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Mnemosyne, Vol. XLVII, Fase. 1 (1994), ? E. J. Brill, Leiden
VERGIL'S ELYSIUM AND THE
ORPHIC-PYTHAGOREAN IDEAS OF AFTER-LIFE
BY
URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
In book five, the apparition of Anchises bids Aeneas to visit the
underworld to meet his father in Elysium, in the concilia piorum
(5.731-35):
Ditis tarnen ante
infermas accede domos et Auerna per alta
congressus pete, nate, meos. non me impia namque
Tartara habent, tristes umbrae, sed amoena piorum
concilia
Elysiumquecolo.
Following the apparition's instructions, Aeneas with the Sibyl as his
guide tours the different regions of the underworld, to arrive finally
at Elysium. The first station of Aeneas and the Sibyl is the sedes
beatae (6.639), the place where the souls of Orpheus, Musaeus, the
heroes of the golden age, the pious priests, prophets/poets l) and
individuals distinguished for their services to their country and
humanity abide (645, 660-64, 667). From the sedes beatae they are
directed to the nitentes campi (677), where Aeneas meets his father,
Anchises. Strikingly, what the reader learns about the souls thatdwell in these areas comes neither from the mouth of the Sibyl nor
from Aeneas, but from the poet/narrator who in the beginning of
the catabasis asked for divine permission to proceed to his revelation
about after-life (264-67):
Di, quibus Imperium est animarum, umbraeque silentes
et Chaos et Phlegethon, loca nocte tacentia late,
sit mihi fas audita loqui, sit numine uestro
pandere res alta terra et caligine mersas.
1) See M. M. Winkler, TuqueOptimeVates: Musaeus in booksix of theAeneid, AJP10 (1987), 655-60, esp. 658.
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34 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
The account of Elysium, therefore, bears the authority of an hieros
logos, which, on the one hand, describes what Aeneas and the Sibyl
eye-witness, and, on the other, imparts information regarding the
souls that dwell there accessible only to the reader.
To date little attention has been paid to the topographical details
(6.637-715), and the concilia piorum (5.734-35) of Elysium. Scholars
who have discussed the underworld and the classification of the
souls have suggested that Elysium is the permanent abode of the
blessed spirits2). As early as A. Dieterich's Nekyia3) and E.Norden's commentary on the sixth book of the Aeneid, Elysium was
equated with the sedes beatae (639)4). Nevertheless, the poet takes
pains to emphasize that Anchises lives in a separate area from the
sedes beatae, the nitentes campi5); there, he appears to review a group
of souls which, the poet tells us, are destined to be reborn (inclusas
animas superumque ad lumen ituras 680); there is no mention that either
Anchises or the new group of souls wear the same white fillets that
crown the heads of the inhabitants of the sedes beatae (omnibus his
niuea cinguntur tempora uitta 665). What is the purpose of such adistinction? Who are the inclusae animate Who are the souls of the
concilia piorum*
2) This assumption was accepted by C. Murley, F. Solmsen, R.D. Williams
and most recently E. Henry and Th. Habinek. See: C. Murley, The Classification
of Souls in the Sixth Aeneid, Vergilius 37 (1938-40), 17-27: He claims that Anchises
is among the eternally blessed (23); F. Solmsen, Greek deasof theHereafter n Vergil'sRoman Epic, PAPhS 112 (1968), 8-14, and The Worldof the Dead in Book 6 of the
Aeneid, CPh 67 (1972), 31-41; G. Stegen, Virgileet la Metempsychose Aen. VI, 724-
51), AC 36 (1967), 144-158: He suggests that Anchises is found by the river of
Lethe (156); RJ. Clark, The Wheel and Vergil's Eschatology n Aeneid 6, SO 50
(1975), 121-41: Clark distinguishes between Elysium and Lethe and suggests that
Elysium is Anchises' permanent home; J. Sheehan, Catholic Ideas of Death as Found
in Aeneid VI, Classical Folia 15-16 (1961-62), 87-109; R.D. Williams, The Sixth
Book of the Aeneid G&R n.s. 11 (1964), 48-63; B. Otis, Three Problemsof Aeneid 6,HSCPh 90 (1959), 165-79; P.F. Burke, Jr., Roman Ritesfor thedead and Aeneid 6,
CJ 74 (1978-79), 220-28; FJ. Miller, The Philosophic Vergil, Vergilian Society 37
(1938), 9-26; E. Henry, The Vigourof Prophecy.A Study of Vergil'sAeneid (Illinois
1989), 135 ff.; Th.N. Habinek, Scienceand tradition n Aeneid 6, HSCPh 92 (1989),223-54, esp. 230-31 ff.
