Articles
Quis est nam ludus in undis? (Virgil, Eclogue IX 39-43)
Published:
2026-08-03
https://doi.org/10.22315/
Author
View
Keywords
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How To Cite
Selected Style:
APA
Adkin, N. . (2026). Quis est nam ludus in undis? (Virgil, Eclogue IX 39-43). Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 51, 43–58. https://doi.org/10.22315/
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.