8.450 Remember Aurora . . . and Nereus’ daughter: Thetis, sea-nymph and mother of Achilles, had asked Hephaestus (Vulcan) to make armor for her son, the same request as that of Aurora, wife of Tithonus, for her son Memnon. The shield of Achilles is described in Iliad 18.558-709.
8.738-853 There is the story of Italy . . . : For the historical events emblazoned on the shield of Aeneas, see Introduction, pp. 33-36.
9.166-71 ‘To die once is enough’? / The crime they committed once should be enough . . . : See Fairclough’s reading, reproduced by Goold, of this difficult passage: “The argument is this: one would have expected them to be haters of women, rather than commit a second offence like that of abducting Helen, especially as they are cowards who refuse to face a fight” (rev. Fairclough, 2000, note 9.6). See Hardie, 1994, note 9.140-42.
9.466-68 You, goddess, Latona’s daughter: That is, the MOON.
9.604 help me unroll the massive scroll of war: The metaphor is based on the unfolding of a large book-scroll dealing with the martial events to follow.
9.681 penned up twice over inside blockaded ramparts: First at Troy, and now in Italy.
10.96-97 you can / whisk Aeneas clear of the clutches of the Greeks: As Williams explains (1973, note 10.81f.), “The reference here is to the story told in Homer [Iliad 5.347-55] of how Aphrodite saved Aeneas from Diomedes and Apollo concealed him in a cloud.”
10.132 Trojan or Italian, I make no choice between them: Is this an expression of Jupiter’s impartiality, or is it in fact a momentary act of abdication from human affairs? See Introduction, p. 21.
10.242 Mantua: Mantua (modern Mantova) lies in the Po valley, south of Verona and some ten miles north of the river itself. Virgil was born just to the south of Mantua, in the village of Andes. Archeology has confirmed its Etrurian origin, which Virgil details at 10.242-46. See Introduction, pp. 2, 3, 11.
10.587-90 the sword-belt’s massive weight / engraved with its monstrous crime . . . : The baldric contains depictions of the forty-nine of the fifty daughters of Danaus, the Danaids, who murdered their cousin-husbands, sons of Aegyptus, on their wedding night.
10.917 my son, my living trophy over Aeneas: A trophy (tropaeum in Latin) consisted of a tree trimmed to human shape and decked with the armor of a slain warrior so as to resemble the dead. Lausus according to Mezentius will be a living trophy of Aeneas once he dons the Trojan’s weaponry. Further, see Aeneas’ construction of a trophy in the image of Mezentius, his victim, 11.5-13.
11.315-36 we have been driven / to many shores: For the fateful homeward journeys of many Greek leaders, see AGAMEMNON (“the Mycenaean commander,” 11.322), ULYSSES (see CYCLOPS), DIOMEDES (see PALLADIUM and Notes 2.211, 11.335-6), IDOMENEUS, LOCRI, and MENELAUS (see PROTEUS).
11.335-36 I like a maniac attacked . . . Venus . . . : As one of the highpoints of his aristeia in Iliad 5.370-494, Diomedes assaulted Venus, an outrageous action for which, as he maintains in this passage, the gods have punished him and his people ever since.
11.483-85 the Myrmidon captains cringe . . . : We have here two examples of adunata (impossibilities), the one historical—the Greeks will be afraid of the Trojans—the other natural—the Aufidus will reverse its current.
12.488-96 some dittany fresh / from Cretan Ida . . . and redolent cure-all too: In addition to the dittany in her potion, Venus distills ambrosia which, as food or unguent, is always associated with the immortal gods and their powers. Panacea (“cure-all”) was an herb noted for its medicinal properties.
12.573-77 Aeneas . . . stung by treachery now: This seems to refer to the Latins’ treachery in violating the truce, “attacking [Aeneas] when he was not fighting them [12.544-46] but only seeking Turnus” (Williams, 1973, note 12.494).
12.870-71 frightened back by the ropes / with blood-red feathers: Virgil describes a cord, with crimson feathers attached, which hunters would use to surround game and pen them in.
12.980-88 They say there are twin Curses called the Furies . . . : The twin Furies are Allecto and Tisiphone, sisters of Megaera. The Curses (Dirae) and the Furies are regularly synonymous.
PRONOUNCING GLOSSARY
The main purpose of this Glossary is to indicate pronunciation. Identifications are typically brief, and are amplified by reference to the Translation, and often to the Introduction, the Notes on the Translation, and other Glossary entries as well. Usually only the first appearance of a name is listed.
