Aeneid translation

1

Virgil : The Aeneid 2

Translated by A. S. Kline  2002 All Rights Reserved3

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Contents7

BkI:1-11 Invocation to the Muse 98

BkI:12-49 The Anger of Juno 99

BkI:50-80 Juno Asks Aeolus for Help 1010

BkI:81-123 Aeolus Raises the Storm 1111

BkI:124-156 Neptune Intervenes 1212

BkI:157-222 Shelter on the Libyan Coast 1313

BkI:223-256 Venus Intercedes with Jupiter 1514

BkI:257-296 Jupiter’s Prophecy 1615

BkI:297-371 Venus Speaks to Aeneas 1716

BkI:372-417 She Directs Him to Dido’s Palace 1917

BkI:418-463 The Temple of Juno 2118

BkI:464-493 The Frieze 2219

BkI:494-519 The Arrival of Queen Dido 2320

BkI:520-560 Ilioneus Asks Her Assistance 2421

BkI:561-585 Dido Welcomes the Trojans 2522

BkI:586-612 Aeneas Makes Himself Known 2623

BkI:613-656 Dido Receives Aeneas 2624

BkI:657-694 Cupid Impersonates Ascanius 2825

BkI:695-722 Cupid Deceives Dido 2926

BkI:723-756 Dido Asks for Aeneas’s Story 3027

BkII:1-56 The Trojan Horse: Laocoön’s Warning 3228

BkII:57-144 Sinon’s Tale 3329

BkII:145-194 Sinon Deludes the Trojans 3630

BkII:195-227 Laocoön and the Serpents 3731

BkII:228-253 The Horse Enters Troy 3832

BkII:254-297 The Greeks Take the City 3933

BkII:298-354 Aeneas Gathers his Comrades 4034

BkII:355-401 Aeneas and his Friends Resist 4235

BkII:402-437 Cassandra is Taken 4336

BkII:438-485 The Battle for the Palace 4437

BkII:486-558 Priam’s Fate 4538

BkII:559-587 Aeneas Sees Helen 4739

BkII:588-623 Aeneas is Visited by his Mother Venus 4840

BkII:624-670 Aeneas Finds his Family 4941

BkII:671-704 The Omen 5142

BkII:705-729 Aeneas and his Family Leave Troy 5243

BkII:730-795 The Loss of Creusa 5344

BkII:796-804 Aeneas Leaves Troy 5445

BkIII:1-18 Aeneas Sails to Thrace 5646

BkIII:19-68 The Grave of Polydorus 5647

BkIII:69-120 The Trojans Reach Delos 5848

BkIII:121-171 The Plague and a Vision 5949

BkIII:172-208 The Trojans Leave Crete for Italy 6150

BkIII:209-277 The Harpies 6251

BkIII:278-293 The Games at Actium 6452

BkIII:294-355 Andromache in Chaonia 6453

BkIII:356-462 The Prophecy of Helenus 6654

BkIII:463-505 The Departure from Chaonia 6955

BkIII:506-547 In Sight of Italy 7056

BkIII:548-587 The Approach to Sicily 7157

BkIII:588-654 Achaemenides 7258

BkIII:655-691 Polyphemus 7459

BkIII:692-718 The Death of Anchises 7560

BkIV:1-53 Dido and Anna Discuss Aeneas 7761

BkIV:54-89 Dido in Love 7862

BkIV:90-128 Juno and Venus 7963

BkIV:129-172 The Hunt and the Cave 8064

BkIV:173-197 Rumour Reaches Iarbas 8265

BkIV:198-218 Iarbas Prays to Jupiter 8266

BkIV:219-278 Jupiter Sends Mercury to Aeneas 8367

BkIV:279-330 Dido Accuses Aeneas 8568

BkIV:331-361 Aeneas Justifies Himself 8669

BkIV:362-392 Dido’s Reply 8770

BkIV:393-449 Aeneas Departs 8871

BkIV:450-503 Dido Resolves to Die 9072

BkIV:504-553 Dido Laments 9173

BkIV:554-583 Mercury Visits Aeneas Again 9374

BkIV:584-629 Dido’s Curse 9375

BkIV:630-705 The Death of Dido 9576

BkV:1-41 Aeneas Returns to Sicily 9877

BkV:42-103 Aeneas Declares the Games 9978

BkV:104-150 The Start of the Games 10179

BkV:151-243 The Boat Race 10280

BkV:244-285 The Prize-Giving for the Boat Race 10581

BkV:286-361 The Foot Race 10682

BkV:362-484 The Boxing Contest 10883

BkV:485-544 The Archery Contest 11184

BkV:545-603 The Exhibition of Horsemanship 11385

BkV:604-663 Juno sends Iris to Fire the Trojan Ships 11586

BkV:664-699 The Fleet is Saved 11687

BkV:700-745 Nautes’ Advice and Anchises’ Ghost 11788

BkV:746-778 Departure from Sicily 11989

BkV:779-834 Venus Seeks Neptune’s Help 12090

BkV:835-871 The Loss of Palinurus 12191

BkVI:1-55 The Temple at Cumae 12392

BkVI:56-97 The Sibyl’s Prophecy 12493

BkVI:98-155 Aeneas Asks Entry to Hades 12594

BkVI:156-182 The Finding of Misenus’s Body 12795

BkVI:183-235 The Funeral Pyre 12896

BkVI:236-263 The Sacrifice to Hecate 12997

BkVI:264-294 The Entrance to Hades 13098

BkVI:295-336 The Shores of Acheron 13199

BkVI:337-383 The Shade of Palinurus 132100

BkVI:384-416 Charon the Ferryman 134101

BkVI:417-439 Beyond the Acheron 135102

BkVI:440-476 The Shade of Dido 135103

BkVI:477-534 The Shade of Deiphobus 136104

BkVI:535-627 The Sibyl Describes Tartarus 138105

BkVI:628-678 The Fields of Elysium 141106

BkVI:679-702 The Meeting with Anchises 142107

BkVI:703-723 The Souls Due for Re-birth 143108

BkVI:724-751 The Transmigration of Souls 143109

BkVI:752-776 The Future Race – The Alban Kings 144110

BkVI:777-807 The Future Race – Romulus and the Caesars 145111

BkVI:808-853 The Future Race – Republic and Beyond 146112

BkVI:854-885 The Future Race – Marcellus 147113

BkVI:886-901 The Gates of Sleep 148114

BkVII:1-36 The Trojans Reach the Tiber 150115

BkVII:37-106 King Latinus and the Oracle 151116

BkVII:107-147 Fulfilment of A Prophecy 153117

BkVII:148-191 The Palace of Latinus 154118

BkVII:192-248 The Trojans Seek Alliance With Latinus 155119

BkVII:249-285 Latinus Offers Peace 157120

BkVII:286-341 Juno Summons Allecto 158121

BkVII:341-405 Allecto Maddens Queen Amata 159122

BkVII:406-474 Allecto Rouses Turnus 161123

BkVII:475-539 Allecto Among the Trojans 163124

BkVII:540-571 Allecto Returns to Hades 165125

BkVII:572-600 Latinus Abdicates 166126

BkVII:601-640 Latium Prepares for War 167127

BkVII:641-782 The Battle-List 168128

BkVII:783-817 Turnus and Camilla Complete the Array 172129

BkVIII:1-25 The Situation in Latium 174130

BkVIII:26-65 Aeneas’s Dream of Tiberinus 174131

BkVIII:66-101 Aeneas Sails to Pallanteum 177132

BkVIII:102-151 Aeneas Meets Evander 178133

BkVIII:152-183 Evander Offers Alliance 180134

BkVIII:184-305 The Tale of Hercules and Cacus 181135

BkVIII:306-369 Pallanteum – the Site of Rome 185136

BkVIII:370-406 Venus Seeks Weapons from Vulcan 187137

BkVIII:407-453 Vulcan’s Smithy 189138

BkVIII:454-519 Evander Proposes Assistance 190139

BkVIII:520-584 The Preliminary Alarms 193140

BkVIII:585-625 Venus’s Gift of Armour 195141

BkVIII:626-670 Vulcan’s Shield: Scenes of Early Rome 196142

BkVIII:671-713 Vulcan’s Shield: The Battle of Actium 198143

BkVIII:714-731 Vulcan’s Shield: Augustus’s Triple Triumph 199144

BkIX:1-24 Iris Urges Turnus to War 201145

BkIX:25-76 Turnus Attacks the Trojan Fleet 201146

BkIX:77-106 Cybele Makes a Plea to Jove 203147

BkIX:107-122 Cybele Transforms the Ships 204148

BkIX:123-167 Turnus Lays Siege to the Camp 205149

BkIX:168-223 Nisus and Euryalus: A Mission Proposed 206150

BkIX:224-313 Nisus and Euryalus: Aletes Consents 208151

BkIX:314-366 Nisus and Euryalus: The Raid 211152

BkIX:367-459 The Death of Euryalus and Nisus 213153

BkIX:460-524 Euryalus’s Mother Laments 216154

BkIX:525-589 Turnus in Battle 218155

BkIX:590-637 Ascanius (Iulus) in Battle 220156

BkIX:638-671 Apollo Speaks to Iulus 222157

BkIX:672-716 Turnus at the Trojan Gates 223158

BkIX:717-755 The Death of Pandarus 225159

BkIX:756-787 Turnus Slaughters the Trojans 226160

BkIX:788-818 Turnus Is Driven Off 227161

BkX:1-95 The Council of the Gods 229162

BkX:96-117 Jupiter Leaves the Outcome to Fate 231163

BkX:118-162 Aeneas Returns From Pallantium 232164

BkX:163-214 The Leaders of the Tuscan Fleet 233165

BkX:215-259 The Nymphs of Cybele 235166

BkX:260-307 Aeneas Reaches Land 236167

BkX:308-425 The Pitched Battle 237168

BkX:426-509 The Death of Pallas 240169

BkX:510-605 Aeneas Rages In Battle 243170

BkX:606-688 Juno Withdraws Turnus from the Fight 245171

BkX:689-754 Mezentius Rages in Battle 248172

BkX:755-832 The Death of Mezentius’s Son, Lausus 250173

BkX:833-908 The Death of Mezentius 252174

BkXI:1-99 Aeneas Mourns Pallas 255175

BkXI:100-138 Aeneas Offers Peace 257176

BkXI:139-181 Evander Mourns Pallas 258177

BkXI:182-224 The Funeral Pyres 260178

BkXI:225-295 An Answer From Arpi 261179

BkXI:296-335 Latinus’s Proposal 263180

BkXI:336-375 Drances Attacks Turnus Verbally 264181

BkXI:376-444 Turnus Replies 265182

BkXI:445-531 The Trojans Attack 267183

BkXI:532-596 Diana’s Concern For Camilla 269184

BkXI:597-647 The Armies Engage 271185

BkXI:648-724 Camilla In Action 273186

BkXI:725-767 Arruns Follows Her 275187

BkXI:768-835 The Death of Camilla 276188

BkXI:836-915 Opis Takes Revenge 278189

BkXII:1-53 Turnus Demands Marriage 281190

BkXII:54-80 He Proposes Single Combat 282191

BkXII:81-112 He Prepares For Battle 283192

BkXII:113-160 Juno Speaks to Juturna 284193

BkXII:161-215 Aeneas and Latinus Sacrifice 285194

BkXII:216-265 The Rutulians Break The Treaty 287195

BkXII:266-310 Renewed Fighting 288196

BkXII:311-382 Aeneas Wounded: Turnus Rampant 289197

BkXII:383-467 Venus Heals Aeneas 292198

BkXII:468-499 Juturna Foils Aeneas 294199

BkXII:500-553 Aeneas And Turnus Amongst The Slaughter 295200

BkXII:554-592 Aeneas Attacks The City 296201

BkXII:593-613 Queen Amata’s Suicide 298202

BkXII:614-696 Turnus Hears Of Amata’s Death 298203

BkXII:697-765 The Final Duel Begins 300204

BkXII:766-790 The Goddesses Intervene 302205

BkXII:791-842 Jupiter And Juno Decide The Future 303206

BkXII:843-886 Jupiter Sends Juturna A Sign 305207

BkXII:887-952 The Death Of Turnus 306208

BkI:1-11 Invocation to the Muse209

I sing of arms and the man, he who, exiled by fate,210

first came from the coast of Troy to Italy, and to211

Lavinian shores – hurled about endlessly by land and sea,212

by the will of the gods, by cruel Juno’s remorseless anger,213

long suffering also in war, until he founded a city214

and brought his gods to Latium: from that the Latin people215

came, the lords of Alba Longa, the walls of noble Rome.216

Muse, tell me the cause: how was she offended in her divinity,217

how was she grieved, the Queen of Heaven, to drive a man,218

noted for virtue, to endure such dangers, to face so many219

trials? Can there be such anger in the minds of the gods?220

BkI:12-49 The Anger of Juno221

There was an ancient city, Carthage (held by colonists from Tyre),222

opposite Italy, and the far-off mouths of the Tiber,223

rich in wealth, and very savage in pursuit of war.224

They say Juno loved this one land above all others,225

even neglecting Samos: here were her weapons226

and her chariot, even then the goddess worked at,227

and cherished, the idea that it should have supremacy228

over the nations, if only the fates allowed.229

Yet she’d heard of offspring, derived from Trojan blood,230

that would one day overthrow the Tyrian stronghold:231

that from them a people would come, wide-ruling, 232

and proud in war, to Libya’s ruin: so the Fates ordained.233

Fearing this, and remembering the ancient war234

she had fought before, at Troy, for her dear Argos,235

(and the cause of her anger and bitter sorrows236

had not yet passed from her mind: the distant judgement237

of Paris stayed deep in her heart, the injury to her scorned beauty,238

her hatred of the race, and abducted Ganymede’s honours)239

the daughter of Saturn, incited further by this,240

hurled the Trojans, the Greeks and pitiless Achilles had left, 241

round the whole ocean, keeping them far from Latium:242

they wandered for many years, driven by fate over all the seas.243

Such an effort it was to found the Roman people.244

They were hardly out of sight of Sicily’s isle, in deeper water,245

joyfully spreading sail, bronze keel ploughing the brine, 246

when Juno, nursing the eternal wound in her breast,247

spoke to herself: ‘Am I to abandon my purpose, conquered,248

unable to turn the Teucrian king away from Italy!249

Why, the fates forbid it. Wasn’t Pallas able to burn250

the Argive fleet, to sink it in the sea, because of the guilt251

and madness of one single man, Ajax, son of Oileus? 252

She herself hurled Jupiter’s swift fire from the clouds,253

scattered the ships, and made the sea boil with storms:254

She caught him up in a water-spout, as he breathed flame255

from his pierced chest, and pinned him to a sharp rock:256

yet I, who walk about as queen of the gods, wife257

and sister of Jove, wage war on a whole race, for so many years.258

Indeed, will anyone worship Juno’s power from now on,259

or place offerings, humbly, on her altars?’260

BkI:50-80 Juno Asks Aeolus for Help261

So debating with herself, her heart inflamed, the goddess262

came to Aeolia, to the country of storms, the place263

of wild gales. Here in his vast cave, King Aeolus,264

keeps the writhing winds, and the roaring tempests,265

under control, curbs them with chains and imprisonment.266

They moan angrily at the doors, with a mountain’s vast murmurs:267

Aeolus sits, holding his sceptre, in his high stronghold,268

softening their passions, tempering their rage: if not,269

they’d surely carry off seas and lands and the highest heavens, 270

with them, in rapid flight, and sweep them through the air.271

But the all-powerful Father, fearing this, hid them272

in dark caves, and piled a high mountain mass over them273

and gave them a king, who by fixed agreement, would know274

how to give the order to tighten or slacken the reins. 275

Juno now offered these words to him, humbly:276

‘Aeolus, since the Father of gods, and king of men,277

gave you the power to quell, and raise, the waves with the winds,278

there is a people I hate sailing the Tyrrhenian Sea,279

bringing Troy’s conquered gods to Italy:280

Add power to the winds, and sink their wrecked boats,281

or drive them apart, and scatter their bodies over the sea.282

I have fourteen Nymphs of outstanding beauty:283

of whom I’ll name Deiopea, the loveliest in looks,284

joined in eternal marriage, and yours for ever, so that, 285

for such service to me as yours, she’ll spend all her years286

with you, and make you the father of lovely children.’287

Aeolus replied: ‘Your task, O queen, is to decide288

what you wish: my duty is to fulfil your orders. 289

You brought about all this kingdom of mine, the sceptre,290

Jove’s favour, you gave me a seat at the feasts of the gods,291

and you made me lord of the storms and the tempests.’292

BkI:81-123 Aeolus Raises the Storm293

When he had spoken, he reversed his trident and struck294

the hollow mountain on the side: and the winds, formed ranks,295

rushed out by the door he’d made, and whirled across the earth.296

They settle on the sea, East and West wind, 297

and the wind from Africa, together, thick with storms, 298

stir it all from its furthest deeps, and roll vast waves to shore:299

follows a cry of men and a creaking of cables.300

Suddenly clouds take sky and day away301

from the Trojan’s eyes: dark night rests on the sea.302

It thunders from the pole, and the aether flashes thick fire,303

and all things threaten immediate death to men.304

Instantly Aeneas groans, his limbs slack with cold:305

stretching his two hands towards the heavens,306

he cries out in this voice: ‘Oh, three, four times fortunate307

were those who chanced to die in front of their father’s eyes308

under Troy’s high walls! O Diomede, son of Tydeus309

bravest of Greeks! Why could I not have fallen, at your hand, 310

in the fields of Ilium, and poured out my spirit, 311

where fierce Hector lies, beneath Achilles’s spear,312

and mighty Sarpedon: where Simois rolls, and sweeps away313

so many shields, helmets, brave bodies, of men, in its waves!’314

Hurling these words out, a howling blast from the north,315

strikes square on the sail, and lifts the seas to heaven:316

the oars break: then the prow swings round and offers317

the beam to the waves: a steep mountain of water follows in a mass.318

Some ships hang on the breaker’s crest: to others the yawning deep319

shows land between the waves: the surge rages with sand.320

The south wind catches three, and whirls them onto hidden rocks321

(rocks the Italians call the Altars, in mid-ocean,322

a vast reef on the surface of the sea) three the east wind drives323

from the deep, to the shallows and quick-sands (a pitiful sight),324

dashes them against the bottom, covers them with a gravel mound.325

A huge wave, toppling, strikes one astern, in front of his very eyes,326

one carrying faithful Orontes and the Lycians. 327

The steersman’s thrown out and hurled headlong, face down:328

but the sea turns the ship three times, driving her round,329

in place, and the swift vortex swallows her in the deep.330

Swimmers appear here and there in the vast waste,331

men’s weapons, planking, Trojan treasure in the waves.332

Now the storm conquers Iloneus’s tough ship, now Achates,333

now that in which Abas sailed, and old Aletes’s:334

their timbers sprung in their sides, all the ships335

let in the hostile tide, and split open at the seams.336

BkI:124-156 Neptune Intervenes337

Neptune, meanwhile, greatly troubled, saw that the sea338

was churned with vast murmur, and the storm was loose339

and the still waters welled from their deepest levels:340

he raised his calm face from the waves, gazing over the deep.341

He sees Aeneas’s fleet scattered all over the ocean,342

the Trojans crushed by the breakers, and the plummeting sky.343

And Juno’s anger, and her stratagems, do not escape her brother.344

He calls the East and West winds to him, and then says:345

‘Does confidence in your birth fill you so? Winds, do you dare,346

without my intent, to mix earth with sky, and cause such trouble,347

now? You whom I – ! But it’s better to calm the running waves:348

you’ll answer to me later for this misfortune, with a different punishment. Hurry, fly now, and say this to your king:349

