Book VIII

Dear SM Summer Reading Group,

Aeneas has made a necessary alliance with some Greek ex-patriots in preparation for battle with the Latins (Turnus & the Rutulians). This book is most famous for the description of the shield that Venus makes for her son, Aeneas. This shield, the work of the god Vulcan, depicts the future glory of Rome through the reign of the Caesars.

Need to Know

• Aeneas received his inspiration to enter into a pact with Evander (former native of mainland Greece, Arcadia), based on the trusted advice that he received in a dream from the River Tiber. The River gives Aeneas the prophecy of the white sow (big old pig) with thirty piglets, a sign that Ascanius (Aeneas' son), will see when he sets about founding the city of Alba Longa. Alba means white…
• When Aeneas and his men find Evander up shore, he happens to be performing a rite for the demigod Hercules. Hercules saved the earliest settlers of the citadel of Rome from the monster Cacus. Hercules was worshipped in the earliest religious rituals in the city of Rome on the are maxima. This altar is located beneath the church where Audrey Hepburn puts her hand inside the mouth of truth in Roman Holiday.
  
• Evander's son, Pallas, greets them with arms but Aeneas extends "the olive branch of peace" - use this example as a first century reference to the symbol of the olive branch.
• There are many connections between Aeneas/Trojans and Evander/Arcadians, but the most important and winning connection is the fact that Evander recalls a visit from Priam and Anchises in Arcadia (Greece) when he was just a boy. 
• Venus, according to myth, had an arranged marriage of sorts with Vulcan. The story is pretty entertaining and if you have the time, I suggest you read it (Homer's Odyssey Book VIII ll. 266-369). Regardless, she uses her charms to convince him to build Aeneas' famed shield with the best of his materials and craftsmanship. He orders his employed cyclopes to do so on Venus' behalf and the shield is forged.
• With Evander's encouragement, Aeneas allies with the Etruscans. The Etruscans had revolted against their king, Mezentius, ally of Turnus, but were stopped by a warning from the gods that they must wait for a foreigner to lead them to victory. Could that be Aeneas?
• The shield depicts scenes of Rome's great glory. If you're interested, look up one of the following episodes of the great heroes of Rome depicted on the shield:
• The Sabine Women
• Lars Porsenna
• Horatius Cocles
• Cloelia
• The Capitoline Geese
• A special shoutout to Catiline & Cato in ll.780-785 - these two historical figures from the 1st c. BC make it onto the shield!
• Likewise, more recent people and events for Romans of Vergil's time, Caesar Augustus, Mark Antony, Cleopatra & Agrippa, are referenced in the scene from the Battle of Actium.

Poem
"He fills with wonder/he knows nothing of these events but takes delight in their likeness/lifting onto his shoulders now/the fame and fates of all his children's children." (Book VIII, ll.855-859)

Old but True
Evander sets his son up as an intern in Aeneas' campaign against the Rutulians. This arrangement is a generous offer on Evander's behalf (giving up his son to battle), but Aeneas' acceptance is equally generous. He is willing to train Pallas in the act of battle by allowing him to apprentice or "intern" under him. Apprenticeship was crucial for success in many Roman professions, similar to the way in which many recent college graduates today must observe and participate in the occupation of their choice before beginning a full-time position. Most connections between apprentice/master were forged in the way that we all know intern/employer connections tend to be made: friends of friends and friends of family. Evander's ancestral partnership with Priam and Anchises is the perfect background for this arrangement with Aeneas.

Roman
Evander gives Aeneas a brief history of the earliest Italians & takes him on a tour of places in this region that will someday hold even more significance for Romans (for example, the Lupercal, the cave where Remus and Romulus, founder of Rome, were raised by the she-wolf).

Later, in the description of the shield designed by Venus and Vulcan, events & heroes of Early Rome are reviewed. Remember, Aeneas does not know this prophecy, even though he has already received some of it during his trip to the underworld. When he passed through the gate out of the underworld, he was forced to forget all that he had learned there.