all

appearances

of

Aeneas in

the

Iliad

is

given

in

W. H.

Roscher,

Lexikon

der

griechischen

und

romischen

Mythologie

(Hildesheim,

1965),

s.v.

"Aineias,"

cols.

157-60. On

the

subject

see:

E. T.

Sage,

"The

Non-Virgilian

Aeneas,"

C.

J.,

XV

(1920),

pp.

350-7;

J.

C.

Morgan,

"The

Character of

Aeneas

in

the

Iliad

and

in

the

Aeneid,"

Kentucky

Foreign

Language

Quarterly,

II

(1955),

pp.

26-30.

567



HELGA NEHRKORN.

with

symbolic significance

and

made it

accompany

Aeneas on

his way through toils and suffering to destined glory. While the

action

of

the

twelve

books

of

the

Aeneid

is

unfolding,

this

episode

is

never

completely forgotten:

sometimes

appearing

vaguely

in

the

background,

sometimes

shouted

from

the

center

of

the

stage,

it

is

always

near and

ready

to

serve

the

poet's

intentions.

As the

present

discussion

of

Vergil's

use of

the

episode

will

proceed

slowly

from one

application

to

the

next

according

to

their sequence in the epic, it might be helpful to recognize the

total

number

of references with

one

glance

at the

following

chart.

Distribution

of

the

Homeric

episode

Iliad,

V,

239

ff.

over

Aeneid,

Books I-XII

Bool

I

IV

X

XI

XII

28ff.

Venus

52

f.

96-8

81

ff.

Turnus

Aeneas

Juno

227

f.

276

f.

Jupiter

282

ff.

580 ff. Diomedes

Liger

592 f.

Aeneas

608

ff.

Jupiter

636

ff.

Juno

797

Jupiter

The first

reference

to the

Homeric

episode

in

Vergil's

epic

occurs

in Book

I,

96-8.

Surrounded

by

a

roaring

sea

threaten-

ing

miserable

death in the

waves,

Aeneas is in

complete

despair.

As

he

deems

blessed those

whom

fate

had

allowed

to die

before

the walls of

Troy,

a

vision

appears

before

his

inner

eye.

Again,

he

sees

himself

fighting

against

Diomedes.

Recalling

the

moment

of

his

gravest

peril

and not

fully

aware

of

the

purpose

of his

salvation

he

cries

(I,

94-101):

568



A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S

"

AENEID."

569

...

"o

terque quaterque

beati

quis ante ora patrum Troiae sub moenibus altis

contigit oppetere

o

Danaum

fortissime

gentis

Tydide

mene

Iliacis occumbere

campis

non

potuisse

tuaque

animam

hanc

effundere

dextra,

saevus ubi

Aeacidae telo

iacet

Hector,

ubi

ingens

Sarpedon,

ubi

tot

Simois

correpta

sub undis

scuta virum

galeasque

et fortia

corpora

volvit "

Vergil, carefully

choosing

the

moment

for

introducing

the

epi-

sode

into his

epic,

puts

it

into

the mouth of his

hero at his

first

appearance.4 In the presence of threatening death and disaster

it

seems

perfectly

natural

that

only

a

fragment

of

the

story

is

mentioned

and

only

one

aspect

of

it is stressed.

In Aeneas'

memory

his

duel

with Diomedes

has

assumed

the

meaning

of

a

lost chance

of

joining

Hector,

Sarpedon,

and

other

brave

Tro-

jans

in

honorable death

before

the

walls

of

Troy.

In

the

fourth

book

Jupiter

sends

Mercury

down to

Aeneas

with

strict

orders

to leave

Carthage

at

once.

Jupiter

is

angry;

he has foretold to Venus the future greatness of Aeneas and

Rome,

he

knows

that Juno

is

plotting against

fate and that at

this

moment

Venus

has

joined

her.

Jupiter's

thoughts

are

cir-

cling

around

Aeneas, Venus,

and Fate. The

following

remark

slips

into

his

message

(IV,

227

f.):

non

illum

nobis

genetrix

pulcherrima

talem

promisit

Graiumque

ideo

bis

vindicat

armis.

Although Jupiter

does

not

explain

to

which

motherly

rescues

he

is

referring,

there

can

be

no

doubt

that

at least

one

of

them

belongs

to our

episode

from

Iliad,

V.5

Even

if Venus did not

succeed at

that time in

her own

attempt, Apollo

saved Aeneas

upon

her

initiative

and

the

purpose

of

Aeneas'

preservation

'

On the

significance

of

the

"Homeric

Quotation"

of Aeneas' first

speech

see

Poschl,

pp.

34-41.

On

p.

36

Pischl

calls the "sorrowful

memory

of

Troy"

a

"recurring

leitmotif

in

the

first third

of the

Aeneid."

5 In

the Iliad

Aeneas

is

rescued

a

second

time

by

Poseidon

in Book

XX,

320

ff. To

this

rescue

Neptune briefly

refers

in

Aeneid,

V,

808-10.

In

Aeneid,

I,

382

Aeneas,

reporting

his

flight

to

his

mother,

says:

matre dea

monstrante

viam

data

fata

secutus;

in

Aeneid,

II,

632

f.

Aeneas

tells

Dido

that

his

mother

guided

him

out of

Priam's

burning

palace:

descendo ac

ducente

deo

flammam

inter

et

hostis/expedior:

dant

tela

locum

flammaeque

recedunt.



HELGA

NEHRKORN.

was-as

Jupiter

claims

in the

following

lines-Aeneas'

future

rule over Italy, over the whole world (IV, 229-31):

sed fore

qui

gravidam

imperils

belloque

frementem

Italiam

regeret, genus

alto

a

sanguine

Teucri

proderet,

ac

totum

sub

leges

mitteret orbem.6

It seems

that

Vergil

in

his first

two

references to

the Homeric

episode

is

testing

the

capacity

of his material.