control of the ocean, and the fierce trident, were given to me,350

by lot, and not to him. He owns the wild rocks, home to you,351

and yours, East Wind: let Aeolus officiate in his palace,352

and be king in the closed prison of the winds.’353

So he speaks, and swifter than his speech, he calms the swollen sea,354

scatters the gathered cloud, and brings back the sun.355

Cymothoë and Triton, working together, thrust the ships356

from the sharp reef: Neptune himself raises them with his trident,357

parts the vast quicksand, tempers the flood,358

and glides on weightless wheels, over the tops of the waves.359

As often, when rebellion breaks out in a great nation,360

and the common rabble rage with passion, and soon stones361

and fiery torches fly (frenzy supplying weapons),362

if they then see a man of great virtue, and weighty service,363

they are silent, and stand there listening attentively:364

he sways their passions with his words and soothes their hearts:365

so all the uproar of the ocean died, as soon as their father,366

gazing over the water, carried through the clear sky, wheeled367

his horses, and gave them their head, flying behind in his chariot.368

BkI:157-222 Shelter on the Libyan Coast369

The weary followers of Aeneas made efforts to set a course370

for the nearest land, and tacked towards the Libyan coast.371

There is a place there in a deep inlet: an island forms a harbour372

with the barrier of its bulk, on which every wave from the deep373

breaks, and divides into diminishing ripples.374

On this side and that, vast cliffs and twin crags loom in the sky,375

under whose summits the whole sea is calm, far and wide:376

then, above that, is a scene of glittering woods, 377

and a dark grove overhangs the water, with leafy shade:378

under the headland opposite is a cave, curtained with rock,379

inside it, fresh water, and seats of natural stone,380

the home of Nymphs. No hawsers moor the weary ships381

here, no anchor, with its hooked flukes, fastens them.382

Aeneas takes shelter here with seven ships gathered383

from the fleet, and the Trojans, with a passion for dry land,384

disembarking, take possession of the sands they longed for, 385

and stretch their brine-caked bodies on the shore.386

At once Achates strikes a spark from his flint,387

catches the fire in the leaves, places dry fuel round it,388

and quickly has flames among the kindling.389

Then, wearied by events, they take out wheat, damaged390

by the sea, and implements of Ceres, and prepare to parch391

the grain over the flames, and grind it on stone.392

Aeneas climbs a crag meanwhile, and searches the whole prospect393

far and wide over the sea, looking if he can see anything394

of Antheus and his storm-tossed Phrygian galleys,395

or Capys, or Caicus’s arms blazoned on a high stern. 396

There’s no ship in sight: he sees three stags wandering397

on the shore: whole herds of deer follow at their back,398

and graze in long lines along the valley.399

He halts at this, and grasps in his hand his bow 400

and swift arrows, shafts that loyal Achates carries,401

and first he shoots the leaders themselves, their heads,402

with branching antlers, held high, then the mass, with his shafts,403

and drives the whole crowd in confusion among the leaves:404

The conqueror does not stop until he’s scattered seven huge405

carcasses on the ground, equal in number to his ships.406

Then he seeks the harbour, and divides them among all his friends.407

Next he shares out the wine that the good Acestes had stowed408

in jars, on the Trinacrian coast, and that hero had given them409

on leaving: and speaking to them, calmed their sad hearts:410

‘O friends (well, we were not unknown to trouble before)411

O you who’ve endured worse, the god will grant an end to this too.412

You’ve faced rabid Scylla, and her deep-sounding cliffs:413

and you’ve experienced the Cyclopes’s rocks:414

remember your courage and chase away gloomy fears:415

perhaps one day you’ll even delight in remembering this.416

Through all these misfortunes, these dangerous times,417

we head for Latium, where the fates hold peaceful lives418

for us: there Troy’s kingdom can rise again. Endure,419

and preserve yourselves for happier days.’420

So his voice utters, and sick with the weight of care, he pretends421

hope, in his look, and stifles the pain deep in his heart.422

They make ready the game, and the future feast:423

they flay the hides from the ribs and lay the flesh bare:424

some cut it in pieces, quivering, and fix it on spits,425

others place cauldrons on the beach, and feed them with flames.426

Then they revive their strength with food, stretched on the grass,427

and fill themselves with rich venison and old wine.428

When hunger is quenched by the feast, and the remnants cleared,429

deep in conversation, they discuss their missing friends, 430

and, between hope and fear, question whether they live,431

or whether they’ve suffered death and no longer hear their name.432

Aeneas, the virtuous, above all mourns the lot of fierce Orontes,433

then that of Amycus, together with Lycus’s cruel fate, 434

and those of brave Gyus, and brave Cloanthus.435

BkI:223-256 Venus Intercedes with Jupiter436

Now, all was complete, when Jupiter, from the heights of the air,437

looked down on the sea with its flying sails, and the broad lands,438

and the coasts, and the people far and wide, and paused, 439

at the summit of heaven, and fixed his eyes on the Libyan kingdom.440

And as he weighed such cares as he had in his heart, Venus spoke441

to him, sadder still, her bright eyes brimming with tears:442

‘Oh you who rule things human, and divine, with eternal law,443

and who terrify them all with your lightning-bolt,444

what can my Aeneas have done to you that’s so serious,445

what have the Trojans done, who’ve suffered so much destruction,446

to whom the whole world’s closed, because of the Italian lands?447

Surely you promised that at some point, as the years rolled by,448

the Romans would rise from them, leaders would rise,449

restored from Teucer’s blood, who would hold power450

over the sea, and all the lands. Father, what thought has changed451

your mind? It consoled me for the fall of Troy, and its sad ruin,452

weighing one destiny, indeed, against opposing destinies:453

now the same misfortune follows these men driven on by such454

disasters. Great king, what end to their efforts will you give?455

Antenor could escape through the thick of the Greek army,456

and safely enter the Illyrian gulfs, and deep into the realms457

of the Liburnians, and pass the founts of Timavus,458

from which the river bursts, with a huge mountainous roar,459

through nine mouths, and buries the fields under its noisy flood.460

Here, nonetheless, he sited the city of Padua, and homes461

for Teucrians, and gave the people a name, and hung up462

the arms of Troy: now he’s calmly settled, in tranquil peace.463

But we, your race, to whom you permit the heights of heaven,464

lose our ships (shameful!), betrayed, because of one person’s anger,465

and kept far away from the shores of Italy.466

Is this the prize for virtue? Is this how you restore our rule?467

The father of men and gods, smiled at her with that look468

with which he clears the sky of storms,469

kissed his daughter’s lips, and then said this:470

BkI:257-296 Jupiter’s Prophecy471

‘Don’t be afraid, Cytherea, your child’s fate remains unaltered:472

You’ll see the city of Lavinium, and the walls I promised,473

and you’ll raise great-hearted Aeneas high, to the starry sky:474

No thought has changed my mind. This son of yours475

(since this trouble gnaws at my heart, I’ll speak,476

and unroll the secret scroll of destiny)477

will wage a mighty war in Italy, destroy proud peoples,478

and establish laws, and city walls, for his warriors,479

until a third summer sees his reign in Latium, and 480

three winter camps pass since the Rutulians were beaten.481

But the boy Ascanius, surnamed Iulus now (He was Ilus482

while the Ilian kingdom was a reality) will imperially483

complete thirty great circles of the turning months,484

and transfer his throne from its site at Lavinium,485

and mighty in power, will build the walls of Alba Longa.486

Here kings of Hector’s race will reign now 487

for three hundred years complete, until a royal priestess,488

Ilia, heavy with child, shall bear Mars twins.489

Then Romulus will further the race, proud in his nurse490

the she-wolf’s tawny pelt, and found the walls of Mars,491

and call the people Romans, from his own name.492

I’ve fixed no limits or duration to their possessions:493

I’ve given them empire without end. Why, harsh Juno494

who now torments land, and sea and sky with fear,495

will respond to better judgement, and favour the Romans,496

masters of the world, and people of the toga, with me.497

So it is decreed. A time will come, as the years glide by,498

when the Trojan house of Assaracus will force Phthia499

into slavery, and be lords of beaten Argos. 500

From this glorious source a Trojan Caesar will be born,501

who will bound the empire with Ocean, his fame with the stars,502

Augustus, a Julius, his name descended from the great Iulus.503

You, no longer anxious, will receive him one day in heaven,504

burdened with Eastern spoils: he’ll be called to in prayer.505

Then with wars abandoned, the harsh ages will grow mild:506

White haired Trust, and Vesta, Quirinus with his brother Remus507

will make the laws: the gates of War, grim with iron, 508

and narrowed by bars, will be closed: inside impious Rage will roar509

frighteningly from blood-stained mouth, seated on savage weapons,510

hands tied behind his back, with a hundred knots of bronze.’511

BkI:297-371 Venus Speaks to Aeneas512

Saying this, he sends Mercury, Maia’s son, down from heaven,513

so that the country and strongholds of this new Carthage 514

would open to the Trojans, as guests, and Dido, unaware of fate, 515

would not keep them from her territory. He flies through the air516

with a beating of mighty wings and quickly lands on Libyan shore.517

And soon does as commanded, and the Phoenicians set aside518

their savage instincts, by the god’s will: the queen above all 519

adopts calm feelings, and kind thoughts, towards the Trojans.520

But Aeneas, the virtuous, turning things over all night,521

decides, as soon as kindly dawn appears, to go out522

and explore the place, to find what shores he has reached,523

on the wind, who owns them (since he sees desert) 524

man or beast, and bring back the details to his friends. 525

He conceals the boats in over-hanging woods526

under an arching cliff, enclosed by trees527

and leafy shadows: accompanied only by Achetes,528

he goes, swinging two broad-bladed spears in his hand.529

His mother met him herself, among the trees, with the face530

and appearance of a virgin, and a virgin’s weapons,531

a Spartan girl, or such as Harpalyce of Thrace, 532

who wearies horses, and outdoes winged Hebrus in flight.533

For she’d slung her bow from her shoulders, at the ready,534

like a huntress, and loosed her hair for the wind to scatter,535

her knees bare, and her flowing tunic gathered up in a knot.536

And she cried first: ‘Hello, you young men, tell me, 537

if you’ve seen my sister wandering here by any chance,538

wearing a quiver, and the hide of a dappled lynx,539

or shouting, hot on the track of a slavering boar?’540

So Venus: and so Venus’s son began in answer:541

‘I’ve not seen or heard any of your sisters, O Virgin –542

or how should I name you? Since your looks are not mortal543

and your voice is more than human: oh, a goddess for certain!544

Or Phoebus’s sister? Or one of the race of Nymphs?545

Be kind, whoever you may be, and lighten our labour,546

and tell us only what sky we’re under, and what shores547

we’ve landed on: we’re adrift here, driven by wind and vast seas,548

knowing nothing of the people or the country:549

many a sacrifice to you will fall at the altars, under our hand.’550

Then Venus said: ‘I don’t think myself worthy of such honours:551

it’s the custom of Tyrian girls to carry a quiver, 552

and lace our calves high up, over red hunting boots. 553

You see the kingdom of Carthage, Tyrians, Agenor’s city:554

but bordered by Libyans, a people formidable in war.555

Dido rules this empire, having set out from Tyre,556

fleeing her brother. It’s a long tale of wrong, with many557

windings: but I’ll trace the main chapters of the story.558

Sychaeus was her husband, wealthiest, in land, of Phoenicians559

and loved with a great love by the wretched girl, 560

whose father gave her as a virgin to him, and wed them561

with great solemnity. But her brother Pygmalion, savage562

in wickedness beyond all others, held the kingdom of Tyre. 563

Madness came between them. The king, blinded by greed for gold,564

killed the unwary Sychaeus, secretly, with a knife, impiously,565

in front of the altars, indifferent to his sister’s affections. 566

He concealed his actions for a while, deceived the lovesick girl,567

with empty hopes, and many evil pretences.568

But the ghost of her unburied husband came to her in dream:569

lifting his pale head in a strange manner, he laid bare the cruelty570

at the altars, and his heart pierced by the knife,571

and unveiled all the secret wickedness of that house.572

Then he urged her to leave quickly and abandon her country,573

and, to help her journey, revealed an ancient treasure574

under the earth, an unknown weight of gold and silver.575

Shaken by all this, Dido prepared her flight and her friends.576

Those who had fierce hatred of the tyrant or bitter fear,577

gathered together: they seized some ships that by chance578

were ready, and loaded the gold: greedy Pygmalion’s riches579

are carried overseas: a woman leads the enterprise.580

The came to this place, and bought land, where you now see581

the vast walls, and resurgent stronghold, of new Carthage,582

as much as they could enclose with the strips of hide583

from a single bull, and from that they called it Byrsa.584

But who then are you? What shores do you come from?585

What course do you take?’ He sighed as she questioned him,586

and drawing the words from deep in his heart he replied:587

BkI:372-417 She Directs Him to Dido’s Palace588

‘O goddess, if I were to start my tale at the very beginning, 589

and you had time to hear the story of our misfortunes,590

Vesper would have shut day away in the closed heavens.591

A storm drove us at whim to Libya’s shores, 592

sailing the many seas from ancient Troy, 593

if by chance the name of Troy has come to your hearing.594

I am that Aeneas, the virtuous, who carries my household gods595

in my ship with me, having snatched them from the enemy, 596

my name is known beyond the sky.597

I seek my country Italy, and a people born of Jupiter on high.598

I embarked on the Phrygian sea with twenty ships,599

following my given fate, my mother, a goddess, showing the way:600

barely seven are left, wrenched from the wind and waves.601

I myself wander, destitute and unknown, in the Libyan desert,602

driven from Europe and Asia.’ Venus did not wait603

for further complaint but broke in on his lament like this:604

‘Whoever you are I don’t think you draw the breath of life605

while hated by the gods, you who’ve reached a city of Tyre.606

Only go on from here, and take yourself to the queen’s threshold,607

since I bring you news that your friends are restored,608

and your ships recalled, driven to safety by the shifting winds,609

unless my parents taught me false prophecies, in vain.610

See, those twelve swans in exultant line, that an eagle,611

Jupiter’s bird, swooping from the heavens,612

was troubling in the clear sky: now, in a long file, they seem613

to have settled, or be gazing down now at those who already have.614

As, returning, their wings beat in play, and they circle the zenith615

in a crowd, and give their cry, so your ships and your people616

are in harbour, or near its entrance under full sail.617

Only go on, turn your steps where the path takes you.’618

She spoke, and turning away she reflected the light 619

from her rose-tinted neck, and breathed a divine perfume620

from her ambrosial hair: her robes trailed down to her feet,621

and, in her step, showed her a true goddess. He recognised622

his mother, and as she vanished followed her with his voice:623

‘You too are cruel, why do you taunt your son with false624

phantoms? Why am I not allowed to join hand625

with hand, and speak and hear true words?’626

So he accuses her, and turns his steps towards the city.627

But Venus veiled them with a dark mist as they walked,628

and, as a goddess, spread a thick covering of cloud around them,629

so that no one could see them, or touch them,630

or cause them delay, or ask them where they were going.631

She herself soars high in the air, to Paphos, and returns to her home632

with delight, where her temple and its hundred altars 633

steam with Sabean incense, fragrant with fresh garlands.634

BkI:418-463 The Temple of Juno635

Meanwhile they’ve tackled the route the path revealed.636

And soon they climbed the hill that looms high over the city,637

and looks down from above on the towers that face it.638

Aeneas marvels at the mass of buildings, once huts,639

marvels at the gates, the noise, the paved roads.640

The eager Tyrians are busy, some building walls,641

and raising the citadel, rolling up stones by hand,642

some choosing the site for a house, and marking a furrow:643

they make magistrates and laws, and a sacred senate:644

here some are digging a harbour: others lay down 645

the deep foundations of a theatre, and carve huge columns646

from the cliff, tall adornments for the future stage.647

Just as bees in early summer carry out their tasks 648

among the flowery fields, in the sun, when they lead out649

the adolescent young of their race, or cram the cells650

with liquid honey, and swell them with sweet nectar,651

or receive the incoming burdens, or forming lines652

drive the lazy herd of drones from their hives:653

the work glows, and the fragrant honey’s sweet with thyme.654

‘O fortunate those whose walls already rise!’655

Aeneas cries, and admires the summits of the city.656

He enters among them, veiled in mist (marvellous to tell)657

and mingles with the people seen by no one.658

There was a grove in the centre of the city, delightful659

with shade, where the wave and storm-tossed Phoenicians660

first uncovered the head of a fierce horse, that regal Juno661

showed them: so the race would be noted in war, 662

and rich in substance throughout the ages.663

Here Sidonian Dido was establishing a great temple664

to Juno, rich with gifts and divine presence,665

with bronze entrances rising from stairways, and beams666

jointed with bronze, and hinges creaking on bronze doors.667

Here in the grove something new appeared that calmed his fears668

for the first time, here for the first time Aeneas dared to hope669

for safety, and to put greater trust in his afflicted fortunes.670

While, waiting for the queen, in the vast temple, he looks671

at each thing: while he marvels at the city’s wealth,672

the skill of their artistry, and the products of their labours,673

he sees the battles at Troy in their correct order,674

the War, known through its fame to the whole world,675

the sons of Atreus, of Priam, and Achilles angered with both.676

He halted, and said, with tears: ‘What place is there,677

Achates, what region of earth not full of our hardships?678

See, Priam! Here too virtue has its rewards, here too679

there are tears for events, and mortal things touch the heart.680

Lose your fears: this fame will bring you benefit.’681

BkI:464-493 The Frieze682

So he speaks, and feeds his spirit with the insubstantial frieze,683

sighing often, and his face wet with the streaming tears.684

For he saw how, here, the Greeks fled, as they fought round Troy,685

chased by the Trojan youth, and, there, the Trojans fled,686

with plumed Achilles pressing them close in his chariot.687

Not far away, through his tears, he recognises Rhesus’s688

white-canvassed tents, that blood-stained Diomede, Tydeus’s son,689

laid waste with great slaughter, betrayed in their first sleep,690

diverting the fiery horses to his camp, before they could eat691

Trojan fodder, or drink from the river Xanthus.692

Elsewhere Troilus, his weapons discarded in flight,693

unhappy boy, unequally matched in his battle with Achilles,694

is dragged by his horses, clinging face-up to the empty chariot,695

still clutching the reins: his neck and hair trailing696

on the ground, and his spear reversed furrowing the dust.697

Meanwhile the Trojan women with loose hair, walked698

to unjust Pallas’s temple carrying the sacred robe,699

mourning humbly, and beating their breasts with their hands.700

The goddess was turned away, her eyes fixed on the ground.701

Three times had Achilles dragged Hector round the walls of Troy,702

and now was selling the lifeless corpse for gold.703

Then Aeneas truly heaves a deep sigh, from the depths of his heart,704

as he views the spoils, the chariot, the very body of his friend,705

and Priam stretching out his unwarlike hands.706

He recognised himself as well, fighting the Greek princes,707

and the Ethiopian ranks and black Memnon’s armour.708

Raging Penthesilea leads the file of Amazons, 709

with crescent shields, and shines out among her thousands, 710

her golden girdle fastened beneath her exposed breasts,711

a virgin warrior daring to fight with men. 712

BkI:494-519 The Arrival of Queen Dido713

While these wonderful sights are viewed by Trojan Aeneas,714

while amazed he hangs there, rapt, with fixed gaze,715

Queen Dido, of loveliest form, reached the temple,716

with a great crowd of youths accompanying her.717

Just as Diana leads her dancing throng on Eurotas’s banks,718

or along the ridges of Cynthus, and, following her,719

a thousand mountain-nymphs gather on either side:720

and she carries a quiver on her shoulder, and overtops721

all the other goddesses as she walks: and delight722

seizes her mother Latona’s silent heart:723

such was Dido, so she carried herself, joyfully,724

amongst them, furthering the work, and her rising kingdom.725

Then, fenced with weapons, and resting on a high throne,726

she took her seat, at the goddess’s doorway, under the central vault.727

She was giving out laws and statutes to the people, and sharing728

the workers labour out in fair proportions, or assigning it by lot:729

when Aeneas suddenly saw Antheus, and Sergestus, 730

and brave Cloanthus, approaching, among a large crowd,731

with others of the Trojans whom the black storm-clouds732

had scattered over the sea and carried far off to other shores. 733

He was stunned, and Achates was stunned as well734

with joy and fear: they burned with eagerness to clasp hands,735

but the unexpected event confused their minds.736

They stay concealed and, veiled in the deep mist, they watch737

to see what happens to their friends, what shore they have left 738

the fleet on, and why they are here: the elect of every ship came739

begging favour, and made for the temple among the shouting. 740

BkI:520-560 Ilioneus Asks Her Assistance741

When they’d entered, and freedom to speak in person742

had been granted, Ilioneus, the eldest, began calmly:743

‘O queen, whom Jupiter grants the right to found744

a new city, and curb proud tribes with your justice, 745

we unlucky Trojans, driven by the winds over every sea,746

pray to you: keep the terror of fire away from our ships,747

spare a virtuous race and look more kindly on our fate.748

We have not come to despoil Libyan homes with the sword,749

or to carry off stolen plunder to the shore: that violence750

is not in our minds, the conquered have not such pride.751

There’s a place called Hesperia by the Greeks,752

an ancient land, strong in men, with a rich soil:753

There the Oenotrians lived: now rumour has it 754

that a later people has called it Italy, after their leader.755

We had set our course there when stormy Orion,756

rising with the tide, carried us onto hidden shoals,757

and fierce winds scattered us far, with the overwhelming surge,758

over the waves among uninhabitable rocks:759

we few have drifted here to your shores.760

What race of men is this? What land is so barbaric as to allow761

this custom, that we’re denied the hospitality of the sands?762

They stir up war, and prevent us setting foot on dry land.763

If you despise the human race and mortal weapons,764

still trust that the gods remember right and wrong.765

Aeneas was our king, no one more just than him766

in his duty, or greater in war and weaponry.767

If fate still protects the man, if he still enjoys the ethereal air,768

if he doesn’t yet rest among the cruel shades, there’s nothing769

to fear, and you’d not repent of vying with him first in kindness.770

Then there are cities and fields too in the region of Sicily, 771

and famous Acestes, of Trojan blood. Allow us772

to beach our fleet, damaged by the storms,773

and cut planks from trees, and shape oars,774

so if our king’s restored and our friends are found775

we can head for Italy, gladly seek Italy and Latium:776

and if our saviour’s lost, and the Libyan seas hold you,777

Troy’s most virtuous father, if no hope now remains from Iulus,778

let us seek the Sicilian straits, from which we were driven,779

and the home prepared for us, and a king, Acestes.’780

So Ilioneus spoke: and the Trojans all shouted with one voice. 781

BkI:561-585 Dido Welcomes the Trojans782

Then, Dido, spoke briefly, with lowered eyes:783

‘Trojans, free your hearts of fear: dispel your cares.784

Harsh events and the newness of the kingdom force me to effect785

such things, and protect my borders with guards on all sides.786

Who doesn’t know of Aeneas’s race, and the city of Troy,787

the bravery, the men, or so great a blaze of warfare,788

indeed, we Phoenicians don’t possess unfeeling hearts,789

the sun doesn’t harness his horses that far from this Tyrian city.790

Whether you opt for mighty Hesperia, and Saturn’s fields,791

or the summit of Eryx, and Acestes for king,792

I’ll see you safely escorted, and help you with my wealth.793

Or do you wish to settle here with me, as equals in my kingdom?794

The city I build is yours: beach your ships:795

Trojans and Tyrians will be treated by me without distinction.796

I wish your king Aeneas himself were here, driven797

by that same storm! Indeed, I’ll send reliable men798

along the coast, and order them to travel the length of Libya,799

in case he’s driven aground, and wandering the woods and towns.’800

Brave Achetes, and our forefather Aeneas, their spirits raised801

by these words, had been burning to break free of the mist.802

Achates was first to speak, saying to Aeneas: ‘Son of the goddess,803

what intention springs to your mind? You see all’s safe,804

the fleet and our friends have been restored to us.805

Only one is missing, whom we saw plunged in the waves:806

all else is in accord with your mother’s words.’807

BkI:586-612 Aeneas Makes Himself Known808

He’d scarcely spoken when the mist surrounding them809

suddenly parted, and vanished in the clear air.810

Aeneas stood there, shining in the bright daylight,811

like a god in shoulders and face: since his mother812

had herself imparted to her son beauty to his hair,813

a glow of youth, and a joyful charm to his eyes:814

like the glory art can give to ivory, or as when silver,815

or Parian marble, is surrounded by gold.816

Then he addressed the queen, suddenly, surprising them all,817

saying: ‘I am here in person, Aeneas the Trojan,818

him whom you seek, saved from the Libyan waves. 819

O Dido, it is not in our power, nor those of our Trojan race,820

wherever they may be, scattered through the wide world,821

to pay you sufficient thanks, you who alone have pitied822

Troy’s unspeakable miseries, and share your city and home823

with us, the remnant left by the Greeks, wearied824

by every mischance, on land and sea, and lacking everything.825

May the gods, and the mind itself conscious of right,826

bring you a just reward, if the gods respect the virtuous,827

if there is justice anywhere. What happy age gave birth828

to you? What parents produced such a child?829

Your honour, name and praise will endure forever,830

whatever lands may summon me, while rivers run831

to the sea, while shadows cross mountain slopes, 832

while the sky nourishes the stars.’ So saying he grasps833

his friend Iloneus by the right hand, Serestus with the left,834

then others, brave Gyus and brave Cloanthus.835

BkI:613-656 Dido Receives Aeneas836

Sidonian Dido was first amazed at the hero’s looks837

then at his great misfortunes, and she spoke, saying:838

‘Son of a goddess, what fate pursues you through all839

these dangers? What force drives you to these barbarous shores?840

Are you truly that Aeneas whom kindly Venus bore841

to Trojan Anchises, by the waters of Phrygian Simois?842

Indeed, I myself remember Teucer coming to Sidon,843

exiled from his country’s borders, seeking a new kingdom844

with Belus’s help: Belus, my father, was laying waste845

rich Cyprus, and, as victor, held it by his authority.846

Since then the fall of the Trojan city is known to me,847

and your name, and those of the Greek kings.848

Even their enemy granted the Teucrians high praise,849

maintaining they were born of the ancient Teucrian stock.850

So come, young lords, and enter our palace.851

Fortune, pursuing me too, through many similar troubles,852

willed that I would find peace at last in this land.853

Not being unknown to evil, I’ve learned to aid the unhappy.’854

So she speaks, and leads Aeneas into the royal house,855

and proclaims, as well, offerings at the god’s temples.856

She sends no less than twenty bulls to his friends857

on the shore, and a hundred of her largest pigs with 858

bristling backs, a hundred fat lambs with the ewes,859

and joyful gifts of wine, but the interior of the palace860

is laid out with royal luxury, and they prepare861

a feast in the centre of the palace: covers worked862

skilfully in princely purple, massive silverware863

on the tables, and her forefathers’ heroic deeds864

engraved in gold, a long series of exploits traced865

through many heroes, since the ancient origins of her people. 866

