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Aeneid Commentary, Book 1, Lines 450-484
This is a commentary on lines 450-484 of Book 1 of the Aeneid, which talks about the language used and how Virgil describes the atmosphere of the scene.
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Lucy MartinAeneid Commentary: I.450 - 484
During this part of the story, Aeneas has just arrived at the island of Carthage, and just
before he meets the Queen of Carthage, Dido, he finds himself in a temple which is covered with
depictions of scenes from the Trojan War. At the start of this passage, he is in a grove and sees this
temple which is described as having ‘leniit’, allayed, his fears and given him more hope for the
future. The word choice of ‘leniit’ creates quite a vivid and interesting image, as this word more
technically means ‘to mollify or soften’, (I myself often associate it with the melting of wax because
of Daedalus and Icharus). This creates a feeling of his fears melting away and quite quietly and subtly
retreating away from him. (this may sound odd, I was imagining being overcome with fear and the
idea of it being washed away like how water trickles down the body to the ground and leaves, but
more as if the water encompassed the whole being – like water covering every inch of the skin and
all slipping away from the body by trickling down all together and leaving -> sorry for the massive
tangent, I just really like this word). This helps to convey the calming nature of Aeneas’ surroundings.
What is interesting is that this is almost counter-balanced with the fact that Aeneas’ name itself is
delayed in the sentence, until the second line, creating a sense of the unfamiliar and mystical almost
in its unfamiliarity, purely as the reader at first, along with Aeneas, is made to feel for a moment like
they also have no clue where they are or what is about to happen in the story. What adds to this
idea of the mystic element to his surroundings is the word choice of ‘lustrat’, translated here as
‘studying (everything). This is very interesting word choice as it also, and more often means ‘to
cleanse, purify or illuminate’. This word choice reflects the religious nature of the building but also
helps to capture the mystical, magical sort of element of this place. It has been argued that Dido
holds a lot of similarities to the character of Circe in the Odyssey. Perhaps this interesting word
choice and the creation of a more mystical atmosphere to Dido’s island is used as a way to reflect
the mystical island of Circe. Furthermore, the mystical, alluring sort of quality added to the
landscape in Virgil’s descriptions almost foreshadows in a way the romantic nature of Aeneas’
relationship with Dido, and since this is only a few moments before he meets her, this adds weight
to the creation of a place that is mysterious and alluring and made so grandiose and magnificent in
description as to be almost romantic in its nature. The fact that these are unfamiliar surroundings
also hints at a kind of danger about this place, perhaps because it is still unknown, which is an
Odyssean idea also, creating more parallels to Circe and her island. It in some ways creates a sense
of dread but in a way far more subtle than in the Odyssey, especially since Aeneas then goes on to
quell these fears. It is a nice and very subtle nod to the Odyssean trope of danger and dread
whenever the men would land somewhere. The use of the word ‘ausus’, emphasized through
enjambment and its place at the start of line 452, gives a feeling of caution or hesitation about
Aeneas’ approach to his surroundings, yet simultaneously creates dissonance between arriving at
Carthage and the distressing and hopeless nature of the trials they had to endure previously. (the
storm, loss of many of their comrades at various points, death of Aeneas’ father, etc., etc.) due to
that fact that this time he allowed himself to be hopeful and allowed himself to feel more at home
and safer in this strange place. This tentativeness is also conveyed in some ways through the
sibilance across the whole line. It creates a sort of lullaby effect, a lulling into security, and therefore
helps give the sense of being in a sort of dream-like state, thus helping to create a subtle hint of the
mystical and magical about this place and this scene. This sibilance also has a second effect of talking
about what the men have suffered in a way that makes it more gentle; it is conveying a subtly to
grief more realistic than Homer’s constant talk of lamentation, weeping and sobbing. It puts the idea
of grief and suffering to the background, telling us more of the nature of Aeneas’ grief being
something omni-present but pushed aside. It helps depict how this place is relieving him of his pain
in some ways and giving him some peace of mind. The tone changes slightly Aeneas discovers the
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