- Feb 2021
-
www.poetryintranslation.com www.poetryintranslation.com
-
But brave Turnus’s confidence never wavered
Usually, Roman histories are quite critical of kings as being tyrants, however, Vergil compliments Turnus often.
-
While all these things were happening in various places, Saturnian Juno sent Iris from heaven to brave Turnus,
We continually see Juno try to intervene, all the while working in accordance with the will of Jupiter and the fates. This begs the question, are gods bound by the fates, or do they shape them? Juno is queen of heaven, a leader of the gods, so why cant she shape fate as Jupiter seems to be able to?
-
Nisus said: ‘Euryalus, do the gods set this fire in our hearts, or does each man’s fatal desire become godlike to him? My mind has long urged me to rush to battle, or high adventure, and is not content with peace and quiet.
This further highlights the theme of the Trojans establishing the ideal characteristics of the future Romans. Romans were to be men of action, not passive and accepting of the fate that has been thrown before them.
-
O Muse, what god, turned away such fierce flames from the Trojans? Who drove such savage fires from the ships? Tell me: belief in the story’s ancient, its fame is eternal. In the days when Aeneas first built his fleet on Phrygian Ida and prepared to set out over the deep ocean, they say the Mother of the gods herself, Berecyntian Cybele, spoke so to great Jupiter: ‘My son, lord of Olympus, grant what your dear mother asks of you in request. There was a pine-forest a delight to me for many years a grove on the summit of the mountain, where they brought offerings, dark with blackened firs and maple trunks. I gave these gladly to the Trojan youth, since he lacked a fleet: now, troubled, anxious fear torments me. Relieve my fears, and let your mother by her prayers ensure they are not destroyed, shattered by voyaging or violent storm: let their origin on our mountain be of aid to them.’
This is a weak point within the story. One of the god drastically intervenes, drastically changing the out come of an attack against the protagonist. It seems as if Vergil was stuck with a hole in the plot and could think of nothing to fix it. If it has any function, it is that it supports the idea that Aeneas is favored by the gods.
-