Aeneas quickly sends Achates to the ships867

to carry the news to Ascanius (since a father’s love868

won’t let his mind rest) and bring him to the city:869

on Ascanius all the care of a fond parent is fixed.870

He commands him to bring gifts too, snatched871

from the ruins of Troy, a figured robe stiff with gold,872

and a cloak fringed with yellow acanthus,873

worn by Helen of Argos, brought from Mycenae874

when she sailed to Troy and her unlawful marriage,875

a wonderful gift from her mother Leda:876

and the sceptre that Ilione, Priam’s eldest daughter,877

once carried, and a necklace of pearls, and a double-coronet878

of jewels and gold. Achates, hastening to fulfil879

these commands, took his way towards the ships.880

BkI:657-694 Cupid Impersonates Ascanius881

But Venus was planning new wiles and stratagems882

in her heart: how Cupid, altered in looks, might arrive883

in place of sweet Ascanius, and arouse the passionate queen884

by his gifts, and entwine the fire in her bones: truly she fears885

the unreliability of this house, and the duplicitous Tyrians:886

unyielding Juno angers her, and her worries increase with nightfall.887

So she speaks these words to winged Cupid:888

‘My son, you who alone are my great strength, my power, 889

a son who scorns mighty Jupiter’s Typhoean thunderbolts,890

I ask your help, and humbly call on your divine will.891

It’s known to you how Aeneas, your brother, is driven892

over the sea, round all the shores, by bitter Juno’s hatred,893

and you have often grieved with my grief.894

Phoenician Dido holds him there, delaying him with flattery, 895

and I fear what may come of Juno’s hospitality: 896

at such a critical turn of events she’ll not be idle.897

So I intend to deceive the queen with guile, and encircle898

her with passion, so that no divine will can rescue her,899

but she’ll be seized, with me, by deep love for Aeneas.900

Now listen to my thoughts on how you can achieve this.901

Summoned by his dear father, the royal child, 902

my greatest concern, prepares to go to the Sidonian city,903

carrying gifts that survived the sea, and the flames of Troy.904

I’ll lull him to sleep and hide him in my sacred shrine905

on the heights of Cythera or Idalium, so he can know906

nothing of my deceptions, or interrupt them mid-way.907

For no more than a single night imitate his looks by art,908

and, a boy yourself, take on the known face of a boy,909

so that when Dido takes you to her breast, joyfully,910

amongst the royal feast, and the flowing wine,911

when she embraces you, and plants sweet kisses on you,912

you’ll breathe hidden fire into her, deceive her with your poison.’913

Cupid obeys his dear mother’s words, sets aside his wings,914

and laughingly trips along with Iulus’s step.915

But Venus pours gentle sleep over Ascanius’s limbs,916

and warming him in her breast, carries him, with divine power,917

to Idalia’s high groves, where soft marjoram smothers him918

in flowers, and the breath of its sweet shade.919

BkI:695-722 Cupid Deceives Dido920

Now, obedient to her orders, delighting in Achetes as guide,921

Cupid goes off carrying royal gifts for the Tyrians.922

When he arrives the queen has already settled herself923

in the centre, on her golden couch under royal canopies.924

Now our forefather Aeneas and the youth of Troy925

gather there, and recline on cloths of purple.926

Servants pour water over their hands: serve bread 927

from baskets: and bring napkins of smooth cloth.928

Inside there are fifty female servants, in a long line,929

whose task it is to prepare the meal, and tend the hearth fires:930

a hundred more, and as many pages of like age,931

to load the tables with food, and fill the cups.932

And the Tyrians too are gathered in crowds through the festive933

halls, summoned to recline on the embroidered couches.934

They marvel at Aeneas’s gifts, marvel at Iulus,935

the god’s brilliant appearance, and deceptive words,936

at the robe, and the cloak embroidered with yellow acanthus.937

The unfortunate Phoenician above all, doomed to future ruin,938

cannot pacify her feelings, and catches fire with gazing,939

stirred equally by the child and by the gifts.940

He, having hung in an embrace round Aeneas’s neck,941

and sated the deceived father’s great love,942

seeks out the queen. Dido, clings to him with her eyes943

and with her heart, taking him now and then on her lap, 944

unaware how great a god is entering her, to her sorrow.945

But he, remembering his Cyprian mother’s wishes,946

begins gradually to erase all thought of Sychaeus, 947

and works at seducing her mind, so long unstirred,948

and her heart unused to love, with living passion.949

BkI:723-756 Dido Asks for Aeneas’s Story950

At the first lull in the feasting, the tables were cleared,951

and they set out vast bowls, and wreathed the wine with garlands.952

Noise filled the palace, and voices rolled out across the wide halls:953

bright lamps hung from the golden ceilings,954

and blazing candles dispelled the night.955

Then the queen asked for a drinking-cup, heavy956

with gold and jewels, that Belus and all Belus’s line957

were accustomed to use, and filled it958

with wine. Then the halls were silent. She spoke:959

‘Jupiter, since they say you’re the one who creates960

the laws of hospitality, let this be a happy day961

for the Tyrians and those from Troy,962

and let it be remembered by our children.963

Let Bacchus, the joy-bringer, and kind Juno be present,964

and you, O Phoenicians, make this gathering festive.’965

She spoke and poured an offering of wine onto the table,966

and after the libation was the first to touch the bowl to her lips,967

then she gave it to Bitias, challenging him: he briskly drained968

the brimming cup, drenching himself in its golden fullness, 969

then other princes drank. Iolas, the long-haired, made 970

his golden lyre resound, he whom great Atlas taught.971

He sang of the wandering moon and the sun’s labours,972

where men and beasts came from, and rain and fire,973

of Arcturus, the rainy Hyades, the two Bears:974

why the winter suns rush to dip themselves in the sea,975

and what delay makes the slow nights linger.976

The Tyrians redoubled their applause, the Trojans too.977

And unfortunate Dido, she too spent the night978

in conversation, and drank deep of her passion,979

asking endlessly about Priam and Hector:980

now about the armour that Memnon, son of the Dawn,981

came with to Troy, what kind were Diomed’s horses,982

how great was Achilles. ‘But come, my guest, tell us983

from the start all the Greek trickery, your men’s mishaps,984

and your wanderings: since it’s the seventh summer now985

that brings you here, in your journey, over every land and sea.’986

BkII:1-56 The Trojan Horse: Laocoön’s Warning987

They were all silent, and turned their faces towards him intently.988

Then from his high couch our forefather Aeneas began:989

‘O queen, you command me to renew unspeakable grief,990

how the Greeks destroyed the riches of Troy, 991

and the sorrowful kingdom, miseries I saw myself,992

and in which I played a great part. What Myrmidon,993

or Dolopian, or warrior of fierce Ulysses, could keep994

from tears in telling such a story? Now the dew-filled night995

is dropping from the sky, and the setting stars urge sleep.996

But if you have such desire to learn of our misfortunes,997

and briefly hear of Troy’s last agonies, though my mind998

shudders at the memory, and recoils in sorrow, I’ll begin.999

‘After many years have slipped by, the leaders of the Greeks,1000

opposed by the Fates, and damaged by the war, 1001

build a horse of mountainous size, through Pallas’s divine art,1002

and weave planks of fir over its ribs:1003

they pretend it’s a votive offering: this rumour spreads.1004

They secretly hide a picked body of men, chosen by lot,1005

there, in the dark body, filling the belly and the huge1006

cavernous insides with armed warriors. 1007

Tenedos is within sight, an island known to fame,1008

rich in wealth when Priam’s kingdom remained,1009

now just a bay and an unsafe anchorage for boats:1010

they sail there, and hide themselves, on the lonely shore.1011

We thought they had gone, and were seeking Mycenae1012

with the wind. So all the Trojan land was free of its long sorrow.1013

The gates were opened: it was a joy to go and see the Greek camp,1014

the deserted site and the abandoned shore.1015

Here the Dolopians stayed, here cruel Achilles,1016

here lay the fleet, here they used to meet us in battle.1017

Some were amazed at virgin Minerva’s fatal gift,1018

and marvel at the horse’s size: and at first Thymoetes, 1019

whether through treachery, or because Troy’s fate was certain,1020

urged that it be dragged inside the walls and placed on the citadel.1021

But Capys, and those of wiser judgement, commanded us1022

to either hurl this deceit of the Greeks, this suspect gift,1023

into the sea, or set fire to it from beneath,1024

or pierce its hollow belly, and probe for hiding places.1025

The crowd, uncertain, was split by opposing opinions.1026

Then Laocoön rushes down eagerly from the heights1027

of the citadel, to confront them all, a large crowd with him,1028

and shouts from far off: ‘O unhappy citizens, what madness?1029

Do you think the enemy’s sailed away? Or do you think1030

any Greek gift’s free of treachery? Is that Ulysses’s reputation?1031

Either there are Greeks in hiding, concealed by the wood,1032

or it’s been built as a machine to use against our walls,1033

or spy on our homes, or fall on the city from above,1034

or it hides some other trick: Trojans, don’t trust this horse.1035

Whatever it is, I’m afraid of Greeks even those bearing gifts.’1036

So saying he hurled his great spear, with extreme force,1037

at the creature’s side, and into the frame of the curved belly.1038

The spear stuck quivering, and at the womb’s reverberation1039

the cavity rang hollow and gave out a groan.1040

And if the gods’ fate, if our minds, had not been ill-omened,1041

he’d have incited us to mar the Greeks hiding-place with steel: 1042

Troy would still stand: and you, high tower of Priam would remain.1043

BkII:57-144 Sinon’s Tale1044

See, meanwhile, some Trojan shepherds, shouting loudly, 1045

dragging a youth, his hands tied behind his back, to the king. 1046

In order to contrive this, and lay Troy open to the Greeks,1047

he had placed himself in their path, calm in mind, and ready1048

for either course: to engage in deception, or find certain death. 1049

The Trojan youth run, crowding round, from all sides,1050

to see him, and compete in mocking the captive.1051

Listen now to Greek treachery, and learn of all their crimes1052

from just this one. Since, as he stood, looking troubled, 1053

unarmed, amongst the gazing crowd, 1054

and cast his eyes around the Phrygian ranks,1055

he said: ‘Ah! What land, what seas would accept me now?1056

What’s left for me at the last in my misery, I who have1057

no place among the Greeks, when the hostile Trojans,1058

themselves, demand my punishment and my blood?1059

At this the mood changed and all violence was checked.1060

We urged him to say what blood he was sprung from,1061

and why he suffered: and tell us what trust could be placed1062

in him as a captive. Setting fear aside at last he speaks:1063

“O king, I’ll tell you the whole truth, whatever happens,1064

and indeed I’ll not deny that I’m of Argive birth:1065

this first of all: if Fortune has made me wretched,1066

she’ll not also wrongly make me false and a liar.1067

If by any chance some mention of Palamedes’s name1068

has reached your ears, son of Belus, and talk1069

of his glorious fame, he whom the Pelasgians,1070

on false charges of treason, by atrocious perjury,1071

because he opposed the war, sent innocent to his death,1072

and who they mourn, now he’s taken from the light:1073

well my father, being poor, sent me here to the war1074

when I was young, as his friend, as we were blood relatives.1075

While Palamades was safe in power, and prospered1076

in the kings’ council, I also had some name and respect.1077

But when he passed from this world above, through1078

the jealousy of plausible Ulysses (the tale’s not unknown)1079

I was ruined, and spent my life in obscurity and grief,1080

inwardly angry at the fate of my innocent friend.1081

Maddened I could not be silent, and I promised, if chance allowed,1082

and if I ever returned as a victor to my native Argos, 1083

to avenge him, and with my words stirred bitter hatred.1084

The first hint of trouble came to me from this, because of it1085

Ulysses was always frightening me with new accusations,1086

spreading veiled rumours among the people, and guiltily1087

seeking to defend himself. He would not rest till, with Calchas1088

as his instrument – but why I do unfold this unwelcome story?1089

Why hinder you? If you consider all Greeks the same,1090

and that’s sufficient, take your vengeance now: that’s what1091

the Ithacan wants, and the sons of Atreus would pay dearly for.”1092

Then indeed we were on fire to ask, and seek the cause,1093

ignorant of such wickedness and Pelasgian trickery.1094

Trembling with fictitious feelings he continued, saying:1095

“The Greeks, weary with the long war, often longed1096

to leave Troy and execute a retreat: if only they had! 1097

Often a fierce storm from the sea land-locked them,1098

and the gale terrified them from leaving:1099

once that horse, made of maple-beams, stood there,1100

especially then, storm-clouds thundered in the sky. 1101

Anxious, we send Eurypylus to consult Phoebus’s oracle,1102

and he brings back these dark words from the sanctuary:1103

‘With blood, and a virgin sacrifice, you calmed the winds,1104

O Greeks, when you first came to these Trojan shores, seek your1105

return in blood, and the well-omened sacrifice of an Argive life.’1106

When this reached the ears of the crowd, their minds were stunned,1107

and an icy shudder ran to their deepest marrow:1108

who readies this fate, whom does Apollo choose? 1109

At this the Ithacan thrust the seer, Calchas, into their midst,1110

demanding to know what the god’s will might be,1111

among the uproar. Many were already cruelly prophesying 1112

that ingenious man’s wickedness towards me, and silently saw1113

what was coming. For ten days the seer kept silence, refusing1114

to reveal the secret by his words, or condemn anyone to death.1115

But at last, urged on by Ulysses’s loud clamour, he broke1116

into speech as agreed, and doomed me to the altar.1117

All acclaimed it, and what each feared himself, they endured1118

when directed, alas, towards one man’s destruction.1119

Now the terrible day arrived, the rites were being prepared1120

for me, the salted grain, and the headbands for my forehead.1121

I confess I saved myself from death, burst my bonds,1122

and all that night hid by a muddy lake among the reeds,1123

till they set sail, if as it happened they did.1124

And now I’ve no hope of seeing my old country again,1125

or my sweet children or the father I long for:1126

perhaps they’ll seek to punish them for my flight,1127

and avenge my crime through the death of these unfortunates.1128

But I beg you, by the gods, by divine power that knows the truth,1129

by whatever honour anywhere remains pure among men, have pity1130

on such troubles, pity the soul that endures undeserved suffering.” 1131

BkII:145-194 Sinon Deludes the Trojans1132

With these tears we grant him his life, and also pity him.1133

Priam himself is the first to order his manacles and tight bonds1134

removed, and speaks these words of kindness to him:1135

“From now on, whoever you are, forget the Greeks, lost to you:1136

you’ll be one of us. And explain to me truly what I ask: 1137

Why have they built this huge hulk of a horse? Who created it?1138

What do they aim at? What religious object or war machine is it?”1139

He spoke: the other, schooled in Pelasgian art and trickery,1140

raised his unbound palms towards the stars, saying:1141

“You, eternal fires, in your invulnerable power, be witness, 1142

you altars and impious swords I escaped,1143

you sacrificial ribbons of the gods that I wore as victim:1144

with right I break the Greek’s solemn oaths,1145

with right I hate them, and if things are hidden1146

bring them to light: I’m bound by no laws of their country.1147

Only, Troy, maintain your assurances, if I speak truth, if I repay1148

you handsomely: kept intact yourself, keep your promises intact.1149

All the hopes of the Greeks and their confidence to begin the war1150

always depended on Pallas’s aid. But from that moment1151

when the impious son of Tydeus, Diomede, and Ulysses1152

inventor of wickedness, approached the fateful Palladium to snatch1153

it from its sacred temple, killing the guards on the citadel’s heights,1154

and dared to seize the holy statue, and touch the sacred ribbons1155

of the goddess with blood-soaked hands: from that moment1156

the hopes of the Greeks receded, and slipping backwards ebbed:1157

their power fragmented, and the mind of the goddess opposed them.1158

Pallas gave sign of this, and not with dubious portents,1159

for scarcely was the statue set up in camp, when glittering flames1160

shone from the upturned eyes, a salt sweat ran over its limbs, 1161

and (wonderful to tell) she herself darted from the ground1162

with shield on her arm, and spear quivering. 1163

Calchas immediately proclaimed that the flight by sea must be1164

attempted, and that Troy cannot be uprooted by Argive weapons,1165

unless they renew the omens at Argos, and take the goddess home,1166

whom they have indeed taken by sea in their curved ships.1167

And now they are heading for their native Mycenae with the wind,1168

obtaining weapons and the friendship of the gods, re-crossing 1169

the sea to arrive unexpectedly, So Calchas reads the omens. 1170

Warned by him, they’ve set up this statue of a horse1171

for the wounded goddess, instead of the Palladium,1172

to atone severely for their sin. And Calchas ordered them1173

to raise the huge mass of woven timbers, raised to the sky,1174

so the gates would not take it, nor could it be dragged1175

inside the walls, or watch over the people in their ancient rites.1176

Since if your hands violated Minerva’s gift,1177

then utter ruin (may the gods first turn that prediction1178

on themselves!) would come to Priam and the Trojans:1179

yet if it ascended into your citadel, dragged by your hands,1180

Asia would come to the very walls of Pelops, in mighty war,1181

and a like fate would await our children.”1182

BkII:195-227 Laocoön and the Serpents1183

Through these tricks and the skill of perjured Sinon, the thing was1184

credited, and we were trapped, by his wiliness, and false tears,1185

we, who were not conquered by Diomede, or Larissan Achilles,1186

nor by the ten years of war, nor those thousand ships.1187

Then something greater and more terrible befalls1188

us wretches, and stirs our unsuspecting souls.1189

Laocoön, chosen by lot as priest of Neptune,1190

was sacrificing a huge bull at the customary altar.1191

See, a pair of serpents with huge coils, snaking over the sea1192

from Tenedos through the tranquil deep (I shudder to tell it),1193

and heading for the shore side by side: their fronts lift high1194

over the tide, and their blood-red crests top the waves,1195

the rest of their body slides through the ocean behind, 1196

and their huge backs arch in voluminous folds.1197

There’s a roar from the foaming sea: now they reach the shore,1198

and with burning eyes suffused with blood and fire,1199

lick at their hissing jaws with flickering tongues.1200

Blanching at the sight we scatter. They move1201

on a set course towards Laocoön: and first each serpent 1202

entwines the slender bodies of his two sons,1203

and biting at them, devours their wretched limbs:1204

then as he comes to their aid, weapons in hand, they seize him too,1205

and wreathe him in massive coils: now encircling his waist twice,1206

twice winding their scaly folds around his throat, 1207

their high necks and heads tower above him.1208

He strains to burst the knots with his hands,1209

his sacred headband drenched in blood and dark venom,1210

while he sends terrible shouts up to the heavens,1211

like the bellowing of a bull that has fled wounded,1212

from the altar, shaking the useless axe from its neck.1213

But the serpent pair escape, slithering away to the high temple,1214

and seek the stronghold of fierce Pallas, to hide there1215

under the goddess’s feet, and the circle of her shield.1216

BkII:228-253 The Horse Enters Troy1217

Then in truth a strange terror steals through each shuddering heart,1218

and they say that Laocoön has justly suffered for his crime1219

in wounding the sacred oak-tree with his spear,1220

by hurling its wicked shaft into the trunk.1221

“Pull the statue to her house”, they shout,1222

“and offer prayers to the goddess’s divinity.”1223

We breached the wall, and opened up the defences of the city.1224

All prepare themselves for the work and they set up wheels1225

allowing movement under its feet, and stretch hemp ropes1226

round its neck. That engine of fate mounts our walls1227

pregnant with armed men. Around it boys, and virgin girls,1228

sing sacred songs, and delight in touching their hands to the ropes:1229

Up it glides and rolls threateningly into the midst of the city.1230

O my country, O Ilium house of the gods, and you,1231

Trojan walls famous in war! Four times it sticks at the threshold1232

of the gates, and four times the weapons clash in its belly:1233

yet we press on regardless, blind with frenzy,1234

and site the accursed creature on top of our sacred citadel.1235

Even then Cassandra, who, by the god’s decree, is never 1236

to be believed by Trojans, reveals our future fate with her lips.1237

We unfortunate ones, for whom that day is our last, 1238

clothe the gods’ temples, throughout the city, with festive branches.1239

Meanwhile the heavens turn, and night rushes from the Ocean,1240

wrapping the earth, and sky, and the Myrmidons’ tricks, 1241

in its vast shadow: through the city the Trojans1242

fall silent: sleep enfolds their weary limbs.1243

BkII:254-297 The Greeks Take the City1244

And now the Greek phalanx of battle-ready ships sailed1245

from Tenedos, in the benign stillness of the silent moon,1246

seeking the known shore, when the royal galley raised1247

a torch, and Sinon, protected by the gods’ unjust doom,1248

sets free the Greeks imprisoned by planks of pine,1249

in the horses’ belly. Opened, it releases them to the air,1250

and sliding down a lowered rope, Thessandrus, and Sthenelus,1251

the leaders, and fatal Ulysses, emerge joyfully1252

from their wooden cave, with Acamas, Thoas, 1253

Peleus’s son Neoptolemus, the noble Machaon,1254

Menelaus, and Epeus who himself devised this trick.1255

They invade the city that’s drowned in sleep and wine,1256

kill the watchmen, welcome their comrades1257

at the open gates, and link their clandestine ranks.1258

It was the hour when first sleep begins for weary mortals,1259

and steals over them as the sweetest gift of the gods.1260

See, in dream, before my eyes, Hector seemed to stand there,1261

saddest of all and pouring out great tears,1262

torn by the chariot, as once he was, black with bloody dust,1263

and his swollen feet pierced by the thongs. 1264

Ah, how he looked! How changed he was 1265

from that Hector who returned wearing Achilles’s armour,1266

or who set Trojan flames to the Greek ships! His beard was ragged,1267

his hair matted with blood, bearing those many wounds he received1268

dragged around the walls of his city.1269

And I seemed to weep myself, calling out to him,1270

and speaking to him in words of sorrow:1271

“Oh light of the Troad, surest hope of the Trojans,1272

what has so delayed you? What shore do you come from1273

Hector, the long-awaited? Weary from the many troubles1274

of our people and our city I see you, oh, after the death1275

of so many of your kin! What shameful events have marred1276

that clear face? And why do I see these wounds?’1277

He does not reply, nor does he wait on my idle questions,1278

but dragging heavy sighs from the depths of his heart, he says:1279

“Ah! Son of the goddess, fly, tear yourself from the flames.1280

The enemy has taken the walls: Troy falls from her high place.1281

Enough has been given to Priam and your country: if Pergama1282

could be saved by any hand, it would have been saved by this.1283

Troy entrusts her sacred relics and household gods to you:1284

take them as friends of your fate, seek mighty walls for them,1285

those you will found at last when you have wandered the seas.”1286

So he speaks, and brings the sacred headbands in his hands1287

from the innermost shrine, potent Vesta, and the undying flame.1288

BkII:298-354 Aeneas Gathers his Comrades1289

Meanwhile the city is confused with grief, on every side,1290

and though my father Anchises’s house is remote, secluded1291

and hidden by trees, the sounds grow clearer and clearer,1292

and the terror of war sweeps upon it.1293

I shake off sleep, and climb to the highest roof-top,1294

and stand there with ears strained:1295

as when fire attacks a wheat-field when the south-wind rages,1296

or the rushing torrent from a mountain stream covers the fields,1297

drowns the ripe crops, the labour of oxen, 1298

and brings down the trees headlong, and the dazed shepherd,1299

unaware, hears the echo from a high rocky peak.1300

Now the truth is obvious, and the Greek plot revealed.1301

Now the vast hall of Deiphobus is given to ruin1302

the fire over it: now Ucalegon’s nearby blazes:1303

the wide Sigean straits throw back the glare.1304

Then the clamour of men and the blare of trumpets rises.1305

Frantically I seize weapons: not because there is much use1306

for weapons, but my spirit burns to gather men for battle1307

and race to the citadel with my friends: madness and anger1308

hurl my mind headlong, and I think it beautiful to die fighting.1309

Now, see, Panthus escaping the Greek spears,1310

Panthus, son of Othrys, Apollo’s priest on the citadel,1311

dragging along with his own hands the sacred relics,1312

the conquered gods, his little grandchild, running frantically1313

to my door: “Where’s the best advantage, Panthus, what position1314

should we take?” I’d barely spoken, when he answered1315

with a groan: “The last day comes, Troy’s inescapable hour.1316

Troy is past, Ilium is past, and the great glory of the Trojans:1317

Jupiter carries all to Argos: the Greeks are lords of the burning city. 1318

The horse, standing high on the ramparts, pours out warriors,1319

and Sinon the conqueror exultantly stirs the flames.1320

Others are at the wide-open gates, as many thousands1321

as ever came from great Mycenae: more have blocked1322

the narrow streets with hostile weapons:1323

a line of standing steel with naked flickering blades1324

is ready for the slaughter: barely the first few guards1325

at the gates attempt to fight, and they resist in blind conflict.”1326

By these words from Othrys’ son, and divine will, I’m thrust1327

amongst the weapons and the flames, where the dismal Fury1328

sounds, and the roar, and the clamour rising to the sky.1329

Friends joined me, visible in the moonlight, Ripheus,1330

and Epytus, mighty in battle, Hypanis and Dymas, 1331

gathered to my side, and young Coroebus, Mygdon’s son:1332

by chance he’d arrived in Troy at that time,1333

burning with mad love for Cassandra, and brought help,1334

as a potential son-in-law, to Priam, and the Trojans,1335

unlucky man, who didn’t listen to the prophecy1336

of his frenzied bride! When I saw them crowded there1337

eager for battle, I began as follows: “Warriors, bravest1338

of frustrated spirits, if your ardent desire is fixed1339

on following me to the end, you can see our cause’s fate.1340

All the gods by whom this empire was supported1341

have departed, leaving behind their temples and their altars:1342

you aid a burning city: let us die and rush into battle.1343

The beaten have one refuge, to have no hope of refuge.”1344

BkII:355-401 Aeneas and his Friends Resist1345

So their young spirits were roused to fury. Then, like ravaging1346

wolves in a dark mist, driven blindly by the cruel rage 1347

of their bellies, leaving their young waiting with thirsty jaws, 1348

we pass through our enemies, to certain death, and make our way1349

to the heart of the city: dark night envelops us in deep shadow.1350

Who could tell of that destruction in words, or equal our pain1351

with tears? The ancient city falls, she who ruled for so many years:1352

crowds of dead bodies lie here and there in the streets,1353

among the houses, and on the sacred thresholds of the gods.1354

Nor is it Trojans alone who pay the penalty with their blood:1355

courage returns at times to the hearts of the defeated1356

and the Greek conquerors die. Cruel mourning is everywhere,1357

everywhere there is panic, and many a form of death. 1358

First, Androgeos, meets us, with a great crowd of Greeks1359

around him, unknowingly thinking us allied troops,1360

and calls to us in friendly speech as well:1361

“Hurry, men! What sluggishness makes you delay so?1362

The others are raping and plundering burning Troy:1363

are you only now arriving from the tall ships?”1364

He spoke, and straight away (since no reply given was1365

credible enough) he knew he’d fallen into the enemy fold.1366

He was stunned, drew back, and stifled his voice.1367

Like a man who unexpectedly treads on a snake in rough briars, 1368

as he strides over the ground, and shrinks back in sudden fear1369

as it rears in anger and swells its dark-green neck,1370

so Androgeos, shuddering at the sight of us, drew back.1371

We charge forward and surround them closely with weapons,1372

and ignorant of the place, seized by terror, as they are, we slaughter1373

them wholesale. Fortune favours our first efforts.1374

And at this Coroebus, exultant with courage and success, cries:1375

“Oh my friends, where fortune first points out the path to safety,1376

and shows herself a friend, let us follow. Let’s change our shields1377

adopt Greek emblems. Courage or deceit: who’ll question it in war?1378

They’ll arm us themselves.” With these words, he takes up Androgeos’s plumed helmet, his shield with its noble markings,1379

