Lines 466-493 Flashcards
Pergama
citadel of Troy/Ilium
‘hac…hac’, ‘…nec procul hinc’, ‘…parte alia’
all give a sense of Aeneas moving in amazement from panel to panel of the picture, almost re-telling the story to himself.
The Phryges
The Phrygians/ Trojans
They are fleeing like the Greeks in 467, while Achilles pursues like the Trojans in 467.
Rhesus
Trojan ally from Thrace, killed for his divine horses in a night raid by Odysseus and Diomedes (Iliad 10).
focalisation
A narrative where all information presented reflects the subjective perception of a certain character
“Nec procul hinc Rhesi niveis tentoria velis
adgnoscit lacrimans, primo quae prodita somno
Tydides multa vastabat caede cruentus,
ardentisque avertit equos in castra, prius quam
pabula gustassent Troiae Xanthumque bibissent.”
Not far away from here, through his tears, he recognises Rhesus’s
white-canvassed tents, that blood-stained Diomedes,
laid waste with great slaughter, betrayed in their first sleep,
and diverting the fiery horses to his camp, before they could eat
Trojan fodder, and drink from the river Xanthus.
The Trojans can finally sleep now that the Greeks have left, or so they think. Could this sort of thing actually be depicted, or is it Aeneas’ focalisation
Tydides
The son of Tydeus (Diomedes)
‘gustassent’
eat
contracted subjunctive indicates that they did not actually taste it.
who is Troilus?
a young Trojan warrior. There was a tradition that he was ambushed when he was unarmed.
‘infelix’ ‘impar’
these adjectives both suggest a point of view on Aeneas’ part. It is hard to see how they are objective descriptions of the relief.
Why was Troilus famous?
Troilus was known as an expert horseman. He tries to retain control even as he is dragged along behind.
‘et versa pulvis inscribitur hasta.’
and his spear reversed furrowing the dust.
The spear point seems to write in the dust. It is debatable whether it Troilus is still holding his own spear or whether it is the one with which Achilles has transfixed him.
‘Interea ad templum non aequae Palladis ibant
crinibus Iliades passis peplumque ferebant
suppliciter tristes et tunsae pectora palmis;
diva solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat.’
Meanwhile the Trojan women with unbound hair, walked
to unjust Pallas’s temple carrying the sacred robe,
mourning humbly, and beating their breasts with their hands.
The goddess was turning away, her eyes fixed on the ground.
These lines are taken from Iliad 6.297-311. The Trojan women (Iliades) trying to placate Minerva by placing a precious robe in her sanctuary in Ilium, in order to stop Diomedes’ rampage. Minerva rejects the offering. The robe is an imitation of the one specially woven and offered every four years to Athens at the Athenian festival of the Great Panathenaea.
“Ter circum Iliacos raptaverat Hectora muros,
exanimumque auro corpus vendebat Achilles.
Tum vero ingentem gemitum dat pectore ab imo,
ut spolia, ut currus, utque ipsum corpus amici,
tendentemque manus Priamum conspexit inermis.”
Three times had Achilles dragged Hector round the walls of Troy,
and was selling the lifeless corpse for gold.
Then he (Aeneas) truly gives a huge sigh, from the depths of his heart,
as he views the spoils, the chariot, the very body of his friend,
and Priam stretching out his unwarlike hands.
These lines summarise the events of Iliad 24.14-18 and 24.478ff. The pluperfect ‘raptaverat’ suggests that Hector’s death was not depicted on the frieze and that these are again, Aeneas’ words.
‘ut spolia, ut currus, utque ipsum corpus amici’
as he views the spoils, the chariot, the very body of his friend,
‘amici’ is particularly touching.
Word is again focalised through Aeneas’ eyes.
Features a rising tricolon- hector’s body is the dramatic climax. He is the greatest loss, more so that spoils or chariots.
