- \n
- What were the well-known myths of Hercules and Saturn?<\/li>\n
- How did Vergil change these stories in the\u00a0Aeneid<\/em>?<\/li>\n
- Why did Vergil present these stories the way he did?<\/li>\n
- How do Vergil’s renditions relate to migration?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
Hercules\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Traditional Myth<\/h3>\n
<\/a>
Hercules originally called Alcides, was a prominent demi-god in Greek mythology especially known for his tremendous strength.\u00a0<\/div>, was the son of Jupiter and <\/a>Alcmena was\u00a0a mortal woman that bore mortal children Iphicles and Laonome by her husband Amphitryon. \u00a0She was also the mother of the demi-god Hercules with Jupiter. <\/div>.![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Geryon-300x250.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Juno was incredibly jealous that Jupiter had cheated on her with Alcmena\u00a0and she took out her anger on Hercules. \u00a0Juno made Hercules crazed and in this state he killed his own children and the children of his brother Iphicles. \u00a0According to the <\/a> The Oracle of Delphi was a very famous priestess at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi who related prophesies from the god Apollo. \u00a0Thievery and murder don\u2019t exactly seem appropriate to atone for previous murders, but as long as it was sanctioned by the gods Hercules didn\u2019t seem to mind.)<\/div>, Hercules then had to complete twelve tasks assigned to him by <\/a>\u00a0Eurystheus was the king of Tiryns. \u00a0He was also related to Hercules as he was a grandson of Perseus\u00a0and Hercules was Perseus’ grandson.\u00a0<\/div> \u00a0in order to repent for these atrocious actions. \u00a0His tenth task was to \u201cacquire\u201d Geryon’s cattle from\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0An island located between Europe and\u00a0Libya where Geryon lived.\u00a0<\/div>\u00a0and bring them back to Eurystheus in Greece. Hercules violently killed Geryon in addition to stealing his cattle. \u00a0Apparently, the way<\/em> he got the cattle didn’t matter.<\/a>1<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip5_5158_anchor\" > Hansen, “Herakles,” 196 – 199 <\/div><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Vergil’s Version<\/h3>\n
![\"](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-Killing-Cacus1-300x204.jpg\")
<\/a>Vergil probably didn’t come up the myth of Hercules and Cacus entirely on his own. \u00a0However, there is no convincing evidence that this story existed before the time he was writing.<\/a> 2<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip6_3461_anchor\" >\u00a0Sutton, “The Greek Origins of the Cacus Myth,”\u00a0391 – 2. <\/div> \u00a0Vergil certainly popularized this story and his version of the myth ultimately became pretty widely accepted. \u00a0This story adds an additional episode to Hercules\u2019 return to Greece.\u00a0 In this version, <\/a>\u00a0Cacus is a half-human monster that was the son of Vulcan, the fire god. \u00a0Because of his ancestry, Cacus had the ability to produce flames from his throat.\u00a0 He lived in a cave on the Aventine hill and terrorized the people of the region. <\/div> steals Hercules’ cattle\u00a0while he is traveling back to Tiryns through Italy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In the\u00a0Aeneid<\/em>, <\/a>
Evander was the ruler of a group of migrants from Arcadia in Greece that he had brought to Italy. \u00a0He established and ruled over Pallanteum, which was to be the future site of Rome. His name essentially means \u201cgood man\u201d in Greek. <\/div> tells Aeneas that Hercules realized that the monster Cacus had taken four bulls and four heifers from him when he was about to continue on his journey. \u00a0But before Hercules left:<\/p>\n![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-and-Cacus-statue-2-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nreddidit una boum vocem vastoque sub antro<\/em>
\n mugiit et Caci spem custodita fefellit. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/em>(Aeneid<\/em> 8.217-218)<\/p>\nOne cow responded to the voice of the [other] cows and it lowed within the massive cave and [although] guarded it deceived the hope of Cacus.<\/p>\n
After this revelation, Hercules siezed his weapons and viciously attacked Cacus’ cave. \u00a0He tore apart the roof of the cavern exposing Cacus to the daylight, and Cacus responded by belching out flames\u00a0from his mouth.\u00a0 Cacus was the son of <\/a>
The Roman god of fire.<\/div> after all. \u00a0Ultimately, Hercules strangled Cacus to death as Vergil described pretty graphically:<\/p>\nangit inhaerens elisos oculos et siccum sanguine guttur. \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/em>(Aeneid<\/em> <\/em>8.260-261)<\/p>\n