3) Nekyia (Leipzig 1913), 154-60.
4) E. Norden, P. VergiliusMaro Aeneis Buch VI (Stuttgart 1976).
5) F. Solmsen observes that Anchises has his place somewhat apart from theother heroes , but he dismisses it by observing that we have not passed outside
the confines of Elysium : see Solmsen (1972), 36-37.
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vergil's elysium 35
In this paper, I suggest that, first, Vergil has divided Elysium
into different locations as he has done with other regions of the
underworld, such as Orcus, or the Styx and even Tartarus; and,
secondly and most interestingly, Vergil, using the Homeric
Elysium as a base of his account, develops it according to the more
sophisticated and systematic Orphic-Pythagorean ideas of after-
life6). He presents it as a larger region containing two different
abodes of reward for morally pure souls: the sedes beatae (639)
populated by semi-divine souls which have escaped the cycle ofrebirth; and the nitentes campi (677) containing the souls destined to
transmigrate to new bodies (inclusas animas superumque ad lumen ituras
680). The Lethaean valley (domi placidae 705) is the final destination
of these souls which drink from the waters of forgetfulness (713-15)
and are reborn. Vergil's account shares common traits with
descriptions of the abodes of reward found in such texts as Pindar's
Olympian 2.61-72, Aristophanes' Frogs, Plato's myths of after-life
and the Gold Leaves Al-A4, which stem from the Orphic-
Pythagorean milieu.
At the beginning of the catabasis Vergil states that Aeneas and the
Sibyl will journey through the empty domi and regna of Dis (268-69).
Accordingly, the reader is presented with a geography of Dis which
contains different regions for different categories of souls. Each
region is divided into smaller areas populated by different sub-
categories of souls. Thus, Orcus (273), Styx (417) and Tartarus
(566) appear to be larger areas of Dis: regna1). Orcus is the abode
of the evil
personificationswhich are found to
occupy specificloca-
tions in it. In the vestibulum abide Luctus, Morbi, Senectus, Metus,
Fames, Egestas, Sopor and the mala Gaudia (273-79); in the opposite
side of the vestibule dwell Bellum and Discordia (279-80); in the mid-
dle of the vestibule is the tree of the vain dreams (in medio ramos
annosaque bracchia panditl ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem Somnia uulgoluana tenere ferunt ... 282-84); by the doors (in foribus 286), which
6) In other, also, sections of the underworld Vergil follows Orphic-Pythagorean
ideas; see for Tartarus James E.G. Zetzel, ROMANE, MEMENTO: Justice andJudgment in Aeneid 6, TAPhA 119 (1989), 263-84.
7) Minos is in charge of Styx and Rhadamanthys of Tartarus.
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36 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
separate Orcus from the banks of Acheron, abide the Centaurs,
Scyllae, Briareus, the Lernean beast, Chimaera, the Gorgans, the
Harpies and Cerberus (286-90).
Styx is the abode of the a?roi; it is divided into smaller sections,
which are designated by the terms sedes (431) or loca (434), campi
(441) and arua (477). These locations are inhabited by different
groups o? a?roi such as the infants by the banks (427-28) of Cocytus,
next those condemned for false reasons (430), then the maesti (434),
the Lugentes (441) and the arua which frequent those clan bello (477-
78)8). Even in Tartarus a rudimentary division into different loca-
tions seems to be in effect for different categories of sinners (scelerati
563)?the Titans, for example, occupy the very bottom of Tartarus
(fundo uoluuntur in imo 580-81); and different punishments are allot-
ted to different groups of sinners (608-17).
Similarly, at the end of book six, Elysium is described as a regio
(886)9): the poet remarks, in indirect speech, that Aeneas and the
Sibyl were given a tour through the wide fields of the whole region
(886-887):
sic tota passim regione uagantur
aeris in campis latis atque omnia lustrant.
