The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

 


 

The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

 

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The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

The Aeneid of Virgil

 

Written between 29-19 BC by Publius Vergilius Maro (b. October 15, 70 BC, died Sept. 21, 19 BC)

 

Highlights of Each Book (followed by study questions)

BOOK I

Muse invoked (cf. Homer).  Aeneas encounters Aeolus (cf. Homer); Venus (Aeneas'
mother, Greek Aphrodite) tells him his destiny; Arrival at Carthage; Venus plots against Dido; Competition between Juno (Italy) & Venus (Trojans); Trojan legacy; Teucrians

  1. Describe the setting. Who is Aeneas? Compare the beginning of this poem to the opening lines of Homer's Odyssey (Lombardo's translation):

 

"Speak Memory— Of the cunning hero,
The wanderer, blown off course time and again
After he plundered Troy's sacred heights.
Speak of all the cities he saw, the minds he grasped,
The suffering deep in his heart at sea
As he struggled to survive and bring his men home
But could not save them, hard as he tried—"

 

  1. What is his relationship with his mother, the goddess Venus (Aphrodite)?
  2. Arrival at Carthage. Describe this city, its inhabitants.  Who is Dido, and what is her relationship with  Aeneas?  With Venus?  With Juno (Hera)?

BOOK II

FALL OF TROY:  Aeneas narrates the story of the fall of Troy (cf Homeric Aeneas); Greeks vs. Trojans (characteristics); death of Priam; Aeneas' father Anchises, son Iulus (Ascanius), wife Creusa; Helen of Troy; omen.

1. Describe Aeneas' escape from Troy and his relationship with his wife, Creusa, his son, and his father. What are his priorities? What emotions does he struggle with?

2. How does Priam end? How does Aeneas feel about his death and all the carnage?

3. What is Aeneas' attitude toward Helen?

BOOK III

FALL OF TROY, cont. The spirit of Polydorus, son of Priam & Hector, tells Aeneas of his death at the hands of the Thracian king (a huge breach of the Greco-Roman "hospitality code", also told in the Greek tragedy Hecuba by Euripides. In his version, Hecuba gouges out the Thracian king's eyes and kills his sons in retaliation.); Aeneas finds out that Italy, not Crete, is the "land of his ancestors," and he must sail there to build "great walls for a great race..."; Harpies; Trojan Helenus & Andromache; Stories from Homer's Odyssey (Scylla & Charybdis, Cyclops); death of Anchises.

1. Analyze the role that Apollo and the gods play in the destiny of Aeneas. Do the Trojans themselves have decision making powers of their own? Do their own actions count?

2. How does Virgil solidify the link between the Greek myth of the Trojan War (Homer's version) and the Roman version? How well does Virgil know the Homeric tale of the Trojan War and the backstories of the characters from the myth?

 

BOOK IV

DEATH OF DIDO:  Dido in love (thanks to Venus); Anna; Juno vs. Venus; Rumor;
Iarbas; Mercury; Atlas; Future of Rome through Iulus; Aeneas freaks; "Night Aria:" Dido abandoned, plans her self-destruction, tricks Anna, curses Aeneas (Rome vs. Carthage)

1. Describe the relationship between Dido and Aeneas. Who is Anna? Describe her relationship with Dido. How are family and politics entwined in this Book?

2. Compare Dido with women in Gilgamesh and Homer's Iliad. How does she end up? How does her experience compare with other women we have encountered?

3. What is Aeneas' attitude toward Dido? What are his priorities? His values? How are they expressed?

BOOK V

FUNERAL GAMES for Anchises; cremation burial, contests (cf. Homer's Funeral Games for Patroklos); angry women set the ships aflame

1. Compare the events in this Book to those in Homer's Iliad. Identify similarities and differences in the attitude toward death, grief, and burial.

2. Why do the women burn the ships? What happens to them? How does Vergil depict them—victims? threats? trouble-makers?

BOOK VI

THE UNDERWORLD:  The Sibyl of Cumae (Prophetess connected with Apollo) advises Aeneas; describes trip to Underworld; prophecy; burial of a friend (cf. HomerÕs Odyssey); rituals & incantations performed to shades in Underworld; description of shades of dead; Charon the boatman; Palinurus; Dido again; various heroes seen; Tartarus ("Hell"); Elysium ("Heaven"); Anchises; Kings of Alba; Romulus; Future Roman cities; Augustus (praise for the living); Kings; Marcellus (d. 23 BC, age 19.  Favorite nephew of Augustus, was destined to succeed him); Gates of Sleep.

1. Describe the trip to the Underworld,  and burial of a friend.

2. What kind of rituals & incantations are performed to shades in Underworld? Describe shades of the dead .

3.  How does Dido react to Aeneas?  Analyse the discussion Aeneas has with his (dead) father Anchises. Who is Romulus? Notice praise for Augustus (praise for the living) and Marcellus (d. 23 BC, age 19.  Favorite nephew of Augustus, was destined to succeed him)

BOOK VII
          
ARRIVAL IN LATIUM:  Circe (known from Homer's Odyssey); King Latinus in Latium; Iulus notes sign of wandering's end: "we're devouring our tables!"; Queen Amata; Turnus; Lavina; Allecto, a Fury, starts war (for Juno):  Latinus & Rutuli (Turnus) vs. Trojans (Aeneas); catalog of armies (cf. Iliad, Bk. 2 "Catalog of Ships"); Camilla; the Tiber.

1. Lots of interesting women here: Analyze Juno's behavior in this Book and the female character Allecto. Is it a surprise that Allecto is a female entity? Refer back to Hesiod's Pandora to examine the female characters, including Camilla, Lavina. Examine male/female interaction.

BOOK VIII  

HEROES of the BATTLE:  Turnus, Evander, Hercules, Achates, Pallas; Tuscans; Vulcan's shield for Aeneas (cf. Hephaistos's shield for Achilles in the Iliad)

1. Good book for examining ideal male roles in Augustan Rome. What constitutes a hero and how does this image compare with Homer's? What virtues are prized? Note the relationship between Pallas and Aeneas. Comparable to Patroklos and Achilles? Explain.

 

BOOK IX 

MORE BATTLE  Turnus' threat; Nisus and Euryalus go on a night raid (cf. Diomedes and Odysseus in the Iliad, Book 10); Virgil on "friendship;" Euryalus' mother laments; Iulus kills his first enemy; lots of killing; Pandarus.

1. What concept of "friendship" is described here, and how does it compare to that in the Iliad?

 2. Compare the lament of Euryalus' mother to the lament of Andromache in the Iliad. Do the Romans and Greeks share the same ideas about the expression of grief?

 

BOOK X

DEATH OF PALLAS EVANDER.  Venus prays for Ascanius, declaring "forget about Aeneas! save my grandson!" Juno complains about Venus; Jove leaves both sides to their fate;  Aeneas gets allies (Tuscan, Alban, Etruscan, Mantuan (Virgil was born in Mantua); Pallas dies at the hand of Turnus; Turnus attacks a phantom Aeneas (made by JunoÑcf. Iliad);  Mazentius, grief stricken over dead son Lausus, challenges Aeneas and is killed.

1. To Venus, who is more important---Aeneas (her son) or Iulus (her grandson)? Explain. 

2. How are political alliances formed in this book? 

3. The death of Pallas is comparable to the death of Patroklos in the Iliad. On how many levels?  Also compare it to the death of Enkidu in Gilgamesh. Many epics, including the Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, feature bonding between devoted men as they fight for a cause. What function does this serve in patriarchal societies?  Are there parallels to be found in modern (contemporary) American culture? How about bonding between women? Is there an ancient parallel for "Thelma and Louise," for example? Why or why not?

 

BOOK XI     

BURIAL OF DEAD  Aeneas laments for Pallas & cremates him in a cloak made by Dido; prisoners of war sacrificed to Pallas; big mouthed Drances (cf. Thersites in the Iliad); mass burials of dead (cremations); words of Diomede (cf. Diomedes, greatest Greek hero in Iliad); Camilla, a Volscian princess (cf. the Amazon allies of the Trojans in Homer), joins Turnus, but dies at the hands of Arruns.

1. Compare the burial of Pallas with the burial of Patroclus and Enkidu in the Iliad and Epic of Gilgamesh, respectively.

2. Examine the death of Camilla and her role in the epic.

BOOK XII   

DUEL TO THE DEATH  Turnus vs. Aeneas (guess who wins?); Amata and Lavinia very upset;  Turnus confirms that duel will be for Lavinia (of course); duel pact made (very civilized); forecast of union between Troy & Italy; Juturna, Turnus' sister, breaks truce; Aeneas says goodbye to his son; Juno yields; prophecy of great Roman people to come:  "The race to come, mixed with Ausonian blood, will outdo men and gods in its devotion (pietas), you shall see." (1137-39);Turnus dies, Juturna laments; Turnus concedes defeat; Aeneas considers sparing him, but when he sees that Turnus is wearing Pallas' belt, he kills him.  THE END?

1. What political implications are shown by this duel, which is fought for whom?  Who are Amata and Lavinia ? Notice the importance of women in war. What is Juturna's role in the battle?

2. What is Iulus' future?  Interpret this line:  “The race to come, mixed with Ausonian blood, will outdo men and gods in its devotion (pietas), you shall see.” (1137-39)

3. Describe Juturna's laments for  her brother.  After the battle is over, why does Aeneas kill Turnus, when he could have spared him?  (Hint:  there's a parallel in the Iliad

4. Should or could Aeneas have spared Turnus? Remember Anchises advice in Book VI. Why does Vergil have Aeneas kill him against the ealier advice of Anchises?

5. We are told that before he died, Vergil indicated that he wanted the Aeneid to be burned because he was not finished with it. Does it seem unfinished to you? How does this poem depict Augustan Rome? Do you think Augustus may have been unhappy with anything expressed or implied in this epic? Explain.

 

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The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

Name _______________________________ Core________ Date_________________


The Aeneid

The Trojan horse—the gigantic wooden horse, large enough to hold 40 Greek men, that was used to trick the people of Troy. Thinking that the Trojan horse was a gift from the gods, the Trojans wheeled it into their city. The Greeks emerged from the horse, opened the city gates for their army, and then destroyed Troy. Virgil’s Aeneid, an epic poem written in the tradition of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, tells the story of heroic Aeneas. Aeneas was a Trojan prince who survived the Greek assault. He bravely gathered Troy’s survivors and set sail in search of a new home, which he found in Rome.
The Aeneid tells the story of the founding of Rome. In it, the Roman poet Virgil brilliantly links Rome’s literary tradition to that of Greece. The Aeneid picks up where the Iliad left off. Virgil also connects the founding of Rome to Greek mythology, as Aeneas’s mother is the goddess Venus, known to the Greeks as Aphrodite. At the same time, Virgil sets Rome apart from Greece. To create a distance between Greece and Rome, Virgil makes his hero, Aeneas, a victim of Greek warfare. In this way, Virgil is able to set the stage for the Roman Empire as separate and distinct from Greek culture.
The Aeneid has 12 separate parts, and each part is considered its own book. In the first half of the epic, Aeneas searches for a new place for his kingdom. In the second half, he battles to protect the new city. There, he must build temples so the gods can be honored.
Arms, and the man I sing, who, forc'd by fate,
And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate,
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Trojan shore.
Long labors, both by sea and land, he bore,
And in the doubtful war, before he won
The Latian realm, and built the destin'd town;
 His banish'd gods restor'd to rites divine,
And settled sure succession in his line,
From whence the race of Alban fathers come,
And the long glories of majestic Rome.
(book 1, stanza 1, lines 1–10)
This passage is the introduction. It summarizes the story of the Aeneid in just ten lines. Though he is not yet named, the hero is saved so that he can bring the gods to a new place in Italy. Juno is the ancient Roman goddess of hearth and home. In Greece she is known as Hera. Juno does not like the hero Aeneas because of his role in an ancient prophecy, or prediction, that says her favorite city will be destroyed. Because of her interference, the Trojans sail for years before they find the lands of Latian, or Italy. Aeneas eventually builds the town the gods had promised him and becomes the first in a line of great kings of the Roman Empire.
Virgil uses the first stanza to give a quick summary of the story, and then describes the history of Rome in greater detail throughout the story. Because it was written well after Rome was founded and in a time when the empire was flourishing, all Romans knew how it ended because they already knew the history of Rome. Still, readers would have enjoyed the poem for its description of battles and love. It is not until Book 6 that Aeneas reaches Italy:
Their anchors dropp'd, his crew the vessels moor.
They turn their heads to sea, their sterns to land,
And greet with greedy joy th' Italian strand.
(book 6, stanza 1, lines 3–5)
After reaching Italy, Aeneas has many adventures. Aeneas sees his first glimpse at the later line of kings of Rome when he visits his father in the afterlife. Aeneas visits the Elysium Fields, which in Roman mythology is a bit like heaven. His father tells him about the future kings of Rome:
Now fix your sight, and stand intent, to see
Your Roman race, and Julian progeny.
The mighty Caesar waits his vital hour,
Impatient for the world, and grasps his promis'd pow'r.
 But next behold the youth of form divine,
Caesar himself, exalted in his line;
Augustus, promis'd oft, and long foretold,
Sent to the realm that Saturn rul'd of old;
Born to restore a better age of gold.
Afric and India shall his pow'r obey;
He shall extend his propagated sway
Beyond the solar year, without the starry way. . . .
(book 6, stanza 28, lines 1–12)
By explaining the future kings of Rome, Virgil establishes a history for the reader and makes it seem like the story is true. Virgil, however, is writing from the time of Caesar Augustus. Through his poem, Virgil claims that Augustus is the promised ruler, sent to restore Rome to a “better age of gold,” or the Golden Age. Halfway through the poem, Virgil reminds the reader that Aeneas’s destiny is really Rome’s success. The poem is a record of the gods’ plan unfolding through history.
Book 9 of the Aeneid explains the line of kings in ancient Rome and gives readers a historical context for the poem. The Trojan War occurred about 1220 BCE, but there are no signs of an advanced civilization in Rome until much later. Rome itself was founded about 750 BCE. This means that there is a large gap in time for Aeneas to be sailing around the Mediterranean. To fill this gap of time, Virgil addresses the other story of the founding of Rome that his readers would have already known, the legend of Romulus and Remus.
The legend says that twin male babies are abandoned by their parents and placed into a basket to float down the Tiber River. A wolf finds the babies and nurses them until a shepherd finds them. When the boys become adults, they want to build a city where the wolf had saved them. They argue over where the wolf found them, however. In anger, Romulus kills his brother and builds the city where he wants it. He names the city after himself: Rome.
This legend was popular and believed by many Romans when Virgil was alive. Instead of ignoring the story, Virgil works it into his poem. Aeneas is given a shield by Vulcan, the god of blacksmithing, to protect him in battle. The shield has scenes from the future Rome on it, including its founding by Romulus and Remus.
Readers in ancient Rome would have identified the popular legend in Virgil’s writing and might have believed that Aeneas was the true founder of the Roman civilization. What Virgil did was give Romans an invented history. Invented histories can overtake the real history of a place, and in this case, Virgil’s invented history works to give Romans a sense of loyalty. By appealing to Romans’ love of the Romulus and Remus story, Virgil helps Romans identify with the Aeneid.
The epic poem ends with a great battle, from which Aeneas emerges the victor. There is no happy ending given to the hero, however. The civilization carries on, and the readers are left to imagine that what comes next is what already has happened: their own history. In the end, the Aeneid does more than explain how Rome was founded. The story also helps Roman people understand themselves.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Questions
Multiple Choice: (2 points each)
1. What is one reason that Aeneas’s voyage from Troy to Italy takes a long time?
A. He must care for his young son.
B. He does not know the way to Italy.
C. He is slowed by the goddess Juno.
D. He forgets to give thanks to Venus.
2. Why does Virgil include the lineage of Roman kings in the Aeneid?
A. to show how educated he is
B. to link his story with the history of Rome
C. to show the demise of Greece’s kings
D. to encourage Caesar Augustus to pay for his work.
3. In what way does Virgil use the Romulus and Remus story in the Aeneid?
A. He states that the story is true.
B. He included scenes from this story on Aeneas’s shield.
C. He includes a stanza in which Aeneas battles Romulus and Remus.
D. He rewrites the story and replaces Romulus with Aeneas.
Short Answer (8 points)
The Aeneid includes some clearly fictional elements, like babies being raised by wolves. Why do you think that Virgil included a mixture of fiction and actual history in his poem? What do you think he was trying to accomplish? Use details from the passage in your answer.