Hercules clinging on [to Cacus] squeezes [him until his] eyes [were] bulging and his neck [was] dry [without any] blood.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-statue-163x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Cacus had previously terrorized the local people ruled by King Evander and they greatly benefited from Cacus’ elimination. \u00a0\u00a0Although Hercules killed Cacus for his own purposes,preserving his (well, really Geryon’s)<\/em> cattle, Evander’s people\u00a0were willing to overlook that and praise Hercules as if he actually cared about their well-being. \u00a0So, to thank him for his assistance,\u00a0they established an altar to Hercules,\u00a0which they called the “greatest,”<\/a> 3<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip10_8057_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 8.268-272 <\/div> \u00a0and a yearly celebration to worship him.<\/a>4<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip11_840_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 8.185-189 <\/div> \u00a0That festival just happened<\/em> to be\u00a0going on when Aeneas arrived in <\/a>Pallanteum was the name of the city founded by Evander in Italy on the site where Rome would later stand. <\/div> prompting Evander to relate the story.<\/a>5<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip13_5793_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 8.102-104 <\/div> \u00a0Vergil likely included this story to explain the origin of the <\/a>The\u00a0Herculis Invicti Ara Maxima, or\u00a0<\/i>The Greatest Alter of Unconquered Hercules, was the oldest cult center of Hercules in Rome. <\/div> \u00a0in the <\/a>The Forum Boarium was the site of the cattle market in ancient Rome and the oldest forum in the city. \u00a0It was located between the Aventine, Palatine, and Capitoline Hills. <\/div> and the\u00a0annual ritual centered around it to honor Hercules.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Aeneas_and_Turnus1-300x223.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nVergil constructed the Aeneid<\/em> in such a way that framed Aeneas as a cultural hero for the Romans as Hercules was for the Greeks. \u00a0Vergil seemingly attempts to elevate Aeneas\u2019 status in Roman society by associating him with Hercules on many occasions.<\/a>
Galinsky, “Hercules in the\u00a0Aeneid,”\u00a0<\/em>277. <\/div> \u00a0Vergil both changed Aeneas’ story to make it fit the model of Hercules and he modified the myth of Hercules to fit Aeneas’ story, as is the case for the Hercules and Cacus episode. \u00a0The story of Hercules killing Cacus very strongly mirrors Aeneas\u2019 struggle against <\/a>Turnus was the King of the Rutulians, an Italian tribe, and the main enemy of Aeneas in the Aeneid<\/em>. \u00a0Turnus was the chief suitor of Lavinia prior to Aeneas’ arrival in Italy, but she was then promised to Aeneas. \u00a0Turnus isn’t too happy about losing his potential wife to a Trojan immigrant and a war ensued between them, which obviously Aeneas won in the end.<\/div>.<\/a>7<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip18_7134_anchor\" > Galinsky, “Hercules in the\u00a0Aeneid,”\u00a0<\/em>290 – 291. <\/div>\u00a0 One convincing, though gruesome, example of this parallel is that Cacus nailed the head of his victims around his cave<\/a>8<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip19_9916_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 8.195 <\/div> and Turnus displayed the heads of his enemies on his chariot.<\/a>9<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip20_7556_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 12.511-512 <\/div> \u00a0Many of the associations between Hercules and Aeneas are fairly subtle. \u00a0But, Vergil really seems to make this one obvious just in case readers had somehow missed the message thus far.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-and-Cacus-landscape-300x232.jpg\")
<\/a>Vergil most likely was the one who transformed Cacus from a local fire god into a superhuman monster.<\/a> 10<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip21_4461_anchor\" > Sutton, “The Greek Origins of the Cacus Myth,”\u00a0391. <\/div> Vergil moved the location of his cave from the Palatine to the Aventine, which\u00a0helped solidify Cacus’ status as an evil figure since the Aventine was originally the domain of <\/a>Remus was the loser in the Roman foundation myth of Romulus and Remus. \u00a0He favored the Aventine Hill while Romulus preferred the Palatine. \u00a0In their dispute, Romulus ultimately killed Remus and established the original city on the Palatine. \u00a0For more information about the foundation myth click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/div>.<\/a>11<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip23_8946_anchor\" >Gransden, Commentary to\u00a0Aeneid<\/em>, 107-108.<\/div> \u00a0By making Cacus a demonic monster against the divine Hercules, Vergil set up a battle between good and evil. \u00a0Through their association with Hercules, Aeneas and Evander are also on the positive side. \u00a0The names Evander and Cacus\u00a0make this contrast very clear because they are derived from Greek terms meaning good and evil respectively.<\/a>12<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip24_6222_anchor\" > Philip R. Hardie,\u00a0Vergil’s\u00a0<\/em>Aeneid: Cosmos\u00a0and\u00a0Imperium<\/em>, 111. <\/div><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Migration<\/h3>\n
In this story of Hercules and Cacus, Hercules himself is a migrant. \u00a0\u00a0Hercules was on his journey back to Greece with Geryon’s cattle when all of this went down.\u00a0Vergil aligns Hercules and Aeneas as both are on long journeys and arrive at the site of Rome to do good for the people of the region. \u00a0Also, Hercules acts on behalf of an immigrant people, even if his reasons for killing Cacus were more about personal gain than altruism.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, King Evander was a migrant from Arcadia that settled in the region of future Rome and established a prosperous city.<\/a>