According to Ernout and Meillet, regio designates a 'limited part'
or 'region' within a larger space10). When the Sibyl asks Musaeus
about the regio and locus in which Anchises abides (670), she asks
information about the specific region of Dis which Anchises
inhabits, and the specific location within that region. For, locus,
accordingto Ernout and
Meillet,denotes the
specific placein which
one dwells. Servius commenting on the line 670 observes that regio
is a general term, whereas locus is specific, and adds that a locus
8) For the five categories of ????? see: E. Norden (1976), 11-16, 244 ff.
9) When Aeneas nails the golden bough on the threshold in front of the doors
of the house which is at the entrance to Elysium, the implication is that the house
belongs to Persephone. For, the golden bough is a gift for her (hocsibi pulchrasuum
ferri Proserpinamunusl instituit6.142) who lives with Pluto (casta licetpatrui seruetPro-
serpina limen 6.402). Persephone is in charge of Elysium, as Minos is of Styx and
Radamanthys of Tartarus.10) A. Ernout and A. Meillet, DictionnaireEtymologiquede la LangueLatine (Paris
1959).
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VERGUES ELYSIUM 37
belongs to a regio. Therefore, the valleys of the sedes beatae or laeti loci
(638-39), the nitentes campi (677) and the domi placidae (705) repre-
sent different locations of the Elysian region11). In these locations
dwell the concilia piorum which the apparition of Anchises mentioned
to Aeneas earlier in book 5.731-35. Both the elaborate geography
of Elysium and the classification of the souls of the pii, it will be
argued, owe much to Orphic-Pythagorean ideas of after-life.
Elysium is mentioned for the first time in the Odyssey 4.561-69 inthe prophecy of Proteus who foretells to Menelaus that he, as the
spouse of Helen and son-in-law of Zeus, will be translated into the
Elysion pedion, a place at the bounds of the earth (pe??ata ?a???
563)12) without snow, rain or storms, where only breezes of zephyr
blow to cool the people who lead there a toilless life. It is clear that
Homer regards Elysium as the abode of those blest who have divine
links (564-65). Although Vergil, as we noted above, uses the
Homeric Elysium as a framework for his own account13) by main-
tainingthe name and
placing Anchises,the
spouseof
Venus,within
it, he reconstructs Elysium from a moral point of view: Elysium is
the place of reward of morally pure souls.
A first indication that Vergil conceived of Elysium in a more
complex way than his predecessor is his choice of the location.
When Aeneas and the Sibyl arrive at a fork in the road through the
Dis proper (540), the Sibyl explains that on the right is the path to
Elysium (6.541-42):
dextera quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit,
hac iter Elysium nobis;
In eschatological accounts stemming from Orphic-Pythagorean
sources, it is, frequently, attested that the places of reward of the
morally superior souls are on the right. Plato, for example, in the
myth of Er, places on the right the abodes of the righteous (Rep.
11) It is worth noting that Vergil's taste for divisions was taken over and exag-gerated by Dante.
12) It is not clear whether the p??ata ?a(?? (563) were on the surface orunderground.
13) See: G.N. Knauer, Die Aeneis und Homer, Hypomnemata 7 (1964), 107-47.
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38 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
614c-e): t??? ??? d??a???? ?e?e?e?? p??e?es?a? t?? e?? de???? .... In the
Gold Leaf ? lines 5-614), on the right is placed the abode of the
deified souls15):
'???' ?p?ta? ???? p????p?? f??? ?e?????,
de???? + ?S???S???? + <??>?a? pef??a?????? e? ???a p??ta.
?a??e pa??? t? p????a t? d' ??p? p??s?e ?pep???e???
?e?? ?????? ?? ?????p?? e??f?? ?? ???a epete?.
?a??<e> ?a??e? de???? ?d??p??<e?>
?e????a? te ?e???? ?a? a?sea Fe?sef??e?a?.
The choice of the particular location suggests in the background
Orphic-Pythagorean influence.
Once at Elysium, Aeneas and the Sibyl pass through the sedes
beatae (637-38), which occupy the summa cacumina, the highest plain
of Elysium (dehinc summa cacumina linquunt 678). Vergil describes
them as valleys (uirecta 638) covered with forests and laurel-trees
(639, 658), watered by the river Eridanus (659) and surrounded by
aether with their own sun and stars (638-41):
largior hie campos aether et lumine uestit
purpureo, solemque suum, sua sidera norunt.