 

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The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

Summary and Analysis of All 12 Books of the Aeneid (from www.gradesaver.com)



Summary and Analysis of Book I

The Aeneid opens with Virgil’s famous words, “I sing of arms and of a man.” The narrator describes the impetus behind Aeneas’s many struggles: Juno, Queen of the gods, was angered when a Trojan man, Paris, did not choose her as the fairest of the goddesses. She became even more determined to do whatever she could to destroy the Trojans when she learned that the ancestors of these men were fated to bring the downfall of Carthage, the city of which she was patron. Although the Trojans were destined to land at Latium and build a great city that would one day become Rome, Juno spends the entirety of the Aeneid doing all that she can to steer them off course.

Readers first encounter Aeneas and his men while they are at sea, having just left the coast of Italy, and are about to suffer Juno’s rage. Juno tells Aeolus, god of the winds, that if he will send a storm to stir up the seas, she will give him a lovely nymph in marriage. Aeolus complies and creates a storm so terrible that Aeneas cries out in dismay, asking the gods what he has done to deserve such hardship.

Aeneas is given respite when Neptune, god of the sea, notices the storm on the surface. Angered that another god has infringed on his territory, he quickly calms the waters. Aeneas and his men then turn their ships toward the coast of Libya. They dock their vessels and happily stretch out on the beach. Aeneas leaves his men to rest and climbs atop a hill looking for other ships, but all he sees are some stags. He slays seven of them and brings the meat back to his comrades for a feast, telling them not to despair, and that the gods will put an end to their trials. He refers to their destiny, saying that the gods have decreed that the Trojans will rise again.

Although Aeneas offers his men words of hope, he is still fearful about what is to come. Venus, Aeneas’s mother, asks Jupiter, king of the gods and her father, why he persists in causing such hardships to befall the Trojans. Jupiter, smiling kindly, answers that her son’s fate is firm, and that she should not fear what will become of him. He describes the future of the race and the birth of Romulus and Remus (founders of Rome), and says that there will be no limit to the fortunes of the Romans: “I give them empire without end” (390). After this speech, Jupiter sends word that the gates of Carthage should be opened wide and that its ruler, Dido, should offer the men her hospitality.

The next morning, Aeneas sets out with Achates to explore the land. In the woods, his mother, in the guise of a young huntress, reveals herself to him. Aeneas, recognizing that she is a goddess – but not realizing that the being is his mother – asks her to help him and his men. Venus tells him to seek out Dido, and she relates Dido’s story: Dido was once married to Sychaeus, a wealthy Phoenician. Her brother, Pygmalion, slew Sychaeus out of desire for his gold. When Sychaeus revealed Pygmalion’s treachery to Dido in a dream, she fled the land with her companions and Pygmalion’s ill-gotten wealth, and started a new city, Carthage. Finally, Venus reveals her true self to her son, who cries out to her, asking why she mocks him with disguises.

Venus cloaks Aeneas and Achates in a dark fog so that no one can halt them on their journey. They climb a hill and look down on the wondrous city, even mingling unseen with the Tyrians (because they remain hidden in the mist). They come across a shrine that Dido is building for Juno, and they marvel at the city’s riches. The art on the walls depicts the fall of Troy, and Aeneas wonders if there is anywhere in the world that does not know of the sorrows of the Trojans.

While Aeneas gazes on the stories, paying particular attention to the story of Troilus and Achilles, Dido approaches the temple and sits down to mete out judgments to her subjects. Aeneas, still hidden in the mist, sees his companions approach to ask for refuge. Dido assures them that she has heard of the greatness of the Trojans and that she will come to their aid. Aeneas and Achates are stirred by her words, and the cloud surrounding them breaks apart. Aeneas is revealed in all his glory, having been invested with a remarkable handsomeness by his mother’s hand.

Dido welcomes Aeneas and his comrades into her palace, and Aeneas sends Achates to bring back gifts for her from his ships. Venus, fearing Dido’s capricious nature, sends for her son, Cupid, and tells him to inflame Dido with love for Aeneas so that she will not be swayed by Juno’s malice. The god of love obeys his mother: he takes on the guise of Ascanius, Aeneas’s son, and when Dido draws the young boy close, Cupid uses his breath to fill her with passion for her handsome guest. Dido is so overcome by love for Aeneas that she draws out the night’s feasting, asking him to relate his sad tale so that he may stay at her side a few hours longer.

Analysis

Book I of the Aeneid is particularly interesting not only because it introduces several main characters (including Aeneas, Venus, Juno, Jupiter, and Dido), but also because it introduces a number of themes that are found throughout the poem. First and foremost, we are introduced to the gods, and we become familiar with their tendency to meddle in mortal lives. The gods each have specific personalities, with their own attachments, and they often use mortals to further their own ends. Juno is the driving force behind the Aeneid: her passionate hatred for the Trojans drives the plot of the novel, as she steers them into one treacherous situation after another. Venus, Aeneas’s mother, acts as her son’s protector, entreating several other gods (including Jupiter and Cupid) to help her combat Juno’s wrath.

Juno is particularly noteworthy; as David Denby writes, she appears to be literally the embodiment of Virgil’s apparent fear of feminine power. Strikingly few female characters in the poem are fleshed out. The only mortal females with any real power are Dido and Camilla; women such as Creusa and Lavinia are left floundering on the periphery of the epic. Juno, by contrast, is a wildly ferocious being, with the sole apparent motive of destroying Aeneas’s life and turning him away from his destiny. She is so single-minded in her determination to harm Aeneas that her desire to settle an old score seems hardly enough of a reason; perhaps Virgil intended her activity as an example of the dangers of women with too much power. Women do not seem suited for leadership roles in Virgil's tale: witness Dido’s inability to dampen her passion in order to properly rule her citizens in Book IV.

Another important element of the Aeneid first introduced in Book I is the idea of the Trojans’ fate. Although the gods can help or harm mortals on the path towards their destinies, they are ultimately unable to dictate the course of fate. Jupiter, it seems, is the only one who can truly alter fate, and he is decidedly unwilling to do so. Throughout the epic, he looks on with an almost amused air as the other gods and goddesses rush about causing problems in the mortal world, and he only interferes when he thinks that one of them has gone too far (such as in Book XII, when a goddess wounds a mortal – something he takes as quite inappropriate). When Venus approaches Jupiter and asks him for assistance with the Trojans, he assures her that the fate of her son is set, and that nothing can sway the Trojans from their destiny to land in Lautium and become an empire greater than all others: “It is decreed/ that there the realm of Troy will rise again” (287-288).

A third important element that is first found in Book I is the idea of Rome’s greatness. Throughout the Aeneid, Virgil refers repeatedly to Aeneas’s destiny to found a remarkable empire filled with the children of the gods. Since Virgil was a patron of Emperor Augustus and would have been playing to Roman audiences, this was clearly a technique intended to lend appeal to his tale. What Roman would not have enjoyed a story offering such a romantic interpretation of his ancestry?

If there is any thesis behind Virgil’s work, it is that destiny must be fulfilled at all costs, but that such fulfillment will inevitably necessitate enormous sacrifice. At the end of each book of the Aeneid, there is a death. Virgil’s great poem offers sadness and despair almost beyond comprehension, but it also suggests an inevitability found in few other comparable works. Virgil does not dwell in the misery, however; he offers a vision of action and destiny marching on unimpeded even as the body count steadily grows higher. Sacrifices must be made, but they are made in the course of fulfilling one’s fate, and there is no alternative.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book II

Aeneas’s tale of his travels takes up Books II and III of the Aeneid (note that only the first verse of Book II and the last verse of Book III are not spoken in Aeneas’s voice). Aeneas begins by sighing deeply and telling Dido and her court that his is a long and tragic story, but that he is willing to try to recall it for his host. He starts by describing the fall of Troy:

The Greeks, aided by the goddess Minerva, construct a huge wooden horse, within which they hide a great many armed soldiers. The rest of the Greeks flee the land. The Trojans rejoice, thinking that they have driven off their opponents. They marvel at the horse and decide that it should be brought within their walls. Only Laocoon disagrees, saying that “some trickery is here” (68) and flinging a spear at it in anger.

As Laocoon finishes his speech, Dardan shepherds drag a Greek youth who had surrendered willingly before King Priam. The young man, Sinon, tells a tale of how he turned away from the Greeks after they almost killed him as a sacrifice. The Trojans take pity on him and believe his claims. Sinon tells them that if they lay waste to the horse the wrath of the gods will turn on them – this perspective is supported when two giant sea-snakes rise out of the sea and kill Laocoon, the disbeliever, and his two young sons. The Trojans tremble in fear at this omen, and they decide that the horse must be taken to the temple to curb the wrath of the goddess Minerva.

That night, the traitorous Sinon frees his comrades from the belly of the wooden horse, and they fall upon the sleeping city. In his sleep, Aeneas is visited by the shade of his friend, Hector, who warns him that the Greeks have overtaken Troy. Hector tells him to flee. Aeneas, awakened by the sounds of battle, seizes his weapons to join his comrades. He is met on his threshold by Panthus, who tells him that “It has come – the final day/ and Troy’s inevitable time. We Trojans/ were; Troy has been” (442-444). Aeneas sets out to meet the Trojan warriors and enters the gruesome battle, where many of his closest companions meet their ends.

Finally, Aeneas sets up a stronghold in King Priam’s palace, and the Trojans fling down weapons at the advancing Greeks, but the Greeks break down the gate and wreak havoc inside the structure. Even the ancient Priam throws on his armor, ready to rush into combat, but his wife, Queen Hecuba, urges him to join her in prayer at the altar instead: “this altar shall yet save us all, or you shall die together with us” (703-704). One of Priam’s sons, Polites, is slain before his very eyes, throwing Priam into a deep despair. Aeneas is shaken by the sight of the Greek warrior Pyrrhus murdering Priam on his very altar. His despair turns to anger when he notices Helen (the woman whose beauty brought about the war between the Greeks and the Trojans) cowering in a corner, and he is about to attack her when Venus appears to him, urging him to forget this “madness” (803) and to find his father Anchises, his wife Creusa, and his son Ascanius.

Aeneas obeys his mother’s wishes and sets out for his father’s house. Anchises does not want to live to see the fall of Troy and asks to be left behind. Aeneas declares that he will never leave his father to die, and he steels himself for battle, but Creusa begs him to protect the house if he has any hope left for their survival. Suddenly, a flame appears above Ascanius’s head, and Anchises is so moved by this omen that he says that if the gods will only send another sign he will consent to leave Troy. Thunder crashes down and a shooting star appears in the sky, so Anchises allows Aeneas to hoist him onto his shoulders. Aeneas asks his father to carry the household gods (since Aeneas has been defiled by battle), takes his son by the hand, and tells Creusa to follow behind. They approach the gates.

Just before they reach safety, the group is attacked by a band of Greek warriors. In a panic, Aeneas runs for safety, but once he stops he realizes that Creusa is no longer behind him. He turns back toward Troy, seeking her out, but he is met by Creusa’s shade, who urges him to go on. Creusa tells him that he is destined to find gladness along the banks of the Tiber River, where he will take a royal bride and rule over a great kingdom. Aeneas, weeping, tries to throw his arms around Creusa’s neck, but her shade disappears. Aeneas returns to his companions, only to find that they have been joined by a great many more refugees from the burning city. Book II ends with Aeneas lifting his father onto his shoulders once more and starting off towards the mountains.

 

Analysis

One of the primary themes in Book II is the great value of one's family. Throughout the story, there are several instances of a father being forced, as Priam is, to watch his son die – an “unnatural” event. Indeed, throughout the Aeneid one of the driving forces behind Aeneas’s determination to fulfill his destiny is his desire to give Ascanius a good life. Family is so important to Aeneas that he is willing to give up his own life rather than leave his father behind for certain death. The Romans placed extraordinary value on respect for one’s ancestors, and through this action, Aeneas positions himself as a model of true virtue. Creusa is able to convince Aeneas to flee Troy largely because she appeals to his instincts as a father and head of the family: “To whom is young Iulus left, to whom your/ your father and myself, once called your wife” (918-919).

The losses incurred in Book II recall a theme first introduced in Book I: the inevitability of loss. One of the most heartbreaking moments in the poem occurs when Priam watches his son die; even such a great leader, it seems, is not exempt from the most emotionally painful experiences. Virgil offers a vision of a world in which rewards are accrued only in the afterlife, where blessed souls spend their days relaxing in the sun-dappled fields of Elysium, or where the evil suffer through eternity behind the sleepless gaze of the bloody monster Tisiphone. In the land of the living, it seems, destiny is supreme, and even the very best of men will be made to suffer if their pain is written in the threads spun out by the Fates’ nimble fingers.

Many critics have pointed out that Aeneas is almost too good to be true, a perfect example of Roman morality. While it is true that Aeneas is a paragon of virtue throughout the Aeneid, one of the most interesting moments in the Book occurs when he is tempted to slay Helen to avenge Priam’s death. It is only because Venus, essentially acting as his conscience, intervenes that he realizes that killing the young woman will do no good. Aeneas, it seems, is not godlike in his virtue; he has achieved it through effort and temperance. Perhaps Virgil has invested Aeneas with this slight measure of imperfection in order to make him more accessible to audiences and to encourage them to emulate Aeneas’s morality.

