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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.



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.



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.




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).



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.




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.



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).




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.



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.



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).




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-



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




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.

virgil afterlife4432316

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