Book IX

Dear SM Summer Reading Group,

While reading Book IX, I couldn't help but be reminded of the reality of war and pride in warfare so prevalent in the heritage of Rome, but also the impression of entertainment in the telling of battle that comes through in Vergil.  He certainly does not spare one gory detail, including the emotional pain that those afflicted by conflict and violence must endure. The color of the language used to describe wartime episodes seems to suggest that the audience enjoyed reading the play-by-play, especially when the stand-offs are between epic heroes and peoples, with a sprinkling of the divine, as they are in the Aeneid.

Need to Know

• Aeneas is away when the Latins attack the walls of the makeshift Trojan camp. He has left his men with orders in the event that a conflict arises and they are put to the test by Turnus' besiegement of their walls and turrets.
• Yes. You read that right. The ships turned into sea nymphs because of an old blessing Jupiter provided at Cybele's request. The mother goddess, Cybele, had requested that the ships built from the wood of her sacred grove be spared. Jupiter could not grant this at points in Aeneas' journey that had been predetermined by the Fates, but he was able to promise that once the ships landed in Latium, they would be preserved according to Cybele's request.
• Euryalus and Nisus are praised for their courage when they strategize to pick their way through the sleeping/drunk camp of Latins in order to reach Aeneas. At which point does their confidence move into cockiness? What is the moment at which these two seal their own doom? The episode of Euryalus and Nisus seems to teach a lesson about valor stretched into over-confience and the consequence of behaving this way.
• Nevertheless, the virtue of their friendship and brotherhood is praised by the author himself when he promises to do his best to make their story immortal. Though both lost their lives, the glory of their friendship will last as long as his telling does:
• "How fortunate, both at once!/If my songs have any power, the day will never dawn/ that wipes you from the memory of the ages, not while/the house of Aeneas stands by the Capitol's rock unshaken/not while the Roman Father rules the world" (Book IX, ll.511-515)
• Ascanius/Iulus is the game-changer with his clean shot at the Latin, Remulus. Apollo loves it, but comes down to remind Ascanius that he may want to count this as beginner's luck and not get ahead of himself.
• Turnus is a pretty impressive warrior. He changes the course of the battle twice, single-handedly slaughtering a number of Trojans, forcing back the surge, and even breeching the walls. Eventually, he makes his escape by jumping into the river Tiber and swimming back to his fellow soldiers. Quite impressive.

Poetry
The imagery of an army on the march is commonly described from the perspective of a sentry posted on the lookout tower. A disturbance appears on the horizon, a large cloud of dust grows in size as the troops move closer until the rumbling sound of soldiers on the march can be heard at a distance. Judging the timing of an attack by this means must have been terrifying! The description of Turnus' army coming together on the march is imagined like tributaries flowing into a rising river (simile) - a really cool piece of language & imagery (Book IX, ll.29-43).

Old but True
War brings out the best in some and the worst in others. It's interesting how clearly Vergil connects individual success to the mindset, character, discipline, and spirit of the warrior.

Roman
Did you find Book IX to be as violent as I did? There was quite a lot of spewing guts, brains, and blood in my opinion. This makes me wonder what threshold the Roman audience would have had for this kind of description. Was this a PG, PG-13, or R rated telling in relationship to their reality?