One place where Aeneas demonstrates incontestable skill is on the battlefield. Book II gives the first demonstration that Aeneas is a truly remarkable warrior. Skill at arms was another invaluable trait for the Romans, and by displaying courage and dexterity on the battlefield Aeneas becomes even more elevated in the eyes of the audience. Furthermore, he displays excellent leadership skills, inspiring his comrades to fight with moving words: “Young men, your hearts/ are sturdy ... The lost have only/ this one deliverance: to hope for none” (471-479). Clearly, Aeneas is a born king, worthy of the exceptional fate that awaits him.

Book II introduces yet another important theme: the supernatural. Throughout the Aeneid, the ghosts of the departed often appear to Aeneas and offer him advice. This furthers the idea of respecting one’s ancestors; Virgil’s contemporaries believed that the dead should be consulted and revered for their wisdom. They also placed great faith in omens: Anchises only relents and accompanies the family out of Troy when he has seen two omens that indicate that doing so is the best course of action.

 

 

Summary and Analysis of Book III

At the opening of Book III, Troy has fallen and now lies in smoking ruins. Aeneas and his men build a fleet of ships that they hope will carry them to the land – as yet unknown – where they are destined to settle and build a great new city. Weeping, Aeneas watches as the shores of his homeland recede in the distance.

The Trojans first dock in the city of Aeneadae, where they offer the sacrifice of a white bull to Venus and the other gods. Shortly thereafter, though, they see a terrible omen: when Aeneas tries to tear a branch from a tree for the altar, the tree moans and drips black blood. Twice more he tries to rip away a branch, and is met with the same result. Finally, he hears a voice coming from the earth: it is Polydorous, a Trojan who was slain by the king of Thrace. He begs Aeneas to take him out of the cursed land and give him a real funeral, and Aeneas complies.

Setting out once again upon the ocean, they find Dardanus, a sacred island blessed by Apollo. They are greeted by Anchises’s old friend, King Anius, and offer homage to the gods. They are met by another omen when Apollo’s voice tells them to seek out the land of their ancestors, for it is there that “Aeneas’ house will rule all coasts,/ as will his sons’ sons and those born of them” (129-130). The men confer about where this ancestral land could be, and Anchises suggests that they head for Crete.

Upon the fleet’s arrival in Crete, Aeneas founds a city, which he calls Pergamum. They live there for only a short time, however, before a plague strikes the residents and the crops fall into waste. One night, the Phrygian household gods that Anchises carried out of Troy come to Aeneas in a dream, telling him that his destiny lies elsewhere, in a land called “Italy,” where the founders of the Dardan race were born. Aeneas tells Anchises of his vision, and Anchises realizes that he has made an error.

After Aeneas and his men have once again set out upon the waters in search of their home, the seas are thrown into turmoil, and they lose their way in the darkness. After four days, they dock on an island in the Ionian Sea, home of the Harpies, who are terrible monsters with the faces of beautiful virgins and the dripping, gruesome bodies of birds. The men make a great feast for themselves from the herds of cattle they find in the fields, but just as they are about to sit down to eat the Harpies descend on the tables and make off with the food. This happens once again, but on the third try the Trojans are ready: they attack the birds as they swoop in for the third time. Celaeno, the leader of the Harpies, curses the Trojans, saying that they will not land in their promised city until they have been gripped by a terrible hunger.

The Trojans are terrified by the curse, and Anchises calls on the gods to save them. They flee the island and dock in Leucata, where they offer sacrifices to Apollo and engage in a series of games. The Trojans next land in the city of Buthrotum, governed by Helenus, brother of Hector, with Hector’s widow Andromache, now married to Helenus. When Andromache lays eyes on the familiar Trojans she is stunned. She tells them the story of how she and her companions escaped from Pyrrhus’s rule after the fall of Troy. Finally Helenus approaches and welcomes his friends with a feast.

After several days, Aeneas asks the prophet Helenus what course he should take. Helenus answers that the land they seek is far off, and that they should build their city where they see a sign: a huge white sow with a litter of thirty sucklings. He warns them of the multitude of dangers that they may face along their journey, including the fearful sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis. He offers them guidance on how to avoid these dangers, and he reminds them to be sure to offer homage to Juno. Helenus also tells Aeneas that he should seek out the sibyl of Cumae, who will offer him further advice.

Finally, Aeneas and his men must take leave of Butrothum, much to Andromache’s dismay. As advised by Helenus, they take the shortest path across the waves and at last see the low coastline of Italy. Aeneas sees four white horses grazing on a plain, and Anchises cries out that the vision is an omen both of war and of peace. The men offer sacrifices to Juno and return to the waters. They hear the frightful Scylla and Charybdis in the distance but avoid their terrors thanks to Helenus’s guidance.

The weary voyagers settle for the night on the island of the Cyclops. The next morning, they are approached by a haggard stranger, a Greek named Achaemenides who tells them that he was left behind by his companions in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus. Although his companions had blinded the monster, they were chased to their boats by a hundred more Cyclops, deserting Achaemenides on the shore. The Trojans take pity on the Greek and allow him to join them. They escape to the boats just in time, with the Cyclops close on their heels.

Aeneas and his men skirt a number of small islands, stopping at several to offer sacrifices to the gods, and arrive at last on the coast of Drepanum. It is there that Anchises dies, and this is where Aeneas finishes his tale. The final verse returns us to Dido’s palace, where Aeneas has fallen silent at last.

Analysis

One of the more challenging aspects of reading the Aeneid is getting a sense of the time frame during which the action takes place. Book III, for example, covers many years of wandering, although the time appears to pass by in little more than a few weeks. The intensity of long years aboard a ship may be difficult for modern readers to appreciate, but Virgil draws attention to the laboriousness of the travel and the harshness of the conditions by frequently having Aeneas cry out to the gods, asking them to put an end to his struggle.

In Book III, Aeneas and his men have an extraordinary number of adventures, none of which is given detailed attention. They encounter (or very nearly miss) a number of monsters – the Harpies, the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis – but none of these episodes appears particularly “important”; they are accorded not very many lines. In this manner, Virgil separates himself from Homer's descriptions of battles against otherworldly creatures. Virgil’s story is about humanity and about the very human challenges of love, sacrifice, and loss, elements he finds far more interesting than battles against imaginary beasts.

A particularly interesting episode in Book III occurs when Aeneas and his men take in the wretched Achaemenides, a Greek warrior whom they find wandering on the island of the Cyclops. In light of Sinon’s betrayal, the decision to allow a Greek to join them may seem questionable at best and naïve at worst, but their kindness pays off, and Achaemenides becomes part of their crew. The Trojans, it appears, are men of such remarkable virtue that they will not punish one man for the sins of another – they are willing to give those in need the benefit of the doubt.

Book III offers audiences a great deal of foreshadowing in the form of guidance. As a prophet Helenus, for example, outlines in detail many of the challenges that Aeneas and his men will face, and Helenus even warns them against taking certain routes on the way to their destination. Throughout the story, Aeneas and his men often meet prophets and gods who tell them where to go and how to get there, reinforcing the idea that they are in the hands of fate and will be given any divine help necessary to ensure that they fulfill their destiny.

A perplexing aspect of Book III is the manner in which Anchises’s death is treated. It occurs extremely abruptly and receives only a few short lines: “It is here that – after all/ the tempests of the sea – I lose my father,/ Anchises, stay in every care or crisis.” Audiences are left to assume that Aeneas’s father died of old age, but given the importance of their relationship, it seems strange that no description is given of his death or burial. One possible explanation for this is that Virgil is attempting to convey that Aeneas is so deeply stricken by the death that he can only speak of it in the briefest of terms.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book IV

Book IV begins just after Aeneas has finished the tale of his travels. Dido sits beside him, inflamed with love. She looks to her sister, Anna, for guidance, torn between the promise she made never to love another man after her husband’s death on the one hand, and on the other hand the passion that she feels for Aeneas. Anna tells Dido that she should embrace such love, exciting her imagination by talking about the incredible kingdom that the two of them could build together: “If you marry Aeneas, what a city/ and what a kingdom, sister, you will see!” (64-65).

Having decided to pursue Aeneas, Dido leads him around Carthage, displaying its many marvels. Dido begins acting “insane” (102): she begs him to tell her the entire story of his journey again, hugs Ascanius to her, and allows all work on the construction of Carthage to fall idle. Juno, seeing her dear Dido in such misery, asks Venus if she will help her wed the pair, but Venus recognizes that Juno’s motive is to move Aeneas’s destined kingdom from Italy to Libya. She tells Juno that she does not want war, but that she fears that fate will not be so easily tricked. Nevertheless, Venus offers the queen of the gods her blessing to go and entreat Jupiter. Juno replies that she will do so, but in the meantime she will hatch a plan to strand Aeneas and Dido overnight in the same cave, where they will be united in marriage.

The next day, the palace sets out on a hunt, but Dido and Aeneas are caught in a thunderstorm and seek shelter in a cave. They sleep together, which Dido interprets as “marriage” to make herself feel less guilty. Afterward, Rumor (described as a terrifying monster) carries word of the pair across the land, and it finally reaches the ears of King Iarbas, who had allowed Dido to build Carthage on his territory and is now angered that she did not marry him but instead took a foreigner as a partner. Jupiter hears King Iarbas’s rage and sends Mercury to Aeneas with a message: he did not save Aeneas from the Greeks for this; his destiny lies elsewhere, and he must not begrudge Ascanius his great future.

Aeneas is stunned by Mercury’s words. He tells his men to ready the fleet in silence. Nevertheless, Dido catches word of his plan and “raves throughout the city” (403). She then attacks Aeneas with what is undoubtedly the finest, most impassioned speech accorded to any woman in the Aeneid, cursing him for taking her honor and then leaving her without a word. Aeneas counters her anger by hesitantly stating that while he appreciates her kindness, he had never agreed to enter into a marriage contract. Again, he mentions his duty to Ascanius and tells her, “Stop your quarrel. It is not/ my own free will that leads to Italy” (491-492). Dido is not swayed by his words; she rails against him once again, cursing his journey. With this, Dido faints, and Aeneas (with only a little hesitation) turns back to his fleet.

Later, Dido watches the fleet raising their sails in the harbor, ready to leave, and she calls for Anna. She asks her sister to go to Aeneas and ask him to give her just a little more time, so that she may learn “how to sorrow” (598). Anna does her sister’s bidding, but Aeneas cannot be swayed. At this, the miserable Dido resolves to die. She asks Anna to build a pyre in her courtyard and lay Aeneas’s weapons upon it. Anna, believing that Dido simply wishes to rid herself of any remnants of Aeneas, does as she is told. That night, however, Dido constructs an elaborate ritual, with many sacrifices, and cries out another extraordinary lament for Aeneas’s love.

Meanwhile, as Aeneas is asleep in his ship in the harbor, he is visited by Mercury, who warns him that the city will soon be ablaze and that he must depart immediately. Aeneas awakens in terror and calls out to his men to set sail. Dido sees the fleet moving out to sea and beats against her breast, cursing Aeneas and crying out to the gods. She asks Barce, Sychaeus’s nurse, to send Anna to her to bathe her body in river water and offer sacrifies. Barce goes, and Dido is left alone to mount the pyre. Atop the structure, she grasps Aeneas’s sword, mourns the day the Trojans ever set foot on her shores, and with these words – “I shall die unavenged, but I shall die” (909) – she plunges the sword through her chest.

The city is thrown into a panic at word of the queen’s death. Anna, hearing the commotion, runs through the crowd to find her sister’s body. Crying out, she clutches Dido to her chest and holds her sister as she finally dies. Book IV ends when Juno, looking down on the sorry sight, sends Iris to free Dido from her tormented body.

Analysis

Except for the goddesses, the female characters in the Aeneid are, by and large, fairly unremarkable. While Juno and Venus are given distinctive personalities and a hand in driving the action of the narrative, most of the mortal women are far more ineffectual and shapeless. Creusa, for example, is only a vague presence in Book II, and she appears to exist largely in order to die, thereby deepening Aeneas’s character and freeing him from the bonds of a wife while explaining the presence of his son. Dido, in sharp contrast, is as rich a character as any other in the epic.

Although the gods in the Aeneid frequently meddle in the lives of mortals, Dido is perhaps the clearest example of the potentially tragic consequences of such intervention. Dido is their plaything, and the pain that wracks her body at the sight of Aeneas and his troops fleeing the city is a visceral example of the importance of abiding by one’s destiny. Indeed, Dido is one of the few characters in the Aeneid to truly rail against the dictates of fate. She knows that Aeneas is destined to leave Carthage and to begin a new empire, but the love that she feels for him is so overwhelming that she struggles against the will of the very gods. This struggle makes her perhaps one of the strongest, most courageous characters in the tale.

Dido’s character serves two other distinct purposes. First, Virgil uses the Dido/Aeneas conflict to explain the antagonistic relationship between Rome and Carthage in the real world, which came to a head during the Punic Wars. More interesting, however, is the notion that Virgil employs Dido in order to reveal Aeneas’s humanity. The protagonist usually seems too perfect: a flawless, unfailingly moral paragon of virtue and courage. By creating a situation in which Aeneas reveals his weakness in the face of love, tempted to stray from his fate - forcing his fleet to dock in Carthage for an uncomfortably, irresponsibly long period of time – Aeneas is revealed as not just a goddess-born hero, but as an imperfect man. His decision to give up love for the betterment of future generations is truly difficult for him, making his decision arguably more honorable.

An alternative perspective on Aeneas’s behavior in Book IV is that he is, as David Denby writes, a “cold fish” and a “cad.” Dido displays genuine sexual passion that is not found anywhere else in the poem (except, perhaps, in Turnus’s desire to wed Lavinia), but Aeneas appears unemotional, even cruel in his ability to walk away from his former lover, despite her desperate entreaties. Even though Aeneas is the hero, he does not behave particularly heroically in this episode. Virgil could have chosen to write a scene where Aeneas takes tearful leave from his lover, wrenching himself from her side even though he finds it almost unbearable to inflict such pain upon another human being, but instead Virgil has him behave in a callous (and cowardly) manner, fleeing the city under cover of darkness. Yes, he dutifully follows his destiny by leaving Carthage in search of the city where he is to found Rome, but he leaves a trail of undeniable destruction in his wake. Dido may be the true hero of this Book: she does not have the security of the gods’ blessing, but she is so passionate about her love for Aeneas that she is willing to sacrifice everything she has, even though she ultimately takes her own life.

