> >In Georgics IV, 478/9, Virgil writes "deformis harundo/Cocyti". This has > >been translated "unsightly reeds of Cocytus". > > > >I wonder if it would be possible to interpret this as "deformed reeds of > >Cocytus". > > The question is whether deformis designates a universal quality of reeds > or a particular quality of *these* reeds, the reeds growing by the River > of Lamentation, ugly and misshapen to match the black mud and stagnant > water of the unlovely mere.
Leofranc Holford-Strevens makes a very useful point and I wonder if Virgil had a double-meaning in mind for 'deformis'. Since my earlier e-mail on this topic, I have done some more research on reeds and, in places where they are grown commercially, they are managed so that they grow tall and straight for thatching and other purposes. The reeds are normally cut in spring which helps to ensure the stems are not deformed by Lipara galls. Thus the reeds of Cocytus could be 'deformis' inasmuch as they looked like a badly negelected reed-bed and also 'deformis' by virtue of their having been galled by Lipara (which is what happens to a badly neglected reed-bed). This would not in any sense clash with Philip Thibodeau's suggestion about reeds being ugly in the Underworld. The Lipara galls, incidentally, once they have been vacated by the flies that cause the galls are used as nest sites by a species of solitary bee. Clearly this again might have been something known to Virgil with his interest in bees and, since most bees make honey, one wonders if children in Cisapline Gaul and elsewhere knew how to find their tiny combs in those virtually sugar-free days. On the same reedy topic, I discovered that the so-called 'rush-bearing' ceremonies found in various British towns and villages mainly in the north west are, in fact, reed-bearing ceremonies and seem to be associated with places where there were former Roman settlements or garrisons. Some have suggested that these ceremonies derive from the Roman festival of Floralia (hmm) and one source mentioned that Virgil had something to say about this Floralia. I have failed to find any specific references via the normal searches and I should be grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction if he did indeed mention the topic. Patrick Roper ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
