[XXIV.] 'Two-faced Janus.' Janus was an old Latin deity, god of the morning and of gateways. He was represented as 'two-faced,' looking before and behind. There was a double archway in the forum, called Janus, which was closed in times of peace, but opened in time of war. See [stanzas lxxxi., lxxxii.]
[XXVIII.] The Auruncans were a tribe living in Campania.
[XLI.] The Syrtes were two great gulfs on the north coast of Africa. For Scylla and Charybdis, see note on [Book III stanza lv.] The Lapithae were a Thessalian tribe, ruled by Perithous. The Centaurs came to his marriage feast, and at the instigation of Mars, fought with the Lapithae until the latter were defeated. 'Diana's ire' was caused by neglect on the part of king Oeneus of Calydon to sacrifice to her. She sent a wild boar to ravage the country.
[LXIX.] 'Trivia's lake' refers to the little lake of Nemi. A famous temple of Diana stood here, tended by a priest who was a runaway slave. He gained his office by slaying his predecessor and held it only so long as he could escape a similar fate. Cf. [stanza ciii.]
'Velia's fountains,' a lake in the Umbrian hills beyond Reate.
[LXXXVII.] Agylla was the original name of Caere.