Another interesting aspect of Book IV is its frequent reference to Ascanius. Aeneas is distracted from his destiny by the temptation of love, and he is only able to regain his focus when he realizes that he will not only be depriving himself of an empire, but will be denying his son the great future that awaits him on Italian soil. This circumstance recalls the importance placed on family, as has been seen in Aeneas’s relationship with Anchises. The multi-generational aspect of the epic reveals the value that Virgil’s contemporaries placed on respecting one’s ancestors and providing for one’s descendants.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book V

Thus far unaware of Dido’s tragic demise, Aeneas stands aboard his ship, watching the city of Carthage burn in the distance. When the fleet reaches open water, Palinurus, the pilot, calls out to Aeneas that the wind has shifted; they will not yet be able to sail to Italy. Aeneas replies that struggling against the winds is useless, so they should seek shelter in the Sicilian town of Drepanum, where his father is buried and his friend Acestes lives. Acestes greets the voyagers joyfully and offers them shelter and food.

Aeneas realizes upon docking that it has been one year since the death of his father, so he orders a series of competitions to commemorate his passing. First, however, the Trojans offer sacrifices to Anchises. The moment that Aeneas calls out to his father, an enormous serpent crawls out of Anchises’s shrine, tastes the feast that has been laid out, and returns harmlessly to the tomb. The men believe the serpent is the spirit of Anchises, and they resume the rites.

First, Aeneas calls for a boat race. Four boats are selected, with four captains to man them: Mnestheus, Gyas, Sergestus, and Cloanthus. The boats are to race out to an island in the ocean, where they will find an ilex branch that will signal them to turn around. Virgil offers a detailed description of the race, with all four captains determined to win at any cost. Cloanthus is the victor, though Aeneas offers prizes to all four captains – even to Sergestus, the loser, who receives a female slave as compensation for his humiliation.

The next competition is a footrace. The first two Trojans to enter the race are Nisus and Euryalus (whom we will meet again during the battle against the Latins). Although Nisus initially has a strong lead, he slips in sacrificial blood and falls. He trips up Salius, who was in second place, so that his friend (and probable lover) Euryalus will win. Aeneas, the “best of fathers” (472), is such a fair leader that he again gives all the men prizes, so that Nisus is not punished for having slipped and Salius is not punished for having been tripped.

Next, Aeneas calls for a boxing match. The enormous, young Dares enters immediately but can find no one brave enough to challenge him. Finally, after much urging, the legendary Entellus enters the match. It is a battle between youth and experience, and it is the latter who ultimately emerges victorious. Aeneas, in the end, must intervene and tell Dares to give up so that the younger man is not killed in the fight.

The final event is an archery competition, in which all the men must attempt to shoot a dove out of the air. This competition is most noteworthy because Acestes’s arrow bursts into flames and disintegrates, which the men interpret as a powerful omen. Following this event, Aeneas calls for Ascanius, who is permitted to come out with his friends and “show himself in arms” (724). This is a great honor for the young man, in essence marking his coming-of-age.

The happy festivities take a turn for the worse when Juno intervenes to cause dissent among the Trojan women, many of whom are tired of traveling and wish to settle in Drepanum. She appears to them in the guise of Beroe, an elderly woman, and urges them to set fire to the Trojan ships so that they will be unable to continue their journey. When the goddess reveals her true shape, the women are stunned into action, and they light the ships aflame. Fortunately, Aeneas notices the burning ships in time to appeal to Jupiter. Jupiter takes pity on the Trojans and sends a thunderstorm that saves all of the ships except four.

That night, Anchises’s shade appears to Aeneas in a dream, urging him to take the bravest of his group with him to Italy. First, however, Anchises tells Aeneas to travel to Dis, in order to seek a meeting with him in the underworld. Upon awakening, Aeneas calls his companions together and tells them that anyone who wishes to remain behind – those who do not seek “great fame” (990) – may do so. Aeneas founds a city to be reigned over by Acestes, and he uses a plow to separate it into two districts named Troy and Ilium.

In the meantime Venus, distressed by Juno’s unending efforts to harm the Trojans, appeals to Neptune, asking the god of the sea to help the fleet reach its destination safely. Neptune replies that he will watch over the Trojans and that only one man will be lost. Thus, after the Trojans set out to sea once again, the god of sleep enchants Palinurus, the pilot: his eyelids grow heavy, he relaxes his limbs, and he falls, in a deep sleep, into the dark ocean. Book V ends with Aeneas mourning the loss of his friend.

Analysis

The lighter Book V stands in marked contrast to the tragedy and emotionality of Book IV. By following the climactic death of Dido with this relatively joyful, easygoing period, Virgil not only heightens the impact of Dido’s demise, but also gives his audience a release period during which to process the events that have taken place thus far. This is not to say that Book V is unimportant or even unexciting: the Book describes a series of thrilling competitions that would have been immensely exhilarating and familiar to Virgil’s contemporaries. Furthermore, the Book is shot through with elements of sorrow; the Trojan women threaten the future of the fleet, and Aeneas’s companion and trusted pilot Palinurus falls overboard to his death. Virgil is, quite clearly, aware of the tragedy that can strike even those who are destined for greatness.

The competitions are being held to honor Anchises, who was buried on that very island exactly a year ago. By holding elaborate funeral rites and an extended series of festivities, Aeneas is demonstrating once again the great respect he has for his father. The fact that Aeneas now deals with the reality of his father’s death also makes the following Book, in which Aeneas descends into the Underworld in the company of his father, more understandable.

There are two notable points in Book V where Aeneas demonstrates his remarkable leadership skills: first after the footrace, and again after the boxing match. When Nisus trips Salius so that his friend Euryalus wins the race, Salius is quite understandably angered by the unfairness of the situation. Aeneas declares Euryalus the victor – and the respect that he receives is evidenced by the fact that no ones dares question the decision – but also gives prizes to Salius and Nisus, both of whom lost through no flaw in their abilities. In the boxing match, Aeneas urges Dares to accede victory to the older, stronger Entellus. Although Dares initially bristles at Aeneas’s words, he is pacified when Aeneas tells him that he should not question the will of the gods.

 

Another moment that demonstrates Aeneas’s ability to pacify the masses occurs when he allows the Trojan women to remain in Drepanum. Although he momentarily questions his destiny and wonders aloud whether he should build his city in Sicily, Anchises’s shade helps him see that he can please everyone by taking the strongest with him on his journey, while giving a home to those who wish to remain behind.

The death of Palinurus at the close of Book V casts a pallor over the entire chapter. Palinurus is one of Aeneas’s most trusted companions: a truly honorable, courageous, loyal man. Even the very best men, it seems, are not rewarded for their valor if such rewards do not serve the dictates of fate. Palinurus is not even rewarded in death; in Book VI, Aeneas will find his comrade’s shade wandering in misery alongside other unburied, restless souls. Although the sibyl of Cumae assures Palinurus that his corpse will one day be put to rest, it is clear that Palinurus is expendable, and even his good deeds in life do not guarantee him happiness or peace in death. Through Palinurus’s death, Virgil reveals the depth of the sacrifices that must be made in the service of destiny.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book VI

At the opening of Book VI, Aeneas docks on the coast of Cumae in search of the Sibyl of Cumae, Deiphobe. Upon locating the sibyl in her grotto, Aeneas is ordered to sacrifice seven steers. He does so and promises Deiphobe that if the fates allow him to build a city in Italy, he will raise a temple to Apollo and Diana. Finally, the sibyl, possessed by Apollo, makes a prophecy: she tells Aeneas that he will reach the kingdom he seeks, but that the Trojans will suffer through a horrible war over a “foreign bride” (131), and he will have to confront a “new Achilles” (125).

When the sibyl has finished speaking, Aeneas asks her whether he may be permitted to go before the shade of his father, Anchises. Deiphobe tells him how to do so: he must pluck a golden branch from a tree, give burial to a friend of his who is “defiling the fleet with death” (209), and sacrifice black cattle as a peace offering. At first, Aeneas is uncertain which Trojan she is referring to, but upon returning to the camp, he discovers the body of Misenus, dashed on the rocks after challenging the gods. Aeneas buries Misenus and goes out in search of the golden bough. He finds it (with the help of Venus) and sacrifices the steers.

Deiphobe, seeing that Aeneas has completed all of his tasks, sends his companions away; only Aeneas himself may accompany her on the journey to the Underworld. As they approach the horrible monsters guarding the entrance, Aeneas is struck with fear, and he is only calmed when the sibyl tells him that the creatures are nothing more than phantoms that can bring him no harm. The pair approaches the River Styx, where Charon, the boatman, ferries souls to the afterlife. Aeneas notices that some wretched souls are turned away, and the Sibyl explains that only souls whose bodies have been buried may cross. One of those wandering souls is Palinurus, who begs Aeneas to help him across. Deiphobe promises Palinurus that she will send a plague to the residents of the area where his body lies unburied, so that they will give him a proper tomb.

Finally, after some difficulty convincing Charon to allow living souls to pass, Deiphobe and Aeneas cross the river. They pass by Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the riverbank, and they pass the souls of deceased infants and those who were wrongfully executed. They then arrive in the Fields of Mourning, where those who have died from the pains of love wander in misery. It is there that Aeneas sees Dido, and he weeps to learn what became of her. Dido’s shade refuses to hear his entreaties, and she flees into the woods in a rage to reunite with Sychaeus, her dead husband.

Next, Aeneas passes through the land where the souls of war heroes reside. He is momentarily distracted when he sees Priam’s son, Deiphobus, who married Helen following Paris’s death but was betrayed by her and put to death. At Deiphobe’s urging they move on, and they encounter a fortress guarded by the terrible Tisiphone, wearing a bloody mantle. Horrified, Aeneas asks what the sins were of those who live inside Tartarus, and Deiphobe replies that the souls being tortured within have committed the gravest of sins, such as dishonoring the gods, adultery, and incest.

Finally, Aeneas arrives in the Groves of Blessedness, where he finds Anchises. He tries to throw his arms around his father, but grabs only air. Anchises describes the many wonders of Elysium to Aeneas, and he then focuses on the great future in store for Aeneas and his descendants: “my tongue will now reveal/ the fame that is to come from Dardan sons” (999-1000). When Aeneas notices souls hovering over a river, Anchises explains that the river is called Lethe, and that after drinking from it souls are stripped of any memory of their former lives, then returned to earth to begin life again in a new body. Anchises points out several souls who would have been significant to Virgil’s audience, including Romulus, the founder of Rome; Ascanius’s descendants; Julius Caesar; and Caesar Augustus himself. Tears spring to Anchises’s eyes when he points out the handsome Marcellus, Augustus’s heir, who died at a young age.

Book VI ends with Anchises leading Aeneas and Deiphobe out of the Underworld. There are two gates of sleep through which to exit: one made of horn, and the other of ivory. Aeneas and the sibyl choose the ivory gate for their return to earth. Aeneas rejoins his companions, and the fleet sets out to sea once again.

 

Analysis

Perhaps more than any other episode in the Aeneid, Book VI exemplifies the purpose of Virgil’s epic. Ultimately, Virgil hoped to appeal to Roman audiences by creating a tale demonstrating that they were fated to become a glorious empire, and in particular to Caesar Augustus, his patron, lauding his leadership skills and the moral values that he espoused during his reign. Not only is it clear in Book VI that Aeneas’s destiny is set – his descendants are already clearly delineated, as Anchises points out – but there are numerous additional references to his “fate.” The sibyl informs Aeneas that he must pluck a golden bough in order to advance to the Underworld, but he will only be able to do so if he is “fated” to do so: “if the Fates have summoned you,/ the bough will break off freely, easily;/ but otherwise, no power can overcome it” (203-205). Unsurprisingly, Aeneas breaks off the bough with ease. Upon entering Elysium, he witnesses a virtual parade commemorating Rome’s great future: Anchises points out countless heroes and leaders who are the lucky benefactors of Aeneas’s blessed journey.

Part of Book VI was clearly intended to appeal specifically to Casesar Augustus; when Aeneas encounters his soul in the Underworld, Anchises describes the leader as “the mane you heard so often promised--/ Augustus Caesar, son of a god, who will/ renew a golden age in Latium” (1048-1050). Furthermore, by painting a tragic, heroic portrait of Augustus’s beloved nephew and heir Marcellus, who died at the young age of 16, Virgil gives the boy an immortality that Augustus would certainly have appreciated.

Perhaps one of the most interesting episodes in Book VI occurs when Aeneas comes upon Dido in the Fields of Mourning. This brief encounter, during which Aeneas weeps upon realizing his lover’s sad fate and Dido refuses to hear his entreaties, offers closure to a dramatic, painful episode, and it invests Aeneas with a much-needed measure of humanity. Readers who may have been struck by Aeneas’s apparent heartlessness at his leave-taking of Dido will be won back by his tears here. Aeneas’s redemption is somewhat undermined by the fact that Dido flees from him into the arms of her beloved husband, Sychaeus.

Aeneas’s reunion with Dido also reveals behavior of Dido that appears entirely inconsistent with the dynamic, forceful woman we encountered earlier. Dido is reduced to a voiceless shade with angry eyes, bitterly fleeing the sight of her former lover without so much as a word of chastisement for the wrong he has done her. It is an unsatisfying ending for those who seek a brilliant, tragic love story – perhaps one of the most poignant and passionate opportunities in literary history – and one must wonder whether Virgil intended to revisit this moment and revise it before releasing the work to the public. That is a question, indeed, that haunts the Aeneid in its entirety: since the work was unfinished at the time of Virgil’s death, we are left wondering which scenes and lines he still found unsatisfactory.

Later in the chapter, Aeneas’s humanity is again emphasized by his response to the myriad horrors of the Underworld. Even this hero is struck by fear and panic at the sight of the monsters that guard the entrance: “Aeneas, shaken suddenly/ by terror, grips his sword ... Had not/ his wise companion warned him they were only/ thin lives that glide without a body in/ the hollow semblance of a form, he would/ in vain have torn the shadows with his blade” (383-389). Moments later, Aeneas is pained by the sight of unburied souls swarming the shores of the River Styx, and he is horror-struck at the sight of Tartarus. His reunion with Anchises is particularly poignant, as Aeneas throws his arms around his father’s shade in vain not merely once, but (famously) three times, again revealing the deep and meaningful relationship shared between the generations.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book VII

Aeneas’s first stop in Book VII is Caieta’s harbor, named for his childhood nurse. After honoring Caieta’s memory, the fleet sails past the island ruled over by Circe, a goddess who turns her many suitors into animals. Neptune takes pity on Aeneas’s men and sends them a wind that carries them past the dangerous island. Aeneas sees the Tiber River and knows that he has arrived, at last, in the land that he is destined to rule. At this point, Virgil returns to the first-person narrative that he used at the very opening of the epic, calling upon Erato, the muse of poetry, to aid him in telling the second half of Aeneas’s story.

Virgil now introduces King Latinus, who presides over Latinum with his wife, Queen Amata. The pair have only one surviving child: a daughter, Lavinia, who is being pursued by the Rutulian Turnus, a favorite of Queen Amata.

As Aeneas and his men arrive on the Latin shores, King Latinus receives a series of omens of war. He also receives a prophecy that he should choose a husband for his daughter from among the foreigners who have just arrived, and that he should allow these strangers to intermarry with the Latins, for the offspring of such a union is destined to rule the world: “their blood will raise our name/ above the stars” (124-125).

