In Aeneid 6, what does Anchises say happens to the souls who drink from the river Lethe?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let’s parse the question: Anchises discusses what happens to souls after they drink from Lethe in the underworld scene of Book 6. 
Option 1: 'they are sent into Tartarus for punishment.' This is inaccurate here, as Lethe’s effect is not a punishment location description but a memory-erasing process that prepares souls for rebirth, not a generic punitive confinement. 
Option 2: 'they enter a cycle of metempsychosis.' This aligns with the mythic idea that souls are forgetful after drinking Lethe and then enter a cycle of rebirth (metempsychosis), which is how the underworld authorizes reincarnation. The phrasing matches Anchises’ explanation of the soul’s transition rather than punishment or permanent wandering. 
Option 3: 'they forget themselves and wander the underworld forever.' While Lethe causes forgetfulness, the text does not imply eternal wandering with no renewal; rather, forgetfulness serves as a prelude to reincarnation, not an endless drifting. This misreads the teleology as perpetual limbo instead of a cyclic rebirth. 
Option 4: 'they regain their bodies immediately.' This is contrary to the Roman mythic process described here. The souls do not regain bodies immediately; they undergo forgetting and then join a cycle of rebirth, not an immediate corporeal restoration. 
Overall, the passage emphasizes the Lethean forgetting as preparation for a cycle of rebirth rather than eternal wandering, immediate physical restoration, or a fixed punishment in Tartarus. The intended interpretation centers on the transition into metempsychosis as the next phase for the souls after Lethe–forgetting.

CLAS 2220 AU2025 (16301) Quiz 12 (Nov 24- Dec 5)

In Aeneid 6, what does Anchises say happens to the souls who drink from the river Lethe?

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