A. 6. 893–6 The troublesome exit from Hades

The exit of Aeneas (and the Sibyl) from the Underworld by means of the Ivory Gate (porta eburna) has been the subject of much controversy and speculation and the stream of contributions shows no sign of abating. Radical solutions have come to the fore: Jönsson-Roos³ think that lines 893-6 were originally written to follow 284 (dealing with Somnia . . . / vana); E. and G. Binder⁴ put the lines in the mouth of Anchises; and Zwierlein,⁵ the cause of some upheaval in Vergilian criticism,⁶ has in the wake of Nauck (1867)⁷ anew questioned the authenticity of these lines, the ecphrasis topou proper.⁸ He ends up, however, with a non liquet: "Doch müssen wir in nüchterner Selbstbescheidung feststellen, dass wir das Rätsel nicht sicher lösen können" (p. 54).