I. Both here and in Book VII. stanza lxxxvii. Mezentius is called the 'scorner of the gods.' The meaning of this allusion is not known. Perhaps it refers to his claiming for himself the first-fruits due to the gods, a legend mentioned by Macrobius. See stanzas lxiii. and lxiv. II. 'Diomed' dwelt at Argyripa or Arpi, a city in Apulia, where he settled with his Argine followers after the Trojan war. VII. Pallas is the name of an old Arcadian hero. His grandson Evander is said to have settled with his followers on the site of Rome, and called it Pallanteum, after the Arcadian city of that name. XIV. Hercules was the son of Alcmena and Jupiter. His worship at Rome dated from very early times, as is shown by the legend--mentioned by Livy--that it was established by Romulus according to Greek usage as it had been instituted by Evander. XVI. The olive branch was the sign--universally recognised in antiquity--of a desire for peace. XX. The Daunian race means the Rutulians. Daunus was the father of Turnus. Cf. Book XII. stanza iii. XXVII. Alcides is one of the names given to Hercules. The killing of Geryon, the three-bodied monster who was king in Spain, and the driving off of his cattle, was one of the famous 'twelve labours' of Hercules. XXXVI. The gens Potitia and the gens Pinaria were the two tribes to which the care of the worship of Hercules was entrusted. XXXVIII.-IX. In historic times, the Salians were the twelve priests of Mars who kept the twelve sacred shields in the temple of that god on the Palatine hill. Their priesthood was one of the oldest Roman institutions, and their festival was held on March 1, the first day of the old Roman year. '_His stepdame's hate_' refers to the story that Juno, being jealous of Alcmena, the mother of Hercules, sent two snakes to destroy the latter as he lay in his cradle, but the infant hero strangled them. _Eurystheus_ was the king of Tiryns, whom Hercules had to serve for twelve years, and at whose command he performed his famous twelve labours. _Pholus_ and _Hylaeus_ were two Centaurs; they were called 'cloud-born' because they were the offspring of Ixion and a Cloud. The Cretan monster is the mad bull sent by Neptune to destroy the land; Hercules came to the rescue and carried it away on his shoulders. There is no other mention in ancient literature of the fight between Hercules and Typhoeus. The latter was a hundred-headed fire-breathing monster, who fought against the gods, and was buried beneath Mount Aetna.