In

Book

I

the

remembrance of

one

part

of

the

event

leads

Aeneas to

longing

for

instant

death,

while

in Book

IV

Jupiter

is

using

another

part

as

source

for

future

world

power.

We

anticipate

that some-

how

the

poet

will

bridge

the

gap

between

these

contrasting

interpretations

by

describing

and

developing

the

characters

in-

volved,

by

explaining

and

defining

the actions

performed.

At

the

end

of the

epic,

when

both

possibilities-Aeneas'

accept-

ance

of

death and

Jupiter's promise

of

glorious victory-have

come

close

to

fulfillment,

the

decision

of

fate will

reveal

the

true

significance

of the

episode

for

Vergil's

epic.

During

the

following

five books of the Aeneid the Homeric

episode

is

not

mentioned.

Aeneas

descends into

the

underworld,

learning

to

understand the historic

impact

of his

task.

He

proceeds

on

his

way

and reaches

Latium. Here the

prophecy

of

the

Sibyl

comes true:

before

he

can

found the

city,

Aeneas

must

fight.

In

spite

of all

his

efforts,

in

spite

of Evander's

trust

and

assistance,

in

spite

of

his divine

armor,

at the end

of Book

IX

the

Trojan hopes

seem

to

collapse.

During

the absence

of

Aeneas

Turnus has

gained

the

upper

hand and the

Trojans,

besieged

in

their

camp,

are

on

the

defensive.

Is the

final

disaster

ap-

proaching,

another

Troy?

In

order

to

clarify

the

situation

Jupiter

calls

a

council

of the

gods.

It is

during

this council

that

the old

story

of

Aeneas'

defeat

and

rescue,

of an

Aeneas-phantom

roaming

over

the

battlefield

is revived.

But now the

question

of the

future of the

Trojans

has become

so

urgent

that

a

decision

must be

reached:

defeat or

victory?

In

this

setting-filled

with

Homeric

reminiscences--7

Venus

6

Jupiter's

words

strongly

remind

us of

his

prophecy

in Book

I,

especially

lines

286

f.: nascetur

pulchra

Troianus

origine

Caesar,/

imperium

Oceano,

famam

qui

terminet astris.

'

Containing

elements

of four assemblies

of

the

gods

in Homer's

Iliad

570



A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VRGIL'S

" AENEID."

571

is

the

first to

display

her rhetorical skill.

Pleading

for

the Tro-

jans, she describes their suffering and losses under Turnus'

violent

attacks.

In

addition

to

the

Italian leader

and

army

Aeneas'

old

foe Diomedes

is

seen

as

threatening again

(X,

28-

30):

atque

iterum in

Teucros

Aetolis

surgit

ab

Arpis

Tydides.8

equidem

credo,

mea

vulnera

restant

et

tua

progenies

mortalia

demoror

arma.

Significantly

it is Venus aurea

(X, 16)

herself who refers

to

her

humiliating experience

during

the

episode

of

Iliad,

V,

a

part

of the

story

not

mentioned either

by

Aeneas

in

Book

I or

by

Jupiter

in

Book IV. Tears

and

indignation

characterize

her

speech

before

the divine audience

in Book

X

of the

Aeneid,

qualities

of whose

persuasive

power

Venus-and Juno too-are

well

aware.

The

counterpart

of

Venus'

speech

comes

promptly.

Juno

replies

in

rage,

desperately trying

to

outdo

her

rival

(X,

81

f.):

tu

potes

Aenean

manibus

subducere

Graium

proque

viro nebulam

et ventos obtendere

inanis.

As

we

have

seen in

Jupiter's

allusion to the

episode

of

Iliad,

V

(in

Aeneid, IV

discussed

above)

Venus

was

commonly

credited

with

saving

Aeneas

from

the hands

of

Diomedes.9

When,

how-

ever,

Juno

attributes to Venus

the

creation

of

the

Aeneas-

(at

the

beginning

of Books

IV, VIII,

XV,

and

XX),

the

assembly

of

the

gods

in

Book

X of the Aeneid

has received

special

attention in

scholarly

discussion.

See

Heinze,

p.

2971;

Knauer,

pp.

293-6;

Quinn,

pp.

213-15;

Anderson,

p.

81;

Otis,

pp.

352-4;

H.

W.

Benario,

"The

Tenth Book

of the

Aeneid,"

T. A. P.

A.,

XCVIII

(1967),

pp.

23-36.

8

Venus'

words

gain

special

weight

when

we

recognize

the

similarity

in

thought

and

expression

to line

36 of

Vergil's

Eclogue

4:

atque

iterum

ad

Troiam

magnus

mittetur

Achilles,

predicting

the

altera bella

(line

35)

of

the

heroic

age

that

will

precede

the

golden age.

In

Aeneid,

VI,

86

the

Sibyl prophesies bella, horrida bella for Aeneas in Italy and

calls his

future

adversary

(Turnus)

"another

Achilles

": .

.

.

alius

Latio

iam

partus

Achilles/natus

et

ipse

dea

(VI,

89

f.).

I

do

not

think

that Juno is

referring

to

Venus'

rescue

of

Aeneas

as

told in

Aeneid, II,

632.

At

that moment

Juno

was

at

the Scaean

gate

(Aeneid,

II, 612ff.)

leading

the Greek

attack and

therefore

un-

aware of

Venus'

activity.

Her

following

allusion

to

the

Aeneas-phantom

shows

that

her

thoughts

are

occupied

with

the

events

of

Iliad, V,

311

ff.





