Virg. probably meant, as Serv. thought, to imply by this line the opening of a new day: just as he expresses sunset by “clauso Olympo” 1. 374. ‘Interea’ seems to be used vaguely, as 11. 1 “Oceanum interea surgens Aurora reliquit.” Vv. 118—146 must therefore contain a brief description of a whole day's battle, during which, or during part of which (‘interea’ v. 118), the gods are sitting in council. The conclusion of the battle is fixed by the pluperf. ‘contulerant,’ and its fortunes tally sufficiently with Venus' anxiety, Juno's anger, and Jupiter's impartiality in the Olympic debate. We may therefore reject Heyne's supposition that the council of the gods takes place on the evening of the day which may be thought to have closed with Book 9, and that the night mentioned in vv. 147, 215, and 216 is the night following that evening. The description of the battle vv. 118—146 is short, but enough is included to occupy a day. The councils of the gods described in Il. 8 and Od. 5 take place at day-break. With the thought of ‘panditur domus Olympi’ comp. Homer's πύλαι Οὐλύμποιο (Il. 8. 411), and Ennius' “porta caeli” (Epig. 10), adopted by Virg. G. 3. 261. ‘Omnipotens’ recurs as an epithet of Olympus 12. 791. The line of Aeschylus (Prom. 397) “ἦ τῷ νέον θακοῦντι παγκρατεῖς ἕδρας” may have been in Virg.'s mind, though the thought there is not exactly parallel to that of ‘omnipotentis Olympi,’ as παγκρατεῖς is only relative to Zeus. A reading ‘omnipatentis’ is mentioned by Pierius, and one of the Hamburg MSS. (according to Burmann) has ‘omniparentis’ (epithet of the earth 6. 595) as a correction: this was approved by Heinsius. A line of Naevius (Osann conj. ‘Laevius’） “Panditur interea domus altitonantis Olympi” is quoted by Apuleius, de Orthographia § 15, who thinks that ‘Olympi’ may be gen. of ‘Olympius:’ in any case that Jupiter is meant.
[2] Conciliumque vocat 6. 433. ‘Divom pater atque hominum rex’ 1. 69 note.
[3] Ὦ φαεννῶν ὰστέρων οἰκῶν ἕδρας of Zeus, Euripides Cycl. 353: comp. ἀστρωποὺς οἴκους ib. H. F. 406. Virg. may be thinking of the highest circle of heaven, the seat of the ‘sidera:’ comp. “aethra siderea” 3. 585 (recalling Eur. Ion 1078 Διὸς ἀστερωπὸς αἰθήρ), ‘aethera:’ like the “aether ignifer” of Lucr. 5.498, being the highest and purest air. Jupiter “sideream mundi . . . temperat arcem” Ov. Am. 3. 10. 21. ‘Arduus’ as 7. 624, “arduus altis equis:” ἐν κορυφῇσι καθέζετο is Homer's simpler expression (Il. 8. 51). The passage from Statius (Theb. 1. 201) quoted by Forb. should rather be compared with 9. 53.
[4] Il. 8. 52 εἰσορόων Τρώων τε πόλιν καὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν. ‘Terras omnis’ is followed by ‘castraque Dardanidum populosque Latinos,’ as in 3. 90, “tremere omnia visa repente” is followed by “liminaque laurusque dei.” ‘Dardanidum’ 2. 242. See Madv. § 34, obs. 3. ‘Adspectat’ has the meaning of ‘gazing at from far’ (as here) 1. 120, (collis) “adversas adspectat desuper arces:” comp. v. 251 below.
[5] Bipatens seems to mean ‘opening in two ways or directions:’ it is applied to folding doors by Virg. (2. 330 note), and to a writing-tablet whose leaves open either forwards or backwards (“bipatens pugillar”) by Ausonius Epig. 146. 3. ‘Tectis bipatentibus’ probably means ‘halls with doors at both ends.’ To have a door at each end was, according to Vitruvius (3. 1. 10), a peculiarity of the hypaethros, his seventh and largest variety of temple (“medium . . . sub divo est sine tecto, aditusque valvarum ex utraque parte in pronao et postico.” Comp. the plans given by Stieglitz, Archäologie der Baukunst, 2te Theil). The idea of a temple was originally that of a house for the deity: the palace of Picus (7. 174 foll.) serves as the abode both of the gods and of the king. Thus it is quite natural that Virg. should conceive the palace of his gods according to the model of a great temple, and the prominent epithet ‘bipatentibus’ may be meant to recall the actual construction of the ‘hypaethros.’ The two doors probably stand for the east and west, the gates through which the sun enters and departs (comp. Macrob. Sat. 1. 9, “Ianum quidam solem demonstrari volunt, et ideo geminum quasi utriusque iannuae caelestis potentem”), a conception which recalls Ennius' “caeli palatum” (comp. the converse use of οὐρανός for the palate), and Lucretius' “caeli hiatus.” “Bipatentibus est sermo Ennianus tractus ab ostiis quae ex utraque parte aperiuntur,” Serv. Mr. Long thinks the word merely means that the “valvae” were wide open. ‘Ipse’ of Jupiter as distinguished from the other deities: so G. 4. 386 of Cyrene as distinguished from the other nymphs. Αὐτὸς δέ σφ᾽ ἀγόρευε, θεοὶ δ᾽ ἅμα πάντες ἄκουον Il. 8. 4.
[6] “Quianam dictis nostris sententia flexa est?” (Enn. A. 7, fr. 18.) For ‘quianam’ see on 5. 13.
[7] Iniquis combines the ideas of discontent and spite.