In the meantime, Aeneas and his men rest beneath some trees and prepare a sumptuous meal, which they serve on hard wheaten cakes. After they finish the meal, they eat the cakes, and Ascanius laughingly says that they were so hungry that they ate their very tables. Aeneas is struck by this statement, because earlier in the Aeneid the Harpy Celeano prophesized that they would only reach the destined land when their hunger had compelled them to eat their tables.

Aeneas sends emissaries to King Latinus, laden with gifts. King Latinus, realizing that Aeneas and his men must be the foreigners destined to intermarry with his people, sends gifts to the Trojans in return and asks Ilioneus to tell Aeneas that he wishes to give him Lavinia’s hand in marriage.

Upon hearing of this peaceable agreement, Juno becomes infuriated once again. Although she recognizes that she cannot sway the Trojans from their destiny, she is determined to postpone their inevitable rise for as long as possible: “so be it, let Lavinia be his wife/ as fates have fixed. But I can still hold off/ that moment and delay these great events,/ can still strike down the nations of both kings” (415-418). To achieve this end, she enlists the Fury Allecto to help her incite a war between the Trojans and the Latins.

Allecto approaches Queen Amata and enchants her so that she will do all that she can to upset the peace between the Trojans and the Latins. Amata begs her husband not to give away their daughter to “Trojan exiles” (475). Latinus refuses to be swayed, and Amata literally turns insane, raging throughout the city and lighting fires while singing the wedding song of Turnus and Lavinia. She even goes so far as to hide Lavinia in the mountains.

Allecto next goes to Turnus, where she takes on the guise of the elderly Calybe, priestess of Juno’s temples. As Calybe, Allecto urges Turnus not to permit the Trojans to take control over the city, and tells him to raise his men in arms against the foreigners. Turnus mocks Allecto, telling her that war is a matter for men. Angered, Allecto reveals her true self to Turnus, and he is frightened into assent.

Allecto completes her plan to destroy the treaty between the Latins and the Trojans by visiting Ascanius, who is hunting along the coast. She sends the scent of a stag owned by a Latin family into the noses of Ascanius’s dogs, and then guides Ascanius’s arrow so that it slaughters the beast. The local farmers are enraged and gather their weapons against the Trojans; Allecto herself blows the trumpet calling them to war. The Latins attack the Trojans, and several men die on both sides.

Finally, Allecto returns to Juno to report that her work is done: “See the discord I made ripe/ for you in bitter war” (718-719). Allecto offers to continue wreaking havoc, but Juno dismisses her, and Allecto returns to her cave in Cocytus. Angered by the casualties, the Latins (including Turnus) storm the palace, calling for war, but King Latinus refuses, and “shut himself within the palace, let the reins of rule fall slack” (791-792).

Virgil next describes a “traditional Hesperian custom” in which the gates of Mars’s temple are thrown open to signify the beginning of a war. Seeing that King Latinus refuses to take this step, Juno throws the gates open herself, and warriors come from all over the kingdom to fight against the Trojans. Two notable arrivals are the evil Mezentius and the brave Camilla, both of whom will be described in more detail later in the story.

Analysis

Book VII is a turning point in the Aeneid, marking the beginning of the second half of Virgil’s epic. This is evidenced by Virgil’s return to the first person: “Now, Erato, be with me, let me sing/ of kings and times and of the state of things/ in ancient Latium when the invaders/ first beached their boats upon Ausonia’s coasts” (45-48). This half of the book is distinct from the first, in that the action largely takes place in one location. Furthermore, Virgil offers exhaustive descriptions of specific warriors, lavishing attention on their ancestry and past feats of heroism. He also describes battle scenes in rich, almost tiresome, detail. Although these elements may appear incongruous in light of the tone of the first half of the tale, it is important to remember that Virgil’s audience would have relished Virgil’s willingness to offer the founding of Rome the attention that they would have felt it deserved.

An interesting sidenote is that Aeneas himself appears in Homer’s Iliad as a relatively minor character. In Homer’s epic, Aeneas is a warrior who survives a battle with Achilles, thereby implying that he does have a great future written in the stars. Not only does Virgil directly emulate his predecessor’s style, in this Book in particular, but he directly appropriates one of Homer’s characters in order to further link the three works. By doing this, Virgil lends his epic the gravitas of association with an established classic, and underscores his desire to have his work do for the Romans what Homer’s great poems did for the Greeks: give the gift of immortality to their empire, and to their leaders.

An important aspect of Book VII is the emphasis that Virgil places on the Trojans’ blamelessness: they are not true “invaders,” seeking to take over a land that does not belong to them and disturb the peace. When he approaches King Latinus, Aeneas’s companion Ilioneus asks only for “some small settlement:/ safe shore to house our native gods and air/ and water free to all” (300-302). Aeneas and his men are more than willing to find a peaceable way to coexist with the Latins; it is the hotheaded Turnus and the meddlesome Juno who intervene to create the ensuing tragedy. In this manner, Virgil reconciles the necessity of conquering the Latin people with Aeneas’s essential morality and fairness.

Throughout the Aeneid, mortals fall victim to the gods’ meddling. This Book, in particular, demonstrates the negative consequences that arise from intervention in matters of destiny. Even Juno finally recognizes that Aeneas’s marriage to Lavinia is inevitable, but she cannot resist doing all that she can to stave off this event and cause as much discord as possible. She enlists the hideous Allecto to aid her, and the ensuing events recall the tragedy in Carthage. Like Dido going insane with passion after being hit with Cupid’s arrow, Queen Amata goes “raging” throughout the city, insane with anger. Even Turnus, as unquestionably self-possessed and autonomous as he is, is described as being driven to the brink of sanity by Allecto’s interference: “Great fear/ shatters his sleep, sweat bursts from all his body/ and bathes his bones and limbs. Insane, he raves/ for arms, he searches bed and halls for weapons” (605-608). Attempting to sway destiny, it appears, not only creates strife but can lead to insanity.

 

 

Summary and Analysis of Book VIII

Book VIII opens with Latin warriors pledging their support to Turnus. Aeneas is greatly troubled by this turn of events, and particularly by the fact that the dangerous Diomedes has been asked to support the Latin troops. That night, the river god Tiberinus appears to Aeneas in a dream and tells him that he will see an omen of a white sow with thirty white suckling pigs to signify the location of Alba, the city that Ascanius will found. Tiberinus also tells Aeneas to seek help from King Evander and to pray to Juno in order to assuage her anger.

The next day, in the woods, Aeneas comes upon the very sight that Tiberinus has prophesied: the white cow with her sucklings. He takes this as incontrovertible proof that he and his companions are destined to build a great city in Latium, and he sacrifices all the animals to Juno.

Aeneas and his men then take off for Evander’s city, where they find the residents engaged in a ceremony honoring Hercules, who saved them from the horrible monster Cacus. Although Evander’s son, Pallas, instantly thinks that they are invaders and demonstrates his hotheadedness by snatching up his weapons to meet them, Aeneas extends an olive branch and is welcomed warmly by Evander, who remembers King Priam and Anchises fondly. Evander pledges to support the Trojans and asks them to join in the celebrations.

After the ceremony, King Evander takes Aeneas on a walk and tells him about the origins of Latium: once the lawless home of fauns and nymphs, order was established by Saturn, who was fleeing the wrath of Jove. On their walk, Evander points out a number of sights that would have been recognizable to Virgil’s readers as important future locations. Evander takes them to his poor household and tells them not to feel bad about his poverty.

Meanwhile, Venus notices the Latin uprising with alarm and asks her husband, Vulcan, to fashion Aeneas a set of weapons. Vulcan agrees to do what he can to help her son, so he orders the Cyclops, who work for him, to stop what they are doing and focus on Aeneas’s weapons.

At the same time, Evander is telling Aeneas that he has slim means by which to help the Trojans himself, but that he should seek aid from the Etruscans. For years, the Etruscans suffered under the rule of the evil Mezentius, who is one of Turnus’s allies, so they would welcome the opportunity to rise up against their former oppressor and bring him back to their land to be punished. Evander also entrusts his son Pallas to Aeneas, since Evander himself is too old and infirm to go to battle. Aeneas is initially wary of Evander’s advice, but Venus sends crashing thunder and an image of weapons hanging in the sky as a sign that he is to seek the help of the Etruscans.

Aeneas picks the bravest of his men to travel with him to Agylla, sending the rest back to the camp with a message for Ascanius. With Pallas by his side, he meets with the Etruscans, who are led by King Tarchon. At their camp, Venus appears to him with Vulcan’s weapons. Aeneas marvels over the extraordinary craftsmanship of the shield, which depicts Rome’s brilliant future. The shield contains images of Romulus and Remus suckling at the teats of a wolf and Augustus Caesar leading his men into battle, among others. The chapter ends with a promising image, as Aeneas dons his new armor: “Upon his shoulder he/ lifts up the fame and fate of his sons’ sons” (954-955).

Analysis

The primary function of Book VIII is to set up the readers' sympathies – in essence, to let them know who to root for. Parallels are drawn between Aeneas, Hercules, and Evander, cementing the men as heroes in their own time. Evander demonstrates remarkable piety, with his annual commemoration of Hercules’ great feat; Hercules is an extraordinary warrior; and Aeneas is both courageous and pious, serving as a link between the two great men. The positive qualities displayed by Aeneas and his comrades – including the Etruscans, whose oppression under Mezentius’s rule immediately arouses sympathy – stands in sharp contrast to the hotheadedness and antagonistic tendencies of their opponents, the Rutulians.

The second primary goal of Book VIII is to demonstrate, once again, that the great future of Rome was destined even in Aeneas’s time. As they walk around Pallanteum, King Evander points out a number of sites that were still in existence during Virgil’s time, thereby underscoring the fact that Rome’s greatness was preordained. The shield that Vulcan presents to Aeneas is an even more concrete example of this theme, containing images of the heroes to come. Even though Aeneas is unaware of the meaning of the images, he is nevertheless awestruck by them, and their positive portents fill him with a sense of hope for the future and determination to see his son fulfill his destiny.

Many of Virgil’s critics argue that the Aeneid is little more than a giant piece of propaganda intended primarily to please his patron, Caesar Augustus. Indeed, elements such as the images on Aeneas’s shield and Anchises’s tour of the Underworld certainly support the contention that Virgil hoped to present the Romans as a people so favored by the gods that their rise to power was inevitable. In the scenes depicting Rome’s future, the only characters described in any detail are the Greeks, the Trojans, and the gods (with the Trojans given primary importance, of course); all others are mere filler, standing on the periphery of the world stage. Virgil’s supporters, however, point to the fact that he repeatedly emphasizes the uncountable sacrifices in the pursuit of Rome’s destiny; he attends to both the positive and negative aspects of the rise of the empire.

One interesting element found in this Book is King Evander’s infirmity, which recalls both King Priam and King Latinus. While all three men are unquestionably moral, pious individuals, King Evander is “heavy/ with age” (402-403), King Priam is “tottering with age” (II.685), and King Latinus is “an old man now” (VII.56). Why does Virgil create such weak characters to rule over these lands? One possibility is that these rulers are meant to represent specific aspects of Aeneas’s personality – his determination, his piety, his wisdom – and to provide a prototype for the ideal leader late in life. They may also be intended to contrast with the new generation of leaders; since the older generation is unable to lead their subjects as they once could, a new generation awaits, ready to take over the reins of power.

An interesting moment occurs when Tiberinus orders Aeneas to make offerings to Juno (as he has done several times before). When Aeneas finds the white cow and thirty white sucklings that mark the future location of Rome, he sacrifices all of the animals to Juno. This is a curious gesture, considering that omens such as these are what anger Juno the most, but by doing this Aeneas demonstrates that he is above the petty quarrels of the gods. He is entirely assured of his destiny, and he will not lower himself to treat Juno with the disrespect that she has shown to him.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book IX

Juno, determined to see the war between the Trojans and the Latins begin in earnest, sends Iris to tell Turnus to attack the Trojan camp. The Rutulians surprise the Trojans, who react in fear to the approaching “mass ... of gloom and darkness” (45-46). Since Aeneas is not present (he is visiting the Etruscans, seeking their assistance in battle), the Trojans do as he had instructed, retreating behind their ramparts even though they feel ashamed to do so.

Turnus searches desperately for an entrance to the Trojan camp but, unable to find one, decides to set fire to the Trojan fleet. The attack is unsuccessful: years before, Jupiter’s mother had given her pine grove to Aeneas for wood to build his fleet, and in return she had asked Jupiter to promise that no harm would ever come to her precious timbers. Although he questions whether mortals should be given immortals’ privileges, Jupiter keeps his promise to his mother and transforms the burning ships into sea nymphs, who flee into the ocean’s depths. The Rutulians are struck by fear at this sight, but Turnus maintains total confidence in his ability to defeat Aeneas. He will not, he states, hide himself in the belly of a wooden horse to prove his superiority to the Trojans; he will meet them “in broad daylight” (203).

Nisus and Euryalus, who had engaged in the footrace, now bravely volunteer to carry word of the attack to Aeneas, who is still in Pallanteum. Although Nisus initially tries to dissuade Euryalus from accompanying him, not wanting to put his friend in danger, Euryalus insists that he will have it no other way. Ascanius, struck by their courage, says that he will reward them richly upon their return, even though all that Euryalus asks is that his mother be provided for.

On the road, Nisus and Euryalus slay a number of Rutulians. Finally, however, they are spotted, and the Rutulian horsemen give chase through the forest. Euryalus, laden with spoils from those he slaughtered, falls behind, and he is captured by Volcens, a Rutulian warrior. Nisus makes a brave effort to save his friend, hurling spears at Euryalus’s captors. In revenge for the deaths, Volcens kills Euryalus. Nisus rushes at Volcens in a rage and thrusts his sword through Volcens’s mouth, but is then quickly slain by the other Rutulians.

The bereaved Latin men carry Volcens back to their camp, and then they place the heads of Nisus and Euryalus on pikes and parade them before the Trojans, who are deeply grieved by the sight. Rumor carries word of Euryalus’s death to his mother, who weeps so piteously that the Trojans take her into their arms and carry her home. Angered by the deaths of their friends, the Trojans return the Latins’ attack, and the battle begins in earnest. The next few pages describe great brutality: a wall collapses, killing many Trojans, and Ascanius makes his first kill in battle. He slays Turnus’s brother-in-law, Remulus, because he had been mocking the Trojans. Apollo appears to Ascanius and tells him that while he has done well, he should never again engage in war, but instead must work to maintain peace.

Finally, the Latins manage to beat down the gate to the Trojan camp, although the Trojans are able to keep them out, and Pandarus, with superhuman effort, swings the gates shut once again. Several Trojans are left outside to battle the Latins, but Turnus had made it through the gate with the Trojans. He begins running rampant, killing all whom he encounters. Finally, Serestus and Mnestheus (who had engaged in the boatrace) shame their companions for allowing one man to create such discord. The Trojans finally get the upper hand and begin to close in on Turnus, but Juno sends word to him that he must flee. He escapes by jumping into the Tiber River and allowing the current to carry him back to the Latin camp.

