Adema, S.M. (2013). ‘No boundaries in Time or space, Nec Metas Rerum Nec Tempora’. In J. Heirman & J. Klooster (Eds.), Ideologies of Lived Space (pp. 143-158). Gent: Academia Press. (original) (raw)

Rome and the Underworld in the Aeneid. A text-linguistic and narratological analysis of Vergil, Aeneid 6.264-901 1 Suzanne Adema Vergil's Aeneid was published after Vergil's death by order of emperor Augustus (first century B.C.). The epic tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who survived the Trojan war. He travels through the Mediterranean world and fights on Italian soil in order to fulfil the task allotted to him by fate: lay the foundations of Rome and make possible its salvation by emperor Augustus (Conte 1994: 283). The Aeneid had strong ideological purposes and was meant to be a national epic, extolling the eternal power of Rome. This message is formulated by Jupiter in the first book of the Aeneid: (1) Aeneid, 1.278-279 For the Romans I set no bounds in space or time (nec metas rerum nec tempora); but have given empire without end. 2 As part of his quest, Aeneas crosses the bounds of space and time when he descends into the Underworld. Thereby, he leaves the Upper world and enters an eternal space in which spirits and Underworld deities, all allocated to specific places, repeat their actions in perpetuum (Aeneid 6.264-901). In this article, I give a text-linguistic analysis of this katabasis episode and argue that it may be interpreted as a means to suggest the lack of limits in time and space for Rome. 3 Rome was seen as ruling the world when the Aeneid was written and the katabasis episode may be seen as incorporating the space of the Underworld into Rome's power, as Feldherr argues (1999). One message of the episode would be that Rome's power was not limited to the spatial boundaries of the Upper world. We could perhaps take it one step further and argue that with the Underworld a sense of eternity is brought into the story of the very first beginnings of Rome, as if to emphasise that for this city the limitations of time, too, are lifted. In this interpretation, Aeneas experiences eternity in the space of the Underworld so that he is able to instigate eternity in the Upper world when he lays the foundations of Rome. This interpretation is supported by the presentation of the episode, particularly by the use of tenses. The episode is a text-linguistic mix of time and space, of narrative and description, of temporality and eternity. I aim to unravel this mix in order to gain more insight into the presentation of Aeneas' experience of eternity. At some points in this episode, the The narrative clause containing the imperfect tense forms ibant is followed by a simile (not quoted), after which a description is given of the entrance of the Underworld: (3) Aeneid, 6.273-289 Just before the entrance, even within the very jaws of Hell, Grief and avenging Cares have set (posuere) their bed; there pale Diseases dwell (habitant), sad Age, and Fear, and Hunger, temptress to sin, and loathly Want, shapes terrible to view; and Death and Distress; [...] And many monstrous forms besides of various beasts are stalled (stabulant) at the doors, Centaurs and double-shaped Scyllas, and the hundredfold Briareus, and the beast of Lerna, hissing horribly, and the Chimaera armed with flame, Gorgons and Harpies, and the shape of the three-bodied shade. This description is given in present tense forms (Latin: habitant, stabulant), a presentation suggesting that pale Diseases, sad Age, Fear, Hunger and loathly Want still dwell at the entrance of the Underworld. 4 The return to the use of the present tense marks the transition from specific narrative (ibant in example (2)) back to general description, a transition from temporary to eternal. The description goes on for several lines (not all quoted) until the narrator arrives at the Chimaera, the Gorgons and the Harpies.