[8] In consequence of the apparent contradiction between this line and 1. 263, “bellum ingens geret Italia,” Heyne numbers this among the passages which Virg., had he lived long enough, would have corrected. Virg.'s consistency may be saved, if it be worth saving, by the consideration that what Jupiter says here that he had forbidden was the active opposition of the Italians to the Trojans: but this prohibition does not stand in the way of his foreknowledge that such opposition would be offered, and result in a general war (“bellum ingens geret Italia populosque feroces Contundet”), and the just punishment of a perverse hostility. The language here seems to be suggested by Il. 8. 413, where Zeus says to Hera and Athene Πῆ μέματον; τί σφῶϊν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μαίνεται ἦτορ; Οὐκ ἐάα Κρονίδης ἐπαμυνέμεν Ἀργείοισι. ‘Italiam’ for ‘Italos:’ comp. Eur. Orest. 1365, Πάριν ὃς ἄγαγ᾽ Ἑλλάδ᾽ ἐς Ἴλιον. So below v. 365, “Arcadas insuetos acies inferre pedestres Ut vidit Pallas Latio dare terga sequaci,” where as here the people and the country are mentioned together.
[9] Quae discordia = “cur haec discordia?” See on 1. 237. ‘Vetitum’ a prohibition, correlativo to “iussum” a command: “iussa ac vetita populorum” Cic. Legg. 2. 4. 9. Here the prohibition stands alone as being the essence of the command: a figure of speech which may be paralleled by Thuc. 1. 77, ἤν τι παρὰ τὸ μὴ οἴεσθαι χρῆναι . . . ἐλασσωθῶσι, ‘if they are thwarted against their notions of what is wrong:’ their notions, that is, of what is right. ‘Discordia’ as below (vv. 105, 106) includes the quarrels of the gods as well as of men, the two being closely connected. ‘Quis metus’ &c. If ‘hos’ refers not to the gods but to the men, ‘metus’ will mean mutual suspicion or terror, an agency constantly attributed to supernatural causes: see especially 7. 552, 578. Schrader ingeniously but unnecessarily conj. ‘quis deus’ (comp. v. 73 below). If ‘hos’ are the gods, as is possible but not so likely, Jupiter speaking rhetorically of their interference as if it had been direct action, ‘metus’ may be comp. with “metu” 1. 280 note. ‘Suasit’ governs the accus. and infin. ‘hos sequi’ as an object clause: ‘who was the adviser of their following arms?’ So Lucr. 1. 143 foll. “Sed tua me virtus . . . quemvis sufferre laborem Suadet:” so perhaps also in the difficult passage ib. 3. 83-4 (timor, odium vitae) “hunc vexare pudorem, hunc vincula amicitiai Rumpere et in summa pietatem evertere suadet,” where ‘suadet,’ altered by Lambinus into ‘fundo,’ and by Lachmann into ‘fraude,’ is now recalled by Munro (3rd edn.). Comp. 12. 813.
[10] Arma sequi, to follow after arms, i. e. discord. The phrase has a different shade of meaning 3. 54, 156., 6. 612 (note), where ‘arma’ has a specific epithet. With ‘ferrum lacessere’ comp. 5. 429 “pugnamque lacessunt,” 11. 254 “ignota lacessere bella.” So “inritare bellum” Sall. Hist. i. 16 (Dietsch).
[11] With ‘iustum pugnae tempus’ comp. “iustos hymenaeos” G. 3. 60, which may mean ‘the fit time for marriage:’ so Ov. M. 10. 36 “quum iustos matura peregerit annos.” ‘Ne arcessite,’ bring it not on.
[12] Romanis arcibus G. 2. 172 note.
[13] Exitium magnum 2. 190. ‘Alpes apertas’ almost forms a hendiadys with ‘exitium magnum,’ as it is through the opened Alps that destruction comes. “Libyen Italas infudit in urbes,” says Manilius 4. 662, imitating or rather parodying Virg. (Peerlkamp). The phrase ‘res rapere’ was applied, according to Serv., not merely (as correlative of “res reddere”) to the preliminary acts of violence which were followed by the “clarigatio” or ceremony of demanding satisfaction, but also to the reprisals which, supposing satisfaction were refused, the injured party proceeded to make. “Nolentibus res raptas restituere . . . iaciebat hastam . . . et iam licebat more belli res rapere.” Thus ‘res rapere’ would be to a Roman an antique expression for the whole circumstances attending a state of war. Perhaps the perfect tense may be pressed here: ‘then it will be allowed them to have plundered each other:’ ‘then a state of turmoil will be permitted.’ For a full account of the “clarigatio” see Serv. here and on 9. 53, and comp. Livy 1. 32.
[15] Sinite absolutely: Wagn. comp. among other instances Plaut. Cas. 3. 2. 14, “Vin' vocem? Cl. Sine: nolo, si occupata est.” So ἐᾶν in Greek: Il. 21. 221, Soph. O. C. 593, Aesch. Prom. 332. ‘Laeti placidum’ Med.; ‘placidum’ for ‘placitum’ is also given by Gud. corrected. The confusion is a frequent one. ‘Placitum’ (confirmed here by Serv.) means ‘determined on by Jupiter, or the Fates, or both:’ comp. “sic placitum” 1. 283. ‘Conponite foedus’ like “pacem conponere” 7. 339., 12. 821, Livy 2. 13.
[16-62] ‘Venus prays Jupiter that whatever may be the fate of Aeneas, it may be permitted her to take Ascanius to herself, and that the Trojans, if they must give up Italy to Carthage, may be allowed at least to settle once more in their ruined fatherland.’
