Aeneid

In the center, Anchises finishes telling Aeneas and the Sibyl the future of Rome; his face is entirely obscured by the arm of the Sibyl. In the lower right, M. Claudius Marcellus drives away an enemy army, likely the Gauls (855-9; sistet eques, sternet Poenos Gallumque rebellem 858); on his shoulder hangs the spolia opima, the armor, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat. Marcellus was the third and last to do this (tertiaque arma patri suspendet capta Quirino 859).

Young Marcellus (860-6), Augustus's adopted son and heir, is shown on the left, below a funeral scene. In this scene, Augustus stands in regal attire pointing at a funeral bier, which has flowers scattered on it and a fire burning beneath it. A woman weeps at the altar, and other mourners gather behind the tomb (867-86). Servius reports that public mourning for Marcellus was intense, and that Augustus ordered a funeral procession of 600 such biers to enter the city and proceed to the Campus Martius, where Marcellus was interred with great ceremony (huius mortem vehementer civitas doluit: nam et adfabilis fuit et Augusti filius. ad funeris huius honorem Augustus sescentos lectos intra civitatem ire iussit: hoc enim apud maiores gloriosum fuerat et dabatur pro qualitate fortunae; nam Sulla sex milia habuit. igitur cum ingenti pompa adlatus et in campo Martio est sepultus Serv. ad 8.61.)

To the right, Vergil, in the guise of a bard, sings to Marcellus’ mother Octavia, Augustus’ sister, whose importance is signified by a crown next to her. She holds the ashes of her son Marcellus. Servius reports that Vergil wrote this passage as a compliment to Augustus, and that Book 6 was once recited to Augustus and Octavia with such emotion that they, in tears, would have ordered the performance to stop at this point, had not Vergil said that this was in fact the end. (ergo modo in Augusti adulationem quasi epitaphion ei dicit. et constat hunc librum tanta pronuntiatione Augusto et Octaviae esse recitatum, ut fletu nimio imperarent silentium, nisi Vergilius finem esse dixisset. ibid.)

In the top right corner, Anchises leads Aeneas and the Sibyl up from the underworld, out through the gates of Sleep, to the world above. Aeneas's ship waits along the shore by the underworld's exit (893-8).

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 286r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Anchises, Aeneas and the Sibyl stand on a hill in the midst of the throng of shades waiting to pass back into the upper world (752-5). Anchises explains the future of Italy and Rome to Aeneas and the Sibyl, by indicating the shades who will become the important figures in Roman history (756-853). The catalogue of important figures starts in the lower left corner and winds clockwise. In the lower left corner, Lavinia, who will become Aeneas's wife, sits in a grove next to Silvius, who will be Aeneas's last son by her and king of Alba Longa (756-66). Above the grove are Procas, Capys, Numitor and Silvius Aeneas, kings of Alba Longa (767-70). Above Procas is his second son Amulius, not mentioned by Vergil; he has been slain, and the weapon wielded by Romulus, above him (777-80), looks ominous, but the figures are not directly related. In the top left corner stand Julius Caesar and Augustus (788-95). Standing to the right of Romulus are some of the other kings of Rome: Tarquinius Superbus, who holds a book that seems more appropriate for Numa to hold, Ancus Marcius, and Tarquinius Priscus; Numa is not included, though he is referenced by Vergil as the king who drafted the laws of the city (808-18). Brutus stands to their left, and points his sword at Tarquinius Priscus, though he actually killed Tarquinius Superbus (817-8). Brutus is shown again, killing his children who were planning to reinstate the Tarquins as rulers (820-3).

The Decii and the Drusi (824), two important Roman families, stand in the upper right corner. Below them, Camillus brings the standards back to Rome after saving Rome from the Gauls (825). Next to him, Manlius Torquatus (825), who was famous for slaying a Gaul, holds a cudgel; to his left is the fallen Gaul. Below them stands Cato the Censor (841), who famously wished for the destruction of Carthage; Cossus (841), standing next to him, killed the king of the Veii. The Scipiones (842-3) were distinguished warriors, while the Gracchi brothers (842) got themselves killed as tribunes of the plebs who tried to implement reforms unpopular with the senate. Mummius (836-7) destroyed Corinth. With these figures stands a man labelled Curius, who is probably Manius Curius Dentatus, Roman general who ended the Samnite war. He is depicted in place of Aemilius Paulus; Paulus is not named explicitly by Vergil, yet he is described as the man who defeated King Perseus in Macedonia (838-40). Below the crowd, Pompey and Julius Caesar are shown with their swords drawn (825-35). Rounding the corner to the left of the feuding rivals, Fabricius and Serranus (843-4), two famous generals, are depicted; they appear to be discussing something. To their left are a few Fabii, inlcuding Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator (845-6), who defeated Hannibal by means of a series of delaying tactics. In front of Fabius are three unlabeled figures. It is tempting to think that one of them must be Marcellus (855-9). Another may be the unidentified figure attending him (860-6). It is perhaps a bit surprising that these figures aren't highlighted explicitly in this image, especially given the interest in his presence in the scene, but the absence of Marcellus is explained by the more elaborate illustration of Marcellus in the next image, "Exit from the Underworld".

