Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

68 Martha Gimbel
Aeneas should perish, the next generation can continue her dreams of divine
glory. Once again Venus’ concern is for the future of Rome, not for the future of
her son. Her role as a divine patroness of a city is more important to her than her
role as a mother.
Venus continues to act as a divine patroness when she arranges for Vulcan
to make her son a shield (Aen.VIII.372). Unlike her earlier discussions with
deities, this time she mentions the tragedy of her son and begs Vulcan to help
him. She reminds Vulcan of her concern for Aeneas during the Trojan War, saying
“I wept often for the hard labor of Aeneas” (Aen.VIII.380). She acts as a
suppliant and refers to the desires of a mother, crying “therefore I come as a suppliant.
. .I ask for arms, a mother for her son” (Aen.VIII.382-3). Because in her
pleas she now mentions her role as a mother, it does not mean that her goals
have changed; rather, she is adapting her wiles to the situation at hand. Vulcan is
a domestic god, a familial character. Thus, like Thetis and Aurora, she uses tears
and personal references to persuade Vulcan because such methods sway him:
“the daughter of Nereus, the wife of Tithonia was able to bend you with tears”
(Aen.VIII.383-4). Those goddesses persuaded Vulcan by focusing on their
maternal needs, and she is adapting successful past methods to her own needs.
By focusing on the love she has for Aeneas, she presents herself as a vulnerable
female in need, which convinces Vulcan to help her. He comes completely
under her control as “the known heat entered his marrow and ran through his
shaken bones” (Aen.VIII.389-90). But once she has persuaded Vulcan to craft
the armor she returns to her old persona. She appears as “a shining goddess
among the clouds bearing gifts” (Aen.VIII.608-9), the ideal picture of a gift
bearing, divine patroness and thus remaining aloof from her son. While she does
embrace him, Venus never touches her son in an affectionate, maternal manner,
rather acting as a remote divine patroness who arms her hero. Indeed, she
resembles Athena arriving with winged sandals and the aegis to arm her hero,
Perseus. Venus focuses on her divine, not her maternal, role.
Venus carefully remains a distant, unrecognizable character for Aeneas.
The first time his mother appears to him, she appears “bearing the mouth and
clothing of a virgin and the arms of a Spartan maiden” (Aen.I.315-6). Aeneas
certainly recognizes her as a goddess, he cries out “O, goddess for certain. Are
you the sister of Phoebus? Or one of the blood of the Nymphs?” (Aen.I.328-9).
But even though he can perceive her divine nature, he cannot identify her as his
mother. He thinks she may be Diana, or even a lesser goddess such as one of the
nymphs. He later regrets this lack of a real relationship with his mother, crying
out, “Why is it not given to join right hand with right hand, and to hear truths
and exchange voices” (Aen.I.408-9)? She does appear to him in her true form at
Troy, but although undisguised she still must reveal herself to him—“having
confessed herself to be a goddess” (Aen.II.591): he cannot recognize her on his
own. Even then mother and son never embrace: she appears as a typical goddess
messenger with little personal connection to her listener. She holds him back
from killing Helen with her hand—“[s]he held him apprehended by her hand”