Lines 12-33 Flashcards
‘antiqua’
ancient
described as ancient but at time novel it is a new city. Virgil commenting to Augustan Reader.
Connotations of being noble.
‘Tyrii’
Tyrian
Tyre- city in Lebanon, home of Queen Dido before she fled Pygmalion (brother).
Brought the Tyrians to Carthage- she is building them a city.
‘Karthago/Italiam’
Put close together to show juxtaposition between them.
‘contra’
opposite/against
Double meaning implies both physical position as well as a link to the Punic wars (third century BC).
Fought three wars, Carthage was razed to the ground.
‘Samo;’
Greek island with famous temple to Hera (Juno).
Hiatus after Samos, unusual. No elision.
‘hic illius arma’
here were her weapons
Juno was a military goddess- needed somewhere to store weapons.
Roman God, with Phoenician city- because of Roman habit of ‘picking up’ Gods, by Virgil’s time she was already associated with a local Phoenician God.
‘si qua fata sanino’
if only the fates allowed
come across as Juno’s own internal thoughts.
‘tendit’ ‘fovet’
working cherishing
Present tense.
‘progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci
audierat, Tyrias olim quae verteret arces;’
But nevertheless she had heard of offspring derived from Trojan blood,
which would one day overthrow the Tyrian strongholds.
References to the Trojan war are introduced.
Describes events not in the Illiad, so not Homeric in style.
Could be trying to establish himself as more than a copy cat?
‘verteret’
overturn/overthrow
Literally- in 29BC, Augustus decided to rebuild Carthage, and literally had the earth turned over and re-levelled.
‘Superbum’
proud
Pejorative (disapproving) overtones.
‘Parcas’
Fates
Originally goddesses of childbirth.
Varietal vocabulary.
Saturnia
‘Daughter of Saturn’
Juno is the subject here. This phrase should be put on line 29?
Argos
Important Greek City with temple to Juno.
‘necdum etiam causae irarum saevique dolores
exciderant animo: manet alta mente repostum
iudicium Paridis spretaeque iniuria formae,
et genus invisum, et rapti Ganymedis honores.’
and the causes of her anger and bitter sorrows
had not yet passed from her mind: the distant judgement
of Paris stayed deep in her heart, the injury to her scorned beauty,
both her hatred of the race, and abducted Ganymede’s honours.
Parenthesis (a word or phrase inserted as an explanation or afterthought)
Where we almost hear Juno’s voice.
‘irarum saevique dolores’
anger and bitter sorrow
Poetic plurals used for singular meaning
‘necdum exciderant (…) iudicium Paridis (…) manet alta mente (…) iniuria’
had not yet passed (…) judgement of Paris (…) stayed deep in her hear (…) injury
Semantic field based on Juno’s ability to hold a grudge.
Main focus on Paris’s rejection, as it questions her sexual beauty.
Only revenge will calm her- Homeric concept
‘genus invisum’
hatred of the race
Juno also probably hates Trojans because they are descended from Dardanus, a son of Jupiter not by Juno.
‘rapti Ganymedis honores’
abducted Ganymede’s honours
Juno is also Jealous of Ganymede, a handsome Trojan chosen to be Jupiter’s cupbearer.
‘Danaum’
Danai
Synonym fro Greeks, descendents of Danaus, Egyptian who fled to Argos. Not known how became synonymous.
‘arcebat longe Latio, multosque per annos
errabant, acti fatis, maria omnia circum.’
keeping them far from Latium: they wandered for many years,
driven by fate over all the seas.
Such an effort it was to found the Roman people.
A journey is a key feature of epic poetry.
‘per annos errabant’
wandered for many years
Links Juno’s motives to Aeneas’s struggle
‘acti fatis, maria omnia circum.’
by fate over all the seas
Fate is the underlying force which shapes the action of the poem.
‘tantae molis’
such an effort
Draws together all of the ramblings above it.