A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S

"

AENEID."

573

He

throws

his

spear against

the

two

men,

hurling Lucagus

from

the

chariot.

While

he

catches

its

white

horses,

he remembers

the

horses of Tros

which

Diomedes

took

away

from him

after their

duel

(Iliad,

V,

319

ff.),

he remembers

the fatal horses

of

Rhesus

which

Diomedes

had stolen

(Aeneid,

I,

469

ff.).

All

his

bitter memories

3

are

gathered

in

the

taunt

he utters

over

dying

Lucagus

(X,

592

f.):

"Lucage,

nulla

tuos

currus

fuga

segnis

equorum

prodidit,

aut vanae vertere

ex

hostibus

umbrae."

Long ago, during the last days of Troy's agony, Aeneas had

been forced

through

repeated

divine

commands

to

accept

defeat

and

to

flee

from his

burning

home

city.

He

accepted

the

task

of

leading

the

Trojans

as

fugitives

to

the

land of their

destiny:

Italy.

For this

land he

is

determined

now

to

fight

with all

his

energy-even

brutally

when

goaded

by

grief

and bitter

regret.

Anyone

who will dare

to

use the

past

in

order

to

insult

him

will find

out what

kind

of

revenge

this

"phantom-Aeneas"

will take.

Vergil

interrupts

the

description

of

brutal

battle with a short

interlude

in heaven.

Jupiter

teases

Juno

(X,

607

ff.):

"

o

germana

mihi

atque

eadem

gratissima

coniunx,

ut

rebare,

Venus

(nec

te

sententia

fallit)

Troianas sustentat

opes,

non

vivida

bello

dextra

viris .

.."

It

seems to

be

part

of

Jupiter's diplomacy

to

speak

in

general

terms

only (cf.

his

allusion

in

IV,

227).

In this case

his remark

is

directed

toward Juno's accusations

against

Venus

during

the

recent

council

of

the

gods,14

mixed

perhaps

with

astonishment

and a

little

irony?

anger

allows

him

to do

everything

the

heroic

conventions

permitted,

then

the

justification

for

that

anger

is

put

into

question."

On

the

problem

of

Aeneas' violence

see

also

Camps, pp.

28-9; Anderson,

pp.

83-4.

J. W.

Mackail,

The Aeneid

(Oxford,

1930)

ad

X,

813,

points

out

"that the

epithet

saevus,

'furious,'

is

never

applied

to

Aeneas

until

he

has

been

wrought

up

to extreme

passion

by

the

death of

Pallas;

thenceforward it

becomes almost

habitual.

.

.."

18

That

the

tale of

Diomedes'

horses

had

reached

even

Tyros,

Aeneas

learned

at the

night

of

Dido's

banquet.

Inquiring

about

famous heroes

and

their

weapons

the

queen innocently

asked:

"nunc

quales

Diomedis

equi,

. .

(I,

752).

1'

Quinn

observes

(p.

2281):

"Jove,

or

Virgil,

overlooks

Venus'





A

HOMERIC

EPISODB

IN

VEROIL'S

"

AENEID."

575

seems

to

fall

over

Latinus'

city.

While the homes

and

streets

are

still filled with the mourning for the dead, the embassy returns

from

Diomedes

bringing

his refusal

to

join

the war

against

the

Trojans.

In

a

long

oration-repeated

by

the

ambassadors

word

for

word-Diomedes declares

the

"

first"

Trojan

war

a

" crime

"

for

which

the

Greeks

paid

the

bitter

penalty

with

their

unhappy

returns.

To

the common crime

Diomedes added his

own

even

more

unforgivable

sacrilege

(XI,

275

if.):

haec

(sc.

supplicia)

adeo

ex

illo

mihi

iam

speranda

fuerunt

tempore, cum ferro caelestia corpora demens

appetii

et Veneris

violavi

vulnere

dextram.

Diomedes'

allusion

to

the

episode

of

Iliad,

V

presents

the

story

of

his

bold

attack

against

Venus

in a

new

and

surprising

inter-

pretation.

Diomedes

calls

himself a

fool

17

for

having

attacked

a

divinity

and

explains

the

hardships

of his

wanderings

as

de-

served

punishment

for

this

impious

act. In

case

the

argument

of

his

religious

feelings

might

be

misunderstood

by

the

Latins

as a mere

pretext

for

his refusal

to

join

their

cause

18

Diomedes

adds

a

dramatic

description

of

his

duel with

Aeneas

(the

epi-

sode

of

Iliad,

V).

How

grim

were

Aeneas'

weapons

How

mightily

he

rose

over

his

shield,

hurling

his

spear

in

a

whirl-

wind

(XI,

282-4):

.

.

stetimus tela

aspera

contra

contulimusque

manus:

experto

credite

quantus

in

clipeum adsurgat, quo

turbine

torqueat

hastam.19

Diomedes

crowns

his

speech

with an

elaborate

praise

of

Aeneas,

the

brave,

the

powerful,

and

above

all,

the

pious

Aeneas

is

the

god-chosen

leader

whom

the

Italians

should

love,

not

fight.-

After the

revelation

of

the

glowing

admiration

of

the

Greek

hero

for

Aeneas,

his

former

adversary,

Diomedes'

striking interpreta-

tion

of

the

Homeric

episode

appears

to be

perfectly

reasonable.

1

It

is

interesting

to notice

that

in

Iliad,

V,

407,

it

is

Dione

who,

while comforting Venus, calls Diomedes

vPrtos

for

wounding

a

goddess.

8

Aeneas'

description

of

the Greeks

in

Book II

of

the

Aeneid

(lines

49,

65

f.,

195

ff.,

etc.)

reflects

a

certain

mistrust

against

the

Greeks

predominant

in

the

Aeneid.

