Metamorphoses · Chapter
Occasion of Esculapius Being Brought to Rome explained
Rome, afflicted by a devastating plague, sends ambassadors to Delphi for aid.
What happens
Rome, afflicted by a devastating plague, sends ambassadors to Delphi for aid. The oracle instructs them to seek help from Apollo's son, Aesculapius, at Epidaurus. After initial resistance, the god appears in a dream to the Roman envoy, promising to come as a serpent. He manifests as a great serpent, boards the Roman ship, and is transported to Rome, where he assumes his divine form and ends the plague.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Power and Human Folly
The plague is a divine punishment or test, and the Romans must humbly seek the gods' aid; the god's power is manifest in the serpent's miraculous journey.
Transformation and Metamorphosis
Aesculapius transforms from a divine statue into a serpent, then back into his divine form upon reaching Rome, embodying the theme of shape-shifting.
Characters to notice
- Apollo
Apollo is consulted at his Delphic oracle; he directs the Romans to seek his son Aesculapius.
- Aeneas
Aeneas is mentioned in passing as having raised a tomb for his nurse Cajeta.
- Jove
The Latins appease Jove before setting sail with the serpent god.
- Juno
The ship touches Lacinia, graced with Juno's fane (temple).
- Hercules
The city of Naples is described as adorned with Alcides' (Hercules') spoils.
Key passages
“A wasting plague infected Latium’s skies; Pale, bloodless looks were seen, with ghastly eyes; The dire disease’s marks each visage wore, And the pure blood was changed to putrid gore”
A devastating plague swept through Latium, leaving people pale, bloodless, and with ghastly eyes; every face bore the marks of the terrible disease, and their healthy blood turned into foul, corrupted matter.
Describes the severity of the plague that struck Rome.
“The assistance, Roman, which you here implore, Seek from another, and a nearer shore; Relief must be implored, and succour won, Not from Apollo, but Apollo’s son”
The help you seek here, Romans, must be sought from a different, closer shore; you must ask for relief and aid not from Apollo himself, but from his son.
The oracle at Delphi directs the Romans to Aesculapius rather than Apollo.
“This serpent view, that with ambitious play My staff encircles, mark him every way; His form, though larger, nobler, I’ll assume, And changed, as gods should be, bring aid to Rome”
Look at this serpent that playfully coils around my staff; observe it closely. I will take on its form, though larger and more majestic, and transformed as a god should be, I will bring help to Rome.
Aesculapius appears in a dream to the Roman envoy, promising to come as a serpent.
“The high-rear’d serpent from the stern displays His gorgeous form, and the blue deep surveys; The ship is wafted on with gentle gales, And o’er the calm Ionian smoothly sails”
The serpent, raised high at the ship's stern, shows off his magnificent form and gazes out over the blue sea; the ship is carried forward by gentle winds and sails smoothly across the calm Ionian Sea.
Describes the serpent god's journey across the sea to Rome.