In the sedes beatae the souls are involved in such activities as gym-
nastics, dances and banquets (642-657), or attend to the same
duties they had when alive (645-47, 653-55).
Such a description resembles the accounts of the abodes of
reward of the ultimately blest found in Pindar, Aristophanes, Plato.
InPindar,
forexample,
the island of the blest is aplain (leimon [frg.
114 Bowra]) in the walled city (t??s??) of Cronus (0. 2.68-71) which
is located by Oceanus16):
ds?? d'?t???asa? ?st???
??at????? ?e??a?te? ?p? p??pa? ad???? e?e??
14) All the quotations of the GoldLeavesare taken from G. Zuntz's edition. See:
G. Zuntz, Persephone.ThreeEssays on Religion and Thoughtin Magna Graecia(Oxford
1971), 337-38.
15) Zuntz (above n. 14) believes that the doctrine expounded here is
Pythagorean, not Orphic.16) See: G. Kirkwood, Selectionsfrom Pindar(APA 1982), 74; M.L. West, Hesiod
Works and Days (Oxford 1978), 195-96.
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vergil's elysium 39
?????, ete??a? ???? ?d?? pa?? ???-
??? t??s??
It is surrounded by trees, watered by a river and a golden light
shines perpetually over the blest (0. 2.68-72):
???a ?a?????
??s?? ??ea??de?
a??a? pe??p????s?? d??e?a d? ???s?? f???e?,
ta ?e? ?e?s??e? ?p' ???a?? de?d????,
?d?? d' ???a f???e?,
There, the souls of the blest appear to pursue horsemanship,
athletics, draughts and music, or perform sacrifices to the gods (frg.
129 Kirkwood, 114 Bowra):
?a? t?? ?e? ?pp??? ????as???s? <te ?>
t?? d? pess???
t?? d? f??????ess?, t??p??ta? pa?? d? sf?s??
e?a???? ?pa? t??a?e? d?????
In the Frogs of Aristophanes the place of the initiates in the under-
world is described as the flowery field (p??????d?? ?e????e?)17) of
Persephone, where the sun and the moon shine (447-55). The
initiates there dance and sing (319-20). According to Plato, the
abode of the philosophers is located at the top of the heaven, the
?pe????????? t?p?? (Phaedrus 248a) and is of immeasurable beauty
(Phaedo 114c). And Cicero in the Somnium Scipionis identifies this
Platonic place with the milky way which surrounds the zodiac
(16-17).
Characteristic of the above texts is that the abodes which they
describe are reserved for the souls which are absolutely pure and,
therefore, have escaped reincarnation. In Olympian 2.68-72, for
example, the island of the blest is the permanent abode of the souls
which have completed three cycles of life and death abstaining from
any sort of injustice. In the frg. 133 (Kirkwood) these souls are
identified with those reborn as kings, athletes or poets/prophets
17) In the Frogs Persephone is placed immediately after the valley of the blessed
initiates (431-36).
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40 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
who, when dead, will be called heroes by the men (?? d? t?? ???p??
?????? ???e? ?-/???? p??? a????p?? ?a????ta?)18). Empedocles, also,
in frg. 146 (DK) states that the prophets, bards, doctors, and
princes when dead become gods19):
'when the prophets and the singers and the physicians (i?troi) and
the political and military leaders die, they become divine and
honoured like the gods'.
Aristophanes in the Frogs states that the initiates in the field of
Persephone are pure (?????? ?a?a?e?e? 355), and, while alive, leda pious life (e?se?? te d?????e? t??p?? pe?? t??? ?????? ?a? t??? ?d??ta?
456-59). Plato, also, states that those who are absolutely pure and
led their lives wisely (Phaedo 82c) after 3,000 years of reincarnations
are deified (Phaedrus 249a):
??? d? ?e ?e?? ????? ?? f???s?f?sa?t? ?a? pa?te??? ?a?a?? ?p???t? ??
????? ?f???e?s?a? ???' ? t? f????a?e?.
Cicero in the Somnium Scipionis grants to the statesmen who have
served their country the reward of eternal life (13)20): omnibus qui
patriam conseruauerint adiuuerint auxerint certum esse in caelo definitumlocum, ubi beati aeuo sempiterno fruantur. Finally, in the Gold Leaves Al,
A4 the souls which are absolutely pure, katharai, and have escaped
reincarnation go to the fields of Persephone to become gods. In
these texts it seems that absolute purity is the necessary condition
for deification, and is usually achieved through a series of re-
incarnations.