and straps the Greek’s sword to his side. Ripheus does likewise,1380

Dymas too, and all the warriors delight in it. Each man1381

arms himself with the fresh spoils. We pass on1382

mingling with the Greeks, with gods that are not our known,1383

and clash, in many an armed encounter, in the blind night,1384

and we send many a Greek down to Orcus.1385

Some scatter to the ships, and run for safer shores,1386

some, in humiliated terror, climb the vast horse again1387

and hide in the womb they know. 1388

BkII:402-437 Cassandra is Taken1389

“Ah, put no faith in anything the will of the gods opposes!1390

See, Priam’s virgin daughter dragged, with streaming hair,1391

from the sanctuary and temple of Minerva,1392

lifting her burning eyes to heaven in vain:1393

her eyes, since cords restrained her gentle hands.1394

Coroebus could not stand the sight, maddened in mind,1395

and hurled himself among the ranks, seeking death.1396

We follow him, and, weapons locked, charge together.1397

Here, at first, we were overwhelmed by Trojan spears,1398

hurled from the high summit of the temple,1399

and wretched slaughter was caused by the look of our armour,1400

and the confusion arising from our Greek crests.1401

Then the Danaans, gathering from all sides, groaning with anger1402

at the girl being pulled away from them, rush us, 1403

Ajax the fiercest, the two Atrides, all the Greek host:1404

just as, at the onset of a tempest, conflicting winds clash, the west,1405

the south, and the east that joys in the horses of dawn:1406

the forest roars, brine-wet Nereus rages with his trident,1407

and stirs the waters from their lowest depths.1408

Even those we have scattered by a ruse, in the dark of night,1409

and driven right through the city, re-appear: for the first time1410

they recognise our shields and deceitful weapons,1411

and realise our speech differs in sound to theirs.1412

In a moment we’re overwhelmed by weight of numbers:1413

first Coroebus falls, by the armed goddess’s altar, at the hands1414

of Peneleus: and Ripheus, who was the most just of all the Trojans,1415

and keenest for what was right (the gods’ vision was otherwise):1416

Hypanis and Dymas die at the hands of allies:1417

and your great piety, Panthus, and Apollo’s sacred headband1418

can not defend you in your downfall.1419

Ashes of Ilium, death flames of my people, be witness1420

that, at your ruin, I did not evade the Danaan weapons,1421

nor the risks, and, if it had been my fate to die,1422

I earned it with my sword. Then we are separated,1423

Iphitus and Pelias with me, Iphitus weighed down by the years,1424

and Pelias, slow-footed, wounded by Ulysses:1425

immediately we’re summoned to Priam’s palace by the clamour.1426

BkII:438-485 The Battle for the Palace1427

Here’s a great battle indeed, as if the rest of the war were nothing,1428

as if others were not dying throughout the whole city,1429

so we see wild War and the Greeks rushing to the palace,1430

and the entrance filled with a press of shields.1431

Ladders cling to the walls: men climb the stairs under the very1432

doorposts, with their left hands holding defensive shields1433

against the spears, grasping the sloping stone with their right.1434

In turn, the Trojans pull down the turrets and roof-tiles1435

of the halls, prepared to defend themselves even in death,1436

seeing the end near them, with these as weapons:1437

and send the gilded roof-beams down, the glory1438

of their ancient fathers. Others with naked swords block1439

the inner doors: these they defend in massed ranks.1440

Our spirits were reinspired, to bring help to the king’s palace,1441

to relieve our warriors with our aid, and add power to the beaten.1442

There was an entrance with hidden doors, and a passage in use1443

between Priam’s halls, and a secluded gateway beyond,1444

which the unfortunate Andromache, while the kingdom stood,1445

often used to traverse, going, unattended, to her husband’s parents,1446

taking the little Astyanax to his grandfather.1447

I reached the topmost heights of the pediment from which1448

the wretched Trojans were hurling their missiles in vain.1449

A turret standing on the sloping edge, and rising from the roof1450

to the sky, was one from which all Troy could be seen,1451

the Danaan ships, and the Greek camp: and attacking its edges1452

with our swords, where the upper levels offered weaker mortar,1453

we wrenched it from its high place, and sent it flying:1454

falling suddenly it dragged all to ruin with a roar,1455

and shattered far and wide over the Greek ranks.1456

But more arrived, and meanwhile neither the stones1457

nor any of the various missiles ceased to fly. 1458

In front of the courtyard itself, in the very doorway of the palace,1459

Pyrrhus exults, glittering with the sheen of bronze:1460

like a snake, fed on poisonous herbs, in the light, 1461

that cold winter has held, swollen, under the ground,1462

and now, gleaming with youth, its skin sloughed,1463

ripples its slimy back, lifts its front high towards the sun,1464

and darts its triple-forked tongue from its jaws. 1465

Huge Periphas, and Automedon the armour-bearer,1466

driver of Achilles’s team, and all the Scyrian youths,1467

advance on the palace together and hurl firebrands onto the roof.1468

Pyrrhus himself among the front ranks, clutching a double-axe,1469

breaks through the stubborn gate, and pulls the bronze doors1470

from their hinges: and now, hewing out the timber, he breaches1471

the solid oak and opens a huge window with a gaping mouth.1472

The palace within appears, and the long halls are revealed:1473

the inner sanctums of Priam, and the ancient kings, appear,1474

and armed men are seen standing on the very threshold.1475

BkII:486-558 Priam’s Fate1476

But, inside the palace, groans mingle with sad confusion,1477

and, deep within, the hollow halls howl1478

with women’s cries: the clamour strikes the golden stars.1479

Trembling mothers wander the vast building, clasping 1480

the doorposts, and placing kisses on them. Pyrrhus drives forward,1481

with his father Achilles’s strength, no barricades nor the guards1482

themselves can stop him: the door collapses under the ram’s blows,1483

and the posts collapse, wrenched from their sockets.1484

Strength makes a road: the Greeks, pour through, force a passage,1485

slaughter the front ranks, and fill the wide space with their men.1486

A foaming river is not so furious, when it floods, 1487

bursting its banks, overwhelms the barriers against it,1488

and rages in a mass through the fields, sweeping cattle and stables1489

across the whole plain. I saw Pyrrhus myself, on the threshold,1490

mad with slaughter, and the two sons of Atreus:1491

I saw Hecuba, her hundred women, and Priam at the altars,1492

polluting with blood the flames that he himself had sanctified.1493

Those fifty chambers, the promise of so many offspring,1494

the doorposts, rich with spoils of barbarian gold,1495

crash down: the Greeks possess what the fire spares. 1496

And maybe you ask, what was Priam’s fate.1497

When he saw the end of the captive city, the palace doors1498

wrenched away, and the enemy among the inner rooms,1499

the aged man clasped his long-neglected armour1500

on his old, trembling shoulders, and fastened on his useless sword, 1501

and hurried into the thick of the enemy seeking death.1502

In the centre of the halls, and under the sky’s naked arch,1503

was a large altar, with an ancient laurel nearby, that leant1504

on the altar, and clothed the household gods with shade.1505

Here Hecuba, and her daughters, like doves driven1506

by a dark storm, crouched uselessly by the shrines,1507

huddled together, clutching at the statues of the gods.1508

And when she saw Priam himself dressed in youthful armour1509

she cried: “What mad thought, poor husband, urges you1510

to fasten on these weapons? Where do you run? 1511

The hour demands no such help, nor defences such as these,1512

not if my own Hector were here himself. Here, I beg you,1513

this altar will protect us all or we’ll die together.” 1514

So she spoke and drew the old man towards her,1515

and set him down on the sacred steps.1516

See, Polites, one of Priam’s sons, escaping Pyrrhus’s slaughter,1517

runs down the long hallways, through enemies and spears,1518

and, wounded, crosses the empty courts.1519

Pyrrhus chases after him, eager to strike him,1520

and grasps at him now, and now, with his hand, at spear-point.1521

When finally he reached the eyes and gaze of his parents,1522

he fell, and poured out his life in a river of blood.1523

Priam, though even now in death’s clutches,1524

did not spare his voice at this, or hold back his anger:1525

“If there is any justice in heaven, that cares about such things,1526

may the gods repay you with fit thanks, and due reward1527

for your wickedness, for such acts, you who have1528

made me see my own son’s death in front of my face, 1529

and defiled a father’s sight with murder. 1530

Yet Achilles, whose son you falsely claim to be, was no1531

such enemy to Priam: he respected the suppliant’s rights, 1532

and honour, and returned Hector’s bloodless corpse 1533

to its sepulchre, and sent me home to my kingdom.”1534

So the old man spoke, and threw his ineffectual spear1535

without strength, which immediately spun from the clanging bronze1536

and hung uselessly from the centre of the shield’s boss. 1537

Pyrrhus spoke to him: “Then you can be messenger, carry1538

the news to my father, to Peleus’s son: remember to tell him1539

of degenerate Pyrrhus, and of my sad actions:1540

now die.” Saying this he dragged him, trembling, 1541

and slithering in the pool of his son’s blood, to the very altar,1542

and twined his left hand in his hair, raised the glittering sword1543

in his right, and buried it to the hilt in his side.1544

This was the end of Priam’s life: this was the death that fell to him1545

by lot, seeing Troy ablaze and its citadel toppled, he who was1546

once the magnificent ruler of so many Asian lands and peoples.1547

A once mighty body lies on the shore, the head1548

shorn from its shoulders, a corpse without a name.1549

BkII:559-587 Aeneas Sees Helen1550

Then for the first time a wild terror gripped me. 1551

I stood amazed: my dear father’s image rose before me1552

as I saw a king, of like age, with a cruel wound,1553

breathing his life away: and my Creusa, forlorn, 1554

and the ransacked house, and the fate of little Iulus.1555

I looked back, and considered the troops that were round me.1556

They had all left me, wearied, and hurled their bodies to earth,1557

or sick with misery dropped into the flames.1558

So I was alone now, when I saw the daughter of Tyndareus,1559

Helen, close to Vesta’s portal, hiding silently1560

in the secret shrine: the bright flames gave me light,1561

as I wandered, gazing everywhere, randomly.1562

Afraid of Trojans angered at the fall of Troy, 1563

Greek vengeance, and the fury of a husband she deserted,1564

she, the mutual curse of Troy and her own country,1565

had concealed herself and crouched, a hated thing, by the altars.1566

Fire blazed in my spirit: anger rose to avenge my fallen land,1567

and to exact the punishment for her wickedness.1568

“Shall she, unharmed, see Sparta again and her native Mycenae,1569

and see her house and husband, parents and children,1570

and go in the triumphant role of a queen,1571

attended by a crowd of Trojan women and Phrygian servants?1572

When Priam has been put to the sword? Troy consumed with fire?1573

The Dardanian shore soaked again and again with blood?1574

No. Though there’s no great glory in a woman’s punishment,1575

and such a conquest wins no praise, still I will be praised1576

for extinguishing wickedness and exacting well-earned1577

punishment, and I’ll delight in having filled my soul1578

with the flame of revenge, and appeased my people’s ashes.”1579

BkII:588-623 Aeneas is Visited by his Mother Venus1580

I blurted out these words, and was rushing on with raging mind,1581

when my dear mother came to my vision, never before so bright1582

to my eyes, shining with pure light in the night,1583

goddess for sure, such as she may be seen by the gods,1584

and taking me by the right hand, stopped me, and, then,1585

imparted these words to me from her rose-tinted lips:1586

“My son, what pain stirs such uncontrollable anger?1587

Why this rage? Where has your care for what is ours vanished?1588

First will you not see whether Creusa, your wife, and your child1589

Ascanius still live, and where you have left your father Anchises1590

worn-out with age? The Greek ranks surround them on all sides,1591

and if my love did not protect them, the flames would have caught1592

them before now, and the enemy swords drunk of their blood.1593

You do not hate the face of the Spartan daughter of Tyndareus,1594

nor is Paris to blame: the ruthlessness of the gods, of the gods,1595

brought down this power, and toppled Troy from its heights.1596

See (for I’ll tear away all the mist that now, shrouding your sight,1597

dims your mortal vision, and darkens everything with moisture:1598

don’t be afraid of what your mother commands, or refuse to obey1599

her wisdom): here, where you see shattered heaps of stone1600

torn from stone, and smoke billowing mixed with dust,1601

Neptune is shaking the walls, and the foundations, stirred1602

by his mighty trident, and tearing the whole city up by it roots.1603

There, Juno, the fiercest, is first to take the Scaean Gate, and,1604

sword at her side, calls on her troops from the ships, in rage.1605

Now, see, Tritonian Pallas, standing on the highest towers,1606

sending lightning from the storm-cloud, and her grim Gorgon1607

breastplate. Father Jupiter himself supplies the Greeks with1608

courage, and fortunate strength, himself excites the gods against1609

the Trojan army. Hurry your departure, son, and put an end 1610

to your efforts. I will not leave you, and I will place you1611

safe at your father’s door.” She spoke, and hid herself1612

in the dense shadows of night. Dreadful shapes appeared,1613

and the vast powers of gods opposed to Troy.1614

BkII:624-670 Aeneas Finds his Family1615

Then in truth all Ilium seemed to me to sink in flames,1616

and Neptune’s Troy was toppled from her base:1617

just as when foresters on the mountain heights1618

compete to uproot an ancient ash tree, struck1619

time and again by axe and blade, it threatens continually1620

to fall, with trembling foliage and shivering crown,1621

till gradually vanquished by the blows it groans at last,1622

and torn from the ridge, crashes down in ruin.1623

I descend, and, led by a goddess, am freed from flames1624

and enemies: the spears give way, and the flames recede.1625

And now, when I reached the threshold of my father’s house,1626

and my former home, my father, whom it was my first desire 1627

to carry into the high mountains, and whom I first sought out,1628

refused to extend his life or endure exile, since Troy had fallen.1629

“Oh, you,” he cried, “whose blood has the vigour of youth,1630

and whose power is unimpaired in its force, it’s for you1631

to take flight. As for me, if the gods had wished to lengthen1632

the thread of my life, they’d have spared my house. It is1633

more than enough that I saw one destruction, and survived1634

one taking of the city. Depart, saying farewell to my body1635

lying here so, yes so. I shall find death with my own hand:1636

the enemy will pity me, and look for plunder. The loss1637

of my burial is nothing. Clinging to old age for so long,1638

I am useless, and hated by the gods, ever since1639

the father of the gods and ruler of men breathed the winds 1640

of his lightning-bolt onto me, and touched me with fire.”1641

So he persisted in saying, and remained adamant.1642

We, on our side, Creusa, my wife, and Ascanius, all our household,1643

weeping bitterly, determined that he should not destroy everything1644

along with himself, and crush us by urging our doom.1645

He refused and clung to his place and his purpose.1646

I hurried to my weapons again, and, miserably, longed for death,1647

since what tactic or opportunity was open to us now?1648

“ Did you think I could leave you, father, and depart?1649

Did such sinful words fall from your lips?1650

If it pleases the gods to leave nothing of our great city standing,1651

if this is set in your mind, if it delights you to add yourself1652

and all that’s yours to the ruins of Troy, the door is open1653

to that death: soon Pyrrhus comes, drenched in Priam’s blood,1654

he who butchers the son in front of the father, the father at the altar. 1655

Kind mother, did you rescue me from fire and sword1656

for this, to see the enemy in the depths of my house, 1657

and Ascanius, and my father, and Creusa, slaughtered, 1658

thrown together in a heap, in one another’s blood?1659

Weapons men, bring weapons: the last day calls to the defeated.1660

Lead me to the Greeks again: let me revisit the battle anew.1661

This day we shall not all perish unavenged.”1662

BkII:671-704 The Omen1663

So, again, I fasten on my sword, slip my left arm1664

into the shield’s strap, adjust it, and rush from the house.1665

But see, my wife clings to the threshold, clasps my foot,1666

and holds little Iulus up towards his father:1667

“If you go to die, take us with you too, at all costs: but if1668

as you’ve proved you trust in the weapons you wear,1669

defend this house first. To whom do you abandon little Iulus,1670

and your father, and me, I who was once spoken of as your wife?”1671

Crying out like this she filled the whole house with her groans,1672

when suddenly a wonder, marvellous to speak of, occurred.1673

See, between the hands and faces of his grieving parents,1674

a gentle light seemed to shine from the crown1675

of Iulus’s head, and a soft flame, harmless in its touch, 1676

licked at his hair, and grazed his forehead. 1677

Trembling with fear, we hurry to flick away the blazing strands,1678

and extinguish the sacred fires with water.1679

But Anchises, my father, lifts his eyes to the heavens, in delight,1680

and raises his hands and voice to the sky:1681

“All-powerful Jupiter, if you’re moved by any prayers,1682

see us, and, grant but this: if we are worthy through our virtue,1683

show us a sign of it, Father, and confirm your omen.”1684

The old man had barely spoken when, with a sudden crash, 1685

it thundered on the left, and a star, through the darkness, 1686

slid from the sky, and flew, trailing fire, in a burst of light.1687

We watched it glide over the highest rooftops,1688

and bury its brightness, and the sign of its passage,1689

in the forests of Mount Ida: then the furrow of its long track1690

gave out a glow, and, all around, the place smoked with sulphur.1691

At this my father, truly overcome, raised himself towards the sky,1692

and spoke to the gods, and proclaimed the sacred star.1693

“Now no delay: I follow, and where you lead, there am I.1694

Gods of my fathers, save my line, save my grandson.1695

This omen is yours, and Troy is in your divine power.1696

I accept, my son, and I will not refuse to go with you.”1697

BkII:705-729 Aeneas and his Family Leave Troy1698

He speaks, and now the fire is more audible,1699

through the city, and the blaze rolls its tide nearer.1700

“Come then, dear father, clasp my neck: I will1701

carry you on my shoulders: that task won’t weigh on me.1702

Whatever may happen, it will be for us both, the same shared risk,1703

and the same salvation. Let little Iulus come with me,1704

and let my wife follow our footsteps at a distance.1705

You servants, give your attention to what I’m saying.1706

At the entrance to the city there’s a mound, an ancient temple1707

of forsaken Ceres, and a venerable cypress nearby,1708

protected through the years by the reverence of our fathers:1709

let’s head to that one place by diverse paths.1710

You, father, take the sacred objects, and our country’s gods,1711

in your hands: until I’ve washed in running water,1712

it would be a sin for me, coming from such fighting 1713

and recent slaughter, to touch them.” So saying, bowing my neck,1714

I spread a cloak made of a tawny lion’s hide over my broad shoulders, and bend to the task: little Iulus clasps his hand1715