19

Diomedes makes

his

account

of the

duel

with

Aeneas

convincing

by

repeating

certain

details

known

from

the

Homeric

description.

In

Iliad,

V,

297

Aeneas

leaps

from

his

chariot

with

his

shield

and

long

spear

in

order to

protect

Pandarus'

body.



HEILGA NEHRKORN.

The twelfth book of the Aeneid

opens

on

the

evening

before

the last day of the war. The final duel between Aeneas and

Turnus,

postponed

so

many

times,

is

drawing

near,

inevitably.

Turnus' hours

are counted.

In

this

atmosphere

of tension and

suspense

there

seems

to

be

no

place

for

"playing"

with a

Homeric

episode.

And

yet,

Vergil

has saved

up

to this

final

hour one of

its

strongest

effects:

its

application

against

the

rules

of

appropriateness

and

taste.

On this last

night

Turnus,

burning

with

eagerness

for

battle-

like a wounded Punic lion (XII, 4 ff.)--appears before Latinus

and

urges

him

to strike

the

terms

for

the duel at once. The

old

king calmly

tries to

persuade

him

to

yield

to

fate,

to

give

up

Lavinia,

and

to save

his

own life.

Turnus,

unable to restrain

his

impatience,

begs

Latinus

to

let

him

"

barter death for fame

"

(letumque

sinas

pro

laude

pacisci,

XII,

49).

Turnus'

behavior is

deplorable.

Having

addressed the

king

not

only

first

but

tur-

bidus,20

he

scarcely

can

await the end of Latinus'

kind

words,

filled

with concern for the welfare of

the state and affection

for

the

young

prince.

Turnus'

terminology,

belonging

to that

of

games,21

seems

to be

out

of

place.

Finally

he bursts forth

in

mockery

against

his absent

adversary

(XII,

52

f.):

longe

illi dea

mater

erit,

quae

nube

fugacem

feminea

tegat

et vanis

sese

occulat

umbris."

22

20

Vergil

uses the

adjective

turbidus for

splashing

rain

(V,

696;

XII,

685),

for a swollen

river

(VI,

296)

or

black

dust

(XI,

876).

He

applies it to Turnus four times (IX, 57; X, 648; XII, 10, 671) thus

showing

that

this

uncontrolled

"swollen

rushing"

is one of Turnus'

outstanding qualities, becoming

worse with

the

approaching

catastrophe.

21

Conington,

ad

V,

230,

points

out

the

similarity

between the

two

lines:

V,

230:

vitamque

volunt

pro

laude

pacisci.

referring

to

Cloanthus

and

his crew

during

the boat

race,

and

XII,

49: letum

sinas

pro

laude

pacisci

and

stresses

the

"propriety"

in

the

change

of

terms,

vitam

in Book V

becomes

letum in

Book

XII. The

allusion

to

"games"

while

referring

to

the

decisive duel between

the

two

leading

heroes

comes

originally

from

Homer.

In

Iliad, XXII,

161

ff. Homer

compares

Achilles

and Hector

racing

for the

"prize

" of Hector's life to

"prize-winning

horses,

racing

swiftly

around

the

turning

point"

(dXX&

7repi

lvxijs

Ogov

"EKcropos

lrTro8diLOt//&s

8'6''

de6\ooo6poLt

repi

rTp/ara

arYvvXevs

trrot/l/pLa

AdXa

rpwX6o,L'

Iliad,

XXII, 161-3).

The

change

in

the ethical value

of this

kind

of allusion

Vergil

achieves

by

allowing

Turnus

(the

hero

destined

to

defeat)

to

use

it

as

a

personal

boast.

22

I

think that the

interpretation

of

the relative

clause

as

a

prayer

of

Aeneas to hide

him

(sese),

stressing

the meanest

aspect

of its

possible

576



A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S

" AENEID."

577

It

is Turnus

who

at

the

end of Book

X

abandoned

his

friends,

running after the phantom-Aeneas, who dares to joke about a

"vain

shadow" now

For

any

other

person

in

the

epic

it

would seem

absurd to

try

to

insult

Aeneas

at

the

end

of

his

bitter and

bloody

fighting

in

the

war

he

is now

about

to

win

with

an

allusion

to the

Homeric

story

of

his rescue.

For

Turnus

this

scene,

this

shabby

remembrance of

an old

story

and

its

tasteless

application

reveals

the

beginning

of

the

failing

of

his

genius.

All

during

that cruel

war

in

Italy

Vergil

made

us

love

the noble Italian prince. Turnus stood for the beauty of Italy,

his

fatherland,

for the

young

Italians,

their

happiness

and

honor.

Now he

will

soon

die

and

pay

the

penalty

for

his

blind

ambition,

haughtiness,

and

that

scelerata

insania belli

(VII,

461).

And

after that we will

be

able

again

to

see

him

noble.23

Before

concluding

the

epic

on

the battlefield

with

Aeneas'

victory

over

Turnus,

Vergil

closes

the action

on

the

divine

level

with a

final

agreement

between

Jupiter

and

Juno.

Look-

ing back upon the last events, the breaking of the truce, and the

wounding

of

Aeneas,

Jupiter

reproaches

Juno

(XII,

794

f.,

797):

indigetem

Aenean

scis

ipsa

et

scire

fateris

deberi

caelo

fatisque

ad

sidera

tolli

. . .

mortalin

decuit

violari vulnere

divum?

Jupiter

connects-as he

did in

his remark in

IV,

227

(discussed

above)

-the

specific

occasion

with the

central issue

of the

epic:

meaning,

comes

closest to

Turnus'

intention. The

whole

speech

docu-

ments Turnus'

inability

to think

clearly.

