Mezentius

Mezentius was a mythical Etruscan king of Caere of the early Italian period and father of Lausus . The figure of Mezentius appears in numerous ancient historical works, in Titus Livius , Justinus , Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Cassius Dio , as well as in the Aeneid of Virgil and in Ovid's writings . According to the ancient informant Maurus Servius Honoratius , we know that Cato the Elder was the first to establish a relationship between the legendary figure of Mezentius and the Aene legend.

Aeneas fighting with Mezentius and Lausus.

Representation in Titus Livius

Livy, in his historical work about the early history of Rome that Aeneas after the fall of Troy on the coast of Italy went and ashore after initial clashes, the daughter of the long-established King Latinus , Lavinia , marries. Since this was previously promised to the Rutulian king, Turnus , there were armed conflicts.

In the battle between the army of the Latins and Trojans, led by Aeneas and Latinus, and the Rutulian army commanded by Turnus, the Latins and Trojans win, but Latinus falls. After their defeat, Turnus seeks support from Mezentius, king of the Etruscan city of Caere. This is raised by the strengthening of the newcomers in association with the Latins and joins an army at the Rotus. Together they approach Aeneas. He faces the approaching coalition to fight and defeats them, but falls.

After the death of Aeneas and the victory of the Latins, his wife Lavinia took the throne as guardian of the underage son Ascanius . A peace treaty between Latins and Etruscans is signed and the Tiber is declared a border.

Representation by Virgil

Aeneas erects a victory mark out of armor and weapons of Mezentius.

In the Aeneid, Virgil describes King Mezentius and the battle between the Rutulian-Etruscan army and the Latin armed forces in more detail than Livius. Virgil describes the struggles of the individual participants in detail, reminiscent of the Homeric Iliad . The main focus of his combat depictions is on the conflicts between Lausus and Mezentius and Aeneas. In addition, Mezentius paints the picture of a cruel, bloodthirsty warmonger.

Differences in the representation

In Virgil's portrayal, Lausus and Mezentius are defeated in battle against Aeneas. He then erects a victory mark out of Mezentius' armor and weapons. With Livius and the other writers mentioned above, with the exception of Ovid, Mezentius survived the battle, made peace with the Latins and dared no more attacks against the Latin cities.

swell

Cassius Dio: English translation of Roman history , In: Loeb Classical Library , 9 Bde., Gr.-Engl., Ed. E. Cary, London 1914-1927 (ND 1961-1968) Available online from LacusCurtius .
Dionysius of Halicarnassus: English Translation of Roman Antiquities Available online at LacusCurtius .
Marcus Iunianus Iustinus: Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (original Latin text; English, French and partly Spanish translation).
Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder: Origines . In: Wilt Aden Schröder: The first book of the origines: Edition and explanation of the fragments . Meisenheim am Glan 1971.
Maurus Servius Honoratius: Commentary on the Aeneid of Virgil . Available online.
Titus Livius: Roman History . Latin – German. Edited by Hans Jürgen Hillen and Josef Feix. Knowledge Book Society, Darmstadt 1974–2000. (Tusculum Collection). Text in Latin available online .
Ovid: Fasti . Available online through Google Books in Latin.
Virgil: Aeneid. Epic in twelve songs . Trans. U. ed. v. Wilhelm Plankl. Reclam, Ditzingen 2005.

literature

Luciana Aigner-Foresti: The Etruscans and early Rome . Scientific book society, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-15495-9 (history compact. Antiquity).
Janos Bollok: The figure of Mezentius in Virgil's Aeneid . In: Klio . tape 67 , 1985, pp. 234-237 .
Leah Kronenberg: Mezentius the Epicurean . In: Transactions of the American Philological Association . Volume 135, 2005, pp. 403-433 .
Gabriele Thome: Form and function of Mezentius in Virgil, with a view of the final scene of the Aeneid . Lang, Frankfurt a. M. [u. a.] 1979, ISBN 3-8204-6491-3 .
HJW Wijsman: “Messenger of old Mezentius” (Valerius Flaccus 6. 279–385) . In: Mnemosyne. A Journal of Classical Studies . Ser. 4, Vol. 53, 2000, pp. 58-71 .

Web links

Commons : Mezentius - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c J. Bollok, The figure of Mezentius in Virgil's Aeneid , p. 234.
^ Marcus Iunianus Iustinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus , 43, 1, 10-12.
↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, History of Rome , Book 1, 64, 1-5; 65, 1-5.
^ Cassius Dio, Roman History , Fragments of the First Book, In: Loeb Classical Library , p. 5.
^ Ovid, Fasti , Book 4, lines 879-900.
^ Maurus Servius Honoratius, Commentary on the Aeneid of Virgil , Book 1, line 267.
↑ Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder: Origines , fragments of the first book. In: Schröder: The first book of the origines .
^ T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita , 1, 2, 1-6; 1, 3, 4.
↑ Virgil, Aeneis , 7, 647-654; 8, 1-8; 10, 20-22, 689-908; 11, 5-16.

[bollok234-1] J. Bollok, The figure of Mezentius in Virgil's Aeneid , p. 234.

[2] Marcus Iunianus Iustinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus , 43, 1, 10-12.

[3] Dionysius of Halicarnassus, History of Rome , Book 1, 64, 1-5; 65, 1-5.

[4] Cassius Dio, Roman History , Fragments of the First Book, In: Loeb Classical Library , p. 5.

[5] Ovid, Fasti , Book 4, lines 879-900.

[6] Maurus Servius Honoratius, Commentary on the Aeneid of Virgil , Book 1, line 267.

[7] Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder: Origines , fragments of the first book. In: Schröder: The first book of the origines .

[8] T. Livius, Ab Urbe Condita , 1, 2, 1-6; 1, 3, 4.

[9] Virgil, Aeneis , 7, 647-654; 8, 1-8; 10, 20-22, 689-908; 11, 5-16.