in mine, and follows his father’s longer strides. 1716

My wife walks behind. We walk on through the shadows1717

of places, and I whom till then no shower of spears, 1718

nor crowd of Greeks in hostile array, could move, 1719

now I’m terrified by every breeze, and startled by every noise,1720

anxious, and fearful equally for my companion and my burden.1721

BkII:730-795 The Loss of Creusa1722

And now I was near the gates, and thought I had completed 1723

my journey, when suddenly the sound of approaching feet1724

filled my hearing, and, peering through the darkness,1725

my father cried: “My son, run my son, they are near us:1726

I see their glittering shields and gleaming bronze.”1727

Some hostile power, at this, scattered my muddled wits.1728

for while I was following alleyways, and straying 1729

from the region of streets we knew, did my wife Creusa halt,1730

snatched away from me by wretched fate?1731

Or did she wander from the path or collapse with weariness?1732

Who knows? She was never restored to our sight,1733

nor did I look back for my lost one, or cast a thought behind me,1734

until we came to the mound, and ancient Ceres’s sacred place.1735

Here when all were gathered together at last, one was missing,1736

and had escaped the notice of friends, child and husband.1737

What man or god did I not accuse in my madness:1738

what did I know of in the city’s fall crueller than this?1739

I place Ascanius, and my father Anchises, and the gods of Troy,1740

in my companions’ care, and conceal them in a winding valley:1741

I myself seek the city once more, and take up my shining armour.1742

I’m determined to incur every risk again, and retrace1743

all Troy, and once more expose my life to danger.1744

First I look for the wall, and the dark threshold of the gate1745

from which my path led, and I retrace the landmarks1746

of my course in the night, scanning them with my eye. 1747

Everywhere the terror in my heart, and the silence itself, 1748

dismay me. Then I take myself homewards, in case 1749

by chance, by some chance, she has made her way there. 1750

The Greeks have invaded, and occupied, the whole house.1751

Suddenly eager fire, rolls over the rooftop, in the wind:1752

the flames take hold, the blaze rages to the heavens.1753

I pass by and see again Priam’s palace and the citadel.1754

Now Phoenix, and fatal Ulysses, the chosen guards, watch over1755

the spoils, in the empty courts of Juno’s sanctuary.1756

Here the Trojan treasures are gathered from every part,1757

ripped from the blazing shrines, tables of the gods,1758

solid gold bowls, and plundered robes. 1759

Mothers and trembling sons stand round in long ranks.1760

I even dared to hurl my shouts through the shadows,1761

filling the streets with my clamour, and in my misery, 1762

redoubling my useless cries, again and again.1763

Searching, and raging endlessly among the city roofs,1764

the unhappy ghost and true shadow of Creusa1765

appeared before my eyes, in a form greater than I’d known.1766

I was dumbfounded, my hair stood on end, and my voice1767

stuck in my throat. Then she spoke and with these words1768

mitigated my distress: “Oh sweet husband, what use is it 1769

to indulge in such mad grief? This has not happened1770

without the divine will: neither its laws nor the ruler1771

of great Olympus let you take Creusa with you,1772

away from here. Yours is long exile, you must plough1773

a vast reach of sea: and you will come to Hesperia’s land,1774

where Lydian Tiber flows in gentle course among the farmers’ 1775

rich fields. There, happiness, kingship and a royal wife 1776

will be yours. Banish these tears for your beloved Creusa.1777

I, a Trojan woman, and daughter-in-law to divine Venus,1778

shall never see the noble halls of the Dolopians,1779

or Myrmidons, or go as slave to some Greek wife:1780

instead the great mother of the gods keeps me on this shore.1781

Now farewell, and preserve your love for the son we share.”1782

When she had spoken these words, leaving me weeping1783

and wanting to say so many things, she faded into thin air.1784

Three times I tried to throw my arms about her neck:1785

three times her form fled my hands, clasped in vain,1786

like the light breeze, most of all like a winged dream.1787

So at last when night was done, I returned to my friends.1788

BkII:796-804 Aeneas Leaves Troy1789

And here, amazed, I found that a great number of new1790

companions had streamed in, women and men, 1791

a crowd gathering for exile, a wretched throng.1792

They had come from all sides, ready, with courage and wealth,1793

for whatever land I wished to lead them to, across the seas.1794

And now Lucifer was rising above the heights of Ida,1795

bringing the dawn, and the Greeks held the barricaded1796

entrances to the gates, nor was there any hope of rescue.1797

I desisted, and, carrying my father, took to the hills.1798

BkIII:1-18 Aeneas Sails to Thrace1799

After the gods had seen fit to destroy Asia’s power1800

and Priam’s innocent people, and proud Ilium had fallen,1801

and all of Neptune’s Troy breathed smoke from the soil,1802

we were driven by the gods’ prophecies to search out1803

distant exile, and deserted lands, and we built a fleet1804

below Antandros and the peaks of Phrygian Ida, unsure 1805

where fate would carry us, or where we’d be allowed to settle, 1806

and we gathered our forces together. Summer had barely begun, 1807

when Anchises, my father, ordered us to set sail with destiny:1808

I left my native shore with tears, the harbour and the fields1809

where Troy once stood. I travelled the deep, an exile,1810

with my friends and my son, and the great gods of our house.1811

Far off is a land of vast plains where Mars is worshipped1812

(worked by the Thracians) once ruled by fierce Lycurgus,1813

a friend of Troy in the past, and with gods who were allies,1814

while fortune lasted. I went there, and founded my first city1815

named Aeneadae from my name, on the shore1816

in the curving bay, beginning it despite fate’s adversity.1817

BkIII:19-68 The Grave of Polydorus1818

I was making a sacrifice to the gods, and my mother Venus, 1819

Dione’s daughter, with auspices for the work begun, and had killed1820

a fine bull on the shore, for the supreme king of the sky-lords.1821

By chance, there was a mound nearby, crowned with cornel1822

bushes, and bristling with dense spikes of myrtle.1823

I went near, and trying to tear up green wood from the soil1824

to decorate the altar with leafy branches, I saw1825

a wonder, dreadful and marvellous to tell of.1826

From the first bush, its broken roots torn from the ground,1827

drops of dark blood dripped, and stained the earth with fluid.1828

An icy shiver gripped my limbs, and my blood chilled with terror.1829

Again I went on to pluck a stubborn shoot from another,1830

probing the hidden cause within: and dark blood1831

flowed from the bark of the second. Troubled greatly1832

in spirit, I prayed to the Nymphs of the wild,1833

and father Gradivus, who rules the Thracian fields,1834

to look with due kindness on this vision, and lessen1835

its significance. But when I attacked the third1836

with greater effort, straining with my knees against the sand1837

(to speak or be silent?), a mournful groan was audible1838

from deep in the mound, and a voice came to my ears: 1839

“Why do you wound a poor wretch, Aeneas? Spare me now1840

in my tomb, don’t stain your virtuous hands, Troy bore me,1841

who am no stranger to you, nor does this blood flow from 1842

some dull block. Oh, leave this cruel land: leave this shore1843

of greed. For I am Polydorus. Here a crop of iron spears1844

carpeted my transfixed corpse, and has ripened into sharp spines.”1845

Then truly I was stunned, my mind crushed by anxious dread,1846

my hair stood up on end, and my voice stuck in my throat. 1847

Priam, the unfortunate, seeing the city encircled by the siege, 1848

and despairing of Trojan arms, once sent this Polydorus, secretly, 1849

with a great weight of gold, to be raised, by the Thracian king.1850

When the power of Troy was broken, and her fortunes ebbed,1851

the Thracian broke every divine law, to follow Agamemnon’s1852

cause, and his victorious army, murders Polydorus, and takes1853

the gold by force. Accursed hunger for gold, to what do you 1854

not drive human hearts! When terror had left my bones1855

I referred this divine vision to the people’s appointed leaders,1856

my father above all, and asked them what they thought.1857

All were of one mind, to leave this wicked land, and depart1858

a place of hospitality defiled, and sail our fleet before the wind.1859

So we renewed the funeral rites for Polydorus, and piled1860

the earth high on his barrow: sad altars were raised1861

to the Shades, with dark sacred ribbons and black cypress, 1862

the Trojan women around, hair streaming, 1863

as is the custom: we offered foaming bowls of warm milk,1864

and dishes of sacrificial blood, and bound the spirit1865

to its tomb, and raised a loud shout of farewell. 1866

BkIII:69-120 The Trojans Reach Delos1867

Then as soon as we’ve confidence in the waves, and the winds1868

grant us calm seas, and the soft whispering breeze calls to the deep,1869

my companions float the ships and crowd to the shore.1870

We set out from harbour, and lands and cities recede.1871

In the depths of the sea lies a sacred island, dearest of all1872

to the mother of the Nereids, and Aegean Neptune,1873

that wandered by coasts and shores, until Apollo,1874

affectionately, tied it to high Myconos, and Gyaros,1875

making it fixed and inhabitable, scorning the storms.1876

I sail there: it welcomes us peacefully, weary as we are,1877

to its safe harbour. Landing, we do homage to Apollo’s city.1878

King Anius, both king of the people and high-priest of Apollo,1879

his forehead crowned with the sacred headband and holy laurel,1880

meets us, and recognises an old friend in Anchises:1881

we clasp hands in greeting and enter his house.1882

I paid homage to the god’s temple of ancient stone:1883

“Grant us a true home, Apollo, grant a weary people walls, 1884

and a race, and a city that will endure: protect this second1885

citadel of Troy, that survives the Greeks and pitiless Achilles.1886

Whom should we follow? Where do you command us to go? 1887

Where should we settle? Grant us an omen, father, to stir our hearts.1888

I had scarcely spoken: suddenly everything seemed to tremble,1889

the god’s thresholds and his laurel crowns, and the whole hill1890

round us moved, and the tripod groaned as the shrine split open.1891

Humbly we seek the earth, and a voice comes to our ears:1892

“Enduring Trojans, the land which first bore you from its1893

parent stock, that same shall welcome you, restored, to its1894

fertile breast. Search out your ancient mother.1895

There the house of Aeneas shall rule all shores,1896

his children’s children, and those that are born to them.”1897

So Phoebus spoke: and there was a great shout of joy mixed1898

with confusion, and all asked what walls those were, and where1899

it is Phoebus calls the wanderers to, commanding them to return.1900

Then my father, thinking of the records of the ancients, said:1901

“Listen, O princes, and learn what you may hope for.1902

Crete lies in the midst of the sea, the island of mighty Jove,1903

where Mount Ida is, the cradle of our race.1904

They inhabit a hundred great cities, in the richest of kingdoms,1905

from which our earliest ancestor, Teucer, if I remember the tale1906

rightly, first sailed to Trojan shores, and chose a site1907

for his royal capital. Until then Ilium and the towers of the citadel1908

did not stand there: men lived in the depths of the valleys.1909

The Mother who inhabits Cybele is Cretan, and the cymbals1910

of the Corybantes, and the grove of Ida: from Crete came1911

the faithful silence of her rites, and the yoked lions1912

drawing the lady’s chariot. So come, and let us follow1913

where the god’s command may lead, let us placate1914

the winds, and seek out the Cretan kingdom. 1915

It is no long journey away: if only Jupiter is with us,1916

the third dawn will find our fleet on the Cretan shores.”1917

So saying, he sacrificed the due offerings at the altars,1918

a bull to Neptune, a bull to you, glorious Apollo, a black sheep1919

to the Storm god, a white to the auspicious Westerlies.1920

BkIII:121-171 The Plague and a Vision1921

A rumour spread that Prince Idomeneus had been driven1922

from his father’s kingdom, and the Cretan shores were deserted,1923

her houses emptied of enemies, and the abandoned homes1924

waiting for us. We left Ortygia’s harbour, and sped over the sea,1925

threading the foaming straits thick with islands, Naxos1926

with its Bacchic worship in the hills, green Donysa, Olearos,1927

snow-white Paros, and the Cyclades, scattered over the waters.1928

The sailors’ cries rose, as they competed in their various tasks:1929

the crew shouted: “We’re headed for Crete, and our ancestors.”1930

A wind rising astern sent us on our way, and at last 1931

we glided by the ancient shores of the Curetes.1932

Then I worked eagerly on the walls of our chosen city, and called1933

it Pergamum, and exhorted my people, delighting in the name, 1934

to show love for their homes, and build a covered fortress.1935

Now the ships were usually beached on the dry sand:1936

the young men were busy with weddings and their fresh fields:1937

I was deciding on laws and homesteads: suddenly, 1938

from some infected region of the sky, came a wretched plague,1939

corrupting bodies, trees, and crops, and a season of death.1940

They relinquished sweet life, or dragged their sick limbs1941

around: then Sirius blazed over barren fields:1942

the grass withered, and the sickly harvest denied its fruits.1943

My father urged us to retrace the waves, and revisit1944

the oracle of Apollo at Delos, and beg for protection,1945

ask where the end might be to our weary fate, where he commands1946

that we seek help for our trouble, where to set our course.1947

It was night, and sleep had charge of earth’s creatures:1948

The sacred statues of the gods, the Phrygian Penates,1949

that I had carried with me from Troy, out of the burning city,1950

seemed to stand there before my eyes, as I lay in sleep,1951

perfectly clear in the light, where the full moon1952

streamed through the window casements: then they spoke1953

to me and with their words dispelled my cares:1954

“Apollo speaks here what he would say to you, on reaching Delos,1955

and sends us besides, as you see, to your threshold.1956

When Try burned we followed you and your weapons,1957

we crossed the swelling seas with you on your ships,1958

we too shall raise your descendants yet to be, to the stars,1959

and grant empire to your city. Build great walls for the great,1960

and do not shrink from the long labour of exile.1961

Change your country. These are not the shores that Delian1962

Apollo urged on you, he did not order you to settle in Crete.1963

There is a place the Greeks call Hesperia by name,1964

an ancient land powerful in arms and in richness of the soil:1965

There the Oenotrians lived: now the rumour is that1966

a younger race has named it Italy after their leader.1967

That is our true home, Dardanus and father Iasius, 1968

from whom our race first came, sprang from there.1969

Come, bear these words of truth joyfully to your old father,1970

that he might seek Corythus and Ausonia’s lands:1971

Jupiter denies the fields of Dicte to you.”1972

BkIII:172-208 The Trojans Leave Crete for Italy1973

Amazed by such a vision, and the voices of the gods,1974

(it was not a dream, but I seemed to recognise their expression,1975

before me, their wreathed hair, their living faces:1976

then a cold sweat bathed all my limbs)1977

my body leapt from the bed, and I lifted my voice1978

and upturned palms to heaven, and offered pure 1979

gifts on the hearth-fire. The rite completed, with joy1980

I told Anchises of this revelation, revealing it all in order.1981

He understood about the ambiguity in our origins, and the dual1982

descent, and that he had been deceived by a fresh error, 1983

about our ancient country. Then he spoke: “My son, troubled 1984

by Troy’s fate, Only Cassandra prophesied such an outcome.1985

Now I remember her foretelling that this was destined for our race,1986

and often spoke of Hesperia, and the Italian kingdom.1987

Who’d believe that Trojans would travel to Hesperia’s shores?1988

Who’d have been moved by Cassandra, the prophetess, then? 1989

Let’s trust to Apollo, and, warned by him, take the better course.”1990

So he spoke, and we were delighted to obey his every word.1991

We departed this home as well, and, leaving some people behind,1992

set sail, and ran through the vast ocean in our hollow ships.1993

When the fleet had reached the high seas and the land1994

was no longer seen, sky and ocean on all sides, then 1995

a dark-blue rain cloud settled overhead, bringing1996

night and storm, and the waves bristled with shadows.1997

Immediately the winds rolled over the water and great seas rose:1998

we were scattered here and there in the vast abyss.1999

Storm-clouds shrouded the day, and the night mists2000

hid the sky: lightning flashed again from the torn clouds.2001

We were thrown off course, and wandered the blind waves.2002

Palinurus himself was unable to tell night from day in the sky,2003

and could not determine his path among the waves.2004

So for three days, and as many starless nights, 2005

we wandered uncertainly, in a dark fog, over the sea.2006

At last, on the fourth day, land was first seen to rise,2007

revealing far off mountains and rolling smoke.2008

The sails fell, we stood to the oars: without pause, the sailors, 2009

at full stretch, churned the foam, and swept the blue sea.2010

BkIII:209-277 The Harpies2011

Free of the waves I’m welcomed first by the shores2012

of the Strophades, the Clashing Islands. The Strophades2013

are fixed now in the great Ionian Sea, but are called2014

by the Greek name. There dread Celaeno and the rest2015

of the Harpies live, since Phineus’s house was denied them,2016

and they left his tables where they fed, in fear.2017

No worse monsters than these, no crueller plague,2018

ever rose from the waters of Styx, at the gods’ anger.2019

These birds have the faces of virgin girls,2020

foulest excrement flowing from their bellies, 2021

clawed hands, and faces always thin with hunger.2022

Now when, arriving here, we enter port,2023

we see fat herds of cattle scattered over the plains,2024

and flocks of goats, unguarded, in the meadows.2025

We rush at them with our swords, calling on Jove himself2026

and the gods to join us in our plunder: then we build2027

seats on the curving beach, and feast on the rich meats.2028

But suddenly the Harpies arrive, in a fearsome swoop2029

from the hills, flapping their wings with a huge noise,2030

snatching at the food, and fouling everything with their2031

filthy touch: then there’s a deadly shriek amongst the foul stench.2032

We set out the tables again, and relight the altar fires,2033

in a deep recess under an overhanging rock,2034

closed off by trees and trembling shadows:2035

again from another part of the sky, some hidden lair,2036

the noisy crowd hovers, with taloned feet around their prey,2037

polluting the food with their mouths. Then I order my friends2038

to take up their weapons and make war on that dreadful race.2039

They do exactly that, obeying orders, placing hidden swords2040

in the grass, and burying their shields out of sight.2041

Then when the birds swoop, screaming, along the curved beach,2042

Misenus, from his high lookout, gives the signal on hollow bronze.2043

My friends charge, and, in a new kind of battle, attempt2044

to wound these foul ocean birds with their swords.2045

But they don’t register the blows to their plumage, or the wounds2046

to their backs, they flee quickly, soaring beneath the heavens, 2047

leaving behind half-eaten food, and the traces of their filth.2048

Only Celaeno, ominous prophetess, settles on a high cliff, 2049

and bursts out with this sound from her breast:2050

“Are you ready to bring war to us, sons of Laomedon, is it war, 2051

for the cows you killed, the bullocks you slaughtered,2052

driving the innocent Harpies from their father’s country?2053

Take these words of mine to your hearts then, and set them there.2054

I, the eldest of the Furies, reveal to you what the all-powerful2055

Father prophesied to Apollo, and Phoebus Apollo to me.2056

Italy is the path you take, and, invoking the winds,2057

you shall go to Italy, and enter her harbours freely:2058

but you will not surround the city granted you with walls2059

until dire hunger, and the sin of striking at us, force you2060

to consume your very tables with devouring jaws.”2061

She spoke, and fled back to the forest borne by her wings.2062

But my companions’ chill blood froze with sudden fear:2063

their courage dropped, and they told me to beg for peace,2064

with vows and prayers, forgoing weapons,2065

no matter if these were goddesses or fatal, vile birds.2066

And my father Anchises, with outstretched hands, on the shore,2067

called to the great gods and declared the due sacrifice:2068

“Gods, avert these threats, gods, prevent these acts,2069

and, in peace, protect the virtuous!” Then he ordered us2070

to haul in the cables from the shore, unfurl and spread the sails.2071

South winds stretched the canvas: we coursed over foaming seas,2072

wherever the winds and the helmsman dictated our course.2073

Now wooded Zacynthus appeared amongst the waves,2074

Dulichium, Same and Neritos’s steep cliffs.2075

We ran past Laertes’s kingdom, Ithacas’s reefs,2076

and cursed the land that reared cruel Ulysses.2077

Soon the cloudy heights of Mount Leucata were revealed,2078

as well, and Apollo’s headland, feared by sailors.2079

We headed wearily for it, and approached the little town:2080

the anchor was thrown from the prow, the stern rested on the beach.2081

BkIII:278-293 The Games at Actium2082

So, beyond hope, achieving land at last, we purify2083

ourselves for Jove, and light offerings on the altars, 2084

and celebrate Trojan games on the shore of Actium.2085

My naked companions, slippery with oil,2086

indulge in the wrestling-bouts of their homeland:2087

it’s good to have slipped past so many Greek cities2088

and held our course in flight through the midst of the enemy.2089

Meanwhile the sun rolls through the long year2090

and icy winter stirs the waves with northerly gales:2091

I fix a shield of hollow bronze, once carried by mighty Abas,2092

on the entrance pillars, and mark the event with a verse:2093

AENEAS OFFERS THIS ARMOUR FROM CONQUERING GREEKS2094

then I order them to man the benches and leave harbour:2095

in rivalry, my friends strike the sea and sweep the waves.2096

We soon leave behind the windblown heights of Phaeacia,2097

pass the shores of Epirus, enter Chaonia’s harbour2098

and approach the lofty city of Buthrotum. 2099

BkIII:294-355 Andromache in Chaonia2100

Here a rumour of something unbelievable greeted our ears:2101

Priam’s son, Helenus, reigning over Greek cities,2102

having won the wife and kingdom of Pyrrhus, Aeacus’s scion, 2103

Andromache being given again to a husband of her race.2104

I was astounded, and my heart burned with an amazing passion2105

to speak to the man, and learn of such events.2106

I walked from the harbour, leaving the fleet and the shore,2107

when, by chance, in a sacred grove near the city, by a false Simois,2108

Andromache was making an annual offering, sad gifts,2109

to Hector’s ashes, and calling his spirit to the tomb,2110

an empty mound of green turf, and twin altars, she had sanctified,2111

a place for tears. When she saw me approaching and recognised,2112

with amazement, Trojan weapons round her, she froze as she gazed,2113

terrified by these great wonders, and the heat left her limbs.2114

She half-fell and after a long while, scarcely able to, said:2115

“Are you a real person, a real messenger come here to me,2116

son of the goddess? Are you alive? Or if the kindly light has faded,2117

where then is Hector?” She spoke, and poured out her tears,2118

and filled the whole place with her weeping. Given her frenzy,2119

I barely replied with a few words, and, moved, I spoke disjointedly:2120

“Surely, I live, and lead a life full of extremes: don’t be unsure,2121

for you see truly. Ah! What fate has overtaken you, fallen2122

from so great a husband? Or has good fortune worthy enough2123

for Hector’s Andromache, visited you again? Are you still2124

Pyrrhus’s wife?” She lowered her eyes and spoke quietly:2125

“O happy beyond all others was that virgin daughter2126

of Priam, commanded to die beside an enemy tomb, 2127

under Troy’s high walls, who never suffered fate’s lottery, 2128

or, as a prisoner, reached her victorious master’s bed!2129

Carried over distant seas, my country set afire, I endured2130

the scorn of Achilles’s son, and his youthful arrogance,2131

giving birth as a slave: he, who then, pursuing Hermione,2132

Helen’s daughter, and a Spartan marriage, transferred me2133

to Helenus’s keeping, a servant to a servant. 2134

But Orestes, inflamed by great love for his stolen bride, 2135

and driven by the Furies for his crime, caught him,2136

unawares, and killed him by his father’s altar.2137

At Pyrrhus’s death a part of the kingdom passed, by right2138

to Helenus, who named the Chaonian fields, and all2139

Chaonia, after Chaon of Troy, and built a Pergamus,2140

and this fortress of Ilium, on the mountain ridge. 2141

But what winds, what fates, set your course for you?2142

Or what god drives you, unknowingly, to our shores?2143

What of the child, Ascanius? Does he live, and graze on air,2144

he whom Creusa bore to you in vanished Troy?2145

Has he any love still for his lost mother? 2146

Have his father Aeneas and his uncle Hector roused2147

in him any of their ancient courage or virile spirit?”2148

Weeping, she poured out these words, and was starting2149

a long vain lament, when heroic Helenus, Priam’s son,2150

approached from the city, with a large retinue,2151

and recognised us as his own, and lead us, joyfully,2152

to the gates, and poured out tears freely at every word.2153

I walked on, and saw a little Troy, and a copy of the great2154

citadel, and a dry stream, named after the Xanthus,2155

and embraced the doorposts of a Scaean Gate.2156

My Trojans enjoyed the friendly city with me no less.2157

The king received them in a broad colonnade:2158

they poured out cups of wine in the centre of a courtyard,2159

and held out their dishes while food was served on gold.2160

BkIII:356-462 The Prophecy of Helenus2161

Now day after day has gone by, and the breezes call2162

to the sails, and the canvas swells with a rising Southerly:2163

I go to Helenus, the seer, with these words and ask:2164

“Trojan-born, agent of the gods, you who know Apollo’s will,2165

the tripods, the laurels at Claros, the stars, the language2166

of birds, and the omens of their wings in flight,2167

come, speak (since a favourable oracle told me 2168

all my route, and all the gods in their divinity urged me2169

to seek Italy, and explore the furthest lands:2170

only the Harpy, Celaeno, predicts fresh portents, 2171

evil to tell of, and threatens bitter anger2172

and vile famine) first, what dangers shall I avoid?2173

Following what course can I overcome such troubles?”2174

Helenus, first sacrificing bullocks according to the ritual,2175

obtained the gods’ grace, then loosened the headband2176

from his holy brow, and led me, anxious at so much2177

divine power, with his own hand, to your threshold Apollo,2178

and then the priest prophesied this, from the divine mouth:2179

“Son of the goddess, since the truth is clear, that you sail2180

the deep blessed by the higher powers (so the king of the gods2181

allots our fates, and rolls the changes, so the order alters),2182

I’ll explain a few things of many, in my words to you,2183

so you may travel foreign seas more safely, and can find2184

rest in an Italian haven: for the Fates forbid Helenus2185

to know further, and Saturnian Juno denies him speech.2186

Firstly, a long pathless path, by long coastlines, separates2187

you from that far-off Italy, whose neighbouring port 2188

you intend to enter, unknowingly thinking it nearby. 2189

Before you can build your city in a safe land,2190

you must bend the oar in Sicilian waters,2191

and pass the levels of the Italian seas, in your ships,2192

the infernal lakes, and Aeaean Circe’s island.2193

I’ll tell you of signs: keep them stored in your memory.2194

When, in your distress, you find a huge sow lying on the shore,2195

by the waters of a remote river, under the oak trees,2196

that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow,2197

lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats,2198

that place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labours.2199

And do not dread that gnawing of tables, in your future:2200

the fates will find a way, Apollo will be there at your call.2201

But avoid these lands, and this nearer coastline2202

of the Italian shore, washed by our own2203

ocean tide: hostile Greeks inhabit every town.2204

The Narycian Locri have built a city here,2205

and Lyctian Idomeneus has filled the plain 2206

with soldiers: here is that little Petelia, of Philoctetes, 2207

leader of the Meliboeans, relying on its walls.2208

Then when your fleet has crossed the sea, and anchored2209

and the altars are raised for your offerings on the shore,2210

veil your hair, clothed in your purple robes, so that2211

in worshipping the gods no hostile face may intrude2212

among the sacred flames, and disturb the omens.2213

Let your friends adopt this mode of sacrifice, and yourself:2214

and let your descendants remain pure in this religion.2215

But when the wind carries you, on leaving, to the Sicilian shore,2216

and the barriers of narrow Pelorus open ahead, 2217

make for the seas and land to port, in a long circuit: 2218

avoid the shore and waters on the starboard side.2219

They say, when the two were one continuous stretch of land,2220

they one day broke apart, torn by the force of a vast upheaval2221

(time’s remote antiquity enables such great changes).2222

The sea flowed between them with force, and severed2223

the Italian from the Sicilian coast, and a narrow tideway2224

washes the cities and fields on separate shores.2225

Scylla holds the right side, implacable Charybdis the left,2226

who, in the depths of the abyss, swallows the vast flood2227

three times into the downward gulf and alternately lifts2228

it to the air, and lashes the heavens with her waves.2229

But a cave surrounds Scylla with dark hiding-places,2230

and she thrusts her mouths out, and drags ships onto the rocks.2231

Above she has human shape, and is a girl, with lovely breasts,2232

a girl, down to her sex, below it she is a sea-monster of huge size,2233

with dolphins’ tails joined to a belly formed of wolves. 2234

It is better to round the point of Pachynus,2235

lingering, and circling Sicily on a long course,2236

than to once catch sight of hideous Scylla in her vast cave2237

and the rocks that echo to her sea-dark hounds.2238

Beyond this, if Helenus has any knowledge, if the seer2239

can be believed, if Apollo fills his spirit with truth,2240

son of the goddess, I will say this one thing, this one thing2241

that is worth all, and I’ll repeat the warning again and again,2242

honour great Juno’s divinity above all, with prayer, and recite 2243

your vows to Juno freely, and win over that powerful lady2244

with humble gifts: so at last you’ll leave Sicily behind2245

and reach the coast of Italy, victorious. 2246

Once brought there, approach the city of Cumae,2247

the ghostly lakes, and Avernus, with its whispering groves,2248

gaze on the raving prophetess, who sings the fates2249

deep in the rock, and commits names and signs to leaves.2250

Whatever verses the virgin writes on the leaves,2251

she arranges in order, and stores them high up in her cave.2252

They stay in place, motionless, and keep in rank:2253

but once a light breeze ruffles them, at the turn of a hinge,2254

and the opening door disturbs the delicate leaves, she never 2255

thinks to retrieve them, as they flutter through the rocky cave, 2256

or to return them to their places, or reconstitute the prophecies:2257

men go away unanswered, and detest the Sibyl’s lair.2258

Though your friends complain, and though your course2259

calls your sails urgently to the deep, and a following wind2260

might fill the canvas, don’t overvalue the loss in any delay,2261

but visit the prophetess, and beg her with prayers to speak2262

the oracle herself, and loose her voice through willing lips.2263

She will rehearse the peoples of Italy, the wars to come,2264

and how you might evade or endure each trial,2265

and, shown respect, she’ll grant you a favourable journey.2266

These are the things you can be warned of by my voice.2267

Go now, and by your actions raise great Troy to the stars.”2268

BkIII:463-505 The Departure from Chaonia2269

After the seer had spoken these words with benign lips,2270

he ordered heavy gifts of gold and carved ivory2271

