Mezentius

impastus stabula alta leo ceu saepe peragrans
(suadet enim vesana fames), si forte fugacem
conspexit capream aut surgentem in cornua cervum,
gaudet hians immane comasque arrexit et haeret
visceribus super incumbens; lavit improba taeter
ora cruor—
sic ruit in densos alacer Mezentius hostis.
sternitur infelix Acron et calcibus atram
tundit humum exspirans infractaque tela cruentat.
atque idem fugientem haud est dignatus Oroden
sternere nec iacta caecum dare cuspide vulnus;
obvius adversoque occurrit seque viro vir
contulit, haud furto melior sed fortibus armis.
tum super abiectum posito pede nixus et hasta:
'pars belli haud temnenda, viri, iacet altus Orodes.'
conclamant socii laetum paeana secuti;
ille autem exspirans: 'non me, quicumque es, inulto,
victor, nec longum laetabere; te quoque fata
prospectant paria atque eadem mox arva tenebis.'
ad quem subridens mixta Mezentius ira:
'nunc morere. ast de me divum pater atque hominum rex
viderit.' hoc dicens eduxit corpore telum.

(Aeneid X.723-744)

How does this extract display the heroic qualities of Mezentius? In your answer refer to both the content and the language of the extract, and to Mezentius’ speech and actions.

Mezentius and Ajax

A few weeks ago I put up a series of posts comparing some of the language used by Virgil to describe Mezentius to similar scenes from Homer's Iliad. To conclude the series, here's an excerpt from an article I found very interesting, Mezentius: a Virgilian Creation.

In fact, [Mezentius] is a Homeric hero in all essentials. Virgil's great model for his battle scenes was naturally the Iliad. And as he moulded the figure of a great Italian warrior, no doubt he scanned closely the many Achaean chieftains to find a working model for his Mezentius. It could not be Achilles since Turnus was already cast for that role. Besides, Mezentius was not a young, swift-footed hero but the gray-haired father of a full-grown son. After much thought - or was it a sudden flash of inspiration? - he found his man in the Iliad: Ajax of Salamis, son of Telamon.

 

Mezentius et Orodes

ille autem exspirans: 'non me, quicumque es, inulto,
victor, nec longum laetabere; te quoque fata
prospectant paria atque eadem mox arva tenebis.'
ad quem subridens mixta Mezentius ira:
'nunc morere. ast de me divum pater atque hominum rex
viderit.' hoc dicens eduxit corpore telum.
olli dura quies oculos et ferreus urget
somnus, in aeternam clauduntur lumina noctem.

But as Orodes lay dying, he said: ‘Whoever you are that have conquered me, I shal be revenged. You will not enjoy your victory for long. A similar fate awaits you too and soon you will hold these same fields.’ Mezentius, sneering and churned up with anger, said to him: ‘Now die. But as for me let the father of the gods and the king of men see to it.’ Saying this he pulled the weapon from his body. A dreadful rest and an iron sleep pressed on his eyes, his eyes were closed in eternal night.

(Aeneid X.739ff.)

Mezentius - impastus leo ceu

impastus stabula alta leo ceu saepe peragrans
(suadet enim vesana fames), si forte fugacem
conspexit capream aut surgentem in cornua cervum,
gaudet hians immane comasque arrexit et haeret
visceribus super incumbens; lavit improba taeter
ora cruor—
sic ruit in densos alacer Mezentius hostis.

Just as a hungry lion wandering around his lofty lair (for mad hunger urges him on), if by chance he has caught sight of a fleeing goat or a deer lifting up its horns, rejoices, opening his huge mouth wide and his mane bristles and jumping upon it he clings to its flesh; the foul blood washes his wicked mouth – in the same way Mezentius eagerly rushes into the thick of the enemy.

(Aeneid X.723ff.)

Mezentius - velut aper

ac velut ille canum morsu de montibus altis
actus aper, multos Vesulus quem pinifer annos
defendit multosque palus Laurentia silva
pascit harundinea, postquam inter retia ventum est,
substitit infremuitque ferox et inhorruit armos,
nec cuiquam irasci propiusve accedere virtus,
sed iaculis tutisque procul clamoribus instant;
ille autem impavidus partis cunctatur in omnis
dentibus infrendens et tergo decutit hastas:

But Mezentius is just like that boar driven down from the high mountains by the bite of dogs, whom pine-bearing Mt Vesulus has guarded for many years, and whom the Laurentian marsh has long nourished in its reedy forest, after he has come in amongst the nets, he stops and roars ferociously and his shoulders bristle, and no one has the courage to attack him in anger nor to approach any nearer, but they press upon him with javelins and with shouts from far away in safety; but he fearlessly holds them back on all sides, gnashing with his teeth, and he shakes the spears from his back.

(Aeneid X.707ff.)

Mezentius - velut rupes

concurrunt Tyrrhenae acies atque omnibus uni,
uni odiisque viro telisque frequentibus instant.
ille (velut rupes vastum quae prodit in aequor,
obvia ventorum furiis expostaque ponto,
vim cunctam atque minas perfert caelique marisque
ipsa immota manens)

The Etruscan troops come running up and they press upon this one man alone with all their hatred and with their massed weapons. But Mezentius is like a rock which juts out into the vast sea, open to the fury of the winds and exposed to the ocean, which endures all the violence and the threats of both sky and sea, remaining motionless itself.

(Aeneid X.691ff.)

But for all his fury Hector could not break through their ranks. They closed wall-like against him and stood their ground, like a huge sheer cliff at the edge of the grey sea, which stands against the shrill winds on their rapid pathways and the waves that swell large and burst on it.

(Iliad XV.618ff.)

Mezentius - Homeric Hero

Aeneid X.689-768 – Mezentius enters the battle and performs mighty deeds.

This account of the aristeia of Mezentius, the ally of Turnus who despises the gods (cf. note on line 150-1), is built up carefully to make him a worthy adversary of Aeneas. It is based very largely on Homeric battle-scenes, and indeed Mezentius in his ruthless valour shows all the qualities of a warrior of the heroic age. The victims of Mezentius are sometimes simply listed (699f.), sometimes given a touch of personality (719f.), and the scene ends with a general list of those killed in the battle and a glimpse of the gods watching before it finally focuses once again on Mezentius.

The passage is made particularly Homeric by the frequency of similes (the Iliad has more similes than any other ancient epic). There are four extended similes in seventy lines (693f., 707f., 723f., 763f., the latter a double simile), and the first three are very largely based on Homeric originals. Virgil is closer to Homer here than almost anywhere else in the poem; this is deliberately done to portray the archaic nature of Mezentius’ qualities as compared with those of Aeneas.

(Williams, p.365f.)

Over the next few days I'm planning to post some passages from Aeneid X and the Iliad which show just how thoroughly Homeric the character of Mezentius is. Stay tuned...

Aeneid X Word Cloud

Out of curiosity I've created (with the help of wordle) a word cloud from Aeneid X, using the lines prescribed for study in the HSC this year. Here is the result:

Aeneid X mind-map

Here's a basic mind-map I've created showing the relationships of the important characters from Aeneid Book X. Have I left anything off?

[Blue is for goodies, purple for baddies]