13<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip25_106_anchor\" >\u00a0Aeneid<\/em> 8.51-54 <\/div> \u00a0Aeneas too was a migrant that would settle in the same place and establish the greatest city ever (as far as the Romans were concerned). \u00a0Evander’s story strongly foreshadows Aeneas’. \u00a0This passage shows migrants in a positive light. \u00a0If a demi-god and a well-respected king can be migrants to Italy that do good things, then it must alright\u00a0for the Romans to be descended from migrants.![\"Hercules'](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-route.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Saturn<\/h2>\n
Traditional Myth<\/h3>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Goya-Saturn-254x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a> \u00a0Saturn\u00a0was the father of the god Jupiter and the youngest Titan. \u00a0He is frequently identified with the Greek God Kronos. <\/div> preceded Jupiter as the ruler of the gods. \u00a0His reign was thought to be an especially peaceful and prosperous time for humans and it was often referred to as the golden age. \u00a0Saturn had six children, including Jupiter, with <\/a>Ops was a goddess of wealth and abundance, the Roman equivalent of Rhea. \u00a0She was also the wife and sister of Saturn. <\/div>. \u00a0According to a prophesy, Saturn would be overthrown by one of his children. \u00a0In order to prevent this, he swallowed all of them as they were born. \u00a0(A pretty extreme form of birth control, but power over the entire universe was at stake!) \u00a0Ops tricked Saturn by giving him a stone disguised as a baby instead of Jupiter when he was born. \u00a0As a result, Jupiter was Saturn’s first child to escape being imprisoned in his stomach. \u00a0Jupiter then lead the <\/a>The Olympians were twelve original deities of the Greek pantheon that resided on Mount Olympus. \u00a0\u00a0The elder generation of them (Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta) were the children of Saturn and Ops. Jupiter tricked Saturn into drinking a poison that caused him to vomit up his other children, who then fought alongside their brother to defeat Saturn and the Titans.<\/div> against Saturn and the <\/a>The Titans were the children of Uranus and Terra (Latin equivalent to Gaia). \u00a0They were an older generation of gods that ruled the universe prior to the Olympians. <\/div> in a ten year battle for control over the universe.<\/a>14<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip30_7613_anchor\" > Hansen, “Olympians (Greek Olympoi),” 250 – 251. <\/div> \u00a0Upon his victory, Jupiter exiled Saturn and the Titans to <\/a>Tartarus was a pit\u00a0deep in the underworld where wicked people were sent as punishment. \u00a0Tartarus was also used as a prison for defeated immortals including the Titans. \u00a0However, Jupiter released Saturn from Tartarus and allowed him to rule over the Isle of the Blessed, a place in the underworld where the conditions were very much like a golden age <\/div>. \u00a0According to the original myth, the golden age for humans ended when\u00a0Saturn was overthrown and exiled by his son.<\/a>15<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip32_1916_anchor\" > Hansen, “Kronos (Roman Saturn),” 216-17. <\/div><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Vergil’s Version<\/h3>\n
Vergil’s rendition of Saturn’s myth changes the timing of the Golden Age to occur after Saturn had been banished from heaven. \u00a0Vergil also made the golden age specific to Italy. \u00a0After relating the story of Hercules and Cacus in book 8 of the\u00a0Aeneid<\/em>, King Evander also tells Aeneas about Saturn’s experience as a migrant:<\/p>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/golden-age-244x300.jpg\")
<\/a>primus ab aetherio venit Saturnus Olympo<\/em>
\narma Iovis fugiens et regnis exsul ademptis. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nis genus indocile ac dispersum montibus altis<\/em>
\ncomposuit legesque dedit, Latiumque vocari<\/em>
\nmaluit, his quoniam latuisset tutus in oris.<\/em>
\naurea quae perhibent illo sub rege fuere<\/em>
\nsaecula: sic placida populos in pace regebat \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Aeneid<\/em> 8.<\/em>319 -325)<\/em><\/p>\nFirst Saturn fleeing the weapons of Jupiter and as an exile with his kingdoms taken away came down from heavenly Olympus. \u00a0He gathered together the race untaught and scattered on high mountains and gave laws (to them), and he preferred (this place) to be called Latium, since he had safely lain hidden on these shores. \u00a0The ages which they called golden were under that one (Saturn) as king: thus he was ruling the people in calm peace.<\/p>\n
Evidence suggests that Vergil himself changed\u00a0the timing and location of Saturn’s Golden Age.<\/a>
