Reading notes

• The Aeneid §12.857 Parthian

  The Parthians, byword for the poisoned arrow to which the Dira's swoop is likened.

• The Eclogues §1.63 Parthian

  The empire east of the Euphrates, Rome's great eastern rival; an emblem of the remote and exotic (Eclogues 1 and 10, the 'Parthian bow').

• The Georgics §3.31 Parthian

  The Parthians, mounted archers famed for shooting as they feign flight.