Articles

Quis est nam ludus in undis? (Virgil, Eclogue IX 39-43)

Published:
July 8, 2020
Author
View
Keywords
How To Cite
Selected Style: APA
Adkin, N. . (2020). Quis est nam ludus in undis? (Virgil, Eclogue IX 39-43). Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 51, 43–58. https://ojs.lib.unideb.hu/classica/article/view/7839
Abstract

The undis-acrostic that has recently been discovered in Eclogue IX 34-38 has proved problematic. The present article argues that the acrostic’s point is the etymology of litus as the place where these “waves” do not “play” (39: ludus), but “strike” (43: feriant for synonymous but exceedingly scarce lidant). This acrostic is accordingly hot-potato politics, since it pertains to the land confiscations round Virgil’s “wave”-begirt Mantua. The poet also provides endorsement in the form of an unidentified onomastic.