to be carried to our ships, and stored massive silverware2272

in the holds, cauldrons from Dodona, a hooked breastplate2273

woven with triple-linked gold, and a fine conical helmet2274

with a crest of horse-hair, Pyrrhus’s armour. 2275

There were gifts of his own for my father too.2276

Helenus added horses and sea-pilots: he manned2277

our oars: he also equipped my friends with weapons.2278

Meanwhile Anchises ordered us to rig sails on the ships,2279

so the rushing wind would not be lost, by our delay.2280

Apollo’s agent spoke to him with great respect:2281

“Anchises, worthy of proud marriage with Venus,2282

cared for by the gods, twice saved from the ruins of Troy,2283

behold your land of Italy: sail and take it.2284

But still you must slide past it on the seas:2285

the part of Italy that Apollo named is far away.2286

Go onward, happy in your son’s love. Why should I say more,2287

and delay your catching the rising wind?”2288

Andromache also, grieved at this final parting, brought robes2289

embroidered with gold weave, and a Phrygian cloak2290

for Ascanius, nor did she fail to honour him, 2291

and loaded him down with gifts of cloth, and said:2292

“Take these as well, my child, remembrances for you2293

from my hand, and witness of the lasting love of Andromache,2294

Hector’s wife. Take these last gifts from your kin,2295

O you, the sole image left to me of my Astyanax.2296

He had the same eyes, the same hands, the same lips:2297

and now he would be growing up like you, equal in age.”2298

My tears welled as I spoke these parting words:2299

“Live happily, you whose fortunes are already determined:2300

we are summoned onwards from destiny to destiny.2301

For you, peace is achieved: you’ve no need to plough the levels2302

of the sea, you’ve no need to seek Italy’s ever-receding fields.2303

I wish that you might gaze at your likeness of Xanthus,2304

and a Troy built by your own hands, under happier auspices,2305

one which might be less exposed to the Greeks.2306

If I ever reach the Tiber, and the Tiber’s neighbouring fields,2307

and gaze on city walls granted to my people, we’ll one day2308

make one Troy, in spirit, from each of our kindred cities2309

and allied peoples, in Epirus, in Italy, who have the same Dardanus2310

for ancestor, the same history: let it be left to our descendants care.”2311

BkIII:506-547 In Sight of Italy2312

We sail on over the sea, close to the Ceraunian cliffs nearby,2313

on course for Italy, and the shortest path over the waves.2314

Meanwhile the sun is setting and the darkened hills are in shadow.2315

Having shared oars, we stretch out, near the waves, on the surface2316

of the long-desired land, and, scattered across the dry beach,2317

we rest our bodies: sleep refreshes our weary limbs.2318

Night, lead by the Hours, is not yet in mid-course:2319

Palinurus rises alertly from his couch, tests all 2320

the winds, and listens to the breeze: he notes2321

all the stars gliding through the silent sky,2322

Arcturus, the rainy Pleiades, both the Bears,2323

and surveys Orion, armed with gold. When he sees 2324

that all tallies, and the sky is calm, he sounds2325

a loud call from the ship’s stern: we break camp, 2326

attempt our route, and spread the winged sails.2327

And now Dawn blushes as she puts the stars to flight,2328

when we see, far off, dark hills and low-lying Italy.2329

First Achates proclaims Italy, then my companions2330

hail Italy with a joyful shout. Then my father Anchises2331

took up a large bowl, filled it with wine,2332

and standing in the high stern, called to the heavens:2333

“You gods, lords of the sea and earth and storms, carry us 2334

onward on a gentle breeze, and breathe on us with kindness!”2335

The wind we longed-for rises, now as we near, a harbour opens,2336

and a temple is visible on Minerva’s Height.2337

My companions furl the sails and turn the prows to shore.2338

The harbour is carved in an arc by the eastern tides:2339

its jutting rocks boil with salt spray, so that it itself is hidden:2340

towering cliffs extend their arms in a twin wall,2341

and the temple lies back from the shore.2342

Here I see four horses in the long grass, white as snow, 2343

grazing widely over the plain, our first omen.2344

And my father Anchises cries: “O foreign land, you bring us war:2345

horses are armed for war, war is what this herd threatens.2346

Yet those same creatures one day can be yoked to a chariot,2347

and once yoked will suffer the bridle in harmony:2348

there’s also hope of peace.” Then we pray to the sacred power2349

of Pallas, of the clashing weapons, first to receive our cheers,2350

and clothed in Phrygian robes we veiled our heads before the altar,2351

and following the urgent command Helenus had given,2352

we duly made burnt offerings to Argive Juno as ordered. 2353

BkIII:548-587 The Approach to Sicily2354

Without delay, as soon as our vows are fully paid,2355

we haul on the ends of our canvas-shrouded yard-arms,2356

and leave the home of the Greek race, and the fields we mistrust.2357

Then Tarentum’s bay is seen, Hercules’s city if the tale is true:2358

Lacinian Juno’s temple rises against it, Caulon’s fortress,2359

and Scylaceum’s shore of shipwreck.2360

Then far off Sicilian Etna appears from the waves,2361

and we hear the loud roar of the sea, and the distant2362

tremor of the rocks, and the broken murmurs of the shore,2363

the shallows boil, and sand mixes with the flood.2364

Then my father, Anchises, said: “This must be Charybdis:2365

these are the cliffs, these are the horrendous rocks Helenus foretold.2366

Pull away, O comrades, and stand to the oars together.”2367

They do no less than they’re asked, and Palinurus is the first2368

to heave his groaning ship into the portside waves:2369

all our company seek port with oars and sail.2370

We climb to heaven on the curving flood, and again2371

sink down with the withdrawing waves to the depths of Hades.2372

The cliffs boom three times in their rocky caves,2373

three times we see the spray burst, and the dripping stars.2374

Then the wind and sunlight desert weary men,2375

and not knowing the way we drift to the Cyclopes’s shore.2376

There’s a harbour, itself large and untroubled by the passing winds,2377

but Etna rumbles nearby with fearsome avalanches,2378

now it spews black clouds into the sky, smoking,2379

with pitch-black turbulence, and glowing ashes,2380

and throws up balls of flame, licking the stars:2381

now it hurls high the rocks it vomits, and the mountain’s 2382

torn entrails, and gathers molten lava together in the air2383

with a roar, boiling from its lowest depths.2384

The tale is that Enceladus’s body, scorched by the lightning-bolt,2385

is buried by that mass, and piled above him, mighty Etna2386

breathes flames from its riven furnaces,2387

and as often as he turns his weary flank, all Sicily2388

quakes and rumbles, and clouds the sky with smoke.2389

That night we hide in the woods, enduring the dreadful shocks,2390

unable to see what the cause of the sound is,2391

since there are no heavenly fires, no bright pole2392

in the starry firmament, but clouds in a darkened sky,2393

and the dead of night holds the moon in shroud.2394

BkIII:588-654 Achaemenides2395

Now the next day was breaking with the first light of dawn,2396

and Aurora had dispersed the moist shadows from the sky,2397

when suddenly the strange form of an unknown man came out2398

of the woods, exhausted by the last pangs of hunger, 2399

pitifully dressed, and stretched his hands in supplication 2400

towards the shore. We looked back. Vile with filth, his beard uncut,2401

his clothing fastened together with thorns: but otherwise a Greek,2402

once sent to Troy in his country’s armour.2403

When he saw the Dardan clothes and Trojan weapons, far off,2404

he hesitated a moment, frightened at the sight, 2405

and checked his steps: then ran headlong to the beach, 2406

with tears and prayers: “The stars be my witness,2407

the gods, the light in the life-giving sky, Trojans, 2408

take me with you: carry me to any country whatsoever,2409

that will be fine by me. I know I’m from one of the Greek ships,2410

and I confess that I made war against Trojan gods,2411

if my crime is so great an injury to you, scatter me2412

over the waves for it, or drown me in the vast ocean:2413

if I die I’ll delight in dying at the hands of men.”2414

He spoke and clung to my knees, embracing them 2415

and grovelling there. We urged him to say who he was,2416

born of what blood, then to say what fate pursued him.2417

Without much delay, my father Anchises himself gave2418

the young man his hand, lifting his spirits by this ready trust.2419

At last he set his fears aside and told us:2420

“I’m from the land of Ithaca, a companion of unlucky Ulysses,2421

Achaemenides by name, and, my father Adamastus being poor,2422

(I wish fate had kept me so!) I set out for Troy.2423

My comrades left me here in the Cyclops’ vast cave,2424

forgetting me, as they hurriedly left that grim2425

threshold. It’s a house of blood and gory feasts,2426

vast and dark inside. He himself is gigantic, striking against2427

the high stars – gods, remove plagues like that from the earth! –2428

not pleasant to look at, affable to no one.2429

He eats the dark blood and flesh of wretched men.2430

I saw myself how he seized two of our number in his huge hands,2431

and reclining in the centre of the cave, broke them2432

on the rock, so the threshold, drenched, swam with blood:2433

I saw how he gnawed their limbs, dripping with dark clots2434

of gore, and the still-warm bodies quivered in his jaws.2435

Yet he did not go unpunished: Ulysses didn’t suffer it,2436

nor did the Ithacan forget himself in a crisis. 2437

As soon as the Cyclops, full of flesh and sated with wine,2438

relaxed his neck, and lay, huge in size, across the cave,2439

drooling gore and blood and wine-drenched fragments 2440

in his sleep, we prayed to the great gods, and our roles fixed,2441

surrounded him on all sides, and stabbed his one huge eye,2442

solitary, and half-hidden under his savage brow,2443

like a round Greek shield, or the sun-disc of Phoebus,2444

with a sharpened stake: and so we joyfully avenged2445

the spirits of our friends. But fly from here, wretched men,2446

and cut your mooring ropes. Since, like Polyphemus, who pens2447

woolly flocks in the rocky cave, and milks their udders, there are2448

a hundred other appalling Cyclopes, the same in shape and size,2449

everywhere inhabiting the curved bay, and wandering the hills.2450

The moon’s horns have filled with light three times now, while I2451

have been dragging my life out in the woods, among the lairs 2452

and secret haunts of wild creatures, watching the huge Cyclopes2453

from the cliffs, trembling at their voices and the sound of their feet. 2454

The branches yield a miserable supply of fruits and stony cornelian2455

cherries, and the grasses, torn up by their roots, feed me.2456

Watching for everything, I saw, for the first time, this fleet 2457

approaching shore. Whatever might happen, I surrendered myself2458

to you: it’s enough for me to have escaped that wicked people.2459

I’d rather you took this life of mine by any death whatsoever.”2460

BkIII:655-691 Polyphemus2461

He’d barely spoken, when we saw the shepherd Polyphemus2462

himself, moving his mountainous bulk on the hillside2463

among the flocks, and heading for the familiar shore,2464

a fearful monster, vast and shapeless, robbed of the light.2465

A lopped pine-trunk in his hand steadied and guided2466

his steps: his fleecy sheep accompanied him: 2467

his sole delight and the solace for his evils. 2468

As soon as he came to the sea and reached the deep water,2469

he washed away the blood oozing from the gouged eye-socket,2470

groaning and gnashing his teeth. Then he walked through2471

the depths of the waves, without the tide wetting his vast thighs.2472

Anxiously we hurried our departure from there, accepting 2473

the worthy suppliant on board, and cutting the cable in silence:2474

then leaning into our oars, we vied in sweeping the sea.2475

He heard, and bent his course towards the sound of splashing.2476

But when he was denied the power to set hands on us,2477

and unable to counter the force of the Ionian waves, in pursuit,2478

he raised a mighty shout, at which the sea and all the waves2479

shook, and the land of Italy was frightened far inland,2480

and Etna bellowed from its winding caverns, but the tribe2481

of Cyclopes, roused from their woods and high mountains, 2482

rushed to the harbour, and crowded the shore.2483

We saw them standing there, impotently, wild-eyed,2484

the Aetnean brotherhood, heads towering into the sky,2485

a fearsome gathering: like tall oaks rooted on a summit,2486

or cone-bearing cypresses, in Jove’s high wood or Diana’s grove.2487

Acute fear drove us on to pay out the ropes on whatever tack2488

and spread our sails to any favourable wind. 2489

Helenus’s orders warned against taking a course between2490

Scylla and Charybdis, a hair’s breadth from death2491

on either side: we decided to beat back again.2492

When, behold, a northerly arrived from the narrow2493

headland of Pelorus: I sailed past the natural rock mouth2494

of the Pantagias, Megara’s bay, and low-lying Thapsus.2495

Such were the shores Achaemenides, the friend of unlucky Ulysses,2496

showed me, sailing his wandering journey again, in reverse.2497

BkIII:692-718 The Death of Anchises2498

An island lies over against wave-washed Plemyrium,2499

stretched across a Sicilian bay: named Ortygia by men of old.2500

The story goes that Alpheus, a river of Elis, forced2501

a hidden path here under the sea, and merges 2502

with the Sicilian waters of your fountain Arethusa.2503

As commanded we worshipped the great gods of this land,2504

and from there I passed marshy Helorus’s marvellously rich soil.2505

Next we passed the tall reefs and jutting rocks of Pachynus,2506

and Camerina appeared in the distance, granted2507

immoveable, by prophecy, and the Geloan plains, 2508

and Gela named after its savage river.2509

Then steep Acragas, once the breeder of brave horses,2510

showed its mighty ramparts in the distance:2511

and granted the wind, I left palmy Selinus, and passed2512

the tricky shallows of Lilybaeum with their blind reefs.2513

Next the harbour of Drepanum, and its joyless shore,2514

received me. Here, alas, I lost my father, Anchises, 2515

my comfort in every trouble and misfortune, I, who’d2516

been driven by so many ocean storms: here you left me, 2517

weary, best of fathers, saved from so many dangers in vain!2518

Helenus, the seer, did not prophesy this grief of mine,2519

when he warned me of many horrors, nor did grim Celaeno.2520

This was my last trouble, this the end of my long journey:2521

leaving there, the god drove me to your shores.’2522

So our ancestor Aeneas, as all listened to one man,2523

recounted divine fate, and described his journey.2524

At last he stopped, and making an end here, rested.2525

BkIV:1-53 Dido and Anna Discuss Aeneas2526

But the queen, wounded long since by intense love, 2527

feeds the hurt with her life-blood, weakened by hidden fire.2528

The hero’s courage often returns to mind, and the nobility2529

of his race: his features and his words cling fixedly to her heart,2530

and love will not grant restful calm to her body.2531

The new day’s Dawn was lighting the earth with Phoebus’s2532

brightness, and dispelling the dew-wet shadows from the sky,2533

when she spoke ecstatically to her sister, her kindred spirit:2534

“Anna, sister, how my dreams terrify me with anxieties!2535

Who is this strange guest who has entered our house,2536

with what boldness he speaks, how resolute in mind and warfare!2537

Truly I think – and it’s no idle saying – that he’s born of a goddess.2538

Fear reveals the ignoble spirit. Alas! What misfortunes test him!2539

What battles he spoke of, that he has undergone!2540

If my mind was not set, fixedly and immovably,2541

never to join myself with any man in the bonds of marriage,2542

because first-love betrayed me, cheated me through dying:2543

if I were not wearied by marriage and bridal-beds,2544

perhaps I might succumb to this one temptation.2545

Anna, yes I confess, since my poor husband Sychaeus’s death 2546

when the altars were blood-stained by my murderous brother,2547

he’s the only man who’s stirred my senses, troubled my2548

wavering mind. I know the traces of the ancient flame.2549

But I pray rather that earth might gape wide for me, to its depths,2550

or the all-powerful father hurl me with his lightning-bolt2551

down to the shadows, to the pale ghosts, and deepest night2552

of Erebus, before I violate you, Honour, or break your laws.2553

He who first took me to himself has stolen my love:2554

let him keep it with him, and guard it in his grave.”2555

So saying her breast swelled with her rising tears.2556

Anna replied: “O you, who are more beloved to your sister2557

than the light, will you wear your whole youth away 2558

in loneliness and grief, and not know Venus’s sweet gifts2559

or her children? Do you think that ashes or sepulchral spirits care?2560

Granted that in Libya or Tyre before it, no suitor ever2561

dissuaded you from sorrowing: and Iarbas and the other lords 2562

whom the African soil, rich in fame, bears, were scorned:2563

will you still struggle against a love that pleases?2564

Do you not recall to mind in whose fields you settled?2565

Here Gaetulian cities, a people unsurpassed in battle,2566

unbridled Numidians, and inhospitable Syrtis, surround you:2567

there, a region of dry desert, with Barcaeans raging around.2568

And what of your brother’s threats, and war with Tyre imminent?2569

The Trojan ships made their way here with the wind,2570

with gods indeed helping them I think, and with Juno’s favour.2571

What a city you’ll see here, sister, what a kingdom rise,2572

with such a husband! With a Trojan army marching with us,2573

with what great actions Punic glory will soar!2574

Only ask the gods for their help, and, propitiating them2575

with sacrifice, indulge your guest, spin reasons for delay,2576

while winter, and stormy Orion, rage at sea, 2577

while the ships are damaged, and the skies are hostile.”2578

BkIV:54-89 Dido in Love2579

By saying this she inflames the queen’s burning heart with love2580

and raises hopes in her anxious mind, and weakens her sense2581

of shame. First they visit the shrines and ask for grace at the altars:2582

they sacrifice chosen animals according to the rites,2583

to Ceres, the law-maker, and Phoebus, and father Lycaeus,2584

and to Juno above all, in whose care are the marriage ties:2585

Dido herself, supremely lovely, holding the cup in her hand,2586

pours the libation between the horns of a white heifer2587

or walks to the rich altars, before the face of the gods,2588

celebrates the day with gifts, and gazes into the opened2589

chests of victims, and reads the living entrails.2590

Ah, the unknowing minds of seers! What use are prayers2591

or shrines to the impassioned? Meanwhile her tender marrow 2592

is aflame, and a silent wound is alive in her breast.2593

Wretched Dido burns, and wanders frenzied through the city,2594

like an unwary deer struck by an arrow, that a shepherd hunting2595

with his bow has fired at from a distance, in the Cretan woods,2596

leaving the winged steel in her, without knowing.2597

She runs through the woods and glades of Dicte:2598

the lethal shaft hangs in her side.2599

Now she leads Aeneas with her round the walls2600

showing her Sidonian wealth and the city she’s built:2601

she begins to speak, and stops in mid-flow:2602

now she longs for the banquet again as day wanes,2603

yearning madly to hear about the Trojan adventures once more2604

and hangs once more on the speaker’s lips.2605

Then when they have departed, and the moon in turn2606

has quenched her light and the setting constellations urge sleep,2607

she grieves, alone in the empty hall, and lies on the couch2608

he left. Absent she hears him absent, sees him,2609

or hugs Ascanius on her lap, taken with this image2610

of his father, so as to deceive her silent passion.2611

The towers she started no longer rise, the young men no longer2612

carry out their drill, or work on the harbour and the battlements2613

for defence in war: the interrupted work is left hanging,2614

the huge threatening walls, the sky-reaching cranes.2615

BkIV:90-128 Juno and Venus2616

As soon as Juno, Jupiter’s beloved wife, saw clearly that Dido2617

was gripped by such heart-sickness, and her reputation2618

no obstacle to love, she spoke to Venus in these words:2619

“You and that son of yours, certainly take the prize, and plenty2620

of spoils: a great and memorable show of divine power,2621

whereby one woman’s trapped by the tricks of two gods.2622

But the truth’s not escaped me, you’ve always held the halls2623

of high Carthage under suspicion, afraid of my city’s defences.2624

But where can that end? Why such rivalry, now?2625

Why don’t we work on eternal peace instead, and a wedding pact?2626

You’ve achieved all that your mind was set on:2627

Dido’s burning with passion, and she’s drawn the madness2628

into her very bones. Let’s rule these people together 2629

with equal sway: let her be slave to a Trojan husband,2630

and entrust her Tyrians to your hand, as the dowry.”2631

Venus began the reply to her like this (since she knew2632

she’d spoken with deceit in her mind to divert the empire2633

from Italy’s shores to Libya’s): “Who’d be mad enough2634

to refuse such an offer or choose to make war on you,2635

so long as fate follows up what you say with action?2636

But fortune makes me uncertain, as to whether Jupiter wants2637

a single city for Tyrians and Trojan exiles, and approves2638

the mixing of races and their joining in league together.2639

You’re his wife: you can test his intent by asking.2640

Do it: I’ll follow.” Then royal Juno replied like this:2641

“That task’s mine. Now listen and I’ll tell you briefly2642

how the purpose at hand can be achieved. 2643

Aeneas and poor Dido plan to go hunting together 2644

in the woods, when the sun first shows tomorrow’s2645

dawn, and reveals the world in his rays.2646

While the lines are beating, and closing the thickets with nets,2647

I’ll pour down dark rain mixed with hail from the sky,2648

and rouse the whole heavens with my thunder.2649

They’ll scatter, and be lost in the dark of night:2650

Dido and the Trojan leader will reach the same cave.2651

I’ll be there, and if I’m assured of your good will,2652

I’ll join them firmly in marriage, and speak for her as his own:2653

this will be their wedding-night.” Not opposed to what she wanted,2654

Venus agreed, and smiled to herself at the deceit she’d found.2655

BkIV:129-172 The Hunt and the Cave2656

Meanwhile Dawn surges up and leaves the ocean.2657

Once she has risen, the chosen men pour from the gates:2658

Massylian horsemen ride out, with wide-meshed nets, 2659

snares, broad-headed hunting spears, and a pack 2660

of keen-scented hounds. The queen lingers in her rooms,2661

while Punic princes wait at the threshold: her horse stands there,2662

bright in purple and gold, and champs fiercely at the foaming bit.2663

At last she appears, with a great crowd around her,2664

dressed in a Sidonian robe with an embroidered hem.2665

Her quiver’s of gold, her hair knotted with gold,2666

a golden brooch fastens her purple tunic.2667

Her Trojan friends and joyful Iulus are with her:2668

Aeneas himself, the most handsome of them all, 2669

moves forward and joins his friendly troop with hers.2670

Like Apollo, leaving behind the Lycian winter, 2671

and the streams of Xanthus, and visiting his mother’s Delos,2672

to renew the dancing, Cretans and Dryopes and painted2673

Agathyrsians, mingling around his altars, shouting:2674

he himself striding over the ridges of Cynthus,2675

his hair dressed with tender leaves, and clasped with gold,2676

the weapons rattling on his shoulder: so Aeneas walks,2677

as lightly, beauty like the god’s shining from his noble face.2678

When they reach the mountain heights and pathless haunts,2679

see the wild goats, disturbed on their stony summits,2680

course down the slopes: in another place deer speed 2681

over the open field, massing together in a fleeing herd 2682

among clouds of dust, leaving the hillsides behind.2683

But the young Ascanius among the valleys, delights2684

in his fiery horse, passing this rider and that at a gallop, hoping2685

that amongst these harmless creatures a boar, with foaming mouth,2686

might answer his prayers, or a tawny lion, down from the mountain.2687

Meanwhile the sky becomes filled with a great rumbling:2688

rain mixed with hail follows, and the Tyrian company2689

and the Trojan men, with Venus’s Dardan grandson, 2690

scatter here and there through the fields, in their fear, 2691

seeking shelter: torrents stream down from the hills.2692

Dido and the Trojan leader reach the very same cave.2693

Primeval Earth and Juno of the Nuptials give their signal:2694

lightning flashes, the heavens are party to their union,2695

and the Nymphs howl on the mountain heights.2696

That first day is the source of misfortune and death.2697

Dido’s no longer troubled by appearances or reputation,2698

she no longer thinks of a secret affair: she calls it marriage:2699

and with that name disguises her sin.2700

BkIV:173-197 Rumour Reaches Iarbas2701

Rumour raced at once through Libya’s great cities,2702

Rumour, compared with whom no other is as swift.2703

She flourishes by speed, and gains strength as she goes:2704

first limited by fear, she soon reaches into the sky,2705

walks on the ground, and hides her head in the clouds.2706

Earth, incited to anger against the gods, so they say,2707

bore her last, a monster, vast and terrible, fleet-winged2708

and swift-footed, sister to Coeus and Enceladus,2709

who for every feather on her body has as many2710

watchful eyes below (marvellous to tell), as many2711

tongues speaking, as many listening ears. 2712

She flies, screeching, by night through the shadows2713

between earth and sky, never closing her eyelids2714

in sweet sleep: by day she sits on guard on tall roof-tops2715

or high towers, and scares great cities, as tenacious2716

of lies and evil, as she is messenger of truth.2717

Now in delight she filled the ears of the nations2718

with endless gossip, singing fact and fiction alike:2719

Aeneas has come, born of Trojan blood, a man whom2720

lovely Dido deigns to unite with: now they’re spending2721

the whole winter together in indulgence, forgetting2722

their royalty, trapped by shameless passion.2723

The vile goddess spread this here and there on men’s lips.2724

Immediately she slanted her course towards King Iarbas2725

and inflamed his mind with words and fuelled his anger.2726

BkIV:198-218 Iarbas Prays to Jupiter2727

He, a son of Jupiter Ammon, by a raped Garamantian Nymph,2728

had set up a hundred great temples, a hundred altars, to the god,2729

in his broad kingdom, and sanctified ever-living fires, the gods’2730

eternal guardians: the floors were soaked with sacrificial blood,2731

and the thresholds flowery with mingled garlands.2732

They say he often begged Jove humbly with upraised hands,2733

in front of the altars, among the divine powers,2734

maddened in spirit and set on fire by bitter rumour:2735

“All-powerful Jupiter, to whom the Moors, on their embroidered2736

divans, banqueting, now pour a Bacchic offering,2737

do you see this? Do we shudder in vain when you hurl 2738

your lightning bolts, father, and are those idle fires in the clouds2739

that terrify our minds, and flash among the empty rumblings?2740

A woman, wandering within my borders, who paid to found 2741

a little town, and to whom we granted coastal lands 2742

to plough, to hold in tenure, scorns marriage with me,2743

and takes Aeneas into her country as its lord. 2744

And now like some Paris, with his pack of eunuchs,2745

a Phrygian cap, tied under his chin, on his greasy hair,2746

he’s master of what he’s snatched: while I bring gifts indeed 2747

to temples, said to be yours, and cherish your empty reputation.2748

BkIV:219-278 Jupiter Sends Mercury to Aeneas2749

As he gripped the altar, and prayed in this way, 2750

the All-powerful one listened, and turned his gaze towards2751

the royal city, and the lovers forgetful of their true reputation.2752

Then he spoke to Mercury and commanded him so:2753

“Off you go, my son, call the winds and glide on your wings,2754

and talk to the Trojan leader who malingers in Tyrian Carthage2755

now, and gives no thought to the cities the fates will grant him,2756

and carry my words there on the quick breeze.2757

This is not what his loveliest of mothers suggested to me, 2758

nor why she rescued him twice from Greek armies:2759

he was to be one who’d rule Italy, pregnant with empire,2760

and crying out for war, he’d produce a people of Teucer’s 2761

high blood, and bring the whole world under the rule of law.2762

If the glory of such things doesn’t inflame him,2763

and he doesn’t exert himself for his own honour,2764

does he begrudge the citadels of Rome to Ascanius?2765

What does he plan? With what hopes does he stay2766

among alien people, forgetting Ausonia and the Lavinian fields?2767

Let him sail: that’s it in total, let that be my message.”2768

He finished speaking. The god prepared to obey his great 2769

father’s order, and first fastened the golden sandals to his feet2770

that carry him high on the wing over land and sea, like the storm.2771

Then he took up his wand: he calls pale ghosts from Orcus2772

with it, sending others down to grim Tartarus,2773

gives and takes away sleep, and opens the eyes of the dead.2774

Relying on it, he drove the winds, and flew through2775

the stormy clouds. Now in his flight he saw the steep flanks2776

and the summit of strong Atlas, who holds the heavens2777

on his head, Atlas, whose pine-covered crown is always wreathed2778

in dark clouds and lashed by the wind and rain:2779

fallen snow clothes his shoulders: while rivers fall2780

from his ancient chin, and his rough beard bristles with ice.2781

There Cyllenian Mercury first halted, balanced on level wings:2782

from there, he threw his whole body headlong 2783

towards the waves, like a bird that flies low close 2784

to the sea, round the coasts and the rocks rich in fish.2785

So the Cyllenian-born flew between heaven and earth2786

to Libya’s sandy shore, cutting the winds, coming2787

from Atlas, his mother Maia’s father.2788

As soon as he reached the builders’ huts, on his winged feet,2789

he saw Aeneas establishing towers and altering roofs.2790

His sword was starred with tawny jasper, 2791

and the cloak that hung from his shoulder blazed2792

with Tyrian purple, a gift that rich Dido had made,2793

weaving the cloth with golden thread.2794

Mercury challenged him at once: “For love of a wife 2795

are you now building the foundations of high Carthage2796

and a pleasing city? Alas, forgetful of your kingdom and fate!2797

The king of the gods himself, who bends heaven and earth2798

to his will, has sent me down to you from bright Olympus:2799

he commanded me himself to carry these words through2800

the swift breezes. What do you plan? With what hopes2801

do you waste idle hours in Libya’s lands? If you’re not stirred2802

by the glory of destiny, and won’t exert yourself for your own2803

fame, think of your growing Ascanius, and the expectations2804

of him, as Iulus your heir, to whom will be owed the kingdom 2805

of Italy, and the Roman lands.” So Mercury spoke,2806

and, while speaking, vanished from mortal eyes,2807

and melted into thin air far from their sight.2808

BkIV:279-330 Dido Accuses Aeneas2809

Aeneas, stupefied at the vision, was struck dumb,2810

and his hair rose in terror, and his voice stuck in his throat.2811

He was eager to be gone, in flight, and leave that sweet land,2812

shocked by the warning and the divine command.2813

Alas! What to do? With what speech dare he tackle 2814

the love-sick queen? What opening words should he choose?2815

And he cast his mind back and forth swiftly, 2816

considered the issue from every aspect, and turned it every way.2817

This seemed the best decision, given the alternatives:2818

he called Mnestheus, Sergestus and brave Serestus,2819

telling them to fit out the fleet in silence, gather the men2820

on the shore, ready the ships’ tackle, and hide the reason2821

for these changes of plan. He in the meantime, since 2822

the excellent Dido knew nothing, and would not expect2823

the breaking off of such a love, would seek an approach,2824

the tenderest moment to speak, and a favourable means.2825

They all gladly obeyed his command at once, and did his bidding.2826

But the queen sensed his tricks (who can deceive a lover?)2827

and was first to anticipate future events, fearful even of safety.2828

That same impious Rumour brought her madness:2829

they are fitting out the fleet, and planning a journey.2830

Her mind weakened, she raves, and, on fire, runs wild2831

through the city: like a Maenad, thrilled by the shaken emblems2832

of the god, when the biennial festival rouses her, and, hearing the Bacchic cry, Mount Cithaeron summons her by night with its noise.2833