Vergil has placed in the sedes beatae two groups of souls which
were regarded as divine by tradition or by Orphic-Pythagorean
standards: the first group is the mythological which includesOrpheus and Musaeus and the heroes of the golden age. Tradi-
tionally Orpheus and Musaeus were regarded as demi-gods leading
an immortal life in the underworld (Plato, Apology 41a-b). As for the
18) G. Kirkwood (above ?. 16) suggests that the heroes correspond to those
ultimately blest of 0. 2.68-75.
19) Probably, the Empedoclean doctrines were well known in the first centuryB.C. Lucretius, for instance, refers and pays special tribute to Empedocles in theDe Rerum Natura 1.715 f?. Since Vergil was a student of the Epicurean and Stoic
schools, it was part of his training to become familiar with the known philosophicalcreeds.
20) This group seems to be included in Vergil's general category of memores.
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VERGIL'S ELYSIUM 41
golden race, it was believed that they became holy spirits, protec-
tors of the humans (Hesiod, Works and Days 110-127)21). The
second group includes souls which according to Orphic-
Pythagorean ideas merit deification, because they are pure. The
idea of purity is reinforced by the epithets castus (661) and pius
(662). The term pius, according to Conington, means castus22).
Castus, according to the Sibyl, is every person who has not commit-
ted a nefas (624) such as the social or religious crimes which burden
those confined to Tartarus: nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen(563). A?, then, are the persons who were just in socio-political and
religious matters while alive. These blessed are classified in five
major groups: a) people killed in battle fields for their country, b)
priests, c) prophets/poets of the gods, d) people who benefited
humanity through their arts and e) those who are remembered by
the people, because of their merit (Aen. 6.648-49, 660-64). Vergil
employs the term heros for* such souls as the race of Teucrus
(magnanimi heroes 649) or the poet/prophet Musaeus (heros 672)
stressing, thus,their semi-divine state of
being.In
addition,he
presents all the souls having their temples wreathed with white
fillets (665). According to Conington, the fillets suggest that these
souls are consecrated to the gods (648-49, 660-64), because of their
personal merit23).
The sense that the souls of the sedes beatae abide there permanently
is further supported by Anchises' explanation that some of the souls
by fate transmigrate into new bodies (713-14), implying, thus, that
others do not. Aeneas picks on this idea in the question anne aliquas
...? (719-20). Servius commenting on 6.719 states that Vergil here
blends philosophic truth and poetic fiction. According to Anchises
in his speech about the anima in lines 743-51, all the souls from the
21) See M.L. West (?978), 181-83.
22) See J. Conington & H. Nettleship, The Worksof Vergil(Hildesheim 1963).23) J. Conington-H. Nettleship in the commentary on the Aeneid 6.665 (1963)
observe that the white fillets are a mark of consecration, being worn by the godsand by persons and things dedicated to them'*. They cite as an example the
Georgics3.487 in which a victim ready to be sacrified to the gods is wreathed withwhite fillets. R.G. Austin in his commentary on the Aeneid 6.665 cites more sources
such as Val. Flaccus 1.840 and Statius Achilleis 1.11; see R.G. Austin, AeneidosLiber VI (Oxford 1977). In these cases the fillets are worn by priests and poetsrespectively marking their holy office.
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vergil's elysium 43
underworld that the souls cannot cross the boundaries (373-76),
unless they fulfill the necessary conditions (327-28)27).
The nitentes campi occupy a lower place than the sedes beatae. In
texts stemming from Orphic-Pythagorean sources the abodes of the
souls destined to be reborn are located below the abodes of the
ultimately blest. Thus in Olympian 2.62-67 the esloi live in the
underworld in an area shining with sun:
?sa?? d? ???tess?? a?e?,
?sa?? ????a?? a???? ????te?, ?p???ste???
?s??? d????ta? ???t?? ?? ????a ta-
??ss??te? ?? ?e??? ???a
??d? p??t??? ?'d??
?e?e?? pa?? d?a?ta?, a??? pa?? ??? t??????
?e?? ??t??e? e?a???? e?????a??
ada???? ?????ta?
a???a, t?? d' ?p??s??at?? ??????t? p????.
