the Emperor's brother. This does not bother Demetrius, who says:
Though Bassianus be the Emperor's brother,
Better than he have worn Vulcan's badge.
- Act II, scene i, lines 88-89
This is a reference to Vulcan's cuckoldry, thanks to the love affair of his wife, Venus, with Mars (see page I-11).
Aaron thinks the quarrel is foolish. Why don't they both enjoy Lavinia in turn? To do this, persuasion will not be enough, for, as he says:
Lucrece was not more chaste
Than this Lavinia,
- Act II, scene i, lines 108-9
Lucrece, of course, is the Roman matron who was dealt with in The Rape of Lucrece (see page I-205), and is Shakespeare's favorite symbol of chastity. (The Rape of Lucrece was written at just about the time Titus Andronicus was. Might it be that this line set Shakespeare to thinking of the poem, or was it that the poem was running on in his mind and inspired this line?)
There are other ways than persuasion to win Lavinia, however. Coolly, Aaron points out that in the course of the next day's hunt, they might ambush her and rape her in turn. The two Gothic princes agree enthusiastically.
Saturn is dominator...
Time moves on and the hunt starts. During its course, Aaron finds a spot in the forest where he may hide a bag of gold for a nefarious purpose that is still in the future.
Tamora comes upon him and urges him on to dalliance such as
The wandering prince and Dido once enjoyed,
- Act II, scene iii, line 22
This is another reference to Dido and Aeneas (see page I-20), a favorite mythical standby of Shakespeare's.
Aaron, however, has more important business at hand. He says:
Madam, though Venus govern your desires,
Saturn is dominator over mine:
- Act II, scene iii, lines 30-31
Astrologically speaking, each person is born under the domination of a particular planet which determines the major component of his or her personality. The nature of the influence of Venus is obvious.
Saturn is, of all the planets visible to the unaided eye, the farthest from Earth and therefore the most slowly moving among the stars. To be born under Saturn then is to be as heavy, grave, and gloomy as that slow-moving planet; to be "saturnine," in short.
His Philomel. ..
Aaron goes on to explain why he is so grave and gloomy. Dire thoughts of revenge are in his mind and he refers to:
My fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls
Even as an adder when she doth unroll
To do some fatal execution?
- Act II, scene iii, lines 34-36
Mention of his "fleece of woolly hair" shows clearly that Shakespeare has in mind a black African and not the swarthy but non-black Moors of north Africa.
Aaron goes on to specifics, indicating that he has set in motion a horrible fate for Lavinia. He says:
This is the day of doom for Bassianus:
His Philomel must lose her tongue today,
- Act II, scene iii, lines 42-43
One of the more gruesome Greek myths deals with two sisters: Philomela and Procne, who were the daughters of a king of Athens. The latter was given in marriage to Tereus, the King of Thrace. Tereus, however, fell in love with Philomela, his sister-in-law, and, luring her to his court, raped her. Then, in order to prevent her from telling his crime, he cut her tongue out and hid her among his slaves.
The phrase "lose her tongue" can therefore be a metaphoric reference to rape. It turns out to be a literal forecast in this play.
... as was Actaeon's...
Aaron gives Tamora a letter to be used later in the development of his plan and leaves.
At this point, Bassianus and Lavinia enter. All are at the hunt, of course, and Tamora, in her hunting costume, is sardonically likened to Diana, the goddess of the hunt, by Bassianus. Tamora is offended at what she considers to be their spying and says:
Had I the power that some say Dion had
Thy temples should be planted presently
With horns, as was Actaeon's, and the hounds
Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs,
- Act II, scene iii, lines 61-64
Actaeon was a hunter in the Greek myths, who, in the course of a hunt, came inadvertently upon Diana bathing. Admiring, he stopped to watch. When he was caught at his peeping by Diana's nymphs, the indignant goddess turned him into a stag so that his own hounds ran him down and killed him.
The reference to the horns on Bassianus' head undoubtedly has the secondary purpose of referring to the planned rape of his wife.
.. your swart Cimmerian
Bassianus and Lavinia strike back by implying that