Analysis

In Book IX, the Rutulians – and Turnus in particular – demonstrate remarkable strength. Even though the outcome of the battle is certain, the Rutulians nevertheless reveal that they are extremely resourceful, courageous, able fighters, and they inflict a great deal of harm on the Trojan camp. Turnus is especially remarkable on the battlefield, holding his own even when he is the only Latin warrior locked inside the Trojan camp. Indeed, Turnus’s character, like Dido’s, derives its complexity from the fact that he is fated to lose, but is so confident in his abilities that he continues to battle destiny. He is clearly intended to be an antagonist, but Virgil allows readers to feel a measure of sympathy for this man, who is so certain in his convictions that he fights – almost heroically – to the very end.

Some of Virgil’s critics even argue that Turnus appears almost more heroic than Aeneas, particularly in this Book. Throughout the Aeneid, Aeneas certainly demonstrates skill and valor, but is it truly heroic to fight when one is assured of success? Courageous, but heroic? It is a foregone conclusion that Aeneas will win the battle; the only suspense that Virgil can offer his audience lies in Turnus’s remarkable abilities on the battlefield. This man is such a brilliant warrior that he has the ability to keep the inevitable victors at bay for far longer than they expected. By investing Turnus with exceptional abilities, Virgil heightens the suspense of the Aeneid and keeps readers' attention even though they know what the ultimate outcome will be.

One of the most poignant episodes here is the death of Nisus and Euryalus. These two men, who display a deep and enduring friendship (if not also romance, if one interprets homoeroticism in the poem), reveal the great reverence Virgil placed on such relationships. Nisus is a wholly self-sacrificing individual, willing to go on a highly treacherous journey by himself, so that he will not place his friend in danger, and later willing to sacrifice his own life to avenge the death of his friend. Euryalus is slightly less heroic; he appears to want to accompany Nisus largely so that he can share in the glory, but is caught by the Rutulians because he is so laden down with spoils taken from the bodies of his Latin conquests that he falls behind during a chase through the forest. Nevertheless, the connection that these two men share is admirable, and their shared death is undoubtably one of the most poignant, emotionally affecting moments in the tale.

Book IX is the only one in the Aeneid in which Aeneas is not directly present. Virgil does, however, indicate that Aeneas is such a strong character that his men continue to obey him – and even take on his characteristics – in his absence. Before leaving for the Etruscan camp, Aeneas instructed his comrades to retreat behind the battlements should the Latins attack, and even though it goes against their instincts as warriors to flee from battle, the Trojans do as their leader requested.

Aeneas's influence is underscored by the fact that many of the warriors display their leader's most notable traits during the battle: heroism, morality, and courage. Ascanius, in particular, is able to take over for Aeneas in his absence: as Aeneas might have done, he promises Nisus and Euryalus that they will be rewarded richly for their bravery, and he is struck by the piety of Euryalus’s request that his mother be looked after. Furthermore, he makes his first – and only – kill out of a desire to protect the honor of his comrades, and he does so in a humble, relatively moral manner.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book X

Book X begins with a council of the gods. Jupiter calls the gods to Mount Olympus, where he berates them for having meddled with fate. Although Venus and Juno attempt to argue the cases of, respectively, the Trojans and the Latins, Jupiter asserts that there is to be no further divine intervention in the battle: “what each man does will shape his trial and fortune” (160).

While the gods hold their council, the fighting on earth continues: the Trojans are still trapped inside their battlements as the Latins storm their gates. Aeneas, with Pallas at his side, travels back to the Trojan camp from his meeting with the Etruscans after securing their pledge of assistance. With him aboard the ships are a number of notable chiefs and warriors, all of whom are described in considerable detail. On the voyage, Aeneas is met by the sea nymphs who were once his ships, and the leader of the nymphs, Cymodoce, warns him of the siege taking place on the Trojan camp. She also predicts that the next day will see a great many Rutulian casualities.

When the Trojans see Aeneas approaching, his shield held high, their hope is renewed. Immediately upon docking, however, Aeneas and his men are attacked by the Latins. Horrific fighting ensues, during which many lives are lost on both sides. Aeneas, Turnus, and Pallas are each responsible for an amazing number of deaths. Pallas, invoking his father’s name, enters into battle with Lausus, Mezentius’s son, but is slain by Turnus. Turnus callously slings Pallas’s belt across his shoulders – a decision that he will come to regret in the last moments of his own life. Pallas’s friends carry him back to camp, where Aeneas is spurred into fury at the sight of the dead body of the boy entrusted to him by his friend for safekeeping.

In a rage, Aeneas cuts a wide, bloody swath through the Rutulian army – like a “torrent/ or black whirlwind” (829-830) – in search of Turnus. Juno, fearing for Turnus’s life, asks Jupiter to help her protect her favorite, and he consents to this one favor. In an effort to send Turnus away from the battlefield, she conjures a mist in Aeneas’s shape and allows Turnus to catch sight of it. Turnus pursues the phantom as it boards a ship, which then sets out to sea. Upon realizing that he has been tricked, Turnus is deeply angered; he wonders whether he should save himself from the disgrace of having seemed to abandon his troops by falling upon his sword, or whether he should try to swim back to shore. Three times he tries to jump into the water, but three times Juno restrains him.

In Turnus’s absence, Aeneas and Mezentius meet on the battlefield. Although Mezentius is harmed, he is able to escape Aeneas. His son Lausus, upset at the sight of his father’s wound, confronts Aeneas. Aeneas warns the young boy not to engage with him in battle – “Why are you rushing to sure death?” (1113) – but Lausus refuses to back down, and Aeneas slays him easily. As the boy dies, however, Aeneas is filled with thoughts of his own father, and feels dismayed by what he has done.

When Mezentius hears of the death of his son, he is grief-stricken and sets out to avenge Lausus’s death or to die himself. He engages in battle with Aeneas but is finally cast from his horse. As Aeneas holds his sword poised above Mezentius’s body, the old man bares his throat willingly, his final words a plea to be buried alongside his beloved son.

Analysis

The question of the inevitability of destiny is answered once and for all at the outset of Book X, when Jupiter addresses the council of the gods. He chides Juno and Venus for having attempted to alter the course of fate, refusing to allow any further meddling: “Jupiter is king of all alike/ the Fates will find their way” (161-162). Although he agrees that Juno may help Turnus live a little longer, he tells her that Turnus’s fate remains set in stone: “If you ask respite from impending death,/ a breathing space for that doomed youth ... then let your Turnus flee” (855-858). He will allow her to sway the course of events slightly, but she can do nothing to alter the eventual outcome.

Book X portrays Aeneas in a far different light than what we have seen thus far. Here we see a vengeful, impassioned Aeneas, wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Even though certain elements of his behavior recall Turnus’s rage earlier, Aeneas’s actions stem from the far nobler desire to avenge the death of the blameless youth, Pallas, who was entrusted to his care. Furthermore, he displays a morality on the battlefield far different than that of Turnus: when he is forced to kill Lausus, he is filled with pity and perhaps even regret. Aeneas had wounded Lausus’s father, and his own close relationship with Anchises helps him to see why the young Latin might have been driven to seek battle with him.

Turnus is not, however, wholly without redeeming qualities here. Once again, one could admire his passion and determination to abide by his convictions while fighting a losing battle. After Juno, in a last-ditch attempt to save his life, tricks him into boarding a boat that takes him away from certain death, Turnus tries to throw himself overboard three times: he will either return to the battlefield and fight Aeneas, despite the inevitably hopeless outcome, or he will die at sea - he will not be regarded as a coward who abandoned his men and his beliefs.

The level of passion that Turnus displays in this chapter is almost unparalleled in the Aeneid. The only other character with a comparable display of emotion is Dido. The moment when Aeneas goes raging through the battlefield after learning of Pallas’s death is one of the few times in the epic when his emotionality rivals that of Dido and Turnus. Interestingly, both Dido and Turnus are driven to such a state by love (overtly in Dido’s case, more by implication in Turnus’s); Aeneas, however, is flung into the throes of near-madness by the loss of a boy who was like a son. Once again, Virgil underscores his belief that the relationship between sons and fathers is of utmost importance – so important, in fact, that it can push a relatively calm and moderate man to impassioned fury.

Virgil’s ability to create antagonists as complex as his protagonists is exemplified in the death of Mezentius. The previous chapter displayed his many misdeeds, and his evil nature has been emphasized repeatedly. Yet Virgil arouses sympathy during Mezentius’s final battle against Aeneas. Mezentius is acting out of a paternal love similar to the bond between Aeneas and Ascanius, and when he finally dies, he does it bravely, turning his throat up to meet Aeneas’s sword. If he cannot avenge the death of his son, he wishes to die on the battlefield and join him in the afterlife. Even though Mezentius is a “bad guy,” he is no stock evil character, deprived of redeeming characteristics; he is a complex, multilayered character who stands as a testament to Virgil’s extraordinary craftsmanship.

 

Summary and Analysis of Book XI

Although Aeneas is deeply distressed by the deaths of Pallas and his other comrades, he still offers a sacrifice to the gods composed of spoils taken from Mezentius. He and his men bury the bodies of their slain companions and take great care readying Pallas’s corpse for return to King Evander. Aeneas weeps over Pallas’s fate and for having failed to keep his friend’s son safe. Nevertheless, he is heartened by the fact that Pallas did not die a coward.

Messengers from the Latin camp then approach Aeneas, begging him to allow them to bury their dead. “Good Aeneas” (137) grants them their request, telling them that it is only Turnus who should be fighting him and that the Latins and Trojans should seek peace. The Latin Drances, who has an old grudge against Turnus, tells Aeneas that he admires him greatly, and they agree on a peace of twenty-six days during which all may bury their dead.

Rumor reaches King Evander before Pallas’s body does, alerting him to his son’s sad fate. Evander throws himself across the bier on which Pallas’s corpse lays, crying, “I ... have undone/ the fate of fathers: I survive my son” (207-208). Nevertheless, he asserts that he does not blame Aeneas and that he is glad his son died bravely.

In a deeply emotional scene, Aeneas and his men set fire to the bodies of their comrades, throw spoils taken from the bodies of the Latins into the flames, and offer sacrifices. Elsewhere, the Latins do the same for their fallen men, and some women cry out that only Turnus should be suffering, since it is only he who seeks war. King Latinus, pained by the turn of events, calls a council of the city’s chiefs. Some feel that the problem should be settled by a duel between Aeneas and Turnus alone, and when they learn that the great Greek warrior Diomedes has rejected their plea for aid, Latinus proposes that they attempt to establish peace. Drances attacks Turnus, blaming the war on his arrogance, and Turnus responds by mocking Drances and calling him a coward. He tells Latinus that he is happy to fight Aeneas alone, but begs him not to “falter in dishonor at the threshold” (560).

As the council argues, they receive word that the Trojans are marching on the city. Turnus takes advantage of the ensuing panic to urge the Latins to take up arms, and he prepares himself for battle. The Latins are joined by the legendary warrior Camilla and her Volscians, who take over the defense of the city against the approaching Trojan horsemen, while Turnus rides off to ambush Aeneas, who is taking a different route through the forest.

Virgil focuses briefly on Camilla’s interesting history: when King Metabus fled his city in exile, he took the infant Camilla with him. When he approached a river that he could not safely cross with his daughter, he strapped her to a lance and threw her across, after praying to the goddess Diana to keep her safe. The girl was raised in the wilderness and became Diana’s favorite: a fellow virgin whose only true love is of arms.

The Trojans finally reach the city, and the battle begins. Camilla is the fiercest warrior on the field, and she slays uncountable Trojans until she is finally taken down by Arruns. Arruns is only able to kill Camilla because he has prayed to Apollo to help him end her attack. Now Diana seeks vengeance by sending her sentinel, Opis, to slay Arruns. Having lost Camilla and unable to hold back the Trojan army, the Latins scatter. Camilla’s closest companion, Acca, sends word to Turnus of the events taking place, and Turnus is forced to abandon his ambush and return to the city only moments before Aeneas passes through. Book XI ends with both men returning to their respective camps on the outskirts of Laurentum to fortify themselves for the next day’s battle.

Analysis

One of the more interesting problems that Virgil must have encountered while writing the Aeneid is the difficulty of maintaining suspense in a tale with such a preordained outcome. Throughout the story, readers are repeatedly made aware of the inevitability of Aeneas’s victory; the gods themselves have asserted that his destiny is to found a city in Italy that will one day become the Roman Empire, and to act as the father to a long line of kings that will lead to the great Caesar Augustus, Virgil’s patron. Even King Latinus tells the council that there is no use in continuing the war: “My citizens,/ we wage a luckless war against a nation/ of gods, unconquered men; no battle can/ exhaust them” (402-405). Nevertheless, Virgil is first of all a storyteller, and he does all that he can to keep his readers on tenterhooks as to the manner in which this outcome will be reached. He does this by allowing the action to take a dramatic turn: in the previous chapter, the Latins had the upper hand, exemplified by their destruction of the Trojan fortifications; in Book XI, the Latins maintain their position (largely because of Camilla), and even slay one of Aeneas’ closest comrades, Pallas, but the chapter ends with the Latins scattering as the Trojan army presses in. Virgil’s skill lies in allowing his readers to know only the story’s ending, not how it will come to pass.

Although Aeneas’s human limitations have been emphasized earlier, and he has even shown some character flaws, Book XI lauds him as an unfailingly fair, moral leader. The funeral rites that he gives Pallas are so exhaustive that even King Evander says that he could do no better for his own son, and Aeneas weeps genuine tears of mourning over the bodies of his fallen comrades. Indeed, the degree of sorrow that Aeneas expresses over the death of Pallas is almost startling if we recall that he only recently met the boy, when King Evander introduced them. Pallas, it seems, reminds Aeneas of his son, Ascanius, and the possibility of death that might have awaited the boy if he had not been preordained to help found Rome.

Even though he is overwhelmed by sadness at the deaths of his friends, Aeneas is so merciful that he allows the Latin envoys to reclaim the bodies of their dead so that they can be buried. Time and again, Virgil emphasizes that though Aeneas is a courageous warrior who will never shy away from the battlefield, what he truly wants is peace. This outlook contrasts markedly with that of Turnus, who refuses even to consider abandoning the conflict.

Camilla is a strong presence in this episode; Virgil describes the origins of the great female warrior in considerable detail. This is particularly striking given the fact that this episode and those surrounding it focus almost entirely on the battle taking place, making the story of Camilla’s background a welcome, peaceful respite from the exhausting bloodshed. Like Dido, Camilla is a strong female character who commands the respect of the men around her, but unlike Dido, Camilla has no strong personal presence. She is described wholly in terms of her abilities on the battlefield, and does not appear to have any notable personality traits. Although audiences may wonder why Camilla is fighting on the “wrong” side, the fact that Virgil focuses solely on her skill on the battlefield helps to explain this: Camilla is first of all a fighter who will engage in battle wherever she finds it.

