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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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'
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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).
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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