Of her own accord she finally reproaches Aeneas in these words:2834

“Faithless one, did you really think you could hide2835

such wickedness, and vanish from my land in silence?2836

Will my love not hold you, nor the pledge I once gave you,2837

nor the promise that Dido will die a cruel death? 2838

Even in winter do you labour over your ships, cruel one,2839

so as to sail the high seas at the height of the northern gales?2840

Why? If you were not seeking foreign lands and unknown2841

settlements, but ancient Troy still stood, would Troy2842

be sought out by your ships in wave-torn seas? 2843

Is it me you run from? I beg you, by these tears, by your own2844

right hand (since I’ve left myself no other recourse in my misery),2845

by our union, by the marriage we have begun,2846

if ever I deserved well of you, or anything of me 2847

was sweet to you, pity this ruined house, and if 2848

there is any room left for prayer, change your mind. 2849

The Libyan peoples and Numidian rulers hate me because of you:2850

my Tyrians are hostile: because of you all shame too is lost,2851

the reputation I had, by which alone I might reach the stars.2852

My guest, since that’s all that is left me from the name of husband,2853

to whom do you relinquish me, a dying woman?2854

Why do I stay? Until Pygmalion, my brother, destroys2855

the city, or Iarbas the Gaetulian takes me captive?2856

If I’d at least conceived a child of yours2857

before you fled, if a little Aeneas were playing 2858

about my halls, whose face might still recall yours, 2859

I’d not feel myself so utterly deceived and forsaken.”2860

BkIV:331-361 Aeneas Justifies Himself2861

She had spoken. He set his gaze firmly on Jupiter’s2862

warnings, and hid his pain steadfastly in his heart.2863

He replied briefly at last: “O queen, I will never deny2864

that you deserve the most that can be spelt out in speech,2865

nor will I regret my thoughts of you, Elissa,2866

while memory itself is mine, and breath controls these limbs.2867

I’ll speak about the reality a little. I did not expect to conceal2868

my departure by stealth (don’t think that), nor have I ever2869

held the marriage torch, or entered into that pact. 2870

If the fates had allowed me to live my life under my own2871

auspices, and attend to my own concerns as I wished,2872

I should first have cared for the city of Troy and the sweet relics2873

of my family, Priam’s high roofs would remain, and I’d have 2874

recreated Pergama, with my own hands, for the defeated. 2875

But now it is Italy that Apollo of Grynium, 2876

Italy, that the Lycian oracles, order me to take:2877

that is my desire, that is my country. If the turrets of Carthage2878

and the sight of your Libyan city occupy you, a Phoenician,2879

why then begrudge the Trojans their settling of Ausonia’s lands?2880

It is right for us too to search out a foreign kingdom.2881

As often as night cloaks the earth with dew-wet shadows,2882

as often as the burning constellations rise, the troubled image2883

of my father Anchises warns and terrifies me in dream:2884

about my son Ascanius and the wrong to so dear a person,2885

whom I cheat of a Hesperian kingdom, and pre-destined fields.2886

Now even the messenger of the gods, sent by Jupiter himself,2887

(I swear it on both our heads), has brought the command2888

on the swift breeze: I saw the god himself in broad daylight2889

enter the city and these very ears drank of his words.2890

Stop rousing yourself and me with your complaints.2891

I do not take course for Italy of my own free will.”2892

BkIV:362-392 Dido’s Reply2893

As he was speaking she gazed at him with hostility,2894

casting her eyes here and there, considering the whole man2895

with a silent stare, and then, incensed, she spoke:2896

“Deceiver, your mother was no goddess, nor was Dardanus2897

the father of your race: harsh Caucasus engendered you2898

on the rough crags, and Hyrcanian tigers nursed you.2899

Why pretend now, or restrain myself waiting for something worse?2900

Did he groan at my weeping? Did he look at me?2901

Did he shed tears in defeat, or pity his lover?2902

What is there to say after this? Now neither greatest Juno, indeed,2903

nor Jupiter, son of Saturn, are gazing at this with friendly eyes.2904

Nowhere is truth safe. I welcomed him as a castaway on the shore,2905

a beggar, and foolishly gave away a part of my kingdom:2906

I saved his lost fleet, and his friends from death.2907

Ah! Driven by the Furies, I burn: now prophetic Apollo,2908

now the Lycian oracles, now even a divine messenger sent2909

by Jove himself carries his orders through the air.2910

This is the work of the gods indeed, this is a concern to trouble2911

their calm. I do not hold you back, or refute your words:2912

go, seek Italy on the winds, find your kingdom over the waves.2913

Yet if the virtuous gods have power, I hope that you2914

will drain the cup of suffering among the reefs, and call out Dido’s2915

name again and again. Absent, I’ll follow you with dark fires, 2916

and when icy death has divided my soul and body, my ghost2917

will be present everywhere. Cruel one, you’ll be punished.2918

I’ll hear of it: that news will reach me in the depths of Hades.”2919

Saying this, she broke off her speech mid-flight, and fled2920

the light in pain, turning from his eyes, and going,2921

leaving him fearful and hesitant, ready to say more.2922

Her servants received her and carried her failing body 2923

to her marble chamber, and laid her on her bed.2924

BkIV:393-449 Aeneas Departs2925

But dutiful Aeneas, though he desired to ease her sadness2926

by comforting her and to turn aside pain with words, still, 2927

with much sighing, and a heart shaken by the strength of her love,2928

followed the divine command, and returned to the fleet.2929

Then the Trojans truly set to work and launched the tall ships2930

all along the shore. They floated the resinous keels,2931

and ready for flight, they brought leafy branches2932

and untrimmed trunks, from the woods, as oars.2933

You could see them hurrying and moving from every part2934

of the city. Like ants that plunder a vast heap of grain,2935

and store it in their nest, mindful of winter: a dark column2936

goes through the fields, and they carry their spoils2937

along a narrow track through the grass: some heave2938

with their shoulders against a large seed, and push, others tighten2939

the ranks and punish delay, the whole path’s alive with work.2940

What were your feelings Dido at such sights, what sighs2941

did you give, watching the shore from the heights 2942

of the citadel, everywhere alive, and seeing the whole 2943

sea, before your eyes, confused with such cries!2944

Cruel Love, to what do you not drive the human heart:2945

to burst into tears once more, to see once more if he can2946

be compelled by prayers, to humbly submit to love,2947

lest she leave anything untried, dying in vain.2948

“Anna, you see them scurrying all round the shore:2949

they’ve come from everywhere: the canvas already invites2950

the breeze, and the sailors, delighted, have set garlands2951

on the sterns. If I was able to foresee this great grief,2952

sister, then I’ll be able to endure it too. Yet still do one thing2953

for me in my misery, Anna: since the deceiver cultivated2954

only you, even trusting you with his private thoughts:2955

and only you know the time to approach the man easily.2956

Go, sister, and speak humbly to my proud enemy.2957

I never took the oath, with the Greeks at Aulis,2958

to destroy the Trojan race, or sent a fleet to Pergama,2959

or disturbed the ashes and ghost of his father Anchises:2960

why does he pitilessly deny my words access to his hearing?2961

Where does he run to? Let him give his poor lover this last gift:2962

let him wait for an easy voyage and favourable winds.2963

I don’t beg now for our former tie, that he has betrayed,2964

nor that he give up his beautiful Latium, and abandon2965

his kingdom: I ask for insubstantial time: peace and space2966

for my passion, while fate teaches my beaten spirit to grieve.2967

I beg for this last favour (pity your sister):2968

when he has granted it me, I’ll repay all by dying.”2969

Such are the prayers she made, and such are those2970

her unhappy sister carried and re-carried. But he was not2971

moved by tears, and listened to no words receptively:2972

Fate barred the way, and a god sealed the hero’s gentle hearing.2973

As when northerly blasts from the Alps blowing here and there2974

vie together to uproot an oak tree, tough with the strength of years:2975

there’s a creak, and the trunk quivers and the topmost leaves2976

strew the ground: but it clings to the rocks, and its roots2977

stretch as far down to Tartarus as its crown does towards2978

the heavens: so the hero was buffeted by endless pleas 2979

from this side and that, and felt the pain in his noble heart. 2980

His purpose remained fixed: tears fell uselessly.2981

BkIV:450-503 Dido Resolves to Die2982

Then the unhappy Dido, truly appalled by her fate, 2983

prayed for death: she was weary of gazing at the vault of heaven.2984

And that she might complete her purpose, and relinquish the light2985

more readily, when she placed her offerings on the altar alight2986

with incense, she saw (terrible to speak of!) the holy water blacken,2987

and the wine she had poured change to vile blood.2988

She spoke of this vision to no one, not even her sister.2989

There was a marble shrine to her former husband in the palace,2990

that she’d decked out, also, with marvellous beauty,2991

with snow-white fleeces, and festive greenery:2992

from it she seemed to hear voices and her husband’s words2993

calling her, when dark night gripped the earth:2994

and the lonely owl on the roofs often grieved2995

with ill-omened cries, drawing out its long call in a lament:2996

and many a prophecy of the ancient seers terrified her2997

with its dreadful warning. Harsh Aeneas himself persecuted2998

her, in her crazed sleep: always she was forsaken, alone with2999

herself, always she seemed to be travelling companionless on some3000

long journey, seeking her Tyrian people in a deserted landscape:3001

like Pentheus, deranged, seeing the Furies file past,3002

and twin suns and a twin Thebes revealed to view,3003

or like Agamemnon’s son Orestes driven across the stage when he3004

flees his mother’s ghost armed with firebrands and black snakes,3005

while the avenging Furies crouch on the threshold.3006

So that when, overcome by anguish, she harboured the madness,3007

and determined on death, she debated with herself over the time3008

and the method, and going to her sorrowful sister with a face 3009

that concealed her intent, calm, with hope on her brow, said:3010

“Sister, I’ve found a way (rejoice with your sister)3011

that will return him to me, or free me from loving him.3012

Near the ends of the Ocean and where the sun sets3013

Ethiopia lies, the furthest of lands, where Atlas, 3014

mightiest of all, turns the sky set with shining stars:3015

I’ve been told of a priestess, of Massylian race, there, 3016

a keeper of the temple of the Hesperides, who gave3017

the dragon its food, and guarded the holy branches of the tree,3018

scattering the honeydew and sleep-inducing poppies.3019

With her incantations she promises to set free 3020

what hearts she wishes, but bring cruel pain to others:3021

to stop the rivers flowing, and turn back the stars:3022

she wakes nocturnal Spirits: you’ll see earth yawn3023

under your feet, and the ash trees march from the hills.3024

You, and the gods, and your sweet life, are witness,3025

dear sister, that I arm myself with magic arts unwillingly.3026

Build a pyre, secretly, in an inner courtyard, open to the sky, 3027

and place the weapons on it which that impious man left 3028

hanging in my room, and the clothes, and the bridal bed 3029

that undid me: I want to destroy all memories3030

of that wicked man, and the priestess commends it.”3031

Saying this she fell silent: at the same time a pallor spread3032

over her face. Anna did not yet realise that her sister 3033

was disguising her own funeral with these strange rites,3034

her mind could not conceive of such intensity, 3035

and she feared nothing more serious than when 3036

Sychaeus died. So she prepared what was demanded.3037

BkIV:504-553 Dido Laments3038

But when the pyre of cut pine and oak was raised high, 3039

in an innermost court open to the sky, the queen3040

hung the place with garlands, and wreathed it 3041

with funereal foliage: she laid his sword and clothes3042

and picture on the bed, not unmindful of the ending.3043

Altars stand round about, and the priestess, with loosened hair,3044

intoned the names of three hundred gods, of Erebus, Chaos,3045

and the triple Hecate, the three faces of virgin Diana.3046

And she sprinkled water signifying the founts of Avernus:3047

there were herbs too acquired by moonlight, cut3048

with a bronze sickle, moist with the milk of dark venom:3049

and a caul acquired by tearing it from a newborn colt’s brow,3050

forestalling the mother’s love. She herself, near the altars,3051

with sacred grain in purified hands, one foot free of constraint,3052

her clothing loosened, called on the gods to witness3053

her coming death, and on the stars conscious of fate: 3054

then she prayed to whatever just and attentive power 3055

there might be, that cares for unrequited lovers.3056

It was night, and everywhere weary creatures were enjoying3057

peaceful sleep, the woods and the savage waves were resting, 3058

while stars wheeled midway in their gliding orbit,3059

while all the fields were still, and beasts and colourful birds,3060

those that live on wide scattered lakes, and those that live3061

in rough country among the thorn-bushes, were sunk in sleep3062

in the silent night. But not the Phoenician, unhappy in spirit, 3063

she did not relax in sleep, or receive the darkness into her eyes3064

and breast: her cares redoubled, and passion, alive once more, 3065

raged, and she swelled with a great tide of anger.3066

So she began in this way turning it over alone in her heart:3067

“See, what can I do? Be mocked trying my former suitors,3068

seeking marriage humbly with Numidians whom I 3069

have already disdained so many times as husbands?3070

Shall I follow the Trojan fleet then and that Teucrian’s3071

every whim? Because they might delight in having been3072

helped by my previous aid, or because gratitude 3073

for past deeds might remain truly fixed in their memories?3074

Indeed who, given I wanted to, would let me, or would take3075

one they hate on board their proud ships? Ah, lost girl,3076

do you not know or feel yet the treachery of Laomedon’s race?3077

What then? Shall I go alone, accompanying triumphant sailors?3078

Or with all my band of Tyrians clustered round me?3079

Shall I again drive my men to sea in pursuit, those3080

whom I could barely tear away from their Sidonian city,3081

and order them to spread their sails to the wind? 3082

Rather die, as you deserve, and turn away sorrow with steel.3083

You, my sister, conquered by my tears, in my madness, you 3084

first burdened me with these ills, and exposed me to my enemy.3085

I was not allowed to pass my life without blame, free of marriage, 3086

in the manner of some wild creature, never knowing such pain:3087

I have not kept the vow I made to Sychaeus’s ashes.”3088

Such was the lament that burst from her heart.3089

BkIV:554-583 Mercury Visits Aeneas Again3090

Now that everything was ready, and he was resolved on going,3091

Aeneas was snatching some sleep, on the ship’s high stern.3092

That vision appeared again in dream admonishing him,3093

similar to Mercury in every way, voice and colouring,3094

golden hair, and youth’s graceful limbs:3095

“Son of the Goddess, can you consider sleep in this disaster,3096

can’t you see the danger of it that surrounds you, madman3097

or hear the favourable west winds blowing?3098

Determined to die, she broods on mortal deceit and sin,3099

and is tossed about on anger’s volatile flood.3100

Won’t you flee from here, in haste, while you can hasten?3101

Soon you’ll see the water crowded with ships, 3102

cruel firebrands burning, soon the shore will rage with flame,3103

if the Dawn finds you lingering in these lands. Come, now,3104

end your delay! Woman is ever fickle and changeable.” 3105

So he spoke, and blended with night’s darkness. 3106

Then Aeneas, terrified indeed by the sudden apparition,3107

roused his body from sleep, and called to his friends:3108

“ Quick, men, awake, and man the rowing-benches: run 3109

and loosen the sails. Know that a god, sent from the heavens,3110

urges us again to speed our flight, and cut the twisted hawsers. 3111

We follow you, whoever you may be, sacred among the gods,3112

and gladly obey your commands once more. Oh, be with us, 3113

calm one, help us, and show stars favourable to us in the sky.” 3114

He spoke, and snatched his shining sword from its sheath,3115

and struck the cable with the naked blade. All were possessed3116

at once with the same ardour: They snatched up their goods,3117

and ran: abandoning the shore: the water was clothed with ships:3118

setting to, they churned the foam and swept the blue waves.3119

BkIV:584-629 Dido’s Curse3120

And now, at dawn, Aurora, leaving Tithonus’s saffron bed,3121

was scattering fresh daylight over the earth.3122

As soon as the queen saw the day whiten, from her tower, 3123

and the fleet sailing off under full canvas, and realised 3124

the shore and harbour were empty of oarsmen, she3125

struck her lovely breast three or four times with her hand,3126

and tearing at her golden hair, said: “Ah, Jupiter, is he to leave,3127

is a foreigner to pour scorn on our kingdom? Shall my Tyrians3128

ready their armour, and follow them out of the city, and others drag3129

our ships from their docks? Go, bring fire quickly, hand out the3130

weapons, drive the oars! What am I saying? Where am I?3131

What madness twists my thoughts? Wretched Dido, is it now3132

that your impious actions hurt you? The right time was then, 3133

when you gave him the crown. So this is the word and loyalty3134

of the man whom they say bears his father’s gods around,3135

of the man who carried his age-worn father on his shoulders? 3136

Couldn’t I have seized hold of him, torn his body apart,3137

and scattered him on the waves? And put his friends to the sword,3138

and Ascanius even, to feast on, as a course at his father’s table?3139

True the fortunes of war are uncertain. Let them be so:3140

as one about to die, whom had I to fear? I should have set fire3141

to his camp, filled the decks with flames, and extinguishing3142

father and son, and their whole race, given up my own life as well.3143

O Sun, you who illuminate all the works of this world,3144

and you Juno, interpreter and knower of all my pain,3145

and Hecate howled to, in cities, at midnight crossroads,3146

you, avenging Furies, and you, gods of dying Elissa,3147

acknowledge this, direct your righteous will to my troubles,3148

and hear my prayer. If it must be that the accursed one3149

should reach the harbour, and sail to the shore: 3150

if Jove’s destiny for him requires it, there his goal:3151

still, troubled in war by the armies of a proud race, 3152

exiled from his territories, torn from Iulus’s embrace,3153

let him beg help, and watch the shameful death of his people: 3154

then, when he has surrendered, to a peace without justice, 3155

may he not enjoy his kingdom or the days he longed for,3156

but let him die before his time, and lie unburied on the sand.3157

This I pray, these last words I pour out with my blood.3158

Then, O Tyrians, pursue my hatred against his whole line3159

and the race to come, and offer it as a tribute to my ashes. 3160

Let there be no love or treaties between our peoples.3161

Rise, some unknown avenger, from my dust, who will pursue3162

the Trojan colonists with fire and sword, now, or in time3163

to come, whenever the strength is granted him.3164

I pray that shore be opposed to shore, water to wave,3165

weapon to weapon: let them fight, them and their descendants.”3166

BkIV:630-705 The Death of Dido3167

She spoke, and turned her thoughts this way and that,3168

considering how to destroy her hateful life.3169

Then she spoke briefly to Barce, Sychaeus’s nurse,3170

since dark ashes concealed her own, in her former country:3171

“Dear nurse, bring my sister Anna here: tell her3172

to hurry, and sprinkle herself with water from the river,3173

and bring the sacrificial victims and noble offerings.3174

Let her come, and you yourself veil your brow with sacred ribbons.3175

My purpose is to complete the rites of Stygian Jupiter,3176

that I commanded, and have duly begun, and put an end3177

to sorrow, and entrust the pyre of that Trojan leader to the flames.”3178

So she said. The old woman zealously hastened her steps.3179

But Dido restless, wild with desperate purpose,3180

rolling her bloodshot eyes, her trembling cheeks3181

stained with red flushes, yet pallid at approaching death,3182

rushed into the house through its inner threshold, furiously 3183

climbed the tall funeral pyre, and unsheathed 3184

a Trojan sword, a gift that was never acquired to this end.3185

Then as she saw the Ilian clothing and the familiar couch,3186

she lingered a while, in tears and thought, then 3187

cast herself on the bed, and spoke her last words:3188

“Reminders, sweet while fate and the god allowed it,3189

accept this soul, and loose me from my sorrows.3190

I have lived, and I have completed the course that Fortune granted,3191

and now my noble spirit will pass beneath the earth.3192

I have built a bright city: I have seen its battlements,3193

avenging a husband I have exacted punishment3194

on a hostile brother, happy, ah, happy indeed 3195

if Trojan keels had never touched my shores!”3196

She spoke, and buried her face in the couch. 3197

“I shall die un-avenged, but let me die,” she cried.3198

“So, so I joy in travelling into the shadows.3199

Let the cruel Trojan’s eyes drink in this fire, on the deep,3200

and bear with him the evil omen of my death.”3201

She had spoken, and in the midst of these words, 3202

her servants saw she had fallen on the blade, 3203

the sword frothed with blood, and her hands were stained.3204

A cry rose to the high ceiling: Rumour, run riot, struck the city.3205

The houses sounded with weeping and sighs and women’s cries,3206

the sky echoed with a mighty lamentation,3207

as if all Carthage or ancient Tyre were falling 3208

to the invading enemy, and raging flames were rolling3209

over the roofs of men and gods.3210

Her sister, terrified, heard it, and rushed through the crowd,3211

tearing her cheeks with her nails, and beating her breast,3212

and called out to the dying woman in accusation:3213

“So this was the meaning of it, sister? Did you aim to cheat me?3214

This pyre of yours, this fire and altar were prepared for my sake?3215

What shall I grieve for first in my abandonment? Did you scorn3216

your sister’s company in dying? You should have summoned me3217

to the same fate: the same hour the same sword’s hurt should have3218

taken us both. I even built your pyre with these hands, 3219

and was I calling aloud on our father’s gods, 3220

so that I would be absent, cruel one, as you lay here?3221

You have extinguished yourself and me, sister: your people,3222

your Sidonian ancestors, and your city. I should bathe3223

your wounds with water and catch with my lips 3224

whatever dying breath still hovers.” So saying she climbed3225

the high levels, and clasped her dying sister to her breast,3226

sighing, and stemming the dark blood with her dress.3227

Dido tried to lift her heavy eyelids again, but failed:3228

and the deep wound hissed in her breast.3229

Lifting herself three times, she struggled to rise on her elbow: 3230

three times she fell back onto the bed, searching for light in 3231

the depths of heaven, with wandering eyes, and, finding it, sighed.3232

Then all-powerful Juno, pitying the long suffering 3233

of her difficult death, sent Iris from Olympus, to release 3234

the struggling spirit, and captive body. For since3235

she had not died through fate, or by a well-earned death, 3236

but wretchedly, before her time, inflamed with sudden madness, 3237

Proserpine had not yet taken a lock of golden hair 3238

from her head, or condemned her soul to Stygian Orcus. 3239

So dew-wet Iris flew down through the sky, on saffron wings,3240

trailing a thousand shifting colours across the sun,3241

and hovered over her head. “ I take this offering, sacred to Dis,3242

as commanded, and release you from the body that was yours.”3243

So she spoke, and cut the lock of hair with her right hand.3244

All the warmth ebbed at once, and life vanished on the breeze.3245

BkV:1-41 Aeneas Returns to Sicily3246

Meanwhile Aeneas with the fleet was holding a fixed course3247

now in the midst of the sea, cutting the waves, dark in a northerly3248

wind, looking back at the city walls that were glowing now with3249

unhappy Dido’s funeral flames. The reason that such a fire had3250

been lit was unknown: but the cruel pain when a great love is3251

profaned, and the knowledge of what a frenzied woman might do,3252

drove the minds of the Trojans to sombre forebodings.3253

When the ships reached deep water and land was no longer3254

in sight, but everywhere was sea, and sky was everywhere,3255

then a dark-blue rain cloud hung overhead, bringing3256

night and storm, and the waves bristled with shadows.3257

Palinurus the helmsman himself from the high stern cried:3258

‘Ah! Why have such storm clouds shrouded the sky?3259

What do you intend, father Neptune?’ So saying, next3260

he ordered them to shorten sail, and bend to the heavy oars,3261

then tacked against the wind, and spoke as follows:3262

‘Brave Aeneas, I would not expect to make Italy3263

with this sky, though guardian Jupiter promised it.3264

The winds, rising from the darkened west, have shifted 3265

and roar across our path, and the air thickens for a storm.3266

We cannot stand against it, or labour enough to weather it.3267

Since Fortune overcomes us, let’s go with her, 3268

and set our course wherever she calls. I think your brother Eryx’s3269

friendly shores are not far off, and the harbours of Sicily,3270

if I only remember the stars I observed rightly.’3271

Then virtuous Aeneas replied: ‘For my part I’ve seen for some time3272

that the winds required it, and you’re steering into them in vain.3273

Alter the course we sail. Is any land more welcome to me,3274

any to which I’d prefer to steer my weary fleet,3275

than that which protects my Trojan friend Acestes,3276

and holds the bones of my father Anchises to its breast?”3277

Having said this they searched out the port, and following winds3278

filled their sails: the ships sailed swiftly on the flood,3279

and they turned at last in delight towards known shores.3280

But Alcestes, on a high hill in the distance, wondered at the arrival3281

of friendly vessels, and met them, armed with javelins,3282

in his Libyan she-bear’s pelt: he whom a Trojan3283

mother bore, conceived of the river-god Crinisius. 3284

Not neglectful of his ancient lineage he rejoiced3285

at their return, entertained them gladly with his rural riches,3286

and comforted the weary with the assistance of a friend.3287

BkV:42-103 Aeneas Declares the Games3288

When, in the following Dawn, bright day had put the stars3289

to flight, Aeneas called his companions together, 3290

from the whole shore, and spoke from a high mound:3291

“Noble Trojans, people of the high lineage of the gods,3292

the year’s cycle is complete to the very month 3293

when we laid the bones, all that was left of my divine father, 3294

in the earth, and dedicated the sad altars. And now3295

the day is here (that the gods willed) if I am not wrong, 3296

which I will always hold as bitter, always honoured.3297

If I were keeping it, exiled in Gaetulian Syrtes,3298

or caught on the Argive seas, or in Mycenae’s city,3299

I’d still conduct the yearly rite, and line of solemn3300

procession, and heap up the due offerings on the altar.3301

Now we even stand by the ashes and bones of my father3302

(not for my part I think without the will and power of the gods)3303

and carried to this place we have entered a friendly harbour.3304

So come and let us all celebrate the sacrifice with joy:3305

let us pray for a wind, and may he will me to offer these rites 3306

each year when my city is founded, in temples that are his.3307

Acestes, a Trojan born, gives you two head of oxen 3308

for every ship: Invite the household gods to our feast, 3309

our own and those whom Acestes our host worships.3310

Also, when the ninth Dawn raises high the kindly light3311

for mortal men, and reveals the world in her rays,3312

I will declare a Trojan Games: first a race between the swift ships:3313

then those with ability in running, and those, daring in strength,3314

who step forward, who are superior with javelin and slight arrows,3315

or trust themselves to fight with rawhide gloves:3316

let everyone be there and hope for the prize of a well-deserved3317

palm branch. All be silent now, and wreathe your brows.”3318

So saying he veiled his forehead with his mother’s myrtle.3319

Helymus did likewise, Acestes of mature years, the boy3320

Ascanius, and the rest of the people followed.3321

Then he went with many thousands, from the gathering3322

to the grave-mound, in the midst of the vast accompanying throng.3323

Here with due offering he poured two bowls of pure wine3324

onto the ground, two of fresh milk, two of sacrificial blood,3325

and, scattering bright petals, he spoke as follows:3326

“Once more, hail, my sacred father: hail, spirit,3327

ghost, ashes of my father, whom I rescued in vain.3328

I was not allowed to search, with you, for Italy’s borders,3329

our destined fields, or Ausonia’s Tiber, wherever it might be.”3330

He had just finished speaking when a shining snake unwound 3331

each of its seven coils from the base of the shrine,3332

in seven large loops, placidly encircling the mound, and gliding3333

among the altars, its back mottled with blue-green markings,3334

and its scales burning with a golden sheen, as a rainbow forms3335

a thousand varied colours in clouds opposite the sun.3336

Aeneas was stunned by the sight. Finally, with a long glide3337

among the bowls and polished drinking cups, the serpent 3338

tasted the food, and, having fed, departed the altar, 3339

retreating harmlessly again into the depths of the tomb. 3340

Aeneas returned more eagerly to the tribute to his father, 3341

uncertain whether to treat the snake as the guardian of the place, 3342

or as his father’s attendant spirit: he killed two sheep as customary,3343

two pigs, and as many black-backed heifers:3344

and poured wine from the bowls, and called on the spirit3345

and shadow of great Anchises, released from Acheron.3346

And his companions as well, brought gifts gladly, of which3347

each had a store, piling high the altars, sacrificing bullocks:3348

others set out rows of cauldrons, and scattered among the grass,3349

placed live coals under the spits, and roasted the meat. 3350

BkV:104-150 The Start of the Games3351

The eagerly-awaited day had arrived, and now 3352

Phaethon’s horses brought a ninth dawn of cloudless light,3353

and Acestes’s name and reputation had roused the countryside:3354

they thronged the shore, a joyous crowd,3355

some to see Aeneas and his men, others to compete.3356

First the prizes were set out for them to see in the centre3357

of the circuit, sacred tripods, green crowns and palms,3358

rewards for the winners, armour, and clothes dyed with purple, 3359

and talents of silver and gold: and a trumpet sang out, 3360

from a central mound, that the games had begun. 3361

Four well-matched ships with heavy oars 3362

were chosen from the fleet for the first event.3363

Mnesthus, soon to be Mnesthus of Italy from whom 3364

the Memmian people are named, captains the Sea-Serpent, 3365

with its eager crew: Gyas, the vast Chimaera of huge bulk,3366

a floating city, rowed by the Trojan men 3367

on three decks, with the oars raised in triple rows:3368

Sergestus, from whom the house of Sergia gets its name,3369

sails in the great Centaur, and Cloanthus from whom 3370

your family derives, Cluentius of Rome, in the sea-green Scylla.3371

There’s a rock far out at sea opposite the foaming shore,3372

which, lashed by the swollen waves, is sometimes drowned,3373

when wintry north-westerlies hide the stars: 3374

it is quiet in calm weather and flat ground is raised above3375

the motionless water, a welcome haunt for sun-loving sea-birds.3376

Here our ancestor Aeneas set up a leafy oak-trunk3377

as a mark, as a sign for the sailors to know where 3378

to turn back, and circle round the long course. 3379

Then they chose places by lot, and the captains themselves, on 3380

the sterns, gleamed from a distance, resplendent in purple and gold:3381

the rest of the men were crowned with poplar leaves,3382

and their naked shoulders glistened, shining with oil.3383

They manned the benches, arms ready at the oars:3384

readied for action they waited for the signal, and pounding fear,3385

and the desire aroused for glory, devoured their leaping hearts.3386

Then when the clear trumpet gave the signal, all immediately3387

shot forward from the starting line, the sailor’s shouts3388

struck the heavens, as arms were plied the waters turned to foam.3389

they cut the furrows together, and the whole surface 3390

gaped wide, ploughed by the oars and the three-pronged beaks.3391

The speed is not as great when the two horse chariots 3392

hit the field in their race, shooting from their stalls:3393

and the charioteers shake the rippling reins over their3394

galloping team, straining forward to the lash.3395

So the whole woodland echoes with applause, the shouts3396

of men, and the partisanship of their supporters,3397

the sheltered beach concentrates the sound 3398

and the hills, reverberating, return the clamour.3399

BkV:151-243 The Boat Race3400

Gyas runs before the pack, and glides forward on the waves,3401

amongst the noise and confusion: Cloanthus follows next,3402

his ship better manned, but held back by its weight.3403

After them separated equally the Sea-Serpent 3404

and the Centaur strain to win a lead:3405

now the Sea-Serpent has it, now the huge Centaur wins in front,3406

now both sweep on together their bows level,3407

their long keels ploughing the salt sea.3408

Now they near the rock and are close to the marker,3409

when Gyas, the leader, winning at the half-way point,3410

calls out loudly to his pilot Menoetes:3411

“Why so far adrift to starboard? Steer her course this way:3412

hug the shore and graze the crags to port, oars raised:3413

let others keep to deep water.” He spoke, but Menoetes3414

fearing unseen reefs wrenched the prow towards the open sea.3415

“Why so far adrift?” again, “Head for the rocks, Menoetes!”3416

he shouts to him forcefully, and behold, he sees Cloanthus3417

right at his back and taking the riskier course.3418

He squeezed a path between Gyas’s ship and the booming rocks3419

inside to starboard, suddenly passing the leader,3420

and, leaving the marker behind, reached safe water.3421

Then indeed great indignation burned in the young man’s marrow,3422

and there were tears on his cheeks, and forgetting his own pride3423

and his crew’s safety he heaved the timid Menoetes3424

headlong into the sea from the high stern:3425

he stood to the helm, himself captain and steersman,3426

urged on his men, and turned for the shore.3427

But when Menoetes old as he was, clawed his way back heavily3428

and with difficulty at last from the sea floor, he climbed to the top3429

of the crag and sat down on the dry rock dripping, in his wet3430

clothing. The Trojans laughed as he fell, and swam3431

and laughed as he vomited the seawater from his chest.3432

At this a joyful hope of passing Gyas, as he stalled,3433

is aroused in Sergestus and Mnestheus, the two behind,3434

Sergestus takes the leading place and nears the rock,3435

still he’s not a full ship’s length in front, only part:3436

the rival Sea-Serpent closes on him with her prow.3437

Then, Mnesthus walking among his crew amidships3438

exhorted them: “Now, now rise to the oars, comrades3439

of Hector, you whom I chose as companions at Troy’s3440

last fatal hour: now, exert all that strength, 3441

that spirit you showed in the Gaetulian shoals, 3442

the Ionian Sea, and Cape Malea’s pursuing waves.3443

Now I, Mnesthus, do not seek to be first or try to win –3444

let those conquer whom you have granted to do so, Neptune –3445

but oh, it would be shameful to return last: achieve this for us,3446

countrymen, and prevent our disgrace.” They bend to it 3447

with fierce rivalry: the bronze stern shudders at their powerful3448

strokes: and the sea-floor drops away beneath them: 3449

then shallow breathing makes limbs and parched lips quiver.3450

and their sweat runs down in streams. 3451

Chance brings the men the glory that they long for.3452

When Segestus, his spirit raging, forces his bows, 3453

on the inside, towards the rocks, and enters3454

dangerous water, unhappily he strikes the jutting reef.3455

The cliff shakes, the oars jam against them, and snap3456

on the sharp edges of stone, and the prow hangs there, snagged.3457

The sailors leap up, and, shouting aloud at the delay,3458

gather iron-tipped poles and sharply-pointed boathooks,3459

and rescue their smashed oars from the water.3460

But Mnesthus, delighted, and made eager by his success,3461

with a swift play of oars, and a prayer to the winds.3462

heads for home waters and courses the open sea,3463

as a dove, whose nest and sweet chicks are hidden 3464

among the rocks, suddenly startled from some hollow,3465

takes flight for the fields, frightened from her cover,3466

and beats her wings loudly, but soon gliding in still air3467

skims her clear path, barely moving her swift pinions:3468

in this way Mnestheus and the Sea-Dragon herself furrow 3469

the final stretch of water in flight, and her impetus3470

alone, carries her on her winged path. Firstly3471

he leaves Segestus behind struggling on the raised rock3472

then in shoal water, calling vainly for help,3473

and learning how to race with shattered oars.3474

Then he overhauls Gyas and the Chimaera’s huge bulk:3475

which, deprived of her helmsman now, gives way.3476

Now Cloanthus alone is left ahead, near to the finish,3477

Mnestheus heads for him and chases closely3478

exerting all his powers. Then indeed the shouts redouble,3479

and together all enthusiastically urge on the pursuer.3480

The former crew are unhappy lest they fail to keep3481

the honour that is theirs and the glory already 3482

in their possession, and would sell their lives for fame.3483

the latter feed on success: they can because they think they can.3484

And with their prow alongside they might have snatched the prize,3485

if Cleanthus had not stretched out his hands over the sea3486

and poured out his prayers, and called to the gods in longing.3487

“Gods, whose empire is the ocean, whose waters I course,3488

On shore, I will gladly set a snow-white bull 3489

before your altars, in payment of my vows, 3490

throw the entrailsinto the saltwater, and pour out pure wine.” 3491

He spoke, and all the Nereids, Phorcus’s choir, and virgin Panopea,3492

heard him in the wave’s depths, and father Portunus drove him3493

on his track, with his great hand: the ship ran to shore, swifter3494

than south wind or flying arrow, and plunged into the deep harbour.3495

BkV:244-285 The Prize-Giving for the Boat Race3496

Then Anchises’s son, calling them all together as is fitting,3497

by the herald’s loud cry declares Cloanthus the winner,3498

and wreathes his forehead with green laurel, and tells him3499

to choose three bullocks, and wine, and a large talent of silver3500

as gifts for the ships. He adds special honours for the captains:3501

a cloak worked in gold for the victor, edged 3502

with Meliboean deep purple in a double meandering line,3503

Ganymede the boy-prince woven on it, as if breathless 3504

with eagerness, running with his javelin, chasing the swift stags3505

on leafy Ida: whom Jupiter’s eagle, carrier of the lightning-bolt,3506

has now snatched up into the air, from Ida, with taloned feet:3507

his aged guards stretch their hands to the sky in vain,3508

and the barking dogs snap at the air. He gives to the warrior, 3509

who took second place by his prowess, a coat of mail for his own,3510

with polished hooks, in triple woven gold, a beautiful thing3511

and a defence in battle, that he himself as victor had taken3512

from Demoleos, by the swift Simois, below the heights of Ilium.3513

Phegeus and Sagaris, his servants, can barely carry its folds,3514

on straining shoulders: though, wearing it, Demoleus 3515

used to drive the scattered Trojans at a run. 3516

He grants the third prize of a pair of bronze cauldrons3517

