Lines 302-364

Question 1

Poeni

Answer 1

The Carthaginians.
Comes from Phoinos- greek word for red dye from that region.
Becomes Poenus/Punics (Punic Wars)

Question 2

‘pius’

Pious

Answer 2

Epithet for Aeneas

Question 3

Epithet

Answer 3

A nickname (basically)

Question 4

Achates

Answer 4

Aeneas’ right hand man.

No major role, just always around- Homerism? Similarity to Hector and Aeneas in the Odyssey

Question 5

‘cui’

his

Answer 5

Refers to Aeneas
Sentence starts with a relative pronoun- picks up subject from previous sentence.
Used to fit the meter.

Question 6

‘gerens’

wearing

Answer 6

Odd translation in English. Better to use ‘with’

Question 7

‘Spartanae’

Spartan Girl

Answer 7

Gods almost never present themselves in their true form (except for in the Illiad).
Spartan girls were renowned for their militarised training.
Why this costume?
It would not be typical for a normal woman to be out of doors.

Question 8

‘Spartanae, vel qualis equos Threissa fatigat’

a Spartan girl, or such as Harpalyce of Thrace,

Answer 8

Simile.

Question 9

Harpalyce of Thrace

Answer 9

Daughter of the Thracian king Harpalycus, suckled by heifers and mares when her mother died and raised as a warrior princess. When her father lost his throne she lived in the wilds, plundering herds.

Question 10

Hebrus

Answer 10

River in Thrace

Question 11

‘ventis diffundere’

the wind to scatter

Answer 11

epexegetic infinitive

Homerism

Question 12

epexegetic infinitive

Answer 12

Used to explain.

More common in Greek than Latin – Homerism

Question 13

‘collecta’

fastened

Answer 13

Normally her dress would reach the floor but she’s hitched it up for ease of movement- pretty scandalous.

Question 14

‘heus’

hello

Answer 14

Colloquialism

Evidence of Venus’ disguise.

Question 15

‘O quam te memorem, virgo? Namque haud tibi voltus’

oh how should I name you, virgin? For your looks are not mortal…

Answer 15

‘O’ shows he is breaking off in bewilderment.
‘quam’ agrees with ‘te’
Highlights the fact that Aeneas is struggling for the right identity to apply to a woman who he is confident is a goddess.

Question 16

‘certe’

certain

Answer 16

Aeneas knows she is a goddess but not which one. It is imperative he gets the name correct if he wants to receive the help the goddess offers.

Question 17

‘an Phoebi soror? an nympharum sanguinis una?—’

Or Phoebus’s sister? Or one of the race of Nymphs?

Answer 17

Ellipsis of ‘an’ twice in this line. Aeneas is blurting out flustered questions.

Question 18

‘nympharum’

Nymphs

Answer 18

Diana’s nymphs- the Oreades

Question 19

‘sis felix’

be fortunate

Answer 19

iussive subjunctive
often used when a human is asking for divine help.
Follows a sequence of statements commonly used in Roman prayer.

Question 20

‘tandem’

I beg you

Answer 20

often has this meaning in commands or questions.

Question 21

Elision

Answer 21

the omission of a vowel at the end of one word when the next word begins with a vowel, e.g. ‘th’orient.’

Question 22

‘Ignari hominumque locorumque’

knowing nothing of the people or the country:

Answer 22

Elision of ‘-que’ suggests a catch in Aeneas’ voice, indicating his despair.

Question 23

The colour purple

Answer 23

Expensive dye.
Symbol of power in Rome.
Comes from crushed shellfish, often found off the coast of Tyre and therefore likely to be found on a Carthaginian.

Question 24

Agenor

Answer 24

Ancestor of Dido’s from Tyre.

Question 25

'Punica regna vides, Tyrios et Agenoris urbem; sed fines Libyci, genus intractabile bello. Imperium Dido Tyria regit urbe profecta, germanum fugiens. Longa est iniuria, longae ambages; sed summa sequar fastigia rerum.' You see the kingdom of Carthage, Tyrians, and Agenor’s city: but bordered by Libyans, a people formidable in war. Dido rules this empire, having set out from the city of Tyre, fleeing her brother. It’s a long tale of wrong, with many windings: but I’ll trace the main chapters of the story.

Answer 25

Venus offers comfort by confirming Carthage is not a warlike place, unlike its neighbours. Her introduction to Dido’s story is well calculated to catch Aeneas’ attention. She highlights several aspects in common with her son’s own life.

Question 26

Similarities btwn Dido and Aeneas

Answer 26

Both in exile, wronged after many adventures, found a new city abroad.

Question 27

'cui pater intactam dederat, primisque iugarat' | her father had given her to him untouched, and joined (her to him) first with marriage omens,

Answer 27

English translation- ellipsis of 'her' twice in one line, but not in the latin- symbolic of unimportance of women.

Question 28

Sychaeus

Answer 28

Dido's first husband.

Question 29

Pygmalion's many, many crimes

Answer 29

He commits SO Many crimes- highlights his malignity. Dido’s suffering is further magnified by the audiences’ knowledge that she will fall in love and be abandoned a second time by Aeneas.

Question 30

'impius' | impious

Answer 30

Pygmalion's own epithet is in direct contrast to Aeneas'

Question 31

'impius ante aras' | impious before the altars

Answer 31

impius placed emphatically at start of line. | he kills Sychaeus AT the altar. On his wedding day.

Question 32

'amantem' | lovesick

Answer 32

left emphatically until end of line and section.

Question 33

'amore' 'amorum' 'amantem'

Answer 33

Polyptoton. left until ends of lines. Very poignant- Pygmalion is ruining Dido's life.

Question 34

Ecphrasis

Answer 34

A story-within-a-story, digression; an epic device.

Question 35

Pygmalion kills Sychaeus but doesn't bury him...

Answer 35

Romans believed that those unburied could not enter the underworld and hence wandered as ghosts haunting and disturbing the living. Another mark of how evil Pygmalion is.

Question 36

Sychaeus is killed at the altar...

Answer 36

There is irony in the fact that the altars are normally expected to protect a man, but could not when faced with Pygmalion’s pure evilness.

Question 37

'Pygmalionis opes pelago;' | The riches of greedy Pygmalion were carried over the sea;

Answer 37

Servius comments that there is no greater punishment for a greedy man than to lose his wealth. At lines 378-9 Aeneas will also be described as taking tokens of the past to a new kingdom.

Question 38

'dux femina facti.' | a woman made the leader.

Answer 38

Venus finishes her description of Dido’s plight with an epigrammatic phrase. Dido is full of action – a decisive, responsible and courageous leader of men.