A Homeric Episode in Vergil's Aeneid

Author(s): Helga Nehrkorn

Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 92, No. 4 (Oct., 1971), pp. 566-584
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/292664 .
Accessed: 16/06/2011 17:59
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=jhup. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
American Journal of Philology.

http://www.jstor.org

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, composition, 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 Proportions 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
567

Hera and Athena cannot resist mocking her with biting allusions. 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 warfare 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 battlefield 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 Trojansespecially 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, adding them to an oracle given to Aeneas by Delian Apollo. Turning 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.

HELGA NEHRKORN.

568

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

XI

28ff.
Venus
81 ff.
Juno

96-8
Aeneas
227 f.
Jupiter

580 ff.
Liger
592 f.
Aeneas
608 ff.
Jupiter
636 ff.
Juno

XII
52 f.
Turnus

276 f.
282 ff.
Diomedes

797
Jupiter

The first reference to the Homeric episode in Vergil's epic

occurs in Book I, 96-8. Surrounded by a roaring sea threatening 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):

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 episode 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 Trojans 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 circling 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.

570

HELGA NEHRKORN.

was-as Jupiter claims in the following lines-Aeneas'

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

future

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 somehow the poet will bridge the gap between these contrasting
interpretations by describing and developing the characters involved, by explaining and defining the actions performed. At
the end of the epic, when both possibilities-Aeneas' acceptance 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 approaching, 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

A HOMERIC EPISODE

IN VRGIL'S

" AENEID."

571

is the first to display her rhetorical skill. Pleading for the Trojans, 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, 2830):
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, however, 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 unaware of Venus' activity. Her following allusion to the Aeneas-phantom
shows that her thoughts are occupied with the events of Iliad, V, 311 ff.

572

HELGA NEHRKORN.

phantom (clearly in Homer the invention of Apollo), we sense

that she is lying on purpose. And when after this lie she hurriedly adds to the list of Venus' "misdeeds " the metamorphosis
of the ships (X, 83):
et potes in totidem classem convertere nymphas:
which is fresh in everyone's mind as an accomplishment of
Cybele (Aeneid, IX, 107 if.), it becomes evident that Juno does
not care at this moment about the truthfulness of her accusations 10 if only she can put the blame for the present unhappy
state of affairs exclusively on Venus, on Venus and her "tricks."
The council of the gods is dismissed with Jupiter's promise
of equal chances for both parties on that day. The fierce fighting
among the Trojans and Italians is renewed. Turnus kills Pallas
and Aeneas, after receiving the heartbreaking news, is raging
over the battlefield like "Aegaeon fighting with hundred arms
and hands" (X, 565). The brothers Liger and Lucagus cross
his way in their chariot and Liger mocks Aeneas (X, 581 f.):
"non Diomedis equos nec currum cernis Achilli
aut Phrygiae campos."11
Liger could not have chosen a more dangerous moment for
shouting the allusion to Aeneas' former defeat into the face
of his enemy. Aeneas' tension is at the breaking point, his
only possible answer to the vulgar insult is silent brutal action.12
10
J. Conington, The Works of Virgil (Hildesheim, 1963), ad Aeneid,
X, 83, calls Juno's allusion to "Venus'" transformation of the ships
"a remarkable inadvertence on Virgil's part." I think that Vergil
is fully aware of Cybele's authorship of the metamorphosis. But in
order to equip each of the two quarrelling goddesses with the weapon
best suited for her, he gives becoming tears to Venus and to Juno lies.
11 Liger's address is preceded by an incomplete line: cui Liger . . .
(X, 580). After the sudden silence the following alliteration of the
hard c-sound is doubly impressive.
12 Otis
(p. 357) describes Aeneas' brutal fighting after the death of
Pallas as follows: "In one sense Aeneas' fighting at this juncture
seems quite devoid of his usual humanitas; in another it is the very
symbol of it-a completely human reaction to the violentia that breaks
treaties, despises filial piety and wreaks its fury on the dead. It is not
mercy toward the impii that Virgil wants or approves: debellare superbos is in itself a harsh thing and the fact is not disguised." To this
Quinn (p. 227) adds the following thought: "Aeneas' denial of mercy
here is fully within the conventions of heroic warfare. But if Aeneas'

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 remembersthe
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'

H:ELGA NEHRKORN.