The Latin vowels vary in pronunciation, sometimes but not always according to the length of the Latin syllable, and the reader will have to find guidance in the rhythm of the English line or consult this Glossary, where, for example, long ‘i’ is conveyed through either ‘eye’ (Anchises: an-keye‘-seez) or ‘ee’ (Aequi Falisci: ee’-kwee fa-lees‘-kee). Stress is indicated by an apostrophe after the stressed syllable (af ’-ter). When a name is Anglicized, or has a standard English equivalent, we follow English pronunciation as a guide.
Phonetic Equivalents:
a as in cat
ay as in day
aw as in raw
ai as in air
ah as in father
o as in pot
oh as in bone
oo as in boot
or as in bore
oy as in boy
e as in pet
ee as in feet
s as in hiss
th as in thin
i as in bit
eye as in bite
u as us
ur as in burst
ABARIS (a‘-ba-ris): Rutulian in Turnus’ forces, killed by Euryalus, 9.400.
ABAS (a‘-bas): (1) one of Aeneas’ captains, his ship caught in the storm off Carthage, 1.142. (2) Ancient king of Argos, 3.342. (3) Etruscan from Populonia, an ally of Aeneas, 10.206.
ABELLA (a-bee‘-la): Campanian town noted for its profusion of apples, 7.861.
ACAMAS (a‘-ka-mas): Greek, son of Theseus, raider hidden in the Trojan horse, 2.333.
ACARNANIAN (a-kar-nay‘-ni-an): Greek from Acarnania, an area in west-central Greece, 5.332.
ACCA (ay‘-ka): ally and confidante of Camilla, 11.960.
ACESTA (a-kees‘-ta): western Sicilian city, named after King Acestes, now Segesta, 5.796.
ACESTES (a-kees‘-teez): king of Sicily, born of Trojan stock, son of Crinisus, and an ally of Anchises and Aeneas, whom he hosts in his island home; he places first in the archery contest at Anchises’ funeral games, since his arrow shoots into a flaming omen, 1.230. See Note 5.539-98.
ACHAEMENIDES (a-kee-men‘-i-deez): comrade of Ulysses, who abandons him on the Cyclops’ island; saved from the one-eyed monsters by Aeneas and his Trojans, 3.712.
ACHAEANS (a-kee‘-anz): Greeks and their allies ranged against the Trojans in the ten-year siege of the city; 6.962, more generally, a collective name for all Greek people, and ACHAEAN (a-kee’-an) for their effects, 12.417.
ACHATES (a-kah‘-teez): loyal confidante and steadfast comrade of Aeneas, 1.142.
ACHERON (a‘-ke-ron): “Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep,” in Milton’s phrase, one of the major rivers in the Underworld, 5.119. See Note 3.262.
ACHILLES (a-kil‘-eez): son of Peleus and Thetis, grandson of Aeacus, father of Pyrrhus (also called Neoptolemus); commander of the Myrmidons, killer of Hector and many other Trojans, killed by Paris empowered by Apollo; the hero of the Iliad, 1.38.
ACMON (ayk‘-mon): comrade of Aeneas, born in Lyrnesus; his father, Clytius (2); his brother, Menestheus, 10.158.
ACOETES (a-kee‘-teez): Arcadian, armor-bearer of King Evander, comrade-in-arms of Pallas (3), whom he treats as a foster son, 11.37.
ACONTEUS (a-kohn‘-tyoos): Latin, pitched off his horse by Tyrrhenus, who takes his life, 11.725.
ACRAGAS (a‘-kra-gas): Greek name (meaning “steep”) for a city on the southern coast of Sicily, one of Aeneas’ seamarks when he sails around the island; famous for breeding horses; now called Agrigento, 3.812.
ACRISIUS (ay-kree‘-si-us): king of Argos, father of Danaë; legenda
ry builder of a capital city, Ardea, to the south of Rome, for his Rutulian people, 7.435.
ACRON (ay‘-kron): Greek killed by Mezentius, 10.849.
ACTIUM (ak‘-ti-um): a town and promontory off the northwestern coast of Greece, site of a decisive naval battle between the armada of Octavian and that of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 B.C., 3.329; ACTIAN (ak’-ti-an), belonging to that locale, 3.334. See 8.791-836 and Introduction, p. 35.
ACTOR (ayk‘-tor): Trojan under Aeneas’ command, 9.575.
ADAMASTUS (a-da-mays‘-tus): Ithacan, father of Achaemenides, 3.713.
ADIGE (a‘-di-jay): ancient Athesis, a river in the Veneto, in northern Italy, 9.774.
ADRASTUS (a-dras‘-tus): king of Argos, father-in-law of Tydeus and Polynices, 6.558. See Note 6.557-58.
ADRIATIC (ay-dree-at‘-ik): the modern Adriatic Sea, ancient Hadria, between the Balkan peninsula and the Eastern coast of Italy, 11.485.
