Evander 1

vol. VI p.839-842

1) A god or daemon from the circle of Pan, worshipped in Arcadia. His name means the same as Faunus, whom he is very closely related to. <page break 839/840> In Rome, Evander is nothing other than Faunus himself, Schwegler Röm. Gesch. I 354. Loeschcke Athen. Mitt. XIX 1894, 520f. Like Pan, Evander is the son of Hermes. His mother is a nymph, the daughter of the river-god Ladon (Paus. VIII 43, 2, cf. Strab. V 230), who was called Themis (Dion. Hal. I 31. 40. II 1. Plut. qu. Rom. 56). In Italy, Carmenta-Carmentis, an old local divinity, was identified with Themis and was seen as the mother of Evander, <10> Eratosth. in Schol. Plat. Phaedr. 244 B. Verg. Aen. VIII 335f. and elsewhere, Ovid. fast. I 499. V 83f. Liv. I 7. Dion. Hal. I 31. Sil. Ital. VII 18. XIII 816. Plut. loc. cit. Hyg. fab. 277; see vol. III p.1594f. Evander killed his mother Carmenta, when she was 110 years old, Serv. Aen. VIII 51. Evander was the husband of Carmenta, Plut. Rom. 21. Another name for Carmenta was supposedly Tiburs, Serv. Aen. VIII 336. The name Nikostrate, <20> which was also given to Themis-Carmenta, seems to show a relationship with Argos, Plut. qu. Rom. 56; Rom. 21. Strab. V 230. Serv. Aen. VIII 51 (whose father is Hermes, ibid. 130). According to others, Evander’s father was Echemos of Tegea, and his mother was Timandra, one of the daughters of Tyndareos, Hesiod. frg. 109. 112 K. Serv. Aen. VIII 130. Finally, Pallas seems to have been Evander’s grandfather, Verg. Aen. VIII 54 and Serv., who has him as a son of the Athenian Aegeus, cf. nr. 3. On the one hand, Evander is connected with the Atrides, <30> and on the other hand, he is connected to the Trojan kings, Serv. Aen. VIII 130. With the Atrides: a) Timandra is the sister of the Tyndarides Clytemnestra and Helen; b) by tracing his line back to Atlas: Arcadians and Evander -- Hermes -- Maia -- Atlas, and Atreus -- Hippodameia -- Oinomaos -- Atlas; c) similarly: Evander -- Nikostrate -- Hermes -- Maia -- Atlas, and Atreus -- Pelops -- Atlas; d) he is connected to Troy through his ancestor Atlas again: Erichthonios -- Dardanos -- Elektra -- Atlas, and Evander -- Hermes -- Maia -- Atlas. <40> Launa is named as a daughter of his, who becomes the mother of Pallas by Herakles, Dion. Hal. I 32. 43. An unnamed daughter bore Fabius with Herakles, Sil. Ital. VI 634. Along with them, there was a daughter Pallantia, Varro in Serv. Aen. VIII 51, and a daughter Roma, Serv. Aen. I 273. Pallas the son of Evander, Verg. Aen. VIII 104. 121. XI 152 and elsewhere, Serv. Aen. VIII 51. Ovid. fast. I 521. Prop. II 1, 91. Schol. and Eustath. Dion. Per. 347. Heinze Vergils epische Technik 174. <50>

