In
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
,
Nisus ( grc, Νῖσος, Nîsos) and
Euryalus
Euryalus (; grc, Εὐρύαλος, Eurýalos, broad) refers to the Euryalus fortress, the main citadel of Ancient Syracuse, and to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature:
Classical mythology
*Euryalus, name ...
(; grc, Εὐρύαλος, Eurýalos, broad) are a pair of friends and lovers serving under
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
in the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'', the
Augustan epic by
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
. Their foray among the enemy, narrated in book nine, demonstrates their stealth and prowess as warriors, but ends as a tragedy: the loot Euryalus acquires (a glistening Rutulian helmet) attracts attention, and the two die together. Virgil presents their deaths as a loss of admirable loyalty and valor. They also appear in Book 5, during the
funeral games
Funeral games are athletic competitions held in honor of a recently deceased person. The celebration of funeral games was common to a number of ancient civilizations. Athletics and games such as wrestling are depicted on Sumerian statues dating ...
of
Anchises, where Virgil takes note of their ''amor pius'', a love that exhibits the ''
pietas
''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...
'' that is Aeneas's own distinguishing virtue.
In describing the bonds of devotion between the two men, Virgil draws on conventions of erotic poetry that have suggested a romantic relationship to some, interpreted by scholars in light of the
Greek custom of ''paiderastia''.
Mythology
Background
Nisus and Euryalus are among the refugees who in the aftermath of the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
flee under the leadership of Aeneas, the highest-ranking Trojan to survive. Nisus was the son of
Hyrtacus, and was known for his hunting. The family cultivated the huntress-goddess who inhabited
Mount Ida. Euryalus, who was younger, has spent his entire life in a state of war and displacement. He was trained as a fighter by his battle-hardened father,
Opheltes
In Greek mythology, Opheltes (Ancient Greek: Ὀφέλτης), also called Archemorus (Αρχέμορος, Beginning of Doom), was a son of Lycurgus of Nemea. His mother is variously given as Eurydice, Nemea, or Amphithea. As an infant, he was ki ...
, of whom he speaks with pride. Opheltes seems to have died at Troy.
After their wanderings around the Mediterranean, the Trojans are fated to land on the shores of Italy. Some members of their party, especially the ''matres'' ("mothers"), are settled at Sicily before the Italian war, but the mother of Euryalus refused to be parted from her son and continued on.
Characterization
Although Nisus and Euryalus are inseparable as a pair in the narrative, each is given a distinct
characterization
Characterization or characterisation is the representation of persons (or other beings or creatures) in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include direct methods ...
. Nisus is the elder, more experienced man. He is swift and accurate ''(acerrimus)'' in the use of projectile weapons, the javelin ''(iaculum)'' and arrows.
Euryalus is still young, with the face of a boy (''puer'')
who hasn't started shaving, just old enough to bear arms. He was more beautiful ''(pulchrior)'' than any other of Aeneas's men at arms. Euryalus maintains a loving relationship with his mother. He refuses to see her before he leaves on his mission, because he cannot bear her inevitable tears, and yet his first concern amid promises of rich rewards is that she be cared for if he fails to return.
Plot and themes
The foray by Nisus and Euryalus is a well-developed, self-contained episode that occurs in the "
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
ic" half of the ''Aeneid'', set during the war through which the displaced Trojans established themselves among the inhabitants of central Italy. Virgil introduces the characters anew, but they have already appeared in Book 5, at the funeral games held for Aeneas's father, Anchises, during the "
Odyssean" first half of the epic. The games demonstrate behaviors that in the war to come will result in victory or defeat; in particular, the footrace in which Nisus and Euryalus compete prefigures their disastrous mission.
The five runners are, in the order in which they would have finished, Nisus,
Salius
In Greek and Roman mythology, Salius is an Acarnanian who in one alternative tradition was the legendary founder of the ancient Roman priesthood of the Salii.
Varro says that Salius had come to Italy with Evander, the Arcadian king to whom sever ...
, Euryalus,
Elymus, and
Diores In Greek mythology, Diorês (Ancient Greek: Διώρης) referred to four different people.
*Diorês, father of Automedon who was the charioteer of Achilles during the Trojan War.
*Diorês, leader of the Elis contingent during the Trojan War. He ...
. Nisus, however, slips in the blood from the cattle sacrificed during the religious rituals that preceded the race. Recognizing that he can't recover his lead, he trips Salius to hand the victory to Euryalus. Nisus shows himself willing to sacrifice his own honor in order to help Euryalus, but the gesture demonstrates not only his loyalty but a willingness to cheat. Salius objects to the foul, and is given a consolation prize. Nisus receives compensation for his bad luck, and Euryalus gets the winner's prize. The incident is treated as comic, but becomes ominous in light of what happens to the pair later.
Although the night raid of Nisus and Euryalus has a discrete narrative unity, it is closely related to major themes of the epic, such as the transition from boyhood to manhood, also present in the characters of
Ascanius,
Pallas
Pallas may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2 Pallas asteroid
** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas
* Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon
Mythology
* Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena
* Pa ...
, and
Lausus,
[Petrini, ''The Child and the Hero'', p. 21.] and the waste of young lives in war. Nisus and Euryalus's killing spree through the camp of the
Rutuli
The Rutuli or Rutulians were an ancient people in Italy. The Rutuli were located in a territory whose capital was the ancient town of Ardea, located about 35 km southeast of Rome.
Thought to have been descended from the Umbri and the Pelas ...
is one of Virgil's most brutal descriptions of combat (especially when Nisus beheads the military leader Remus with his warriors Lamyrus, Lamus and Serranus). The poetry of Euryalus's death – "as when a richly hued flower is cut down by the plough and withers as it dies, or when the rains beat down the poppy's head, weighed down on slack neck" – is a replay of the death of
Gorgythion
In Greek mythology, Gorgythion (Ancient Greek: Γοργυθίων, gen.: Γοργυθίωνος) was one of the sons of King Priam of Troy at the time of the Trojan War and appears as a minor character in Homer's ''Iliad''. His mother was Casti ...
in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
''.
Notes
References
* ''Dictionary of Classical Mythology''. London: Penguin, 1990. .
* Guy-Bray, Stephen. "Cowley's Latin Lovers: Nisus and Euryalus in the ''Davideis''." ''Classical and Modern Literature: A Quarterly'' 21.1 (2001): 25–42.
*
MacMullen, Ramsay. "Roman Attitudes to Greek Love." ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte''. 31.4 (1982): 484–502.
* Makowski, John F. "Nisus and Euryalus: A Platonic Relationship." ''The Classical Journal'' 85.1 (1989): 1-15.
*
Publius Vergilius Maro
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, ''Aeneid.'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.*Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'', V.294; IX.176-445.
Trojans
Characters in the Aeneid
Characters in Roman mythology
LGBT themes in mythology
LGBT themes in Greek mythology
Fictional LGBT couples
Same-sex couples
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