The Golden Bough (mythology)
Encyclopedia
The Golden Bough is one of the episodic tales written in the epic Aeneid
, book VI, by ancient Roman poet Vergil (70-19 BC), which narrates the adventures of the Trojan hero Aeneas
after the Trojan War
.
was being destroyed in its last battle against the Greeks, Aeneas leaves the city and leads a sailed quest to find a new and Hesperian
home. In this mission, guided by prophet Helenus
, Aeneas arrives in Italy where he intends to found a city to his people. Once there, Deiphobe
, the sibyl
of Cumae
, then an elder with seven hundred years of age at an Apollo
’s temple, consents to escort him into a journey through the underworld to comply with a requested wish of the "shade
" of his deceased father.
Before entering Hades
, Deiphobe assigns Aeneas to obtain the bough of gold, which grows near in the woods around her cave, and should be given as a gift for Proserpina
, the queen of Pluto
, king of the underworld. In the forest, to aid Aeneas in this difficult task, two doves are sent from his mother goddess Venus
, which helped him to find the tree. When Aeneas tears off the bough, immediately a second one of gold springs up, which is a good omen, otherwise, as said by sibyl, the coming endeavor would fail.
Soon after started their descent to the underworld, the sibyl exhibits the golden bough to Charon
who only then allows them to enter his boat and cross the Stygian river. In the other side, she casts a drugged cake to the three-headed watchdog Cerberus
, which swallows it and makes him fall sleep. Once there in the dark world, Aeneas tries talk to some shades, and hears the Sybil speak of places, like the Tartarus
, where he saw a large prison, fenced by a triple wall, with wicked men being punished, and bordered by the fiery river Phlegethon
. At the Pluto’s palace, the hero puts the golden bough on the arched door, and follows to the Elysian Fields
, the abode of those who had rightful and useful lives.
Anchises
, the father of Aeneas, is finally found in the greenly and sunny Elysium, where also flows the beautiful river Eridanus
. The hero attempts three times to hug his father but has no success. He is like thin air, or empty dreams.
In spite of this, they have a happy encounter and Anchises tells to his son about the nearby river Lethe
, the river of forgetfulness, where a multitude of spirits waited to born, and live on Earth. Over there were those who would be the descendants of Aeneas, and those who would live in the future Roman Empire
, such as Romulus
, Camillus
, Fabillus, and the Caesars. Anchises gives advices to Aeneas, and then leads them to the ivory gate, one of the gates of "Sleep", by which they return to Earth.
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, book VI, by ancient Roman poet Vergil (70-19 BC), which narrates the adventures of the Trojan hero Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
after the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
.
Story
While TroyTroy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
was being destroyed in its last battle against the Greeks, Aeneas leaves the city and leads a sailed quest to find a new and Hesperian
Hesperian
The Hesperian is a geologic system and time period on the planet Mars characterized by widespread volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding that carved immense outflow channels across the surface. The Hesperian is an intermediate and transitional period of Martian history...
home. In this mission, guided by prophet Helenus
Helenus
Helenus was a Trojan soldier and prophet in the Trojan War.In Greek mythology, Helenus was the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra. He was also called Scamandrios. According to legend, Cassandra, having been given the power of prophecy by...
, Aeneas arrives in Italy where he intends to found a city to his people. Once there, Deiphobe
Cumaean Sibyl
The ageless Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy.The word sibyl comes from the ancient Greek word sibylla, meaning prophetess. There were many Sibyls in different locations throughout the ancient world...
, the sibyl
Sibyl
The word Sibyl comes from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and...
of Cumae
Cumae
Cumae is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy , and the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl...
, then an elder with seven hundred years of age at an Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
’s temple, consents to escort him into a journey through the underworld to comply with a requested wish of the "shade
Ethereal being
Ethereal beings, according to some belief systems and occult theories, are mystic entities that usually are not made of ordinary matter. Despite the fact that they are believed to be essentially incorporeal, they do interact in physical shapes with the material universe and travel between the...
" of his deceased father.
Before entering Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
, Deiphobe assigns Aeneas to obtain the bough of gold, which grows near in the woods around her cave, and should be given as a gift for Proserpina
Proserpina
Proserpina or Proserpine is an ancient Roman goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. Her Greek goddess' equivalent is Persephone. The probable origin of her name comes from the Latin, "proserpere" or "to emerge," in respect to the growing of grain...
, the queen of Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
, king of the underworld. In the forest, to aid Aeneas in this difficult task, two doves are sent from his mother goddess Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, which helped him to find the tree. When Aeneas tears off the bough, immediately a second one of gold springs up, which is a good omen, otherwise, as said by sibyl, the coming endeavor would fail.
Soon after started their descent to the underworld, the sibyl exhibits the golden bough to Charon
Charon
Charon may refer to:Ancient world*Charon , in Greek mythology, the ferryman who ferried the dead to the underworld*Charon of Lampsacus, ancient Greek logographer...
who only then allows them to enter his boat and cross the Stygian river. In the other side, she casts a drugged cake to the three-headed watchdog Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, which swallows it and makes him fall sleep. Once there in the dark world, Aeneas tries talk to some shades, and hears the Sybil speak of places, like the Tartarus
Tartarus
In classic mythology, below Uranus , Gaia , and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros . It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato In classic mythology, below Uranus (sky), Gaia (earth), and Pontus...
, where he saw a large prison, fenced by a triple wall, with wicked men being punished, and bordered by the fiery river Phlegethon
Phlegethon
In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron...
. At the Pluto’s palace, the hero puts the golden bough on the arched door, and follows to the Elysian Fields
Elysium
Elysium is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes...
, the abode of those who had rightful and useful lives.
Anchises
Anchises
In Greek mythology, Anchises was the son of Capys and Themiste . His major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite . One version is that Aphrodite pretended to be a Phrygian princess and seduced him for nearly two weeks of lovemaking...
, the father of Aeneas, is finally found in the greenly and sunny Elysium, where also flows the beautiful river Eridanus
Eridanos (mythology)
The river Eridanos or Eridanus is a river mentioned in Greek mythology. Virgil considered it one of the rivers of Hades in his Aeneid VI, 659.-Ancient references:...
. The hero attempts three times to hug his father but has no success. He is like thin air, or empty dreams.
In spite of this, they have a happy encounter and Anchises tells to his son about the nearby river Lethe
Lethe
In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos , the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness...
, the river of forgetfulness, where a multitude of spirits waited to born, and live on Earth. Over there were those who would be the descendants of Aeneas, and those who would live in the future Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, such as Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
, Camillus
Camillus
In ancient Rome, a camillus was an acolyte in various rituals. If the camillus was a child of the cult's officiant , the child had to be free-born and under the age of puberty, and both parents had to be alive.Camillus was also a cognomen derived from the general term, most famously used by...
, Fabillus, and the Caesars. Anchises gives advices to Aeneas, and then leads them to the ivory gate, one of the gates of "Sleep", by which they return to Earth.