Evander was based in south and east Arcadia. In the south, he was based in Pallantion, where there was a temple with images of Pallas and Evander (Paus. VIII 43, 2. 44. 5. Dion. Hal. I 31. II 1. Verg. Aen. VIII 51f. Liv. I 5. Iustin. XLIII 1), in Tegea (Verg. Aen. VIII 459 and Serv. on 130. Ovid. fast. I 545, cf. above on Echemos), in Parrhasion (Verg. Aen. VIII 344. XI 31. Ovid. fast. I 478. Sil. Ital. XII 710), Εὐανδρου λόφος at the border of Messenia (Plut. Philop. 18). <60> In the north, Pheneos (Verg. Aen. VIII 165; Pheneaten as a coloniser of Rome, Dion. Hal. I 60), Nonakris (Ovid. fast. V 97), Kyllene (Dion. Per. 347 and Eustath.) are mentioned. Immerwahr Arkad. Kulte 91. 117. 119. Evander lead the Trojans, who had arrived at Arcadia, under the walls of Pheneos, and was gifted richly by them, Verg. Aen. VIII 157f. Immerwahr loc. cit. <page break 840/841> A number of moments suggest links to Argos: Nikostrate, Tiburs as an eponym of Tibur (see above), Catilus, the founder of Tibur, who is named as the commander of Evander and the Arcadians’ fleet in Cato (orig. frg. 56 Peter = Solin. II 8), though who is an Argive in the rest of tradition, Argive companions of Evander: Verg. Aen. X 779, Evander kills his guest Argos: Verg. Aen. VIII 345f. and Serv. To explain his emigration, they mention that he was enemies with the Argives, Plut. qu. Rom. 31. <10> Or, Evander was simply driven out (Verg. Aen. VIII 333), the scorn of the divinity pursued him (Ovid. fast. I 477f.), an uprising was the reason (Dion. Hal. I 31), a famine (Eustath. Dion. Per. loc. cit). Or, Evander had killed his father, Serv. Aen. VIII 51. His emigration was spurred on by Carmentis, under the archon Agamedes, Eustath. and Schol. Dion. Per. loc. cit., cf. Paus. VIII 4, 8; vol. I p.720. Agamedes was perhaps an epithet of the Arcadian Zeus, <20> the Arcadians in Italy worshipped Zeus, Verg. Aen. VIII 352f. A fleet of Evander’s is mentioned by Cato loc. cit. Ovid. fast. IV 65, two ships by Dion. Hal. 31. Evander arrived in Italy 60 years before the Trojan war (Dion. Hal. I 31). Earlier settlements are named by Verg. Aen. VIII 319f. Dion. Hal. I 60. II 1. Dion. Per. loc. cit. Following Carmentis’ advice, Evander landed at the left bank of the Tiber, and was kindly welcomed by Faunus, the king of the aborigines. <30> He named the hill on which he settled Pallantium after his hometown, or after his grandfather or grandson, and this name then became Palatium. Fab. Pict. frg. 1 (= Dion. Hal. I 79, cf. 31f. 89). Varro in Serv. Aen. VIII 51. Verg. Aen. VIII 335. Ovid. fast. I 499f. Liv. I 5. Iustin. XLIII 1. Sil. Ital. XII 709. Sen. dial. XII 7, 6. Paus. VIII 43, 2. Schol. Dion. Per. loc. cit. Stat. silv. IV 1, 7 (Euandrius collis) Claud. XXVIII 11 (mons Euandrius). <40> According to a different tradition, Evander had to fight with Erulus, the king of Praeneste, Verg. Aen. VIII 560 and Serv. Faunus was first a god by Evander (Cincius and Cassius in Serv. Georg. I 10), Evander brought sacrifices to Pan Lykaios-Faunus and introduced the festival of the Lykaia-Lupercalia for him, Eratosth. loc. cit. Verg. Aen. VIII 343f. and Serv. on l.282. Ovid. fast. II 267f. V 99f. Liv. I 5. Iustin. loc. cit. Dion. Hal. I 32. 80. Plut. Rom. 21. Schol. and Eustath. Dion. Per. loc. cit. <50> Apart from the cult of Pan, the Arcadians supposedly also brought Rome the cults of Carmentis, Nike, Demeter, Poseidon Hippios (the festival Hippokrateia = Consualia), Dion. Hal. I 32f., and Hermes, Ovid. fast. V 100. Sacrifices to Evander on the Aventine, Dion. Hal. I 32. The Ovilia in Rome was named after Evander’s flocks, Schol. Luc. II 197, cf. Verg. Aen. VIII 361. On his way back from his adventure with Geryon, <60> Herakles arrived at Rome where he defeated Cacus. Evander’s mother prophesied to him that the hero would gain immortality. Evander took in the descendent of Alkaios as a guest, was the first to show him divine worship, set up an altar for him, the later ara maxima, and sacrificed a bull to him. From then on, the duty of the sacrifices fell on the Potitii and Pinarii, Verg. Aen. VIII 268f. Serv. Aen. III 407. Ovid. fast. I 543f. Liv. I 7. Dion. Hal. I 40. 42. Strab. loc. cit. Plut. qu. Rom. 90. Tac. ann. XV 41. Iuven. XI 61. Bücheler Carm. epigr. 228. Eustath. and Schol. Dion. Per. loc. cit. <page break 841/842> Evander showing hospitality to Herakles, Roman medallion, Fröhner Les méd. de l’emp. rom. 58. Evander met Aeneas and the Trojans kindly, took them in, and allied with them against the Latins. For the sake of this relationship, Vergil made Pallas Evander’s son instead of his grandson, <10> Pallas is the actual ally of the Trojans, and Evander is characterised as the clever and experienced old man, a kind of Nestor, Verg. Aen. VIII 102ff. Heinze loc. cit. 262. 408.

Herakles supposedly taught Evander and the Arcadians how to write, Iuba frg. 13 = Plut. qu. Rom. 59. On the other hand, Evander himself was seen as someone who transferred writing or a few individual letters, Dion. Hal. I 33. Liv. I 7. Tac. ann. XI 14. Hyg. fab. 277. <20> Evander and the Arcadians brought lyres, triangles, and flutes, they gave laws, they taught all kinds of arts, they began a better society, Dion. Hal. I 33. Evander as the inventor of greaves and shields, Apostol. III 60 c (Paroemiogr. Gr. II 301 Leutsch). Euandri catillus in the sense of ‘rarity’, Hor. sat. I 3, 90.

From at least the 3rd century (Fab. Pict.), Evander has been seen as a founder of Rome. It would probably be going to far to judge all of his tradition as a product of scholars messing around. <30> Arcadian settlers on the coast of Latium are still within the realm of possibility, Gruppe Griech. Myth. 196. 202f. 459. 731.

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