![]() The Golden Bough in Art, Literature, and Everyday LifeĪlthough mentioned as part of a minor story in the Aeneid, the Golden Bough has become especially well known among modern scholars. ![]() It also represents the endless cycle of death and rebirth, as the priest who guards it is killed and replaced by a new priest, who will eventually meet the same fate. In the legend of the priest of Diana, the Golden Bough represents the sacred duty of the order that watches over it. In this way it protects Aeneas from darkness and death while in the underworld. In the tale of Aeneas and the Golden Bough, the magic branch represents both light and life. Ancient Romans may have believed that mistletoe was dropped from the heavens and landed in the trees where it grew, which suggested that it would contain divine powers. ![]() In addition, mistletoe has a long history of supernatural associations in different cultures. Virgil describes the Golden Bough as being sheltered by an oak, much as mistletoe grows as a parasite on many trees, including oaks. Some scholars, such as James Frazer, have suggested that the Golden Bough was actually mistletoe. The slave took the priest's place and was later killed himself in the same way. According to some accounts, it was a custom among worshippers of Diana for a slave to cut a branch from a sacred tree and then kill the priest responsible for guarding the tree. The Golden Bough also appears in other legends, particularly in connection with the goddess Diana. There Aeneas finds the spirit of his father. At the deadly and magical river Acheron (pronounced AK-uh-ron), the boatman Charon (pronounced KAIR-uhn) sees the sacred bough and takes Aeneas and the Sibyl across the water to the kingdom of Hades (pronounced HAY-deez). With the Golden Bough in his possession, the hero is able to pass safely through the various dangers and obstacles there. Together Aeneas and the Sibyl enter the underworld. Aeneas gets the Golden Bough and returns to the Sibyl of Cumae. When Aeneas enters the forest to look for the sacred branch, two doves lead him to an oak tree that shelters the bough of shimmering golden leaves. First, however, Aeneas must find the oracle known as the Sibyl of Cumae (pronounced KYOO-mee), who will lead him to the land of the dead.Īeneas locates the oracle, who informs him that he cannot pass through the underworld safely without the Golden Bough. According to this tale, the spirit of Anchises (pronounced an-KY-seez), Aeneas's dead father, appears and tells Aeneas to visit the underworld, where he will learn what the future holds in store for people. The story of Aeneas and the Golden Bough is found in the Aeneid, the epic poem by the Roman poet Virgil (pronounced VUR-juhl). The bough was said to be sacred to Proserpina (pronounced prah-sur-PEE-nuh the Roman version of Greek goddess Persephone, pronounced per-SEF-uh-nee), the queen of the underworld, and was associated with the goddess Diana (the Roman version of the Greek goddess Artemis, pronounced AHR-tuh-miss). In Roman mythology, the Golden Bough was a tree branch with golden leaves that enabled the Trojan hero Aeneas (pronounced i-NEE-uhs) to travel through the underworld, or land of the dead, safely. ![]()
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