Summary
Summary Latin Didactic: Aristaeus Epyllion, Georgics 4
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A summary of several elements in the Aristaeus Epyllion of the Georgics 4
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How does the Orpheus inset relate to the frame in the Aristaeusepyllion and how does the whole epyllion relate to the rest of the
Georgics?
Background
The first half the Georgics Book IV deals with the lives and keeping of bees -> clearly didactic
character conforming with the rest of the poem.
line 315: epyllion about the hero Aristaeus, which itself contains the story of another hero,
Orpheus.
Despite the sudden change in narrative, the transitions between these passages are well-
composed: The didactic passage on apiary ends with a marvellous story about bugonia, and
the Aristaeus epyllion is introduced as an aetion of this process.
The stories of Orpheus and Aristaeus are closely connected:
Aristaeus’ attempt to rape Eurydice -> sets in motion Orpheus’ destruction
Orpheus’ wrath -> causes the loss of Aristaeus’ bee colony (IV.454-6) -> sets in motion
the events which lead up to the discovery of bugonia.1
Proteus explaining Aristaeus’ fault and how he can resolve it is not detached from
the rest of the story
The Aristaeus Epyllion deals on the personal level of the two heroes with
themes that are presented on the larger level of the countryside in the rest of
the poem
Themes of amor, labor are introduced in the passage on the bees
Note that the invocation of the Muses which introduces this section brings to mind Jupiter’s
invention of labor in Book I: “Quis deus hanc, Musae, quis nobis extudit artem?” (IV.315)
Amor
The bees:
In respect to amor, bees stand in contrast to the heroes of the epyllion, especially Orpheus.
one of the miraculous qualities of bees is that they don’t procreate -> the bees are free from
the effects of amor:
- Amor is negatively portrayed in book III: “quod neque concubitu indulgent, nec
corpora segnes/in Venerem soluunt aut fetus nixibus edunt” (IV.198-9).
- Bees form an exception to Virgil’s statement “amor omnibus idem” (III.244).
Orpheus
CONTRAST Orpheus’ character is defined by “aegrum (…) amorem” (IV.464), which
constitutes his “tantus furor” (IV.495)
this passion causes Orpheus’ failure: disobeying the divine decree, he looks back at Eurydice
“cum subita incautum dementia cepit amantem” (VI.488), thus causing Eurydice to turn into
a shade returning to the underworld.
NEVERTHELESS it seems that we are supposed to pity the lover, despite his folly -> The
passages’ language adds to the sense of this as a sympathetic (as well as pseudo-Neoteric)
account:
1
Batstone, p. 195.
, - miserabilis Orpheus – 4.444
- nesciaque humanis precibus mansuescere corda – 4.470
- miserabile carmen – 4.514
- repeated apostrophe of the dead Eurydice at 4.465–6
- expressions like immemor heu! at 4.491
NOTE that the pity that has become central to the account of Orpheus and Eurydice
is evoked in the account of Hero and Leander (III.258–63; and in some of the tales of
animal lust and loss in both passion and plague):
quid iuuenis, magnum cui uersat in ossibus ignem
durus amor? nempe abruptis turbata procellis
nocte natat caeca serus freta; quem super ingens
porta tonat caeli, et scopulis inlisa reclamant
aequora; nec miseri possunt reuocare parentes,
nec moritura super crudeli funere uirgo.
Aristaeus
Aristaeus’ amor or furor is never explicitly mentioned. HOWEVER, his pursuit of Eurydice,
which caused her death (VI.453-9), was evidently driven by sexual desire.
NOTE the connection with the furor amoris account in book III:
- Eurydice, in the context of Aristaeus’ attempted rape, a “moritura puella” –
IV.458
- recalls Hero, who (F) is called a “moritura (…) uirgo” (III.263) in the context of the
amoris furor account in Book III. She threw herself off a tower after her lover
Leander had drowned while trying to cross the Hellespont to be with her
HENCE just as Leander’s amor was fatal to Hero, so too Aristaeus’ amor was fatal
to Eurydice, although Aristaeus himself doesn’t die beforehand like Leander.
Labor
The bees:
In respect labor, the bees stand in contrast to the heroes of the epyllion, especially Orpheus:
The bees possess all the qualities necessary for the proper execution of their labor, namely
diligence, orderliness and discipline -> they are mindfulness of their labores: “memores
aestate laborem/experiuntur et in medium quaesita reponunt” (IV.156-7)
Perhaps due to their lack of amor
Orpheus
In CONTRAST to the bees stands Orpheus’ destructive heedlessness of his labor,
emphatically stressed by “immemor heu!” (VI.491):
- NOTE that memory is an central feature of Orphic rite -> in Virgil, Orpheus (or
Aristaes?) fails to remember
- NOTE that (im)memor has strong didactic connotations -> Orpheus fails as a pupil:
o Geo. I.167: “omnia quae multo ante memor prouisa repones”
o Geo. II.347: “sparge fimo pingui et multa memor occule terra”
o μεμνημένος in Hesiod’s Works and Days 422, 623, and 711.
Orpheus’ heedlessness is the result of the madness which consists in his love for Eurydice,
who poignantly points out to her lover that his “tantus furor” (in empathic position) is to
blame (IV.494-5).
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