Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 106 as they wrap up Aeneid Book 7. Discover the dual nature of Turnus, the two-faced god Janus, the warrior princess Camilla, and resources to master the Latin language.
Introduction: Tremendous and Curmudgeon
Welcome back, classical gourmands, to Episode 106 of the Ad Navseam Podcast! Broadcasting from the subterranean depths of Vomitorium South, your hosts, Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe, return to the microphones to wrap up Book 7 of Vergil’s Aeneid.
The hosts open the episode with some seasonal banter, noting that the end-of-semester craziness is almost over as the Christmas holidays approach. Keeping with a long-running joke regarding their middle initials, Jeff declares that the “T” in Jeffrey T. Winkle stands for “Tremendous”. Dave, who is fighting a lingering cold that gives his voice a resonant radio quality, jokes that his “C” stands for “Curmudgeon” or “Crotchety”. With the introductions complete, the boys prepare to set the stage for the massive conflict between the Trojan invaders and the native Italian defenders.
The Armor of Turnus and The White Lotus
The primary academic focus of Episode 106 revolves around the character of Turnus and the impending war. The hosts begin by examining the specific armor Turnus wears into battle.
Dave reads an excerpt from a 1959 article by Stuart Small, published in the Transactions of the American Philological Association. Small analyzes the two distinct emblems on Turnus’s gear: his helmet features a fire-breathing Chimera, while his shield displays the mythological figure of Io transformed into a heifer.
Small argues that the Chimera represents pure bestial violence. In contrast, Io represents a human victim of divine interference. Animalized by Jupiter’s lust and tortured by Juno’s gadfly, Io retains her human mind despite her outward alteration. This duality mirrors Turnus himself; despite his unreasoning rage on the battlefield, he is never dehumanized altogether, functioning as a tragic victim of the gods’ machinations. Furthermore, Io is an ancestor of the Rutulian people, making her a fitting emblem for their local champion.
Jeff compares Vergil’s symbolic use of armor to the modern HBO television show The White Lotus. Jeff notes that the show frames dramatic scenes beneath specific Renaissance paintings, such as the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, to comment on the characters and foreshadow their ultimate fate. Vergil uses the imagery on Turnus’s shield in a similar manner, providing observant readers with a symbolic reward.
Lacrimabile Bellum and the Price of Peace
The conflict begins when Ascanius’s hunting hounds chase and kill a beloved local stag. Goaded by the fury Allecto, the local Latin shepherds and Turnus demand war. However, King Latinus refuses to declare war or open the temple gates, hiding himself in the shadows of his palace. In a dramatic scene, the goddess Juno descends from the sky and pushes the doors open with her own hands.
Dave reads the Latin text of this scene, utilizing the critical edition edited by R.A.B. Mynors. He draws attention to the phrase lacrimabile bellum, which translates to “a war worthy of tears”. This specific wording reinforces Vergil’s complex view of combat. The poet does not glorify violence; he portrays it as a tragic, nasty business that must be done out of duty. Dave compares this Roman ethos of pietas to the main character in the film Gladiator, who hates his violent role but executes it with unmatched skill.
The hosts then review an article by Michael Putnam, which connects the Gates of War to Vergil’s contemporary era. According to the Res Gestae, Emperor Augustus boasted that he closed the temple gates three times during his reign, an event that had only happened twice in all of prior Roman history. However, the historian Tacitus referred to Augustus’s reign as a pacem cruentum (a bloody peace). Tacitus argued that good leaders must abandon private hatreds in favor of public needs. This raises a central question for the epic: when Aeneas ultimately kills Turnus in Book 12, is it an act of public necessity or private bloodlust?
Janus and the Anxiety of Liminality
The physical Gates of War belong to the temple of Janus, located in the Roman Forum. According to the ancient biographer Plutarch, this temple was built by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, who is famous for civilizing the early Romans and establishing their religious laws.
Janus is a distinctly Roman deity with no direct Greek counterpart. He is the two-faced god of beginnings, doorways, and transitions. Because his two faces allow him to look forward and backward simultaneously, he serves as the ultimate guardian of the threshold. This positioning makes Janus the gateway to the divine realm; the Romans began almost all of their prayers by invoking Janus before addressing other gods.
Janus also played a role in Rome’s violent foundation myths. After Romulus and his men kidnapped the Sabine women, the Sabine King Tatius attacked the city. Janus intervened by causing a volcanic hot spring to erupt, burning the attackers in a mixture of ash and water.
Jeff uses Janus to discuss the concept of liminality, which refers to the anxiety surrounding unbounded, “in-between” states. Thresholds, dusk, and chimeric creatures produce an uncanny, unsettling feeling because they cannot be categorized. The hosts compare ancient rites of passage, like the Roman adolescent earning the toga virilis or cutting off their protective bulla amulet, to modern secular graduations. These ceremonies serve a vital cultural function by delineating liminal phases of life and providing a safe, structured hero’s journey for young people.
Baseball Cards and the Warrior Princess
Book 7 concludes with a catalogue of the Italian heroes gathering for battle. While modern readers often skip these poetic lists, Dave compares them to baseball cards. Baseball cards provide an encyclopedic list of statistics and data without a narrative plot, forcing the reader to supply the story in their own mind. In a similar vein, the catalogue of ships or soldiers provides humanizing details about the various combatants.
The final warrior to arrive is Camilla of the Volsci.
Camilla is a warrior princess who shuns traditional women’s work, such as spinning and weaving, in favor of martial combat. Vergil describes her with supernatural abilities, claiming she can sprint over a field of wheat without bruising the tender ears and run across the ocean waves without wetting the soles of her feet. Camilla therefore embodies a compelling paradox, combining delicate beauty with immense physical power, and Dave observes that Camilla serves as the structural counterpart to Dido from Book 1. Just as Dido functioned as the commanding, powerful queen at the beginning of the epic, Camilla acts as her martial doppelganger in the second half of the story.
Sponsors: Fueling the Classical Renaissance
Before the hosts conclude the episode, they thank the sponsors who make the podcast a reality.
- Ratio Coffee: Discard your cheap coffee makers and invest in the daily ritual. The Ratio 8 and Ratio 6 machines offer a flawless brewing experience with the touch of a single button. The Fibonacci showerhead handles the essential bloom phase, off-gassing the trapped carbon dioxide to prevent the dreaded brackish tang. Visit ratiocoffee.com and use the code ANCO4Z for a 15% discount on your order.
- Hackett Publishing: For over five decades, Hackett has published accessible, attractive academic texts. Their extensive catalog includes everything from Asian philosophy and Islamic studies to Stanley Lombardo’s translations of classical epics. Go to hackettpublishing.com and use the code AN2023 for a 20% discount and free shipping.
- MossMethod & LatinPerDiem: Take your ancient Greek from neophyte to erudite with Dave’s comprehensive courses. If you want to master the Latin language, visit latinperdiem.com for thorough, self-paced video lessons. These programs make excellent holiday gifts for any aspiring classicist.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
To wrap up the episode, the hosts joke about the “Elf on the Shelf” holiday tradition, proposing alternative historical versions such as Machiavelli in the deli, Caesar in the freezer, and Aristotle in the Chipotle. Dave also delivers a classic dad joke, claiming he broke his glasses and bumped into “everyone” at the optometrist.
Finally, Dave reads the Gustatory Parting Shot courtesy of Neil Burton.
“The three most powerful seasonings are hunger, variety, and gratitude.”
A special thanks to Mishka the sound engineer, and to Scott Van Zen and Ken Tamplin for the guitar riffs. Keep the Gates of War closed, avoid the brackish tang, and keep taking in the classics. Valete!