One particularly interesting element of Book XI is the absence of Lavinia. Even though the battle between the Trojans and the Latins is ostensibly being fought over the hand of this character, she is rarely mentioned. She remains quite peripheral and faceless (compare Helen in the Iliad). Even in King Latinus’s council, the focus is never on the person over whom the war is being fought; by this point, it seems to be far more about Turnus’s pride and determination to prove that he is the better man than it is about the love of a woman. Lavinia seems unlikely to inspire such impassioned devotion as to incite a war, and Virgil may have presented her in this manner in order to demonstrate that the mechanisms that bring Aeneas to his destiny are irrelevant - the fulfillment of his fate remains of first importance.

 

 

Summary and Analysis of Book XII

Turnus, seeing that the tide of war has turned against the Latins, realizes that he now must keep his pledge and fight Aeneas in a duel. King Latinus begs Turnus to reconsider and seek peace with the Trojans, and a weeping Queen Amata pleads with him to defect. But Turnus cannot back down; his very honor, he believes, is at stake. “The war,” he states, “will be decided by our blood; the bride/ Lavinia will be won upon that field” (107-109). Aeneas sends word that he will duel with Turnus indeed, comforting his companions and his son by teaching them “the ways of fate” (150).

The next day, both the Trojans and Latins gather on a field to watch the duel. Aeneas and Turnus agree to the terms of the duel and offer sacrifices to the gods. Juno, afraid that Turnus will be killed, calls on Juturna, Turnus’s sister, to come to his aid. Juturna disguses herself as Camers, a Latin warrior, and moves among the Latin ranks, telling them that they should not allow their honor to rest on a single life. She is able to inflame them into action, and Tolumnius, calling himself their new leader, hurls his lance at the Trojans. It kills a young warrior, and the Trojan army rushes the Latins. Once again, the battle begins in earnest, and King Latinus retreats to his castle to mourn the broken treaty.

Aeneas begs his men to calm themselves and leave him to battle, but he is hit in the leg with an arrow and must flee. Turnus is heartened by Aeneas’s departure and begins slaying a great many Trojans. Aeneas, back at the camp with his comrades, wishes only to return to the battle, but the physician, Iapyx, cannot remove the arrow from his leg. Venus, upset by her son’s pain, sends a healing balm to mend his wound. Thus recovered, Aeneas embraces Ascanius and returns to battle.

Aeneas and Turnus both slay a great many warriors, although Juturna is able to distract Aeneas momentarily by riding around in Turnus’s chariot while Aeneas, believing his foe to be inside it, pursues her. Finally, Venus urges Aeneas to move towards the unguarded Latin city. He pledges to annihilate the city if the battle is not resolved that day. Queen Amata, terrified at the sight of the approaching Trojans and believing that her beloved Turnus has been killed, hangs herself in the castle.

At last Turnus realizes the tragedy that he has wrought, and he calls for Aeneas to meet him on the field once again to decide the battle once and for all. The fight begins by both men throwing their spears. Then they rush toward each other to battle with swords. Turnus’s sword breaks off, forcing him to retreat, and Aeneas pursues him despite his pain from the arrow wound. Aeneas, unable to catch Turnus, notices his spear embedded in an olive tree and struggles to free it. Meanwhile, Juturna takes on the guise of Turnus’s charioteer and returns her brother’s blade to him. Angered by this interference, Venus helps Aeneas remove the spear from the tree.

Jupiter, himself angered by this continued meddling in mortal affairs, calls his wife to him. She knows, he says, that Aeneas is fated to win, so why must she persist in staving off the inevitable? Jupiter tells her that the end has come. In return, Juno asks that the Latins be able to keep their name and customs, and Jupiter, smiling, says that he will allow the customs to be blended and the Latins to keep their name: “You will see/ a race arise from this that, mingled with/ the blood of the Ausonians, will be/ past men, even past gods, in piety;/ no other nation will pay you such honor” (1113-1117).

Jupiter sends down one of the Furies to frighten Turnus into submission. Juturna, realizing that there is nothing more that she can do to help her brother, flees into the depths of the river, moaning. Aeneas hurls his spear at the fallen Turnus, and it pierces his thigh. Aeneas approaches Turnus to end his life, but Turnus pleads for mercy, for the sake of his father. Aeneas is moved by Turnus’s words and momentarily considers sparing him, but then notices Pallas’s belt slung across Turnus’s shoulders, and drives his sword through his opponent’s chest.

Analysis

One of the most fascinating and perplexing aspects of Virgil’s epic is its ending: even though our hero Aeneas is victorious, the Aeneid ends on an unquestionably tragic note, devoting its final lines to the sad last moments of Turnus’s short life. Virgil could have ended the story with, for example, victory celebrations and the joining together of the Latins and the Trojans, but he chooses to end it in a manner that not only takes readers to the opposite emotional pole from the triumphant, positive beginning, but is consistent with his interest in creating multilayered, painfully human characters. The ending of the epic is tragic in order to convey Turnus’s complexity, as well as the complexity of the situation at hand (compare the funeral of Hector at the end of the Iliad, after which the second half of Virgil’s epic is patterned).

Turnus is arguably one of the most inconsistent characters in the Aeneid. He is by turns courageous, antagonistic, sympathetic, impassioned, and pitiful. This very complexity lends him his humanity. Just as Virgil invests Aeneas with flaws in order to enhance the sense that he is not simply an epic hero but a real person, Turnus’s capriciousness enables the audience to view him not merely as a villain but as a person whose misdeeds are motivated by internal conflicts and flaws. Indeed, his motivations, while vastly different from those of Aeneas, are in some ways no less pure. Turnus seems to be truly passionate about Lavinia, while Aeneas wishes to marry her simply because it his destiny to do so; Turnus wishes to uphold his sense of honor regardless of the challenges that face him, while Aeneas can, to some degree, rest in the security of knowing he is destined to succeed.

In the final episode, Turnus’s willingness to fight Aeneas even though he knows that he is fated to lose demonstrates his courage, placing him on a level closer to Aeneas than any other warrior. Yet in the last moments of his life he is reduced to begging on his knees to be spared. Readers cannot help but feel pity for this fallen man, and it is exactly this sentiment that Virgil hopes to elicit. Even though the ending is “happy” in that the protagonist, Aeneas, is victorious, the focus on Turnus’s sad end demonstrates that no victory is without its downside.

In the closing moments of Homer's Iliad, Achilles demonstrates his compassion by agreeing to return Hector’s body to King Priam. At the end of the Aeneid, Aeneas is confronted with a similar decision, but he does not show a comparable level of empathy (even though his loss of Pallas might be compared with Achilles' loss of his friend Patroclus). The fact that Virgil’s epic ends with Aeneas’s sword plunging through Turnus to his death, and with Turnus’s embittered shade fleeing to the underworld, might be even more downbeat than the funeral of Hector at the end of Homer’s work. By ending the poem in this manner, Virgil underscores the theme of loss as a consequence of following one’s destiny. Aeneas’s adventures result in the loss of countless lives, but in the end something even more precious is lost, Aeneas’s mercy. Throughout the Aeneid, the protagonist has shown himself to be a just, moral, and kind leader, but in the final moments of the epic he is a fighter, slaying a man who lies pleading for his life at his feet. While Aeneas may be a classic hero, modern readers might want their heroes to mix more mercy with their justice

 


 

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The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

The Aeneid: A Summary
Book I
The Trojans Land near Carthage

Virgil opens with an appeal to the muse of poetry. Aeneas is a Trojan leader, son of Venus and the mortal Anchises. He suffers as did the other Trojans from the wrath of Juno, after the judgment of Paris favored Venus [?and the desecration of her temple]. The book begins with the Trojan fleet sailing from Sicily and now near Carthage, 7 years after the fall of Troy. Juno bribes Aeolus to unleash storm winds on them, and they founder near Carthage. Venus appeals to Jupiter for their salvation and he reassures her of their glorious future and a golden age to come (the first of many prophecies and futurity scenes). Venus appears to Aeneas disguised as a Carthaginian huntress, tells him of Queen Dido and the settlers from Tyre who have formed the colony at Carthage, surrounded by potentially hostile peoples. A scouting party led by the visible Ilioneus observes the temple under construction (Aeneas is hidden by a shield of invisibility provided by Venus). Dido reassures and hospitably welcomes them and Aeneas eventually appears. Venus arranges for her son Cupid, in the form of Aeneas' s son Ascanius, to cause A. and Dido to fall in love, to ensure his safety. Dido puts on a feast and her passion rises.
Book II
Recounting the Fall of Troy

At Dido's request, A. recounts the fall of Troy. The Trojan Horse. A "captured" Greek Sinon deludes them about the reason why the horse was constructed to appease Minerva [Athena] after their attack on her temple. Laocoön, a priest who spears the horse, is attacked by two serpents, along with his sons. The Trojans break down their wall to get the horse inside. At night, the Greeks sail back to the shore and Sinon releases the men in the horse. A vision of Hector appears to A. telling him to flee the ensuing destruction and found a new city. The palace is attacked, Priam slain by Pyrrhus (Achilles' son). A. considers killing Helen but Venus deters him. A divine portent appears over the head of Iulus (Ascanius), Aeneas' son. Anchises refuses to flee at first but is persuaded, and A. carries him on his shoulders. His wife Creusus becomes separated and dies--her spirit comes to him and prophesies his great future.
Book III
The Wanderings of Aeneas

After sailing from Troy, they sailed north to Thrace and founded Aeneadae. But the ghost of Polydorus warns them to leave. After consulting with the Delian oracle, Anchises misinterprets the advice to seek the land that first bore the Trojan race. They sail to Crete, again try to found a settlement, but a pestilence ensues. A. dreams that Hesperia (the land of the west, or Italy) is their ultimate goal, and they sail west. They encounter the Harpies led by Celeano at the Strophades, west of Greece. After they kill her cattle, they attack the Trojans. Celeano prophesies his future. They sail on to Leucas in W. Greece and stay a year. At Buthrotum in Chaonia (now part of Epirus), they are welcomed by the former Trojan Helenus, who was enslaved by the Greeks but has been freed and made a king, married to Andromache. Helenus prophesies the Italian future and the route to take, including going to the Sibyl at Cumae. A. departs and sails across the Ionian sea to the boot of Italy and on to Sicily. They encounter the stranded Greek, Achaimenides, who tells them his story about the Cyclops. They all have to flee Polyphemus when he appears, and end up at Drepanum on the west coast of Sicily where Anchises dies.
Book IV
Dido and Aeneas

Though bound by a vow to her husband Sychaeus (killed by his brother Pygmalion), Dido has a rising passion for Aeneas, which her sister Anna encourages. Juno gets Venus to agree to the union, and arranges a hunt and a storm to bring them together in a cave. After their tryst, rumors fly through Carthage. Her former suitor, King Iarbus is jealous. Jupiter sends Mercury to chastise Aeneas and to remind him of his destiny, which does not lie with Dido. Dido rebukes A., but A. explains to her his duty without emotion, as prompted by Jupiter, and denies that they were in fact married. Dido is angered at him and swears vengeance. She tries to get Anna to delay their departure, then received bad omens and realizes she is doomed. Mercury warns A. to flee and they hastily depart in their ships. Dido orders an attack on them and curses them, pledging eternal war with the Carthaginians. She ascends to the pyre and kills herself with a sword.
Book V
The Funeral Games for Anchises

As they sail back to Eryx in Sicily, they see the flames in the distance. King Acestes receives them hospitably. He and Aeneas decide to hold funeral games, in the manner of book XXIII of the Iliad, to honor Anchises who died one year ago. They have a race of ships (won by Cloanthus), foot races (Euryalus), boxing (won by Entellus), archery, and equestrian maneuvers. Iris, disguised as the old Trojan woman Beroe, is sent by Juno to stir up trouble--she incites the women to set many of the ships on fire. Jupiter douses the fires. Nautes advises them to divide the group up, leaving the old and weary to found the settlement of Acesta near Eryx there on Sicily. The image of Anchises appears to A., asking to come to him in the underworld. Venus appeals to Neptune and is reassured that only one man will die as they sail to Italy. The helmsman Palinurus is put to sleep by the god of sleep and falls in to the water--an example of "double determination" where a person's actions are influenced by the gods as well as his own will.
Book VI
The Lower World

The ships land at Cumae on the west coast of Italy. A. seeks the Cumaean Sibyl (prophetess) at Apollo's temple, which was founded by Daedalus. The sibyl prophesies war and the trials ahead. A. asks her help in visiting his father. She him to bring a golden bough for Proserpina in order to gain admittance. He learns also that one of his men newly deceased, Misenus, must be buried. They proceed with the cremation. A. prepares to enter the cavern, by the lake Avernus, leading to the underworld. Hecate nears, but Sibyl warns her away. They pass many personified evils and monsters: Briareus, Chimaera, Scyllas, etc. He encounters Palinurus, who cannot yet cross the Styx into the underworld because his body was not buried. Charon is appeased by the golden bough and they sedate Cerberus. They pass the infants, the Fields of Mourning. He encounters Dido, and offers her more excuses--she turns away from him to her husband Sychaeus. They also encounter Trojans and also Greeks, including Deiophobus, the 3rd husband of Helen. We learn how Helen betrayed Troy. Tartarus, on the road to the left, is described, a place of suffering and punishment for those found guilty by the judge Rhadamanthus for a variety of enumerated punishable sins. Instead, they turn right. A. places the bough at the threshold of Proserpine, and finally enters Elysium. There, he encounters Anchises. There are spirits there awaiting reincarnation after drinking of Lethe to induce forgetfulness. Anchises predicts the future: the Alban kings, other kings, Romulus, Iulus, Numa, etc. Anchises says that Rome's fame will be for its leadership and contribution to government rather than for its artistic contributions. He ends with a panegyric to Augustus' deceased son, Marcellus. A. reemerges to the world of the living.
Book VII
Italy and the Outbreak of War

They sail pass Circe's island and land near the Tiber's mouth in Latium. The Laurentians (or Latians, Latins) are ruled by King Latinus. The spirit of Faunus tells Latinus that his daughter Lavinia should marry a foreigner. More omens. The Trojans come to see the king, who treats them generously and offers A. his daughter in marriage. Juno is angered by this tranquil scene and sends the Fury Allecto to stir up discord and war. In a remarkably poetic description, she infects Queen Amata with resentment at her husbands decision. Amata hides Lavinia and goes into a frenzied rage with some Bacchantes (a simile of a top describes her). Allecto also stirs up the Rutulians, in particular Turnus their king, who has been the chief suitor of Lavinia. Turnus seems to plan to march on both the Trojans and the Laurentines. Allecto also causes Iulus (Ascanius), A.'s son, to wound a deer or stag kept as a royal pet by Tyrrhus--this is the precipitating event and war breaks out. Allecto gloats and Latinus is powerless to stop the preparations. The people arm for war and the gates of war are thrown open by Juno after Latinus refuses. A catalog of combatants against Troy is given, as in the Iliad, including the tyrant Mezentius, Messapus, Virbius, and the Volscian warrior-maiden Camilla.
Book VIII
Aeneas at the Site of Rome

