| March 15, 2001 Funeral Games After someone dies, life goes on, at least for those still living. Thus the ritual “funeral games” are not only to honor the dead, but also to celebrate life. While funeral games take place in Homer’s Iliad as well, Vergil’s games are much more symbolic in meaning. Because nearly every action is symbolic to current Roman events, The Aeneid may appear as though it is not universal, since readers today are not up-to-date with ancient Roman current events. But even many Romans never picked up on the symbolism Vergil used in The Aeneid, or they would have realized that with all the gaiety Vergil was predicting the catastrophic fall of Rome. In The Aeneid, the funeral games take place at a time when Aeneas has just left Carthage burning behind him with Dido dead upon the fire (a fact Aeneas does not know at this time). What concerns Aeneas is his father, Anchises, who only recently died. Again they are back on the land that holds the bones of Anchises, and Aeneas is filled with bitter passion that prompts him to begin the ceremonious games, something he vows he would do even if he “had been caught in Greek waters and were a prisoner in the city of Mycenae” (Vergil 105). At this period of time Rome was struggling, having fought several civil wars and of course there were more to come. More importantly, there had been the death of Caesar. As tragic as this was, nobody felt willing to take a public stand against Caesar’s enemies and begin the funeral games – except Octavian. With the same attitude that Aeneas possessed, Octavian insisted that the games must go on. The greatest fruits of life are called upon to play in the games, a ceremony which honors the dead and pays tribute to life. This is emphasized by the crowning of the heads “in living green” (Vergil 106), plants being symbolic of life, fertility, and cleanliness. In this scene it is clear that the dead Anchises represents Caesar and Aeneas represents Octavian. Though it is uncertain whether Vergil supported Caesar and Octavian, he still knew the roles they played in Roman society and was able to incorporate them into his epic. (It is interesting to note in this book that Aeneas is referred to as “Father Aeneas,” as opposed to in later books where he is referred to as the great warrior, the angry and wild Aeneas.) The first game is the ship race, and something occurs here that is easily overlooked. As Gyas sees that his ship is getting behind, he takes the old helmsman and throws him off the ship, indignant that Menoetes wasn’t able to keep up because of lack of courage or lack of daring. Gyas did this “without a thought for his own dignity or the safety of his crew” (Vergil 109), a selfish and stupid thing to do. In spite of this insult to the elderly, Gyas was not punished; in fact it was Menoetes who was laughed at by the Trojans when he finally emerged, “[spewing] up waves of salt water from his stomach” (Vergil 109). Menoetes could have died over the foolish young man’s brashness, and yet the Trojans had no pity or compassion on him. He ceased to be a person to them and was instead an object to laugh at. This would be the beginning of Rome’s cruel streak. Vergil was probably thinking of how the poor and the powerless were often overlooked in Roman society. The word of Octavian was taken as though from a God, and though Octavian was considered very fair and considerate, the truth was that he was a tyrant. His powerful compatriots, instead of giving up some of their power to raise up the lower classes, hoarded their power covetously to themselves. With the ship race Vergil was also in a much deeper sense predicting the ability of the Romans to kill and laugh or to watch someone and kill and laugh even harder. The ability of different leaders to nonchalantly use prescriptions as well as the later Roman hobby of gladiators who fought to the death testify of this. Although Vergil was a pagan, if he were a Christian prophet this statement could also be taken as a testimony of the cruel crucifixion of Christ, who was denounced by his own people. No compassion was felt for him; but the Romans mocked him and laughed at him and finally killed him. The next event Aeneas hosted was the race. Here two of his most tragic figures are introduced, Nisis and Euryalus. Nisis loved Euryalus as if he were his own son, or perhaps even more than that (for many Roman fathers were not against killing their own sons if need be). This relationship would have been a wonderful one for Romans to emulate. However, it was not to be. Vergil’s intention might have been to show how such love made them weak, for in the end of the story this love causes both of them to die before they can complete their assigned task. More likely, though, Vergil mourns the lack of love he sees in his society and here he attributes this to the loss of Nisis and Euryalus. Their downfall is foreshadowed; even as the race has barely begun and Nisis is in the lead, he slips and falls – not on a patch of grass or a mud puddle, but “on a slippery patch of blood” (Vergil 114). Vergil offers no explanation as to where the blood came from. He only leaves us with the eerie omen that blood caused Nisis’ downfall, and in the end of The Aeneid Vergil concludes this theory not only with Nisis’ death but with that of Euryalus, the young man he loved and whom he helped. Another event full of symbolic imagery was the archery contest. The archery contest contained the symbols most recognizable to Romans. The others were subtle and less likely to be picked up by a civilization still proud and gung-ho about their society. But Aeneas’ fiery bow created a stir that was a “sign for what the future held in store. In times to come [ . . .] awesome prophets interpreted the omen to future ages” (Vergil 120). The arrow fell through the stars like “those stars that leave their appointed places and race across the sky” (Vergil 120) – or in other words, comets. During the funeral games held in honor of Caesar, a comet streaked across the sky, representing to all watching that Caesar had become a god. Aeneas too reads this as a sign from the Gods, a “sign that he has willed [them] to receive honors beyond the lot of other men” (Vergil 120). But wouldn’t it be interesting if Vergil were Christian? Then the arrow which lit the sky could stand for the great star in the heavens, the omen that foretold the coming of the Messiah. In some ways, then, Vergil’s funeral games closely emulate those of Homer. They are nearly the same tasks, the same games. But they are slightly different in the telling; and in these slight differences Vergil intends an allegory to be found, one that describes his culture and civilization. Even while the games are celebrating life, Vergil is chastising Rome for being so concerned with glittery omens, and not paying enough attention to evidences of Rome’s eventual downfall. |