4.415–436

Cyrene prepares Aristaeus to subdue Proteus. 

Cyrene smears ambrosia, a divine substance, on Aristaeus to give him strength. There is a cave in the side of a mountain, and in it a secluded area, safe from the sea, where Proteus is accustomed to shelter. Cyrene places Aristaeus in the shadows there, while she stands apart, covered in mist. At noon, Proteus seeks his accustomed refuge, where his herd of seals rejoices to see him. They distribute themselves within the cave for their midday nap, and Proteus settles in their midst.

415  ait: Cyrene is the subject. 

415  ambrosiae: while Eidothea anoints Menelaus at Odyssey 4.445, so that he is able to withstand the smell of the seals, here ambrosia appears to be a cream that gives Aristaeus strength for his upcoming wrestling match.  

416  quō: introduces a relative clause. quō is an ablative singular (ablative of means, AG 409) referring to odōrem. 

416  perdūxit: “coated” or “smeared,” an unusual meaning of perdūco. 

416  illī: dative of advantage, referring to Aristaeus (AG 376).

417  dulcis…spīrāvit…aura: “a sweet scent exhaled.” spiro is intransitive. After being anointed, the scent of the ambrosia permeates Aristaeus’s entire body. 

417  compositīs…crīnibus: most likely an ablative absolute, though some commentators read this as an ablative of place from which (AG 419, 428g). Notice the chiasmus in this golden line (AG 641). See discussion at line 302.

418  membrīs: dative of advantage (AG 376).

418-419  est…montis = est ingēns specus in latere exēsī montis.

418  est: “there is.” See line 387.

419-420  quō: “to where,” referring back to the cave; the relative adverb is often used to show a relationship to a place instead of using a relative pronoun (AG 308g).

419–420 plūrima…unda: “many a wave.” 

420  inque sinūs scindit sēsē unda reductōs: reductōs modifies sinūs. Commentators have struggled to understand precisely what is going on here, and they frequently disagree. The wave, after being forced into the cave, splits. Some think that the reductos sinus are ripples of water that flow back or inlets of water deep in the cave. Mynors suggests that the cave has various arms that are divided by the water when it runs into the curving recesses. 

421  dēprēnsīs: “caught” or “overtaken” by bad weather; dative plural masculine, modifying nautīs. 

421  ōlim: “sometimes” or “long ago.” Take closely with dēprēnsīs. 

421  statiō: in apposition to specus (line 418).

422  sē...tegit: “concealed himself,” “hid,” vivid historical present tense.

422  vastī…ōbice saxī: ōbice (“barrier,” OLD obex 2) is an ablative of means (AG 409); vastī saxī a genitive of material (AG 344).

423  iuvenem…Nympha: the iuvenis is Aristeaeus, the Nympha Cyrene. 

423  āversum ā lūmine: so, in a dark nook.

424  nebulīs obscūra: take nebulīs (an ablative of means, AG 409) closely with obscūra, which modifies ipsa (Cyrene). Gods commonly disguise their presence (or that of others) with an enveloping mist or cloud.

424  resistit: “took up a position,” vivid historical present tense.

425–428: Vergil specifies that this episode takes place during the hottest time of the year, and the hottest time of day. The Dog Star, Sirius, brings the “dog days” of summer, when Sirius rises just before dawn. For the Romans the “dog days” spanned late July to late August. In addition, this takes place at high noon (medium…orbem).

425  rapidus: “violent” or “scorching.” 

425  sitientēs…Indōs:Indōs are Indians, about whom the Romans knew; direct object of torrēns. 

425  Sīrius:the Dog Star, which gave rise to and constituted the hottest days of the year. This is, indeed, a terrible time of year to lose one’s honeybees, for a new hive will have difficulty producing enough honey so late in the summer to feed itself through the winter. 

426  caelō: ablative of place where without a preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 429.4). 

426  medium…orbem: “the middle of its course,” that is, just after noon.

427  hauserat: = exhauserat, “had finished” (OLD exhaurio 7). Vergil and other poets sometimes use a non-compound verb in place of a related compound one, a device known as simplex pro composito. See Eclogues 1.3, dulcia linquimus arva (for dulcia relinquimus arva), “we are leaving the delightful lands.” 

427-428  et cava…coquēbant = et radiī <sōlis> coquēbant cava flūmina tepefacta ad līmum siccīs faucibus. cava is another indicator of the time of year, since the rivers are “hollow” from a low water level. ad līmum indicates that the heat went all the way to the mud in the riverbed. siccīs faucibus is a subject of debate: an ablative of place where (AG 429.4), an ablative of quality with flūmina (AG 415), or an ablative absolute (AG 419a). The faucibus are channels (OLD fauces 4).

429-430  cum…ībat: temporal cum clause (AG 545).

430  circum: preposition with eum. 

430  gēns ūmida: Proteus’s seals; perhaps a humorously elevated way to describe his flock.

431  rōrem…amārum: rōs usually indicates dew, but here refers to the foam of the crashing waves, which is amārum because it is salt water. The seals act like dogs, leaping in excitement to see their master when he returns. Lines 431 and 432 are heavily spondaic. Perhaps we are to hear the slap of the seals’ flippers on rock?

432  somnō: dative of purpose (AG 382).

432  dīversae in lītore: “in different places on the shore.”

433-435  velut…agnī: a simile, likening Proteus to a shepherd. 

433  ōlim: “sometimes.” 

434  Vesper: the evening star; in actuality, the planet Venus in the evening. tecta: as tecta refers to anything roofed, here it is not a house (as we have seen earlier in Georgics 4) or a hive, but instead a barn for the calves. 

434  audītīsque…agnī = agnī acuunt lupōs, bālātibus audītīs. bālātibus audītīs is an ablative absolute (AG 419). acuunt means “rouse” emotionally, “stir,” OLD acuo 3.

436  consēdit: subject is ipse (Proteus) in line 433. 

436  medius: the outcropping Proteus sits on is in the midst of his “herd.” 

436  scopulo: ablative of place where without a preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 429.4).