AEAEA (ee-ee‘-a): island home of Circe, 3.458, placed by Virgil off the Latian coast, southeast of Rome. It later became a headland called by the Romans Cir- ceii (modern Monte Circeo).
AEACUS (ee‘-a-kus): father of Peleus, grandfather of Achilles, 6.966. See PAULLUS, PERSEUS, and Introduction, p. 30.
AEGAEON (ee-jee‘-on): name used by mortals for the hundred-handed giant called Briareus by the gods, 10.671. See Iliad 1.479-80.
AEGEAN (ee-jee‘-an): the modern Aegean sea, between the Balkan peninsula and Asia Minor, 12.435.
AENEAS (ee-nee‘-as): son of Anchises and Venus, commander of the Dardanians and, after the death of Anchises, king of the Trojans and the central figure in the Aeneid, 1.111. See Introduction, Notes, and Glossary, passim, and Iliad 20.95-402.
AENUS (ee‘-nus): Thracian colony putatively named after Aeneas, who was its founder, 3.23. See Williams, 1962, note 3.18.
AEOLIAN (ee-oh‘-li-an): belonging to islands of the winds, located to the north of Sicily, ruled by Aeolus (1) and named for their king, 1.62. Identified with Lipare, 8.491.
AEOLUS (ee‘-o-lus): (1) lord of the winds, 1.64, father of Salmoneus and, in all likelihood, Misenus, 6.196; and so-called grandfather of Ulysses, 6.615-16; see Note ad loc. (2) Father of Clytius (1) a Trojan killed by Turnus, 9.872. (3) Trojan comrade of Aeneas, killed by Turnus, 12.634.
AEQUI FALISCI (ee‘-kwee fa-lees’-kee): a town in southern Etruria, on the western edge of the Tiber valley some twenty-five miles north of Rome. More commonly called Falerii (near modern Civita Castellana), 7.810.
AEQUIAN (ee‘-kwee-an): of a rugged Italian tribe living in the foothills of the Apennines, largely east of Rome, 7.867.
AETOLIAN (ee-toh‘-li-an): 10.35, like Diomedes, a native of AETOLIA (ee-toh’-li-a), a region in northwestern Greece, 11.287.
AFRICA: referring mainly, in the Aeneid, to Libya, a northern region of the continent, 4.47.
AGAMEMNON (a-ga-mem‘-non): Greek, king of Mycenae, son of Atreus, husband of Clytemnestra, murdered by her and her paramour, Aegisthus; brother of Menelaus, supreme commander of all Achaea’s armies, leader of the largest Greek contingent at Troy, and the conqueror of the city, 3.63. See Note 11.315-36, Iliad, passim, and for Homer’s version of the death of the king, see Odyssey 4.573-604.
AGATHYRSIANS (a-ga-theer‘-shanz): people of Scythia who tattooed their bodies, 4.183.
AGENOR (a-jee‘-nor): legendary ruler and founder of Phoenicia, forebear of Dido, 1.412.
AGIS (ay‘-jis): Lycian killed by Valerus, 10.887.
AGRIPPA (a-gri‘-pa): Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus and his potential successor; admiral, second in command of the Roman armada at the battle of Actium, 8.799. He was awarded the Naval Crown for his decisive role in the victory over Sextus Pompeius in the sea-battle off Naulochus in 36 B.C. See Introduction, p. 2.
AGYLLA (a-gee‘-la): 7.758, Greek name for Caere, Etrurian city whose contingent of AGYLLINES (a-gee’-leyenz), Tuscan allies, is led by Lausus, 12.338.
AJAX (ay‘-jaks): Greek, son of Oileus, Oilean or Little Ajax, at Troy the commander of the Locrian contingent. For ravishing Cassandra in the Trojan temple of Minerva, the goddess destroyed him and his fleet on the homeward run from Troy, 1.51. See Note 1.49-55 and Odyssey 4.560-73.
ALBAN (al‘-ban): 1.8, person or place belonging to ALBA LONGA (al’-ba long‘-a), the foundational city of Rome, some fifteen miles to its southeast, 1.325.
ALBULA (ayl‘-bu-la): legendary name of the Tiber, 8.390.
ALBUNEA (ayl-bun‘-e-a): a woodland and fountain or sulfur spring near Lavinium, 7.92.
ALCANDER (ayl-kayn‘-der): Trojan killed by Turnus, 9.865.
ALCANOR (al-kay‘-nor): (1) Trojan, father by the nymph Iaera of Pandarus (2) and Bitias, 9.766. (2) Latin ally of Turnus, brother of Maeon, killed by Aeneas, 10.398.
