Vergil's famous epic poem in celebration of the founding of Rome offers us compelling portraits of goddesses and legendary women; none, however, capture the feeling of lived existence like the unnamed simple housewife in this brief simile, who rises before dawn to toil for her family. This glimpse into the labor performed in the home by the traditional materfamilias serves as a discreet bridge between the seduction by Venus of her husband Vulcan and his fulfillment of his promise to forge powerful weapons for her son, Aeneas. But not until haud secus (line 414) do we feel the impact of this image: while the two subjects and their tasks could not be more different, through this comparison Vergil makes us understand the dedication the divine metalsmith brings to his task Both like and yet unlike, the simile portrays Vulcan's spirit not as the work ethic of a skilled artisan but as the selfless and tireless devotion to family of a nurturing matrona. The meter is dactylic hexameter.