28The

twofold nature

of Turnus is well

defined

by

PSschl

(p.

115):

".

.

his

contrasting

gentleness

and

cruelty,

the inner tension

arising

from

'inhumanity

alongside

humanity,

simultaneous

wrath

and

resigna-

tion

in

the face of

destiny'

(Karl

Reinhardt),

are all

Achillean

char-

acteristics.

As the

Sibyl

introduces

him,

he

is the

Achilles of

the

Aeneid." In

addition to

the attention

given

to

Turnus

in

the books on

Vergil's

Aeneid,

listed

above

(note

1),

there are

numerous

articles

dedicated to the study of Turnus' character and role in the

epic.

Some

of

the most recent

are:

G. E.

Duckworth,

"Fate and

Free Will in

Vergil's

Aeneid,"

C.J.,

LI

(1956),

pp.

357-64

(in

notes

2

and

27

of

this article

references

are

made

to

earlier

discussions);

F.

X.

Quinn,

"Another View of

Turnus,"

C.

B.,

XXXV

(1959),

pp.

25-6;

K.

Quinn,

"La

morte di

Turno,"

Maia,

XVI

(1964),

pp.

341-9;

M.

Mueller,

"Tur-

nus

and

Hotspur:

the

Political

Adversary

in

the Aeneid and

Henry

IV,"

Phoenix,

XXIII

(1969),

pp.

278-90.



HELGA NEHRKORN.

Aeneas'

mission

of

founding

the Roman nation.

Drawing

the

last consequence from this heavenly appointment, he declares

Aeneas

divine. Is

Juno aware

of

her

crime when she caused

Aeneas

to

be wounded

by

her

mortal

agents?

The

similarity

(in

word

and

thought)

between

Jupiter's

argument

and Venus'

complaint

in

Book

X,

30:

et tua

progenies

mortalia demoror

arma

24

and

Diomedes'

self-accusation

in Book

XI,

276 f.:

cum ferro caelestia corpora demens

appetii

et

Veneris

violavi

vulnere

dextram

cannot be

overlooked.

Very

discreetly Jupiter

is

alluding

to

the

Homeric

episode

of

Iliad,

V

where Venus

had

been hurt

by

a

mortal,

pitied

and even

mocked

by

the

gods.

Now

it

is

time

to

end the old

quarrel

in

a

dignified

manner: Venus'

son,

the cause

of her

suffering,

pius

Aeneas,

heavenly

chosen

founder of

Rome,

has become sacrosanct.

From the

description

and

interpretation

of

the

Homeric

epi-

sode in

Vergil's

Aeneid

certain

principles

of

Vergil's

technique

have

become evident. We

observed that

the

story,

objectively

told

by

Homer,

has become

the

subject

of dramatic

speeches

and

of

passionate dialogues

at

crucial

moments

of

the Aeneid.

Since the

speakers

wish

to

underline

emphatically

their

personal

attitude rather than

entertain their

audience,

only fragments

of

the

episode

are

spotlighted.

Both

gods

and men

are

equally

eager

to

refer to

it

and from its

constantly changing

background

it receives

respectively

the

"lighter

"

colors

of

the

divine

sphere

or

the

gloomy

aspect

of the

suffering

on

earth. It is

interesting

also

to notice that

Vergil

introduces

besides the

original partici-

pants

in the

episode

in

Iliad,

V

(Zeus-Jupiter,

Hera-Juno,

Aphrodite-Venus,

Diomedes,

Aeneas)

two

Italians

(Turnus

and

Liger)

who familiarize

us

with

a

popular

local

interpretation

of the

story.25

2*

Venus

repeatedly

identifies

herself

with

Aeneas:

e.g.

Aeneid,

I,

250-2,

669;

VIII,

386.

26

Although

the

Trojans, compared

with their

deceitful Greek

enemies

(see

note

18)

are

praised

as brave

and

honest

people,

they

lose some

of their

glamour

when measured

by

Italian

(even

Punic)

standards

of

virtue.

Vergil,

in

his

epic

about

the

founding

of

the Roman

nation

578



A

HOMERIC EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S

"

AENEID."

But

most

important

of all

is

the

striking

preference

of all

speakers for certain parts of the story. The repeated stress on

the same

features

of

the

event

suggests

that there is

behind

the casual

appearance

of

a

collection of

references

gathered

at

random

from

the

memory

of

the

participants

a

deeper

meaning,

a

careful

selection

made

by

the

poet

for

definite

poetical purpose.

For this

reason

we

must

include

in

our

investigation

of

the

true

significance

of

the Homeric

episode

in

Vergil's

Aeneid a

careful

examination

of

Vergil's

choice and

application

of

these selected

elements which we will call motifs in the following discussion.

The

subject

matter

of the

eleven

references to

the

episode

of

Iliad, V,

239

ff.

appearing

in

different

parts

of

the

Aeneid can

easily

be

reduced

to

four

motifs. These

motifs

can

be

listed

under

the

following headings:

1.26

The

duel between Diomedes

and

Aeneas,

including

Aeneas'

defeat

(I,

96-8; X,

28

f.,

581;

XI,

282

ff.).

2. The

wounding

of

Venus

by

Diomedes

(X,

29

f.;

XI,

276

f.;

XII,

797).

3.

The

creation of

the

Aeneas-phantom

(X, 82, 593, 636 ff.; XII, 53). 4. The rescue of Aeneas by

Venus

(IV,

227

f.;

X,

81,

608

f.;

XII,

52

f.).

