In the underworld Aeneas and the Sibyl see dead children on the banks of the Styx.

    In der Unterwelt sieht Aeneas mit der Sibylle am Ufer des Styx frühverstorbene Kinder. (Suerbaum)

    Engraving from a German children’s picture-book version of the Aeneid by G. J. Lang and G. C. Eimmart, “A tapestry of Roman virtues as seen in Vergil’s Aeneas and his brave deeds, rendered in sparkling engravings, as illustrations of the remarkable deeds of antiquity, for the common benefit of noble youth,” (Peplus virtutum Romanarum in Aenea Virgiliano eiusque rebus fortiter gestis, ad maiorem antiquitatis et rerum lucem, communi iuventutis sacratae bono, aere renitens) (Nuremburg: J.L. Buggel, 1688), pl. 26.

    Comments

    After having overcome Cerberus with the help of the Sibyl, Aeneas finds himself beyond the Acheron, on the banks of the Styx. The first thing he hears is the weeping of the infants that died early in life (426). They are shown as dark shades in the bottom right corner of the engraving. A beautiful detail is the boatman’s reflection in the water. (Lucy McInerney)

    Associated Passages
    Subjects
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
    Date
    1688
    Culture
    Dimensions
    21.86x16.92cm
    Inscription
    Lib: VI. Aen: v. 426. Continuo auditae voces, vagitus et ingens,/ Infantumque animae, flentes in limine primo:/ usque 529.
    Location
    Bavarian State Library, Munich
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