Confusion reigns. A. is compared to a bowl of water. Tiber the river-god appears to A. in a dream and encourages Aeneas. A. prays to Tiber, who assists his ships upstream, and advises him to ally with Evander, son of Mercury and therefore kin. He is the leader of Arcadians living on the site of current Rome, Pallanteum (on the Palantine Hill). He sees the white sow that had been prophesied, and encounters Evander's beloved son Pallas. Evander agrees to ally. He tells of Hercules victory over the half-man monster Cacus, a civilizing action. There is a local cult of Hercules worshippers. Evander recites other local history. Saturn (Cronos) gave local law and order and the name of Latium. There was a golden age. They tour the landmarks of the future Rome. Evander lives simply and exemplifies the simple virtues admired by the future Roman state. Venus appeals to her husband Vulcan to make armor for Aeneas. His Cyclops get right to work on this at their forges on the island of Vulcano. Evander tells of Agylla in Etruria and suggests Aeneas ally with them as well. He also describes the sadistic leader Mezentius. Evander nobly and unselfishly turns his beloved son Pallas over to Aeneas to become a warrior, along with many of his warriors and horsemen. Evander recalls his heroic past, then prays for his son. Venus delivers the armor to A. and tells him to not fear war. His shield is decorated with depictions of future Roman triumphs.
Book IX
Attack on the Trojan Camp in the Absence of Aeneas

With Aeneas still away with Evander, Juno sends Iris to mobilize Turnus to action. The enemy marches on the Trojan camp, which is alongside the river. The Trojans stay behind their walls as Aeneas had instructed them. After they do not respond to Turnus' challenge, he tries to set their ships afire. The goddess Cybele (Rhea) is worried about the Trojan ships, which had been constructed out of her sacred grove, and had previously appealed to her son Jupiter to save them. He now acts, and the ships are turned into sea nymphs, leaving the Trojans no alternative but to stay on the land and fight. Turnus goads on the Rutulians, and the fort is surrounded (except the side open to the river). Nisus and Euryalus, close friends, heroically resolve to try to get word to Aeneas at Pallanteum of the siege. Their companions know how risky this is and praise their bravery. Euryalus refuses gifts and only asks that his mother be looked after. They set out at night and begin killing many of the Rutulians lying in their way. But Euryalus foolishly dons the armor and helmet of one he has killed [they seem to have forgotten the main purpose of their mission]. He is spotted by Volcens and his men and subsequently captured and killed despite Nisus' efforts to save him. Nisus kills Volcens and then falls dying over his friend. At dawn, the Trojans see the heads of these brave men impaled on enemy spears. Euryalus' mother arrives at the walls and laments her son's death. The Volscians or Rutulians charge the fort and major fighting breaks out. Iulus takes up his bow and kills young Remulus/Numanus with an arrow, his first taste of combat. Apollo blesses Iulus, and asks him to desist from further killing for the time being. Pandarus and Bitias, both Trojans and caught up in the rage of fighting, open the gates to the fort, and the Rutulians rush in. Pandarus finally closes the gates, but Turnus is there with them and kills many including Pandarus before he retreats and escapes via the river.
Book X
Aeneas at War

With the Trojan camp under siege, the gods debate the conflict. Venus appeals to Jupiter to at least spare Iulus, to which Juno angrily counters. Jupiter responds that he will be neutral and that the fates will determine the outcome. Aeneas sails back with Tarchon's men (Etruscans and former subjects of the evil Mezentius)-- at some point Pallas has taken charge of a cavalry contingent that travels on horseback. A catalog of the Trojan allies is given. The sea-nymphs (recently transformed from their ships) alert Aeneas to the siege and help them to be quickly transported to the site, dumbfounding Turnus and his men. A. invokes Cybele to bless their undertaking. They land and are immediately attacked by the Rutulians. Pallas leads the attack of the contingent on horseback and is sought out by Turnus. Pallas responds bravely. His prayer to Jupiter is answered with affirmation of Jupiter's intention to stay neutral. Pallas is speared and killed by Turnus. A. comes after him after rounding up four sacrificial victims for Pallas' pyre. He goes on a rampage of killing and shows no mercy. Juno appeals to Jupiter to intervene and spare Turnus. She then disguises herself as Aeneas and lures Turnus aboard a ship in pursuit of him--the ship promptly sails away, temporarily saving Turnus. Mezentius joins the battle, offers to give captured armor to his son Lausus (a sacrilege), and is wounded by A. Lausus defends his wounded father and is slain by A. A. takes pity on Lausus and shows respect for his body and the necessary burial rituals. Mezentius laments his son's death, then charges A. on his horse Rhaebus and is slain.
Book XI
The Despair of the Latins

The battle pauses for funeral rites for the numerous victims. A. mourns the death of Pallas. His body is taken to King Evander--even Pallas' horse Aethon weeps! The Latins petition for a peace to bury the dead. A. wonders how destiny has brought about this unexpected war. Evander mourns the death of Pallas, and calls for Turnus' death. Pyres consume the bodies, which are then buried. The Latins receive word via Venulus that Diomede, now living in Arpi, is not willing to join in fighting once again with the Trojans, saying that he has no quarrel with them anymore, that he has suffered enough punishment for his past actions, and that he expects further retribution for his attack on Venus. He advises the Latins to make a treaty with the Trojans. In a council of the Latins, the crafty Drances (who is hostile to Turnus) offers suggestions for ending the conflict including that Turnus go into single combat as he is largely responsible for it. Turnus angrily responds that he is not ready to concede defeat, wants more war, and accepts the challenge to engage in single combat with Aeneas. The council is interrupted by the news that the Trojans and Etruscans are advancing. Turnus calls the men to arms. The noble female warrior Camilla tells Turnus she wishes to lead her Volscians against the Etruscan riders without Turnus' assistance--he praises her but says they will fight together. (Camilla's story: Her father Metabus lived in exile after escaping from the Volscians. When forced to cross a river, he tied her to a spear and consecrated her to Diana, then hurled her safely across and swam himself. Camilla grew up to cherish Diana's weapons.) The battle begins. Camilla fights heroically, Tarchon rallies his horsemen, and Arruns stalks Camilla. She is distracted by Chloreus' shining armor, which she wants to capture, and is slain by Arruns who awaits her in ambush. Opis, Diana's sentinel, kills Arruns. The Latins flee in disarray. Turnus, who had staked out an ambush for Aeneas, leaves the spot just before A. comes by, as all are converging on the city of Laurentum.
Book XII
The Final Combat

Turnus meets with Latinus, and indicates he expects Lavinia's hand if he wins. Latinus advises him his request cannot be granted because she is destined to marry a foreigner, and asks him to relent and break off the combat, sparing them all further needless deaths. But Queen Amata is adamant that she will not accept Aeneas as her son-in-law. Turnus issues a challenge to Aeneas for single combat, the victor to receive Lavinia's hand. At dawn, the Latins and Trojans gather on the plain outside the city [?Laurentum]. Juno plots with Turnus' sister Juturna, now a sea-nymph, to save him. Aeneas prays and makes a pledge that his victory will lead to peaceful coexistence and equality and that if he is defeated, the Trojan's will depart. Latinus also makes a pledge to honor the terms of the single combat. Juturna arrives among the assembled Latins disguised as Tolumnius. An omen of an eagle and other birds suggests that the Trojans can be defeated and Juturna/Tolumnius precipitates the battle. Aeneas tries to stop the fighting, is wounded by an arrow, and is hastily taken away. Iapyx, a healer favored by Apollo, tries to heal A. and is surprised to find himself successful, thanks to herbs Venus adds unseen to the balm. A. speaks with Iulus, then rushes into battle, seeking Turnus. Juturnus assumes the disguise of Turnus' chariot driver Metiscus, keeping him away from serious threats. Many are slain by the two heroes before their final confrontation. Aeneas considers destroying Latinus' city with fire. Queen Amata has lost her mind and hangs herself. Turnus confronts his disguised sister and spurns her aid, preferring a heroic death. He jumps from his chariot and calls to his men to allow him to seek single combat with Aeneas, which Aeneas accepts--the two armies draw back. The combatants are both larger than life. They fight, Turnus' sword breaks against Aeneas' armor, Juturna provides a replacement. Juno and Jupiter conference--he asks that she cease her meddling with the destined outcome, and at last she relents. She asks only that "Troy" be forgotten, the Ausonian customs remain, and that the language of the conquered and commingled peoples shall remain Latin. Jupiter sends a Fury disguised as a screech-owl as an omen to Turnus. Juturna laments the portent against her brother. Turnus tries to throw a large boulder at A. but his strength is flagging, he has no escape, and A. finally spears him in his thigh. Turnus concedes defeat and asks that his body be given a proper burial, even that his life be spared. But Aeneas sees Pallas' swordbelt around Turnus and in a final rage exacts his vengeance, slaying Turnus with his sword.

 

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The Aeneid of Virgil summary by book

 

READING GUIDE:  The Aeneid

BOOK I

Greeks                                       Trojans                                                 Carthaginians

Achaeans                                  Dardanians                                      Libyans
Atridae                                      Ilium                                                 Phoenicians
Danaans                                    Pergamum                                       Tyrians
Dolopians                                  Phrygians                                       
Dorian                                       Teucrians                                       
Ithacan
Pelasgian
Mycenae

Lines 1-117
1.  Why does Juno (Hera) hate the Trojans? (30-32)
2.  What is Aeneas's destiny? (20-30)
3.  What adjectives would you use to describe Carthage the first time we see it?  What is going on in the city? (8-13)
4.  Find an epic simile.  In brief, what two things are being compared? (16-23)
5.  Briefly list what Aeneas sees on the temple walls. (50-95)
6.  Who is Penthesilea? (94-97)
7.  What is the first impression we get of Dido?  Who is following her?  What is she doing? (102-116)

Lines 115-290
8.   Why does Virgil let Aeneas overhear the conversation between Ilioneus and Dido? (205-208)
9.   What is the first impression we get of Aeneas? (218-229)
10. Why does Aeneas call the gods' blessing on Dido? (225-247)
11. What is Dido's reaction to her first sight of Aeneas? (252-255)
12. How does Dido treat Aeneas and his men?  Why? (275-285)

 

Book II
Lines 1-150
13.  How does Aeneas feel about telling the story of the fall of Troy? (11-16)
14.  What is the "Trojan Horse?" (24-30)
15.  What is the island of Tenedos used for? (30-33)
16.  What is the argument that the Trojans have concerning the horse? (53-58)
17.  What does Laocoon (where have you heard that name before?) say and do? (57-79)
18.  What is the famous line in this section?  What is a more familiar translation of it? (68-69)

 

Lines 150-300
19.  According to the oracle, how must the Greeks get good winds to return to Greece? (243-254)
20.  What does King Priam ask Sinon?  How does Sinon answer? (194-199, 215-259)
21.  What did Sinon say that Ulysses (Odysseus) and Diomedes did to (Pallas) Athena's statue? (220-225)
22.  According to Sinon, why did Athena turn against the Greeks? (225-235)
23.  What was the sign that Calchas (Kalkhas Thestorides) saw? What did he say it meant? (225-235)
24.  According to Sinon, why did the Greeks leave the horse behind? (245-255)
25.  What does Sinon say will happen to the Trojans if they destroy the horse?  If the Trojans bring the horse into the city? (250-260)
26.  Sinon is a __________.(260-264)
27.  What happened to Laocoon and his sons? (280-290)
28.  What come from the island of Tenedos?  Describe them. (270-290)
29.  Why did the Trojans think that Laocoon and his sons were killed? (299-300)

Lines 300-450
30.  What do the Trojans do with the horse? (305-320)
31.  What comes from Tenedos? (330-335)
32.  What does Sinon do to help the Greeks? (335-339)
33.  Who is Neoptolomus? (343-345)
34.  Who appears to Aeneas in his dream?  Describe him.  What does he tell Aeneas to do?( 335-390)
35.  What state is Troy in now? (395-440)

 

Lines 452-594
36.  What do Aeneas and his five companions decide to do? (453-460)
37.  What do they think will happen to them? (455-465)
38.  What is Androgeos's fatal mistake? (455-465)
39.  What do the Trojans do with the captured Greek shields and insignia? (500-508)
40.  What three places do many of the Greeks end up? (511-515)
41.  What trouble does Cassandra, Coroebus's wife and Priam's daughter, cause for Aeneas and his five companions? (518-525)
42.  How do the Trojans' disguises backfire on them? (525-528)
43.  On the roof of Priam's palace, how do Aeneas and the Trojans try to drive the Greeks away? (560-595)

Lines 595-750
44.  Who is Pyrrhus?  What is his other name?  To what is he compared in the epic simile? (595-601)
45.  Who were left in the palace of Priam when Aeneas arrives? (595-640)
46.  What does Priam do when Pyrrhus invades the palace? (640-655)
47.  Who is Polites?  Why is his murder so full of pathos? (665-675)
48.  What does Priam do and say after Polites' death? (675-690)
49.  How does Pyrrhus respond to Priam? (690-695)
50.  What does Priam slip in? (696-698)
51.  Who does Aeneas find hiding in the palace that so angers him? (715-745)
52.  Why doesn't he kill her? (730-765)
(c/c ILIAD and AENEID:  How is Helen like Paris? Priam like Hektor? Pyrrhus like Achilleus?)

 

Lines 753-901
53.  Why does Venus, Aeneas's mother, stop Aeneas from killing Helen? (750-775)
54.  What has Aeneas forgotten about? (760-775)
55.  Who does Venus say is causing the destruction of Troy? (770-785)
56.  Why doesn't Aeneas's father, Anchises, want to leave Troy with the rest of the family? (805-825)
57.  What does Aeneas threaten to do when his father won't leave? (825-850)
58.  What two signs convince Anchises to leave Troy with his family? (860-875)
59.  What is Aeneas's plan? (890-900)

Lines 901-end
60.  As they leave Troy, where is Anchises?  Iulus (Ascanius)?  Creusa? (901-910)
61.  What does Anchises, Aeneas's father, see? (915-920)
62.  What happened to Aeneas's wife, Creusa? (925-935)
63.  Why does Aeneas go back into Troy? (935-950)
64.  What sadness does Aeneas see in Troy? (950-970)
65.  In what state does Creusa appear to Aeneas? (965-970)
66.  What prophecy does Creusa make? (970-990)
67.  What have the refugees decided to do? (990-1000)
68.  What is happening to Dido?  Why?(Summary)
                                                                                                           

 

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