Matthew Sherry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
In Georgics 4, Clymene sings a song within a song, an epyllion within the epyllion. I argue that the description of Clymene and the Nymphs, an underappreciated moment within the Orpheus-Aristaeus epyllion, is a mise en abyme, a smaller reflection of the larger epyllion.
As Aristaeus bewails his lost bees to Cyrene, she hears her son from her watery abode. There, the Nymphs weave, captivated by Clymene who sings of Vulcan’s “useless concern” (curam inanem, 4.345) and Mars’ “sweet thefts” (dulcia furta, 346). Scholars have read Clymene’s song as a philosophical allegory through connections to Demodocus’ song in Odyssey 8 (Knauer 1964, Hardie 1986, Glauthier 2020) or as an “entertaining diversion” contrasting the more serious loss of Aristaeus (Miles 1980). My argument offers a new focus that associates her song more directly with both the surrounding epyllion and the Georgics as a whole.
By comparing other singers in the poem—especially the farmer’s wife, who “consoles her labor with song” (cantu solata laborem, 1.293)—I argue that song in the Georgics serves to console the toils of labor, providing the rejuvenation necessary to continue working. Clymene’s song similarly facilitates the work around her. Just as the labor performed by the farmer’s wife reflects the language of poetic composition (Henkel 2011), Clymene’s song entertains her sisters as they weave, a common metaphor for poetic composition (Rosati 1999, Heath 2011). These parallels suggest that song also consoles the Nymphs’ toil and facilitates their work.
Vergil’s alterations of Demodocus’ song are especially significant. In Demodocus’ version, Hephaestus’ motivations lie in reclaiming the dowry for his marriage (Od. 8.317–320). Instead, in Clymene’s version, “sweet thefts” motivate Vulcan, implying that Vulcan is concerned less with recompense (Hephaestus’ motivation in Od.) than with Venus’ “stolen” affection. His “useless concern” refers to these motivations more broadly: he plans to capture the lovers (and succeeds) in an effort to dissuade further infidelity. His concern is inanis because the capture does not solve the problem: Venus will continue to be unfaithful. Despite Vulcan’s skillful craftsmanship, the source of his distress and his resulting cura persist.
Viewed in these terms, Clymene’s song of Vulcan shares many similarities with Proteus’ song of Orpheus sung to Aristaeus. Both songs present a figure of incomparable skill—one the god of smithing, the other the archetypal singer—who attempts to use that skill to reclaim his wife. Both figures ultimately fail despite their talents and are left inconsolable. Through these parallels, the weaving Nymphs become a reflection of the epyllion as a whole: the Nymphs, the frame surrounding Clymene’s song, are also comparable to Aristaeus and the outer frame of the epyllion. The song of Vulcan’s failure facilitates the Nymphs’ weaving, while the song of Orpheus’ failure facilitates Aristaeus’ reclamation of his bees. After Proteus finishes his song, Cyrene first instructs Aristaeus to “set down his concerns” (deponere curas, 4.531). Just as for the nymphs listening to Clymene, the solace of song helps Aristaeus perform his labor and recover his bees.