All

motifs are

used

several

times

(up

to four

times);

all motifs are

used

by

different

speakers,

both human and divine

(three

or

four);

all

motifs come

together

in Book

X

and are

used

there

several times

(except

motif

2

which

is used

once

in

Book

X);

after the

clash

in Book

X

all

motifs

accompany

the

action

of

the

epic

towards

the

end

(motif

one

is mentioned

last

in Book

XI,

the

others

in Book XII).

But

neither

the

description

nor the

listing

of

the

motifs

ac-

cording

to

their distribution is able

to

penetrate

beneath

the

surface,

as

admirable as

this surface

may

be.

The essential

idea

behind

this

brilliant

array

of

variations,

behind

the

choice

and

distribution

of

motifs from

the

Homeric

episode,

is

still

lacking.

For

Vergil

"variation"

is not limited

to

changes

in

time,

from

Trojan

ancestry,

finds

occasion

for

expressing

the Roman

contempt

for

the "effeminate orientals":

Aeneid,

IV,

215

(Iarbas

complaining

about

Aeneas),

VII,

321

(Juno

calling

Aeneas

"another

Paris"),

IX,

614

ff.

(Numanus

mocking

Ascanius),

XI,

732

(Tarchon

chiding

the

Etruscans),

XII,

99

(Turnus

addressing

his

spear

when

preparing

himself

for the

duel with

Aeneas).

26

The

numbering

of

the motifs

does not refer

to

their

sequence

and

serves

only

the order

of

discussion.

579



HELGA

NEHRKORN.

place,

character, mood,

or

language

of his

Homeric

heritage.

Essential for Vergil is the motivation of acts, the thought be-

hind

words,

the ideal

goal

toward

which

every

character,

god

and

man,

every

occurrence

in

his

epic

is

striving.

Vergil's

Aeneas,

indeed

Vergil's

epic,

has a

mission:

the future

greatness

of

Rome. If

he

can

incorporate

the

Homeric

episode

by

means of

motif-variation

into the

building

of

his

epic

towards this

goal,

if

he can

make

it

serve and

strengthen

Aeneas on

his

long

way

from

defeat and

despair

to

victory,

then

the Homeric

episode

truly has become his own. Following the motifs through the epic,

we

will

find

the

principle

that

caused

their transformation.

Motif

1,

the duel between Diomedes and Aeneas

appears

first

in

Book

I,

96-8 as

part

of

Aeneas'

outcry

in

despair.

He

is

at

the

lowest

point

of his

career,27

bundle of

frozen

limbs,28

acing

death,

death without

honor. If

only

he

could

have

died under

the

hands

of

Diomedes -At

the council

of

the

gods

Venus

is

in

despair.

Turnus

is

routing

the

Trojans.

Venus renounces

all her claims, all hopes for Aeneas. "Let him be tossed over

unknown

seas and follow

wherever Fortune

opens

a

path

"

(X,

48

f.)

.

. .

Venus

surrenders.29

For

a

second

time the

Diomedes-motif has

been

accompanying

the

cry

of

despair

and

hopeless

defeat.-The

third reference to

the Diomedes-Aeneas

duel is made

by

Liger (X,

581)

who screams

his

contemptuous

allusion

boldly

into

Aeneas'

face. But

here,

for the

first

time

in

the

epic,

the

Diomedes motif loses

its

fear-inspiring

power.

27

There are several moments of

despair

in Aeneas' career. But Aeneas'

reaction

in Book

II,

316 f.

is

the

violent desire

for

fighting;

in Book

V,

702

he is

considering

settling

in

Sicily

and

forgetting

his

mission.

28Vergil

introduces

the

hero

of his

epic

in

I,

92:

Aeneae

solvuntur

frigore

membra;

Aeneas'

appearance

and

his

following

speech

are

modelled

on

Odyssey, V,

297

ff.

The

same

words,

solvuntur

frigore

membra,

are used at

the end

of

the

epic

(XII,

951)

for

the

death of

Turnus,

thus

symbolically

closing

the full

cycle

of

Aeneas'

path.

29

Of

course,

nobody

(Venus

included)

believes

a

word

of Venus'

"surrender."

Heinze

(p.

4221)

smiles

at

her clever dissimulation

("

listige

Verstellung")

and calls

it

learnedly

"

ein echter

X6yos

eXaoLuaTE~Levos."

I

think

that

his

interpretation

comes

closer to

Vergil's

intention

than

seeing

Venus

"convicted of

passionate

irrationality

or

of

unscrupulous

rhetoric"

(Anderson,

p.

81).

To call Juno's

response

"much more

powerful

than Venus'

whining"

(Benario,

p.

24)

is to

underestimate

the

power

of

clever

tears

in

the

eyes

of Venus aurea

(X,

16)

against

the

open

lies

uttered

by

Iuno

acta

furore

gravi (X,

63).

580



A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S

"AENEID."

581

Aeneas

has learned to strike

back,

not

only

at

Liger

but

at

the

old tradition of his weakness and defeat under Diomedes' hand.

Poetically

speaking,

Aeneas

reverses

the

motif of

surrender

into

one of

determination for

honorable

fight.

That this

is

the

mean-

ing

of the

reversal of

the motif

is

proved by

Diomedes'

explana-

tion of

his refusal

to

join

the Italian

cause.

The

former

victor

in

the duel

of

Iliad,

V

has

nothing

but admiration

for his

truly

formidable

adversary.

The

change

in Diomedes'

attitude

is

not

only

the

result

of

his

personal experience

but a

necessity

in

the

development of Vergil's epic and foreshadowed through the

reversal

of

the Diomedes-motif

in

Book

X.30

When

finally

Aeneas

and

Turnus face

each other

in

the

decisive

duel,

this

threatening

motif,

now

being

reversed,

joins

all

other

decrees

and

signs

of

fate

claiming

death for-Turnus.31

Motif

2,

the

wounding

of

Venus

by

Diomedes,

appears

first

in

Venus'

speech

in

Book

X,

29

f.