574

But Juno is not in the mood for teasing conversations. Her

cherished dreams of a kingdom for Turnus have been cruelly
destroyed. Words will not change his doom, only quick action
may at least postpone the sad outcome. If Venus could save
Aeneas with the help of a phantom-Aeneas, why should she,
Juno, not try to save Turnus by means of the very same device
(X, 636 ff.): 15

tum dea nube cava tenuem sine viribus umbram

in faciem Aeneae, visu mirabile monstrum,
Dardaniis ornat telis, . ..
Up to this moment Vergil's use of the Homeric episode had
been restricted to verbal allusions. Passionate as they had been,
they had kept the story in the background, confined to the minds
of the speakers and those addressed, strengthening their natural
momentary impulse. The Aeneas-phantom, shaped by Juno in
direct imitation of the Homeric device, appears on Vergil's stage,
a mirabile monstrum. It fulfills Juno's purpose: luring Turnus
from the battlefield where his comrades are dying, it saves his
life. But this salvation makes Turnus guilty of desertion, deprives him of his honor and self-confidence."' Only death can
redeem him.
The events of the eleventh book bring the last delay in
Turnus' doom. While the circumstances of the Italians become
more and more desperate, the gloom of the approaching end
intervention at 331-2." In my opinion, Jupiter knows very well, Vergil
knows too, only Juno does not know-and this is the point of Jupiter's
joking.
15Juno has tried before to imitate Venus' devices. In Book I, 71 ff.
she bribed Aeolus by promising him her most beautiful nymph as
wife (remembering how Venus won Paris' favor). Here, she uses
tears and humbleness, imitating Venus' performance at the council of
the gods. Even "her words pugnae subducere Turnum (X, 615) echo
Venus' desire to save at least Ascanius from disaster (X, 46-47)"
(Benario, p. 30).
16It is not until the end of his career that Turnus learns to face
and to overcome his feeling of guilt (culpa). In Book XII, when
Juturna is trying to save him again from the final encounter with
Aeneas, Turnus solemnly declares his decision to die rather than become guilty of desertion: terga dabo et Turnum fugientem haec terra
videbit? .. . sancta ad vos anima atque istius nescia culpae/descendam
magnorum haud umquam indignus avorum (XII, 645, 648 f.).

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 interpretation. Diomedes calls himself a fool 17 for having attacked a
divinity and explains the hardships of his wanderings as deserved 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 episode of Iliad, V). How grim were Aeneas' weapons! How
mightily he rose over his shield, hurling his spear in a whirlwind (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 interpretation 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.

576

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 appropriatenessand taste.
On this last night Turnus, burning with eagerness for battlelike 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 turbidus,20he 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.
21Conington, 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/araiarYvvXevs

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

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. Looking 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 documents 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 resignation in the face of destiny' (Karl Reinhardt), are all Achillean characteristics. 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, "Turnus and Hotspur: the Political Adversary in the Aeneid and Henry
IV," Phoenix, XXIII (1969), pp. 278-90.

578

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 episode 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 participants 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

A HOMERIC EPISODE

IN VERGIL'S " AENEID."

579

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 according 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.

580

HELGA NEHRKORN.

place, character, mood, or language of his Homeric heritage.

Essential for Vergil is the motivation of acts, the thought behind 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,27a bundle of frozen limbs,28facing
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
and calls it learnedly " ein echter X6yos
(" listige Verstellung")
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).

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 meaning of the reversal of the motif is proved by Diomedes' explanation 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 suffering. 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
80That 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 surpassing 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.

582

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 development 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-originally also pointing at his weakness-into a threat against anyone 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 Aeneasphantom 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 experience 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 misfortunes undeservedly: hic pietatis honos? In Jupiter's eyes Aeneas'
staying in Carthage is a violation of pietas.

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' contemptuous 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 acceptedlaeta 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
88The 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 (Heidelberg, 1967).

584

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,

VIRGINIA.
LYNCHBURG,

that possibly could be met

s' It was only Diomedes' transformation
with some distrust, and that is probably Vergil's intention.