16<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip33_8046_anchor\" > Schiebe, “The Saturn of the ‘Aeneid’ – Tradition or Innovation?”,\u00a043. <\/div> \u00a0By making these changes, Vergil set up an obvious parallel between Saturn and Aeneas. \u00a0As an exile Saturn established an excellent civilization in central Italy in a time of great peace, which bears a striking resemblance to Aeneas’ experience of <\/a>For more information on the foundation myth of Aeneas click here<\/a>.<\/div>. \u00a0Also, by making\u00a0Saturn’s reign over the golden age to be specific to Italy alone, instead of the entire universe, Vergil seems to suggest that site of Rome was a special place from the most ancient times. \u00a0Saturn seemingly could have picked anywhere in the world to establish a golden age, but obviously\u00a0<\/em>central Italy was the best choice.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As all good things must come to an end, Vergil also addresses the end of Saturn’s reign. \u00a0In\u00a0Vergil’s version of the story, the golden age under Saturn in Italy disintegrated as people became more belligerent and concerned with possessing stuff. \u00a0Consumer culture was apparently already a serious concern! While it was only after internal troubles had weakened the Golden Age, Saturn’s reign was finished off by new waves of migrants who changed the name of the land.<\/p>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/golden-age-2-300x207.jpg\")
<\/a>deterior donec paulatim ac decolor aetas<\/em>
\net belli rabies et amor successit habendi.<\/em>
\ntum manus Ausonia et gentes venere Sicanae,<\/em>
\nsaepius et nomen posuit Saturnia tellus. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Aeneid<\/em> VIII 326 – 329)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n(Times were good) until little by little an age worse and tarnished and a madness for war and a love for having (things) followed. Then the Ausonian band of men and the Sicanian tribes came, and the Saturnian land lay (aside) its name more often.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Migration<\/h3>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/saturn-engraving-178x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn this story, Vergil shows migration in a largely positive light. \u00a0This episode\u00a0shows that from the most ancient of times central Italy was a welcoming place for exiled people (or gods) to settle and reign over wonderful times. \u00a0Saturn himself is a migrant who establishes a time of great peace and prosperity in central Italy. \u00a0Evander and Aeneas both follow his example.<\/p>\n
But Vergil also shows a more negative view of migration in this episode than is predominantly seen in these mythological models of migration in the Aeneid<\/em>. \u00a0Incoming migrants are blamed for finishing off the Golden Age under Saturn.\u00a0 Perhaps Vergil had to explain why the present day was less than ideal, and of course it couldn’t be the fault of the Romans or their ancestors. \u00a0Whether migration is good or bad seems to depend a lot on who’s doing it.<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
Vergil’s Purpose<\/h2>\n
![\"This](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/VirgilAeneidVI-300x275.jpg\")
<\/a>Vergil and the Emperor Augustus Caesar are thought to have had a pretty complicated relationship. \u00a0Even so, many scholars think that Vergil wrote the Aeneid<\/em>\u00a0to some degree with the idea of supporting Augustus’ political agenda.<\/a> 17<\/sup>\" data-anchor=\"#tippy_tip35_4101_anchor\" > Avery, “Augustus and the ‘Aeneid,'”\u00a0225-227. <\/div>\u00a0 A new national epic in which Augustus was linked to Rome’s founder, and his rule was compared to a great age of peace and prosperity, certainly would have helped him to win over the Romans who had recently endured many years of civil war. \u00a0Vergil’s versions of Hercules’ conflict with Cacus and Saturn’s golden age serve as overwhelmingly positive mythological models for the migration and foundation myth Vergil was promoting in the Aeneid<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nIt was important that the Romans had positive associations with migration in order for them to buy into this concept of Aeneas as the original founder of Rome. \u00a0The Romans would have had to accept that they were not an indigenous people, even though their ancestors had been living in central Italy for thousands of years. \u00a0Presenting two gods as migrants that did good things in central Italy, too, should have helped make it easier for the Romans to identify with their “new” status as immigrants in a\u00a0positive way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Geryon.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Juno was incredibly jealous that Jupiter had cheated on her with Alcmena\u00a0and she took out her anger on Hercules. \u00a0Juno made Hercules crazed and in this state he killed his own children and the children of his brother Iphicles. \u00a0According to the ![\"](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-Killing-Cacus1.jpg\")
<\/a>Vergil probably didn’t come up the myth of Hercules and Cacus entirely on his own. \u00a0However, there is no convincing evidence that this story existed before the time he was writing.![\"<em>](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/aeneid-migrations\/files\/2014\/09\/Hercules-and-Cacus-statue-2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n