The Cumaean Sybil 3
 
The story of Aeneas is told in Virgil's Aeneid. He tells us that on his return from the Trojan War, Aeneas consults a priestess, who advises him to consult the Cumaean Sibyl. But how was he going to find her?

“And when, thither borne, thou drawest near to the town of Cumae, the haunted lakes, and Avernus with its rustling woods, thou shalt look on an inspired prophetess, who deep in a rocky cave sings the Fates and entrusts to leaves signs and symbols.”
Aeneid book 3.

 The consultation with the sibyl is shown in the painting below by François Perrier , c 1646.
 


Aeneas has a particular request. He needs to visit the underworld to seek advice from his deceased father, Anchises.  Conveniently, the entrance to the underworld is nearby, at lake Avernus. The painting below is said to be one of Turner's earliest works; it shows Aeneas and the sybil at the lake. The photograph of the lake is from our visit.


The Sibyl made it clear that going to the Underworld was not difficult; understandably, returning was far more of a problem!

Trojan, Anchises' son, the descent of Avernus is easy.
All night long, all day, the doors of Hades stand open.
But to retrace the path, to come up to the sweet air of heaven,
That is labour indeed.
 Aeneid 6.126-129.

Anchises provided much information on the future, particularly on the foundation of Rome; Aeneas is told he is the ancestor of Romulus and Remus. After the meeting, the sibyl conveys him safely back to Cumae.
The sibyls and Christianity
We have looked at the Cumaean sybil, one of four, on the Sistine chapel ceiling. Nearer home, for me at any rate, there is a sybil on the vault of the choir of Salisbury cathedral. Sybils were pagans - why were they included in Christian iconography?
  For many early Christian theologians, the writings of the sybils were divinely inspired prophecies of the coming of Jesus, as indeed were found in the Old Testament. Saint Augustine certainly thought so:  in chapter 23 of 'The City of God' he writes of

'the Erythræan Sibyl, Who is Known to Have Sung Many Things About Christ More Plainly Than the Other Sibyls.'
 Highly regarded too are the Eclogues of Virgil: Eclogue IV was often interpreted as a prophecy by the Cumaean sibyl of the coming of Christ:
 
   'Now is come the last age of Cumaean song; the great line of the centuries begins anew. Now the Virgin returns, the reign of Saturn returns; now a new generation descends from heaven on high. Only do you, pure Lucina, smile on the birth of the child, under whom the iron brood shall at last cease and a golden race spring up throughout the world! Your own Apollo now is king!'

And in art? The painting below by Antoine Caron c1575, shows the emperor Augustine on his knees, consulting a sibyl. It is usually considered to be the Tiburtine sibyl, though others suggest it may be the Cumaean. He asks the sibyl whether he should be worshipped as a god. The sibyl points to a vision in the sky of the Virgin and the Christ Child: this is the day that Christ was born. A voice from the sky tells Augustus that 'This is the Virgin who shall conceive the Saviour of the World'. An unlikely legend, to be sure, but one that became popular in medieval and later art.



  

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