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 282r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Aeneas and the Sibyl pass the city of Tartarus, where the damned suffer their punishments. In the text, the tortured souls are enclosed in the city walls, and the Sibyl explains the various punishments; for the sake of better illustration, however, the tortures are displayed in front of the city, with Tartarus in the background. The city itself is, as Vergil describes it, surrounded by three walls and engulfed in flames (548-50). The Phlegethon runs next to the city (551). Near the center of the image, Rhadamanthus, the judge of the guilty, points toward Tisiphone, one of the Furies, whose job it is to throw the condemned shades into Tartarus (554-6). She stands directly below Aeneas and the Sibyl, and holds a pair of snakes in her hand. One of her sisters stands next to her holding knitting needles in one hand and snakes in the other (572). She appears to be using her snakes to whip three men tied to a small tree. A figure, either another condemned person or a third Fury, stands bent over next to the three men. Within the large gate of Tartarus sits the many-headed Hydra, guarding the entrance to the city (574-7). To the right of the Hydra, just outside the walls, Ixion is stretched out on his wheel (601). Salmoneus, who is punished for mimicking Jove, is seen floating in the Phlegethon, since Vergil does not specify his punishment (585-94).

In the lower right corner, Tityos, son of the Earth has his liver and entrails eaten by a vulture (595-600). In the lower left corner, an unlabeled figure is kept from eating a sumptuous feast by one of the Furies, who looks like a harpy. Vergil assigns the punishment to Ixion and Pirithous (601-7), though it is usually assigned to Tantalus. Brant has already taken the opportunity to assign to Ixion his usual punishment, so the unlabeled man would be either Pirithous or Tantalus. Other unlabeled groups of shades are included in the image. Above Rhadamanthus, two shades lie on a rack. To his right, three others are boiled in a pot by a creature with a vaguely mammalian head and bird feet. Between Tityos and the Fury, two boys hold a water pitcher, which is perhaps an allusion to the Danaids who had to carry water in leaky water jars. The shade who sits next to them may represent Theseus, who is doomed to sit in the same place for eternity. To the immediate left of Rhadamanthus, a demonic creature drills spikes through the stomachs of two shades. A large chain running from the tied up shades along the lower portion of the image adds to the theme of bondage and captivity.

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 274r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Aeneas and the Sibyl stand in the jaws of a monster that represents Hell and look on some of the many regions of the underworld. Brant represents these regions as islands in a river. The island closest to Aeneas is the island of infants [Infantes], which is home to several infants ranging from newborn to a few years old (426-9). A few of the infants have rattles, while another is wrapped up and lies in a cradle. Brant also includes a young woman, perhaps a victim of childbirth. Next is the island of the Condemned Innocents [Innocentes Danati], over whom Minos presides in order to hand them their final judgements (430-3). Nearby is the island of men who, condemned falsely, committed suicide [Conscientes Sibi Morte] (434-9). Though Vergil does not mention anyone by name, Brant has included three famous examples: Cato, Socrates and Mythridates. 

The final island, the Mourning Fields [Lugentes Campi] is populated with women who died for love. Each woman is depicted with either her method of death or her reason for it. Phaedra, who fell in love with her step-son Hippolytus, reaches toward the tree on which she hanged herself. Procris is shown with a spear in her back; she accidentally startled her husband while watching him. Eriphyle is shown convincing her husband Amphiaraus to go to war; her son killed her when he learned that Amphiaraus had died in the war. Evadne stands next to the funeral pyre of her husband; she killed herself by jumping onto the pyre. Pasiphae holds the horns of the bull she loved; she died in prison for coupling with him. Laodamia chose to follow her husband back to the underworld after he was allowed to visit her. Caeneus was originally the maiden Caenis, whom Neptune turned into a man as she requested after he raped her; after death, Caeneus was turned back into a woman. Dido kneels with a sword in her breast. (440-51; Page note 445ff) Brant does not include the interaction between Aeneas and Dido (451-76), which was the reason Vergil focused so heavily on the Mourning Fields.

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 270r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.

Aeneas and the Sibyl enter the underworld (268-94). They stand in front of a grove of trees in the upper left corner; while Vergil compares the entrance to an entrance court with marble columns (268-9), Brant makes the entrance through a forest, which makes the scene a bit darker. The face on the crescent moon may represent Night. In the lower right corner, the Eumenides sit in their "ferrei thalami" (280), a round structure made of iron with three rooms, which has flames and a person spilling out the top. The structure sits in the mouth of an enormous monster, which takes up much of the right half of the image. The monster appears to represents Hell itself, and the Eumenides sit within the jaws of Hell. The monster's giant nostrils, expelling small flames, are located above the structure, and an eye can be seen to the right of the nostrils, at the edge of the image. Discordia, with snakes for hair (280-1), sits in a war tent directly above the monster.

In the lower left, a set of unlabeled figures represent the afflictions that reside at the threshold of the underworld; they include Famine, Sleep, and Distress (273-9). In the center of the image stands Briareus [Bryareus], the hundred-handed titan (287), shown here with about 10 hands. To his right, three centaurs (286) stand on the tongue of the monster. To the left, above Briareus' largest hand, is the Hydra, the many-headed serpent from Lerna (287). The Chimaera, a lion-like beast, breathes fire (288) toward Aeneas, who draws his sword in an instinct of self defense (290-4). To the right of the Chimaera, three Gorgons (289) share a head, whether from confusion with Geryon or from extreme economy of space. Next to them sit three Harpies, bird creatures with the heads of women (288). To their right, Geryon is shown with three torsos, connecting at the shoulders and hips (288).  In the upper right corner, the background of the image, armed figures represent further shades to come.

Woodcut illustration from the “Strasbourg Vergil,” edited by Sebastian Brant: Publii Virgilii Maronis Opera cum quinque vulgatis commentariis expolitissimisque figuris atque imaginibus nuper per Sebastianum Brant superadditis (Strasbourg: Johannis Grieninger, 1502), fol. 264r, executed by an anonymous engraver under the direction of Brant.