As esloi Pindar considers the souls ofthose
who havenot committed
a grave crime on the land or in the sea but are not absolutely pure
and, therefore, will be reincarnated (O. 2.61-67).
Plato claims that those who have lived a holy life go upwards
(Phaedo 114b-c) and dwell on earth, in the 'bright abodes' (katharan
oik?sin), which are located below the abode of the philosophers,
destined to be reincarnated (Rep. 614c-e). These are the eudaimones.
In Phaedo 82a-b, Plato defines the eudaimones in terms of social
justice:'
Then , said he, the happiest of those, and those who
go to the best place are those who have
practised by
habit and
other side, but they do not explain why; R.G. Austin (above n. 23) makes no com-ment on Musaeus' activities after he has shown to Aeneas and the Sibyl the pathto be followed; Servius also observes that only Aeneas and the Sibyl descend the
slope and reach the valley of Anchises.
27) Note for example what the Sibyl tells Palinurus:
'unde haec, o Palinure, tibi tarn dira cupido?tu Stygias inhumatus aquas amnemque seuerum
Eumenidum aspicies, ripamue iniussus adibis?
desine fata deum flecti sperare precando, (6.373-76).
And earlier the Sibyl remarks that the souls cannot cross Cocytus unless they haveobtained a proper burial (327-28).
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44 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
study, without philosophy or divine inspiration, the social and civil
virtues which are called prudence and justice'' ,28).
In the Gold Leaves A2-3 lines 6-7 the souls who are pure (katharai)
and have paid amends for some shortcoming while alive hope to go
to the place of euageis, the abode of those destined to return to life29):
?????a? ?? ?a?a??? ?a?a??, ??????? ?as??e?a/ .../ ?a? ?a? ????
???? ????? e????a? ?????? e??a?. / p???a? d' ??tap?te?s' ????? ??e?a
??t? d??a???./ .../ ??? d' ???t?? ??? pa?' ????? Fe?sef??e?a?/ ?? ?e
p??f??? p???? ?'d?a? ?? e?a????.According to Zuntz, the adjective katharos in these texts denotes
purity in some particular respect and form and from some par-
ticular pollution such as murder, adultery, political injustice30).
In all of the above texts the difference between those destined to
transmigrate into new bodies and those who have escaped reincar-
nation is the degree of purity which is achieved gradually through
a series of lives.
Anchises is found in the nitentes campi to review a new group of
souls which are introduced with the words: inclusas animassuperum-
que ad lumen ituras (679-80). They are the souls which are destined
to return to earth. The close connection of the participle inclusas
(680) with the ablative conualle uirenti (679) suggests that this new
group of souls dwell in the nitentes campi. Servius observes that
Vergil, by the participle inclusas and the ablative conualle, inten-
tionally emphasizes the isolation of these souls from the other
population of Elysium; they are different and separate from the
multitude at the banks of the Lethaean river (non re vera inclusas, sed
a multitudine
separatas 6.680); theyare not
yet ready
for reincarna-
tion. Limina (696) Aeneas accidentally and Vergil intentionally call
the place31). The word limen signifies the 'entrance', the 'passage*
28) ?????? e?da?????stat??, ef?, ?a? t??t?? ??s??a? e?????t?st?? t?p?? ???te???
t?? d???t???? ?a? p???t??????et?? ?p?tet?de???te?, ?? d? ?a???s? s?f??s???? te ?a?
d??a??s????,?? ?????te ?a? ?e??t?? ?e?????a? ??e? f???s?f?a? te ?a? ???;
29) Zuntz (above n. 14) believes that the doctrine expounded here is
Pythagorean, not Orphic.
30) See Zuntz (1971), 307.
31) RJ. Edgeworth, The Ivory Gate and the Thresholdof Apollo, CM 37 (1986),145-60, discusses the meaning of limina as a transition to misfortune and death.
On Aeneid 6. 696 he suggests that limina is associated with both joy, because ofAeneas' reunion with Anchises, and fear, because he cannot touch his father
(156). Generally, he regards the threshold as a threatening place. My interpreta-
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vergil's elysium 45
to something else and synecdochically the 'house' (Ernout-Meillet,
OLD). The nitentes campi, therefore, is both the 'house' of the souls
who have not escaped rebirth and their passage to their final
destination, the Lethaean valley, for rebirth.