ALCATHOUS (ayl-ka‘-tho-us): Trojan killed by Caedicus (2), 10.882.
ALETES (a-lee‘-teez): Trojan, survivor of shipwreck off the Libyan coast, a seasoned adviser of Aeneas, 1.143.
ALLECTO (a-lek‘-toh): one of the three Furies, 7.379. See Introduction, p. 20.
ALLIA (ay‘-li-a): small tributary of the Tiber, six miles upriver from Rome, where, in 390 B.C., the Romans suffered a harsh defeat by the Gauls, and so an “ominous name” from that time on, 7.834.
ALMO (ayl‘-moh): Latin, Tyrrhus’ eldest son, and first to fall in the open warfare between Latins and Trojans, 7.618.
ALOEUS (a-lee‘-us): father of the giants, Otus and Ephialtes, who were confined in Tartarus for attempting to overthrow Jupiter, 6.675.
ALPS: the great mountain range of central Europe, 10.17. See Introduction, p. 26.
ALPHEUS (al-fee‘-us): river and its legendary god in the western Peloponnese; driven underground by his unsatisfied desire for the nymph Arethusa, he surges up to mingle with her spring in Syracuse on Sicily, 3.802.
ALSUS (ayl‘-sus): Rutulian shepherd who kills Podalirius, 12.366.
ALTARS: a great reef between Africa and Sicily, and a constant danger to mariners, 1.130. Cf. Longfellow’s “reef of Norman’s Woe” in “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” about a wreck off Gloucester, Massachusetts.
AMASENUS (a-ma-see‘-nus): Latian river associated with the contingent from Praeneste, allies of Turnus, 7.798.
AMASTRUS (a-mays‘-trus): Trojan killed by Camilla, 11.794.
AMATA (a-mah‘-ta): wife of King Latinus and mother of Lavinia; victim of the Fury Allecto, she takes her own life upon thinking that Turnus has been killed, 7.402.
AMATHUS (a‘-ma-thus): town in southern Cyprus, a favored, sacred haunt of Venus, 10.62.
AMAZONS (a‘-ma-zonz): a mythical nation of women warriors, vaguely located in the north, who are supposed to have invaded Phrygia in Asia Minor, 1.592.
AMITERNUM (a-mi-teer‘-num): a town in the Sabine territory, its contingent led by Clausus, allies of Turnus, 7.827.
AMPHITRYON (am-fi‘-tri-on): Alcmena’s husband and supposed father of her son, Hercules, who was actually sired by Jupiter, 8.115.
AMSANCTUS (aym-saynk‘-tus): sulphurous lake in the territory of the Samnites, inland from Naples, a breathing vent for the God of Death, and “the navel of Italy,” according to Servius, 7.655.
AMYCLAE (a-mee‘-klee): a town in Latium, ruled by Camers. Its “silence” has been explained in various ways, none of them convincing, 10.670.
AMYCUS (a‘-mi-kus ): (1) Trojan, comrade of Aeneas, shipwrecked off the coast of Libya, 1.261. (2) Harsh king of the Thracian Bebrycians, and a champion boxer ultimately taken down by Pollux, 5.416. (3) Trojan, comrade of Aeneas and an expert hunter, killed by Turnus, 9.870. (4) Father of Mimas by Theano, killed by Mezentius, 10.832. (5) Trojan, brother of Diores, killed by Turnus, 12.595.
ANAGNIA (a-nayg‘-ni-a): Latian town east of Rome (modern Anagni), source of a contingent allied with Turnus, 7.797.
ANCHEMOLUS (an-ke‘-mo-lus): son of Rhoeteus, king of the Marsi; killed by Pallas (3), 10.458.
ANCHISES (an-keye‘-seez): Trojan of royal descent, grandson of Assaracus, son of Capys (2), se
cond cousin of Priam, father by Venus of Aeneas, his son who accompanies him from Troy to Sicily, where Anchises dies, 1.739. See Introduction, Notes, and Glossary, passim.
ANCUS (an‘-kus): Ancus Martius, the fourth king of Rome, 6.939. See Introduction, p. 30.
ANDROGEOS (ayn-dro‘-je-os): (1) Greek captain killed at the fall of Troy, 2.463. (2) Son of Minos the king of Crete; when the Athenians murdered Androgeos, his father demanded in restitution the yearly sacrifice to the Minotaur of seven Athenian girls and seven boys, 6.24.
ANDROMACHE (an-dro‘-ma-kee): daughter of Eetion, wife of Hector, then of Pyrrhus, and finally of the prophet Helenus; mother of Astyanax, and one of the leading heroines of the Iliad. See Aeneid 2.569, 3.389-400, and Note ad loc.
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