the Sibyl (priestess of Apollo)

• book 6
• in many respects, she is out of this world
• Virgil portrays her in a tetchy old woman
• she anchors our interest in what is human, as we are taken through a world of phantoms and monsters
• she chides Aeneas when he is gazing in wonder at the Temple of Apollo, tells Palinurus off, and reminds Aeneas that the phantoms cannot hurt him
• Deiphobus tries to calm her when she sharply warns Aeneas of the time
• 'there is no need for anger great priestess'
• her interchange with Charon is almost a comic scene
• he is aggressively officious as he shouts from his boat at the intruders and grumbles about his past problems with living bodies
• she, instead of proving immediately the legitimacy of their visit, lets him rant, before smugly flashing the golden bough and sarcastically telling him that his dog can bark until the end of time, and Proserpinacan remain safe with her uncle