Again

Diomedes'

name is

symbol

for

danger,

wounds,

and

defeat

for his

opponents, victory

for himself. Tearfully Venus anticipates a renewal of her suf-

fering.

The

reversal of

this

motif

is

accomplished

by

Diomedes

himself

when,

in

his

speech

in Book

XI,

276

f.,

he

declares

his

daring

deed

the crime

of a

fool,

a

sacrilege

which he never

wants

80

That

Diomedes'

speech

in Book

XI

is

symbolically

linked

with

the

Aeneas-Liger

duel,

Vergil

indicates

by

the

following

textual

similarity:

in

X,

579

the

poet

describes

Aeneas

attacking Liger:

inruit,

adversaque

ingens

apparuit

hasta.

Diomedes

describes

Aeneas

in

XI,

283

f.:

quantus/in clipeum adsurgat, quo turbine torqueat hastam. Ultimately

both

descriptions

go

back

to

Homer,

Iliad,

V,

297

(see

above,

note

19).

8

In

the last

phase

of

Turnus' fatal

duel

with

Aeneas,

when

the

appearance

of

the

ominous

bird has

driven

away

Juturna

and

has

paralyzed

Turnus

with

terror,

Turnus

suddenly

sees

a

huge

stone.

With

such a

rock

Diomedes

(Iliad,

V,

302

ff.)

had

overcome

Aeneas.

To

a

rock,

tumbling

down

from

the

mountain,

the

poet

recently

(Aeneid,

XII,

684

ff.)

had

compared

Turnus. Now

it is

Turnus'

last

effort

to

hurl

the

heavy

stone-a

boundary

stone,

set

in

ancient

times

to ward off strife

from

the

fields-against

his

enemy.

But

with

Fate

and the

gods

against

it,

the once successful device of

Diomedes

must

fail.

The

stone

never

reaches

Aeneas.-Finally

Turnus'

boast of

sur-

passing

Diomedes'

former

victory

in

his duel

with

Aeneas

(discussed

above),

finds

its fated answer

in

the

repetition

of

the

introductory

words

to motif

1

(I,

92)

at

the

end

of

the

Aeneid

(discussed above,

note

28).

For

the

reversal

of this

motif

symbolizes

now

victory

for

Aeneas and death

for his

enemy,

Turnus.



HELGA NEHRKORN.

to

repeat.

This reversal

comes

as

a

surprise

and,

as

I

have

pointed out above (especially note 18), the sincerity of the

speaker

might

be

questioned.

That it

is

necessary

in

the

de-

velopment

of

Vergil's

epic

becomes clear

by

the

final

application

of

the reversed motif

by

Jupiter

in

Book

XII,

797.

Taking

advantage

of the

flexibility

of his

enigmatic

utterances,

he warns

Juno

to cease once

for

all

"wounding

a

divine

body,"

and

Juno

understands

that he

is

referring

to Aeneas.

Motif

3,

the

creation

of

the

Aeneas-phantom,

undergoes

a

unique treatment. It is mentioned first by Juno in Book X,

82

when

she accuses Venus

of

having

used

the

Aeneas-phantom

for

saving

her

defeated son. Soon

afterwards

Aeneas

(Book

X,

593)

killing Lucagus

without

mercy,

turns

this

motif-origin-

ally

also

pointing

at

his

weakness-into

a

threat

against

any-

one

who ventures to

use

it as

an

insult

against

him.

But

Juno

(X,

636

if.)

still

hoping

to

save Turnus-not

realizing

what

has

happened

to

the

motif

in

the meantime-makes

an

Aeneas-

phantom

in

order to protect

Turnus

from

Aeneas.

This

phantom

saves Turnus

for

the moment-and

ruins

him for the

future.

When

finally

Turnus

(XII,

52

f.),

in

spite

of the terrible

ex-

perience

he

had with

the

Aeneas-phantom

during

the

recent

battle

(X,

645-88),

still uses

this

motif as

an

insult

against

Aeneas,

we realize that

part

of

Turnus'

guilt

is his

refusal

to

understand

and

to

accept

the

sign

of

warning

fate

had

been

giving

him

on

his

way

to

predestined,

inevitable

death.

Motif

4,

the

rescue

of

Aeneas

by Venus,

offers

a

problem

of

its

own.

Strictly

speaking,

Venus'

attempt

in

Iliad,

V,

311

ff.

to

carry

Aeneas

from the

battlefield

was

not

a

"rescue " but

a

failure:

being

wounded

by

Diomedes,

she

dropped

Aeneas and

fled

to

Olympus.

Therefore

the

title

of

the

motif,

as

taken

from the

Homeric

episode,

is

not

correct.

But

strangely

enough,

in

the

Aeneid

none of

the

characters

referring

to

that

part

of

the

episode

(Jupiter

twice,

Juno,

Turnus)

hesitates

in

giving

Venus

the

credit-or

the blame-for

this

accomplishment.

Jupiter

is

annoyed

because

Aeneas,

although having

been saved

"twice"

by

his

mother,

does

not live

up

to

her

promise.32

Juno

(X,

81)

accuses

Venus

of

having

saved Aeneas from

the Greeks.

But

82

In

Book

I,

253

Venus

had

complained

that Aeneas

suffered

mis-

fortunes

undeservedly:

hic

pietatis

honos?

In

Jupiter's

eyes

Aeneas'

staying

in

Carthage

is a violation

of

pietas.

582



A

HOMERIC

EPISODE

IN

VERGIL'S "AENEID."

583

since she

links

this

accusation

with

subsequent

lies,

we

do not

pay special attention to the incorrectness of her first statement.

