ABSTRACT
The tonality of the ekphrasis mirrors mnemonic depth and at the same time marks the emergence of the witness, the empowering of the individual to retrieve the epic text, re-create the patterns of images, and extract meaning. Virgil's passage drags with it in full view a remarkable corollary to this fundamental role of the witness: The individual memory tends to interpret the incoming signs in terms of its own mnemonic potentials and as a consequence a person often believes that the universe reflects his or her own inner drama. Mandelbaum's translation is noteworthy in this respect. The material component of the murals, whether stone, bronze or paint, is indeed vain, "a mere image" devoid of life, but the symbolic face of the paintings, the scenes and what they tell, projects meaning capable of moving the spectator, capable of transforming Aeneas into a witness to a historic drama, capable of revealing profound insights.
