Vergil’s Certissima Signa Reinterpreted: The Aratean Lepte-Acrostic in Georgics I

Abstract

Vergil qua imitator of Aratus’ art appears to be an infinite source of concealed layers of text interpretation to be explored. The author of this paper argues that at Georgics I 424 ff. the poet announces, and then encrypts, not only his signature, but also the Aratean ΛΕΠΤΗ-acrostic in Latin transliteration; its specifity consists in its being divided into two parts, placed in reverse order (first PTE, then LE). As regards the form, the imitation is extended to further include a reversed telestich (TOTIS). The author suggests a precedent in Aratus (Phaen. 783–787), where the reversed telestich ΟΣΣΑ ΙΣΗΣ ΣΑ (= ὅσσα ἴσης, σά, “as much as you perceive, [is] yours”) can be discerned. In the passage in question, yet another, undiscovered so far, reversed acrostic (SCIES, lines 439–443) is discussed. While tracing parallels both in Greek and Latin poets, the author additionally presents such newly detected reversed acrostics as SPES at Germanicus’ Aratea 573–576 and ΠΑΣΑ at Aratus’ Phaenomena 246–249. As far as the “Greek” acrostics in Latin transliteration are concerned, the author proves the possibility of such a phenomenon by indicating some further, previously undetected, reproductions of the Aratean acrostics ΠΑΣΑ and ΛΕΠΤΗ in Manilius’ Astronomica.