But

when

Jupiter

repeats

her

allusion,

teasingly

referring

to

Juno's

complaint

(ut

rebare,

Venus-ne

te sententia

fallit-/

Troianas

sustentat

opes

. .

.

X,

608

f.),

we

begin

to

wonder

what

the

significance

of the

repetition

of

this false attribution

could

be.

The

last

application

of the

motif,

Turnus'

contemp-

tuous

remark in Book

XII,

52

f.,

does not

offer

any

further

explanation.

He

simply

turns the

old

misinterpretation

of

Venus' accomplishment into a sneer by stating that this time,

i.

e.

when

he,

Turnus,

will

fight against

Aeneas,

his

mother

will

not

come

to

save her

son.

Why

then

did

Vergil

incorporate

this

motif,

based on false

assumption,

bringing

discredit

to

Aeneas

and

Venus,

into

his

epic

which was to

end

with their

triumph?

The

answer

to this

queston

is

delightfully

simple.

Venus

herself,-provided

the

belief

in

divine

inspiration

is

accepted-

laeta dolis (VIII, 393), could have suggested it to our poet.

Never

having

had

the

opportunity

actually

to

save

her

son

in

Homer's

Iliad,

having

been accused

wrongly

so

many

times

in

Vergil's

Aeneid,

Venus

proves

now

that

she has

learned

most

admirably

to save

Aeneas. All

during

the

Aeneid,

it

is

Venus

who

secretly, silently,

and

most

efficiently

fulfills

that

very

function.33 In Book

II,

632

f.

she leads

Aeneas,

comforted

by

her

promise

never to leave him

(nusquam

abero

II,

620),

out

of

the burning conquered palace of Priam. In Book X, right

after

the council

of the

gods,

she is on

the

battlefield,

warding

off

the

sevenfold shower of

darts

flying

towards Aeneas

(X,

331

f.)-we

see

that,

after

all,

Jupiter

teasing

Juno

(X,

608

f.)

spoke

the truth.

But most

important

of

all

are

Venus'

repeated

88

The

instances cited

are

referring only

to

rescues

from

acute

danger

in

battle,

somehow

similar

to

the

event

in

Iliad,

V. There

are

numerous

examples

of

Venus'

constant care for

Aeneas

in

the

Aeneid,

since her

r6le

of

the Aeneadum

genetrix

is

of

much

greater importance

in

Vergil's

epic

than

was her

part

in the Iliad.

Recent

discussions of

Venus'

r61e

in

the Aeneid

are: V.

Poschl,

"

Das Zeichen

der

Venus und

die

Gestalt des

Aeneas,"

Hermeneia

(1952),

pp.

135-43;

W.

D.

Anderson,

"Venus

and

Aeneas,"

C.J.,

L

(1955),

pp.

233-8;

W.

Poetscher,

"Sed

magno

Aeneae mecum

teneatur

amore,"

Emerita,

XXVI

(1958),

pp.

241-7;

Antonie

Wlosok,

Die

Gottin

Venus

in

Vergils

Aeneis

(Heidel-

berg,

1967).



HELGA

NEHRKORN.

acts of

"rescue

"

in

Book

XII,

the final

act

of

the

war.

When

Fortuna and Apollo are unable to heal Aeneas' wound, it is

Venus

who

supplies

the

right

medicine

(XII,

411

ff.).

At

a

moment

when

both leaders

are

entangled

in

endless

slaughter,

it

is

Venus

who

inspires

Aeneas

to

attack

the defenseless

city,

thus

hastening

the

final

confrontation

with

Turnus

(XII,

554ff.).

And

in

the last moments

of

the

duel,

when Juturna

furnishes Turnus with

the

fatherly

sword,

Venus

quickly

pulling

out

Aeneas'

spear

from

the

holy

tree-trunk,

hands

him the

weapon that will cause Turnus to fall (XII, 786 f.). Adding

the

last touch

to the

reversal

of the

rescue-motif and

making

it

truly

serve

and

promote

Aeneas'

mission,

Venus who

had

been

accused of

rescuing

Aeneas

from

the

battlefield,

now

heals,

inspires,

and

equips

her son

for

the

battle

that

will crown the

epic

with

Aeneas'

final

victory.

Thus

we

have

seen that

the

principle guiding Vergil

in

the

process

of

incorporating

the Homeric

episode

of

Iliad,

V

into

his Aeneid was the reversal of the most important aspects of the

episode:

the

defeat

of

Aeneas

becomes his

victory,

the

brilliant

deed

of

Diomedes a

sacrilege,

the

Aeneas-phantom,

created

in

Homer

by

a

kind

divinity

for

the

benefit

of

the

Trojans,

is

made

by

their

arch-enemy,

Juno,

in order

to

save

Turnus,

if

only

temporarily.

And,

last

but not

least,

Venus'

failure

in

rescuing

Aeneas

develops

into

a

most

admirable

success. But

as

amazing

as this

metamorphosis may

appear

at

the

end,

the

process of transformation is planned so carefully and performed

with

such tactful

consideration

of

characters

and

situations

that we

scarcely

become

aware

of

it.34

Vergil

does

not

deprive

Homer's

gods

of

their

charm,

nor

his hero

(Diomedes)

of

his

valor.

Naturally,

willingly

they

assume

their

new

role

of

serving

and

strengthening

pius

Aeneas

in his fated

task: the future

greatness

of Rome.

HELGA NEHRKORN.

RANDOLPH-MACON

WOMAN'S

COLLEGE,

LYNCHBURG,

IRGINIA.

s' It

was

only

Diomedes'

transformation that

possibly

could be

met

with

some

distrust,

and that

is

probably

Vergil's

intention.

584

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