Since Anchises is found among the inclusae animae, they are part
of the concilia piorum which the apparition of Anchises mentioned to
Aeneas in book 5.734-35. Why, then, are the souls of the nitentes
campi destined to be reincarnated? They are pii /casti, but not in the
same degree as the souls in the sedes beatae. The pii who dwell in thenitentes campi seem to correspond to the Pindaric esloi, the euageis of
the Gold Leaves and, finally, the Platonic eudaimones (Phaedo 82a-b).
The presence of Anchises among these pii supports the idea of
degree of purity. Anchises, while alive, was not absolutely pure.
Although he displayed iustitia and pietas by his actions, he constantly
misinterpreted the will of the gods ultimately acting against the
fata32). He closely resembles the description of the Platonic eudaimon
(Phaedo 82a-b):
' Then , said he, the happiest of those, and those who go to the
best place are those who have practised, by nature and habit, with-
out philosophy or divine inspiration, the social and civil virtues
which are called prudence and justice '.
This is the reason, it seems to me, that Anchises is not one of those
consecrated to the gods33). His death before arriving at Italy may
tion includes RJ. Edgeworth's suggestion, since the limina here are the dwelling
places of those who have not obtained a semi-divine state and are bound to return
to upper world.
32) For pius in the sense of 'faithful in social obligations' see: Cato, Agr. 4,
Cicero, Sest. 4, Vergil, Aen. 5. 296, Ovid, Met. 4. 551.
33) He cannot be even regarded as one of those who will be remembered bythe people, because Vergil in Aeneid 5 makes clear that the tomb of Anchises andhis memory preserved through the sacerdosassigned to his tomb and the annualsacrifices performed there are destined to disappear along with the impotent
population of the Sicilian Troy. Vergil describes this city to which Anchises' tombis attached as preserving the name and divinities (hoc Ilium et haec loca Troiam/ esseiubet... sedes I fundatur VeneriIdaliae 5. 755-60) of old Troy, and inhabited by the
elder, physical impotent population of the original city (longaeuossenes oc fessasaequoremaireset quidquid... inualidum5. 715-17). This city, now, preserves the Tro-
jan moreset cultus (5. 757-58), but is destined to die along with its old population,prevented from physical and cultural renewal. The tomb of Anchises stands thereas a symbolic representation of the impending physical and cultural death, and a
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46 URANIA MOLYVIATI-TOPTSIS
be seen as a punishment for his shortcoming. Note in book 3 that
Helenus hails Anchises for the piety of his son, but not his, and
stops abruptly the prophecy avoiding to mention his death before
arriving at the Italian coast (478-81).
Furthermore, the idea of degrees of purity is reinforced by
Anchises' philosophical speech on the soul in lines 731-32 where it
is stated that all the souls are not in the same degree contaminated
by their contact with the body:
igneus est ollis uigor et caelestis origo
seminibus, quantum non noxia corpora tardant
terrenique hebetant artus moribundaque membra.
By the quantum non (731) clause Vergil seems to allude to the tradi-
tional theory of separation of the soul from the body, according to
which, the wise man's soul as much as possible abstains from
pleasures and desires, distress and fear; whereas the souls which are
overwhelmed by corporeal pleasures or pains are incapable of
exerting reason and, therefore, do not maintain their purity (Phaedo66c-d, 83b, Timaeus 86b-c)34).
Pius y therefore, in 5.734 is used in a generic sense to include adi
the souls that dwell in Elysium, in contrast to the impure state of
the tristes umbrae in Tartarus. Elysium contains two different abodes
of reward and two different classes of pii: the sedes beatae with the
deified souls who have escaped the cycle of rebirth, and the nitentes
campi with those righteous who are destined to transmigrate into
new bodies35).
Toronto, York University
token of the fulfillment of his personal desire to die along with his sedes, Troy. He
is thus destined to be forgotten.
34) Heyne takes quantumas qualitative explaining the difference in moresamongthe men, according to the degree of change and separation of the anima from the
body (731-32); see CG. Heyne, P. Virgilii Maronis Opera Omnia (London 1819).Austin (1977) observes in this line a compression of thought'' and, following
Conington, suggests that the souls cannot function properly, because of the
weakness of the body.
35) I would like to express my sincere thanks to Professor Stephen V. Tracyand Professor Michael Herren for their valuable comments and time they spentfor this paper.
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