and bowls made of silver with designs in bold relief.3518

Now they have all received their gifts and are walking off,3519

foreheads tied with scarlet ribbons, proud of their new wealth,3520

when Segestus, who showing much skill has with difficulty3521

got clear of the cruel rock, oars missing and one tier useless,3522

brings in his boat, to mockery and no glory. 3523

As a snake, that a bronze-rimmed wheel has crossed obliquely,3524

is often caught on the curb of a road, or like one that a passer-by3525

has crushed with a heavy blow from a stone and left half-dead, 3526

writhes its long coils, trying in vain to escape, part aggressive, 3527

with blazing eyes, and hissing, its neck raised high in the air,3528

part held back by the constraint of its wounds, struggling3529

to follow with its coils, and twining back on its own length:3530

so the ship moves slowly on with wrecked oars:3531

nevertheless she makes sail, and under full sail reaches harbour.3532

Aeneas presents Sergestus with the reward he promised,3533

happy that the ship is saved, and the crew rescued.3534

He is granted a Cretan born slave-girl, Pholoe, not unskilled3535

in the arts of Minerva, nursing twin boys at her breast.3536

BkV:286-361 The Foot Race3537

Once this race was done Aeneas headed for a grassy space,3538

circled round about by curving wooded hillsides,3539

forming an amphitheatre at the valley’s centre: 3540

the hero took himself there in the midst of the throng 3541

many thousands strong, and occupied a raised throne. 3542

Here if any by chance wanted to compete in the footrace3543

he tempted their minds with the reward, and set the prizes.3544

Trojans and Sicilians gathered together from all sides,3545

Nisus and Euryalus the foremost among them,3546

Euryalus famed for his beauty, and in the flower of youth,3547

Nisus famed for his devoted affection for the lad: next3548

came princely Diores, of Priam’s royal blood,3549

then Salius and Patron together, one an Arcanian,3550

the other of Arcadian blood and Tegean race:3551

then two young Sicilians, Helymus and Panopes,3552

used to the forests, companions of old Acestes:3553

and many others too, whose fame is lost in obscurity.3554

Then Aeneas amongst them spoke as follows:3555

“Take these words to heart, and give pleasurable attention.3556

None of your number will go away without a reward from me.3557

I’ll give two Cretan arrows, shining with polished steel, 3558

for each man, to take away, and a double-headed axe chased 3559

with silver: all who are present will receive the same honour. 3560

The first three will share prizes, and their heads will be crowned3561

with pale-green olive: let the first as winner take a horse3562

decorated with trappings: the second an Amazonian quiver,3563

filled with Thracian arrows, looped with a broad belt of gold3564

and fastened by a clasp with a polished gem:3565

let the third leave content with this Argive helmet.”3566

When he had finished they took their places and, suddenly,3567

on hearing the signal, they left the barrier and shot onto the course,3568

streaming out like a storm cloud, gaze fixed on the goal.3569

Nisus was off first, and darted away, ahead of all the others,3570

faster than the wind or the winged lightning-bolt:3571

Salius followed behind him, but a long way behind:3572

then after a space Euryalus was third: Helymus 3573

pursued Euryalus, and there was Diores speeding near him,3574

now touching foot to foot, leaning at his shoulder: 3575

if the course had been longer he’d have 3576

slipped past him, and left the outcome in doubt.3577

Now, wearied, almost at the end of the track, 3578

they neared the winning post itself, when the unlucky Nisus3579

fell in some slippery blood, which when the bullocks were killed3580

had chanced to drench the ground and the green grass. 3581

Here the youth, already rejoicing at winning, failed to keep3582

his sliding feet on the ground, but fell flat, 3583

straight in the slimy dirt and sacred blood. 3584

But he didn’t forget Euryalus even then, nor his love:3585

but, picking himself up out of the wet, obstructed Salius,3586

who fell head over heels onto the thick sand.3587

Euryalus sped by and, darting onwards to applause and the shouts3588

of his supporters, took first place, winning with his friend’s help.3589

Helymus came in behind him, then Diores, now in third place.3590

At this Salius filled the whole vast amphitheatre, and the faces3591

of the foremost elders, with his loud clamour,3592

demanding to be given the prize stolen from him by a trick.3593

His popularity protects Euryalus, and fitting tears,3594

and ability is more pleasing in a beautiful body.3595

Diores encourages him, and protests in a loud voice,3596

having reached the palm, but claiming the last prize in vain,3597

if the highest honour goes to Salius.3598

Then Aeneas the leader said, “Your prizes are still yours,3599

lads, and no one is altering the order of attainment:3600

but allow me to take pity on an unfortunate friend’s fate.”3601

So saying he gives Salius the huge pelt of a Gaetulian lion,3602

heavy with shaggy fur, its claws gilded.3603

At this Nisus comments: “If these are the prizes for losing,3604

and you pity the fallen, what fitting gift will you grant to Nisus,3605

who would have earned first place through merit3606

if ill luck had not dogged me, as it did Salius?”3607

And with that he shows his face and limbs drenched3608

with foul mud. The best of leaders smiles at him,3609

and orders a shield to be brought, the work of Didymaon,3610

once unpinned by the Greeks from Neptune’s sacred threshold:3611

this outstanding prize he gives to the noble youth.3612

BkV:362-484 The Boxing Contest3613

When the races were done and the gifts allotted,3614

Aeneas cried: “Now, he who has skill and courage in his heart,3615

let him stand here and raise his arms, his fists bound in hide.”3616

So saying he set out the double prize for the boxing,3617

a bullock for the winner, dressed with gold and sacred ribbons,3618

and a sword and a noble helmet to console the defeated.3619

Without delay Dares, hugely strong, raised his face3620

and rose, to a great murmur from the crowd,3621

he who alone used to compete with Paris,3622

and by that same mound where mighty Hector lies3623

he struck the victorious Butes, borne of the Bebrycian3624

race of Amycus, as he came forward, vast in bulk,3625

and stretched him dying on the yellow sand. 3626

Such was Dares who lifted his head up for the bout at once,3627

showed his broad shoulders, stretched his arms out, sparring3628

to right and left, and threw punches at the air.3629

A contestant was sought for him, but no one from all that crowd3630

dared face the man, or pull the gloves on his hands.3631

So, cheerfully thinking they had all conceded the prize, he stands3632

before Aeneas, and without more delay holds the bullock’s horn 3633

in his left hand and says: “Son of the goddess, if no one dare3634

commit himself to fight, when will my standing here end? 3635

How long is it right for me to be kept waiting? Order me to lead3636

your gift away.” All the Trojans together shout their approval, 3637

and demand that what was promised be granted him.3638

At this Entellus upbraids Acestes, sitting next to him 3639

on a stretch of green grass, with grave words:3640

“Entellus, once the bravest of heroes, was it all in vain,3641

will you let so great a prize be carried off without a struggle,3642

and so tamely? Where’s our divine master, Eryx, now,3643

famous to no purpose? Where’s your name throughout Sicily,3644

and why are those spoils of battle hanging in your house?”3645

To this Entellus replies: “It’s not that quelled by fear, pride or love3646

of fame has died: but my chill blood is dull with age’s sluggishness,3647

and the vigour in my body is lifeless and exhausted.3648

If I had what I once had, which that boaster enjoys 3649

and relies on, if that youthfulness were mine now, 3650

then I’d certainly have stepped forward, but not seduced3651

by prizes or handsome bullocks: I don’t care about gifts.”3652

Having spoken he throws a pair of gloves of immense weight3653

which fierce Eryx, binding the tough hide onto his hands, 3654

used to fight in, into the middle of the ring. Their minds 3655

are stunned: huge pieces of hide from seven massive oxen 3656

are stiff with the iron and lead sewn into them. Above all 3657

Dares himself is astonished, and declines the bout from a distance,3658

and Anchises’s noble son turns the huge volume 3659

and weight of the gloves backwards and forwards.3660

Then the older man speaks like this, from his heart:3661

“What if you’d seen the arms and gloves of Hercules 3662

himself, and the fierce fight on this very shore?3663

Your brother Eryx once wore these (you see that3664

they’re still stained with blood and brain matter)3665

He faced great Hercules in them: I used to fight in them3666

when more vigorous blood granted me strength,3667

and envious age had not yet sprinkled my brow with snow.3668

But if a Trojan, Dares, shrinks from these gloves of ours,3669

and good Aeneas accepts it, and Acestes my sponsor agrees,3670

let’s level the odds. I’ll forgo the gloves of Eryx 3671

(banish your fears): you, throw off your Trojan ones.”3672

So speaking he flings his double-sided cloak from his shoulders,3673

baring the massive muscles of his limbs, his thighs3674

with their huge bones, and stands, a giant, in the centre of the arena.3675

Then our ancestor, Anchises’s son, lifts up a like pair of gloves,3676

and protects the hands of both contestants equally.3677

Immediately each takes up his stance, poised on his toes,3678

and fearlessly raises his arms high in front of him.3679

Keeping their heads up and well away from the blows3680

they begin to spar, fist to fist, and provoke a battle,3681

the one better at moving his feet, relying on his youth,3682

the other powerful in limbs and bulk: but his slower legs quiver,3683

his knees are unsteady, and painful gasps shake his huge body. 3684

They throw many hard punches at each other but in vain,3685

they land many on their curved flanks, or their chests 3686

are thumped loudly, gloves often stray to ears3687

and brows, and jaws rattle under the harsh blows.3688

Entellus stands solidly, not moving, in the same stance,3689

avoiding the blows with his watchful eyes and body alone.3690

Dares, like someone who lays siege to a towering city,3691

or surrounds a mountain fortress with weapons,3692

tries this opening and that, seeking everywhere, with his art, 3693

and presses hard with varied but useless assaults.3694

Then Entellus standing up to him, extends his raised right:3695

the other, foreseeing the downward angle of the imminent blow,3696

slides his nimble body aside, and retreats:3697

Entellus wastes his effort on the air and the heavy man3698

falls to the ground heavily, with his whole weight,3699

as a hollow pine-tree, torn up by its roots, sometimes falls3700

on Mount Erymanthus or mighty Mount Ida.3701

The Trojans and the Sicilan youths leap up eagerly:3702

a shout lifts to the sky, and Acestes is the first to run forward3703

and with sympathy raises his old friend from the ground.3704

But that hero, not slowed or deterred by his fall,3705

returns more eagerly to the fight, and generates power from anger.3706

Then shame and knowledge of his own ability revive his strength,3707

and he drives Dares in fury headlong across the whole arena,3708

doubling his punches now, to right and left. No pause, or rest:3709

like the storm clouds rattling their dense hailstones on the roof,3710

as heavy are the blows from either hand, as the hero3711

continually batters at Dares and destroys him.3712

Then Aeneas, their leader, would not allow the wrath to continue3713

longer, nor Entellus to rage with such bitterness of spirit,3714

but put an end to the contest, and rescued the weary Dares,3715

speaking gently to him with these words:3716

“Unlucky man, why let such savagery depress your spirits?3717

Don’t you see another has the power: the gods have changed sides?3718

Yield to the gods.” He spoke and, speaking, broke up the fight.3719

But Dare’s loyal friends led him away to the ships, 3720

his weakened knees collapsing, his head swaying from side to side,3721

spitting out clots of blood from his mouth, teeth amongst them.3722

Called back they accept the helmet and sword, 3723

leaving the winner’s palm and the bullock for Entellus.3724

At this the victor exultant in spirit and glorying in the bullock,3725

said: “Son of the Goddess, and all you Trojans, 3726

know now what physical strength I had in my youth, 3727

and from what fate you’ve recalled and rescued Dares.” 3728

He spoke and planted himself opposite the bullock,3729

still standing there as prize for the bout, then, drawing back 3730

his right fist, aimed the hard glove between the horns3731

and broke its skull scattering the brains: the ox3732

fell quivering to the ground, stretched out lifeless.3733

Standing over it he poured these words from his chest:3734

“Eryx, I offer you this, the better animal, for Dares’s life:3735

the winner here, I relinquish the gloves and my art.”3736

BkV:485-544 The Archery Contest3737

Immediately Aeneas invites together all who might wish 3738

to compete with their swift arrows, and sets out the prizes.3739

With a large company he raises a mast from Serestus’s ship,3740

and ties a fluttering dove, at which they can aim3741

their shafts, to a cord piercing the high mast. 3742

The men gather and a bronze helmet receives the lots3743

tossed into it: the first of them all to be drawn,3744

to cheers of support, is Hippocoon son of Hyrtaces,3745

followed by Mnestheus, the winner of the boat race 3746

a while ago: Mnestheus crowned with green olive.3747

Eurytion’s the third, your brother, O famous Pandorus,3748

who, ordered to wreck the treaty, in the past,3749

was the first to hurl his spear amongst the Greeks.3750

Acestes is the last name out from the depths of the helmet,3751

daring to try his own hand at the youthful contest.3752

Then they take arrows from their quivers, and, each man3753

for himself, with vigorous strength, bends the bow into an arc,3754

and first through the air from the twanging string3755

the son of Hyrcanus’s shaft, cutting the swift breeze,3756

reaches the mark, and strikes deep into the mast.3757

The mast quivered, the bird fluttered its wings in fear,3758

and there was loud applause from all sides.3759

Then Mnestheus eagerly took his stand with bent bow,3760

aiming high, his arrow notched level with his eyes.3761

But to his dismay he was not able to hit the bird 3762

herself with the shaft, but broke the knots of hemp cord3763

that tied her foot as it hung from the mast:3764

she fled to the north wind and the dark clouds, in flight.3765

Then Eurytion who had been holding his bow ready, with drawn3766

arrow for some time, called on his brother to note his vow,3767

quickly eyed the dove, enjoying the freedom of the skies, 3768

and transfixed her, as she beat her wings beneath a dark cloud. 3769

She dropped lifeless, leaving her spirit with the starry heavens,3770

and, falling, brought back to earth the shaft that pierced her.3771

Acestes alone remained: the prize was lost:3772

yet he still shot his arrow high into the air,3773

showing an older man’s skill, the bow twanging. Then 3774

a sudden wonder appeared before their eyes, destined to be3775

of great meaning: the time to come unveiled its crucial outcome,3776

and great seers of the future celebrated it as an omen.3777

The arrow, flying through the passing clouds, caught fire3778

marked out its path with flames, then vanished into thin air,3779

as shooting stars, loosed from heaven often transit3780

the sky, drawing their tresses after them. Astonished,3781

the Trinacrians and Trojans stood rooted to the spot, 3782

praying to the gods: nor did their great leader Aeneas3783

reject the sign, but embracing the joyful Acestes,3784

loaded him with handsome gifts and spoke as follows:3785

“Take these, old man: since the high king of Olympus shows,3786

by these omens, that he wishes you to take extraordinary honours.3787

You shall have this gift, owned by aged Anchises himself, 3788

a bowl engraved with figures, that Cisseus of Thrace3789

once long ago gave Anchises my father as a memento3790

of himself, and as a pledge of his friendship.”3791

So saying he wreathed his brow with green laurel3792

and proclaimed Acestes the highest victor among them all.3793

Nor did good Eurytion begrudge the special prize,3794

though he alone brought the bird down from the sky.3795

Next he who cut the cord stepped forward for his reward,3796

and lastly he who’s swift shaft had transfixed the mast.3797

BkV:545-603 The Exhibition of Horsemanship 3798

But before the match is complete Aeneas the leader3799

calls Epytides to him, companion and guardian 3800

of young Iulus, and speaks into his loyal ear:3801

“Off! Go! Tell Ascanius, if he has his troop of boys3802

ready with him, and is prepared for the horse-riding3803

to show himself with his weapons, and lead them out3804

in honour of his grandfather.” He himself orders the whole 3805

crowd of people to leave the lengthy circuit, emptying the field. 3806

The boys arrive, and glitter together on their bridled horses3807

under their fathers’ gaze, and the men of Troy 3808

and Sicily murmur in admiration as they go by.3809

They all have their hair properly circled by a cut garland:3810

they each carry two cornel-wood spears tipped with steel,3811

some have shining quivers on their shoulders: a flexible3812

torque of twisted gold sits high on their chests around the neck.3813

The troops of horse are three in number, and three leaders3814

ride ahead: two groups of six boys follow each,3815

commanded alike and set out in gleaming ranks.3816

One line of youths is led joyfully by little Priam,3817

recalling his grandfather’s name, your noble child,3818

Polites, seed of the Italians: whom a piebald 3819

Thracian horse carries, showing white pasterns3820

as it steps, and a high white forehead. 3821

Next is Atys, from whom the Latin Atii trace their line,3822

little Atys, a boy loved by the boy Iulus.3823

Last, and most handsome of all in appearance,3824

Iulus himself rides a Sidonian horse, that radiant Dido3825

had given him as a remembrance of herself, 3826

and a token of her love. The rest of the youths3827

ride the Sicilian horses of old Acestes.3828

The Trojans greet the shy lads with applause, and delight3829

in gazing at them, seeing their ancient families in their faces.3830

When they have ridden happily round the whole assembly 3831

under the eyes of their kin, Epytides with a prolonged cry3832

gives the agreed signal and cracks his whip.3833

They gallop apart in two equal detachments, the three3834

groups parting company, and dissolving their columns,3835

then, recalled, they wheel round, and charge with level lances.3836

Then they perform other figures and counter-figures3837

in opposing ranks, and weave in circles inside counter-circles,3838

and perform a simulated battle with weapons.3839

Now their backs are exposed in flight, now they turn3840

their spears to charge, now ride side by side in peace.3841

Like the Labyrinth in mountainous Crete, they say, 3842

that contained a path winding between blind walls,3843

wandering with guile through a thousand turnings,3844

so that undetected and irretraceable errors 3845

might foil any guidelines that might be followed:3846

so the Trojan children twine their steps in just such a pattern,3847

weaving battle and flight, in their display, like dolphins3848

swimming through the ocean streams, cutting the Carpathian3849

and Lybian waters, and playing among the waves.3850

Ascanius first revived this kind of riding, and this contest,3851

when he encircled Alba Longa with walls, and taught the Early3852

Latins to celebrate it in the way he and the Trojan youth 3853

had done together: the Albans taught their children: mighty Rome3854

received it from them in turn, and preserved the ancestral rite:3855

and today the boys are called ‘Troy’ and their procession ‘Trojan’.3856

So the games are completed celebrating Aeneas’s sacred father.3857

BkV:604-663 Juno sends Iris to Fire the Trojan Ships3858

Here Fortune first alters, switching loyalties. While they, 3859

with their various games, are paying due honours to the tomb,3860

Saturnian Juno sends Iris down from the sky to the Trojan fleet,3861

breathing out a breeze for her passage, thinking deeply3862

about her ancient grievance which is yet unsatisfied.3863

Iris, hurrying on her way along a rainbow’s thousand colours3864

speeds swiftly down her track, a girl unseen.3865

She views the great crowd, and scans the shore,3866

sees the harbour deserted, and the ships abandoned.3867

But far away on the lonely sands the Trojan women3868

are weeping Anchises’s loss, and all, weeping, gaze3869

at the deep ocean. “Ah, what waves and seas are still left3870

for weary folk!” They are all of one voice. They pray for 3871

a city: they tire of enduring suffering on the waves.3872

So Iris, not ignorant of mischief, darts among them,3873

setting aside the appearance and robes of a goddess:3874

becoming Beroe, the old wife of Tmarian Doryclus,3875

who had once had family, sons, and a famous name. 3876

and as such moves among the Trojan mothers, saying:3877

“O wretched ones, whom Greek hands failed to drag3878

to death in the war beneath our native walls! 3879

O unhappy people what fate does Fortune reserve for you?3880

The seventh summer is on the turn since Troy’s destruction,3881

and we endure the crossing of every sea and shore, so many inhospitable stones and stars, while we chase over the vast sea 3882

after an Italy that flees from us, tossing upon the waves.3883

Here are the borders of our brother Eryx and our host Acestes:3884

what stops us building walls and granting our citizens a city?3885

O fatherland, O gods of our houses, rescued from the enemy 3886

in vain, will no city now be called Troy? Shall I see3887

nowhere a Xanthus or a Simois, Hector’s rivers?3888

Come now, and burn these accursed ships with me.3889

For the ghost of Cassandra, the prophetess, seemed to hand me3890

burning torches in dream: ‘Seek Troy here: here is 3891

your home’ she said. Now is the time for deeds, 3892

not delay, given such portents. See, four altars to Neptune:3893

the god himself lends us fire and the courage.”3894

So saying she first of all firmly seizes the dangerous flame3895

and, straining to lift it high, brandishes it, and hurls it.3896

The minds of the Trojan women are startled, and their wits3897

stunned. Here, one of the crowd, Pyrgo, the eldest,3898

the royal nurse of so many of Priam’s sons, says:3899

“This is not Beroe, you women, this is no wife3900

of Rhoetitian Doryclus: look at the signs of divine beauty3901

and the burning eyes, the spirit she possesses,3902

her form, the sound of her voice, her footsteps as she moves.3903

Just now I myself left Beroe, sick and unhappy, that she alone3904

was missing so important a rite and could not pay Anchises 3905

the offerings due to him.” So she speaks. At first the women3906

gaze in uncertainty at the ships, with angry glances, 3907

torn between a wretched yearning for the land 3908

they have reached, and the kingdom fate calls them to,3909

when the goddess, climbs the sky on soaring wings,3910

cutting a giant rainbow in her flight through the clouds.3911

Then truly amazed at the wonder, and driven by madness,3912

they cry out and some snatch fire from the innermost hearths,3913

others strip the altars, and throw on leaves and twigs 3914

and burning brands. Fire rages unchecked among 3915

the benches, and oars, and the hulls of painted pine.3916

BkV:664-699 The Fleet is Saved3917

Eumelus carries the news of the burning ships to Anchises’s tomb3918

and the ranks of the ampitheatre, and looking behind them3919

they themselves see dark ash floating upwards in a cloud.3920

Ascanius is first to turn his horse eagerly towards the troubled3921

encampment, as joyfully as he led his galloping troop,3922

and his breathless guardians cannot reign him back.3923

“What new madness is this? He cries. “What now, what do you 3924

aim at, wretched women? You’re burning your own hopes3925

not the enemy, nor a hostile Greek camp. See I am3926

your Ascanius!” And he flung his empty helmet in front of his feet,3927

that he’d worn as he’d inspired his pretence of battle in play.3928

Aeneas hurries there too, and the Trojan companies.3929

But the women scatter in fear here and there along the shore,3930

and stealthily head for the woods and any cavernous rocks:3931

they hate what they’ve done and the light, with sober minds3932

they recognise their kin, and Juno is driven from their hearts.3933

But the roaring flames don’t lose their indomitable fury3934

just for that: the pitch is alight under the wet timbers,3935

slowly belching smoke, the keel is gradually burned,3936

and the pestilence sinks through a whole hull,3937

nor are heroic strength or floods of water any use.3938

Then virtuous Aeneas tears the clothes from his chest,3939

and calls on the gods for help, lifting his hands:3940

“All-powerful Jupiter, if you don’t hate the Trojans3941

to a man, if your former affection has regard 3942

for human suffering, let the fleet escape the flames now,3943

Father, and save our slender Trojan hopes from ruin:3944

or if I deserve this, send what is left of us to death with your3945

angry lightning-bolt, and overwhelm us with your hand.”3946

He had barely spoken, when a dark storm with pouring rain3947

rages without check and the high hills and plains 3948

quake with thunder: a murky downpour falls 3949

from the whole sky, the blackest of heavy southerlies,3950

and the ships are brimming, the half-burnt timbers soaked,3951

until all the heat is quenched, and all the hulls3952

except four, are saved from the pestilence.3953

BkV:700-745 Nautes’ Advice and Anchises’ Ghost 3954

But Aeneas, the leader, stunned by the bitter blow,3955

pondered his great worries, turning them this way3956

and that in his mind. Should he settle in Sicily’s fields,3957

forgetting his destiny, or strike out for Italian shores?3958

Then old Nautes, whom alone Tritonian Pallas had taught,3959

and rendered famous for his great skill (she gave him 3960

answers, telling what the great gods’ anger portended, 3961

or what the course of destiny demanded),3962

began to solace Aeneas with these words:3963

“Son of the Goddess, let us follow wherever fate ebbs or flows,3964

whatever comes, every fortune may be conquered by endurance.3965

You have Trojan Acestes of the line of the gods:3966

let him share your decisions and be a willing partner,3967

entrust to him those who remain from the lost ships, 3968

and those tired of your great venture and your affairs:3969

Select also aged men and women exhausted by the sea,3970

and anyone with you who is frail, or afraid of danger,3971

and let the weary have their city in this land:3972

and if agreed they will call it by Acestes’s name.”3973

Then roused by such words from an aged friend,3974

Aeneas’s heart was truly torn between so many cares. 3975

And now black Night in her chariot, borne upwards,3976

occupied the heavens: and the likeness of his father Anchises3977

seemed to glide down from the sky, and speak so:3978

“Son, dearer to me than life, when life remained, 3979

my son, troubled by Troy’s fate, I come here 3980

at Jove’s command, he who drove the fire from the ships, 3981

and at last takes pity on you from high heaven.3982

Follow the handsome advice that old Nautus gives:3983

take chosen youth, and the bravest hearts, to Italy.3984

In Latium you must subdue a tough race, harshly trained. 3985

Yet, first, go to the infernal halls of Dis, and in deep 3986

Avernus seek a meeting with me, my son. For impious3987

Tartarus, with its sad shades, does not hold me, 3988

I live in Elysium, and the lovely gatherings of the blessed.3989

Here the chaste Sibyl will bring you, with much blood of3990

black sheep. Then you’ll learn all about your race, 3991

and the city granted you. Now: farewell. Dew-wet Night3992

turns mid-course, and cruel Morning, with panting steeds,3993

breathes on me.” He spoke and fled like smoke into thin air.3994

“Where are you rushing to? Aeneas cried, “Where are you3995

hurrying? Who do you flee? Who bars you from my embrace?”3996

So saying he revived the embers of the slumbering fires, and 3997

paid reverence, humbly, with sacred grain and a full censer, 3998

to the Trojan Lar, and the inner shrine of white-haired Vesta.3999

BkV:746-778 Departure from Sicily4000

Immediately he summoned his companions, Acestes first of all,4001

and told them of Jove’s command, and his dear father’s counsel,4002

and the decision he had reached in his mind. There was little delay4003

in their discussions, and Acestes did not refuse to accept his orders.4004

They transferred the women to the new city’s roll, and settled4005

there those who wished, spirits with no desire for great glory.4006

They themselves, thinned in their numbers, but with manhood4007

fully alive to war, renewed the rowing benches, and replaced4008

the timbers of the ships burnt by fire, and fitted oars and rigging.4009

Meanwhile Aeneas marked out the city limits with a plough4010

and allocated houses: he declared that this was Ilium 4011

and this place Troy. Acestes the Trojan revelled in his kingdom,4012

appointed a court, and gave out laws to the assembled senate.4013

Then a shrine of Venus of Idalia was dedicated,4014

close to the stars, on the tip of Eryx, and they added4015

a stretch of sacred grove, and a priest, to Anchises’s tomb.4016

When all the people had feasted for nine days, and offerings4017

had been made at the altars, gentle winds calmed the waves4018

and a strong Southerly called them again to sea.4019

A great weeping rose along the curving shore:4020

a day and a night they clung together in delay.4021

Now the women themselves, to whom the face of the ocean4022

had once seemed cruel, and its name intolerable,4023

wish to go and suffer all the toils of exile.4024

Good Aeneas comforts them with kind words4025

and commends them to his kinsman Acestes with tears.4026

Then he orders three calves to be sacrificed to Eryx,4027

a lamb to the Storm-gods, and for the hawsers to be duly freed.4028

He himself, standing some way off on the prow, his brow4029

wreathed with leaves of cut olive, holds a cup, throws the entrails4030

into the salt waves, and pours out the clear wine.4031

A wind, rising astern, follows their departure: his friends4032

in rivalry, strike the waves, and sweep the waters.4033

BkV:779-834 Venus Seeks Neptune’s Help4034

But meanwhile Venus, tormented by anxiety speaks4035

to Neptune, and pours out her complaints in this manner:4036

“O Neptune, Juno’s heavy anger, and her implacable4037

heart, force me to descend to every kind of prayer,4038

she whom no length of time nor any piety can move,4039

nor does she rest, unwearied by fate or Jove’s commands.4040

It’s not enough that in her wicked hatred she’s consumed a city, 4041

at the heart of Phrygia, and dragged the survivors of Troy 4042

through extremes of punishment: she pursues the bones and ashes4043

of the slaughtered. She alone knows the reason for such fury.4044

You yourself are witness to the trouble she stirred lately4045

in Libyan waters: she confused the whole sea4046

with the sky, daring to do this within your realm,4047

relying vainly on Aeolus’s violent storm-winds.4048

See, how, rousing the Trojan women, in her wickedness,4049

and disgracefully, she has burnt their fleet, and, with ships lost,4050

to leave their friends behind on an unknown shore.4051

I beg you to let the rest sail safely through your seas, 4052

let them reach Laurentine Tiber, if I ask4053

what is allowed, if the Fates grant them their city.”4054

Then the son of Saturn, the master of the deep oceans,4055

said this: “You’ve every right to trust in my realms, Cytherea, 4056

from which you draw your own origin. Also I’ve earned it:4057

I’ve often controlled the rage and fury of sea and sky.4058

Nor has my concern been less for your Aeneas on land4059

(I call Xanthus and Simois as witnesses). When Achilles4060

chased the Trojan ranks, in their panic, forcing them to the wall,4061

and sent many thousands to death, and the rivers choked and4062

groaned, and Xanthus could not find his course 4063

or roll down to the sea, then it was I who caught up Aeneas4064

in a thick mist, as he met that brave son of Peleus,4065

when neither the gods nor his own strength favoured him,4066

though I longed to destroy the walls of lying Troy,4067

that my hands had built, from the ground up.4068

Now also my mind remains the same: dispel your fears.4069

He will reach the harbours of Avernus, safely, as you ask.4070

There will only be one, lost in the waves, whom you 4071

will look for: one life that will be given for the many.”4072

When he had soothed the goddess’s heart, she joying at his words,4073

Father Neptune yoked his wild horses with gold, set the bits4074

in their foaming mouths, and, with both hands, gave them free rein.4075

He sped lightly over the ocean in his sea-green chariot,4076

the waves subsided and the expanse of swollen waters4077

grew calm under the thunderous axle:4078

the storm-clouds vanished from the open sky. 4079

Then came his multi-formed followers, great whales,4080

Glaucus’s aged band, Palaemon Ino’s son,4081

the swift Tritons, and all of Phorcus’s host:4082

the left hand taken by Thetis, Melite and virgin Panopea,4083

Nesaea, and Spio, Thalia, and Cymodoce.4084

At this, soothing joy in turn pervaded father Aeneas’s 4085

anxious mind: he ordered all to raise their masts4086

quickly, and the sails to be unfurled from the yard-arms.4087

Together they hauled on the ropes and let out the canvas as one,4088

now to port and now to starboard: together they swung 4089

the high yards about: benign winds drove the fleet along.4090

Palinurus, first of them all, led the close convoy:4091

the rest were ordered to set their course by his.4092

BkV:835-871 The Loss of Palinurus4093

And now dew-wet Night had just reached her zenith4094

in the sky: the sailors relaxed their limbs in quiet rest4095

stretched out on the hard benches beneath the oars:4096

when Sleep, gliding lightly down from the heavenly stars,4097

parted the gloomy air, and scattered the shadows, 4098

seeking you, bringing you dark dreams, Palinurus, 4099

though you were innocent: the god settled on the high stern,4100

appearing as Phorbas, and poured these words from his mouth:4101

“Palinurus, son of Iasus, the seas themselves steer the fleet,4102

the breezes blow steadily, this hour is granted for rest.4103

Lay down your head and rob your weary eyes of labour.4104

For a little while, I myself will take on your duty for you.”4105

Palinurus, barely lifting his gaze, spoke to him:4106

“Do you tell me to trust the sea’s placid face, 4107

the calm waves? Shall I set my faith on this monster?4108

Why should I entrust Aeneas to the deceptive breeze,4109

I whom a clear sky has deceived so often?”4110

So he spoke and clinging hard to the tiller4111

never relaxed his hold, and held his sight on the stars.4112

Behold, despite his caution, the god shook a branch, 4113

wet with Lethe’s dew, soporific with Styx’s power, 4114

over his brow, and set free his swimming eyes.4115

The first sudden drowse had barely relaxed his limbs,4116

when Sleep leant above him and threw him headlong4117

into the clear waters, tearing away the tiller 4118

and part of the stern, he calling to his friends often, in vain:4119

while the god raised his wings in flight into the empty air.4120

The fleet sailed on its way over the sea, as safely as before,4121

gliding on, unaware, as father Neptune had promised.4122

And now drawn onwards it was close to the Sirens’s cliffs, tricky4123

of old, and white with the bones of many men, (now the rocks, 4124

far off, boomed loud with the unending breakers) when the leader4125

realised his ship was wallowing adrift, her helmsman lost, 4126

and he himself steered her through the midnight waters, 4127

sighing deeply, and shocked at heart by his friend’s fate:4128

“Oh, far too trustful of the calm sea, and the sky,4129

you’ll lie naked, Palinurus, on an unknown shore.”4130

BkVI:1-55 The Temple at Cumae4131

So Aeneas spoke, weeping, gave his fleet full rein, and glided4132

at last to the shores of Euboean Cumae. They turned4133

their prows to the sea, secured the ships’ anchors,4134

by the grip of their flukes, and the curved boats 4135

lined the beach. The youthful band leapt eagerly4136

to the Hesperian shore: some sought the means of fire4137

contained in veins of flint, some raided the woods4138

the dense coverts of game, pointing out streams they found.4139

But pious Aeneas sought the summits, where Apollo 4140

rules on high, and the vast cavern nearby, the secret place 4141

of the terrifying Sibyl, in whom the Delian prophet 4142

inspires greatness of mind and spirit, and reveals the future.4143

Soon they entered the grove of Diana, and the golden house.4144

Daedalus, so the story goes, fleeing from Minos’s kingdom,4145

dared to trust himself to the air on swift wings,4146

and, gliding on unknown paths to the frozen North,4147

hovered lightly at last above the Chalcidian hill.4148

First returning to earth here, he dedicated his oar-like wings4149

to you Phoebus, and built a gigantic temple.4150

On the doors the Death of Androgeos: then the Athenians,4151

Crecrops’s descendants, commanded, sadly, to pay annual tribute4152

of seven of their sons: there the urn stands with the lots drawn.4153

Facing it, rising from the sea, the Cretan land is depicted:4154

and here the bull’s savage passion, Pasiphae’s 4155

secret union, and the Minotaur, hybrid offspring,4156

that mixture of species, proof of unnatural relations:4157

the artwork here is that palace, and its inextricable maze:4158

and yet Daedalus himself, pitying the noble princess4159

Ariadne’s love, unravelled the deceptive tangle of corridors,4160

guiding Theseus’s blind footsteps with the clue of thread.4161

You’d have shared largely in such a work, Icarus, if grief 4162

had allowed, he’d twice attempted to fashion your fate4163

in gold, twice your father’s hands fell. Eyes would have read4164

the whole continuously, if Achetes had not arrived 4165

from his errand, with Deiophobe, Glaucus’s daughter,4166

the priestess of Phoebus and Diana, who spoke to the leader:4167

‘This moment doesn’t require your sightseeing: it would4168

be better to sacrifice seven bullocks from a virgin herd, 4169

and as many carefully chosen two-year old sheep.’4170

Having spoken to Aeneas in this way (without delay they sacrificed4171

as ordered) the priestess called the Trojans to her high shrine.4172

The vast flank of the Euboean cliff is pitted with caves,4173

from which a hundred wide tunnels, a hundred mouths lead,4174

from which as many voices rush: the Sibyl’s replies.4175

They had come to the threshold, when the virgin cried out:4176

‘It is time to question the Oracle, behold, the god, the god!’4177

As she so spoke in front of the doors, suddenly neither her face4178

nor colour were the same, nor did her hair remain bound, 4179

but her chest heaved, her heart swelled with wild frenzy,4180

she seemed taller, and sounded not-human, for now4181

the power of the god is closer. ‘Are you slow with your4182

vows and prayers, Aeneas of Troy, are you slow?’ 4183

she cried. ‘The great lips of the House of Inspiration 4184

will not open without.’ And so saying she fell silent. 4185

An icy shudder ran to the Trojans’ very spines,4186

and their leader poured out heartfelt prayers:4187

BkVI:56-97 The Sibyl’s Prophecy4188

‘Phoebus, you who always pitied Troy’s intense suffering,4189

who guided the hand of Paris, and the Dardan arrow,4190

against Achilles’s body, with you as leader I entered4191

all those seas, encircling vast lands, and penetrated 4192

the remote Massilian tribes and the fields edged by Syrtes:4193

now at last we have the coast of elusive Italy in our grasp:4194

Troy’s ill fortune only followed us as far as here.4195

You too with justice can spare the Trojan race, and all you gods4196

and goddesses to whom the great glory of Ilium and Dardania 4197

was an offence. O most sacred of prophetesses, 4198

you who see the future, (I ask for no lands not owed me4199

by my destiny) grant that we Trojans may settle Latium,4200

with the exiled gods and storm-tossed powers of Troy.4201

Then I’ll dedicate a temple of solid marble to Phoebus4202

and Diana Trivia, and sacred days in Phoebus’s name.4203

A noble inner shrine waits for you too in our kingdom.4204

There, gracious one, I will place your oracles, and mystic4205

utterances spoken to my people, and consecrate picked men.4206

Only do not write your verses on the leaves, lest they fly,4207

disordered playthings of the rushing winds: chant them 4208

from your own mouth.’ He put an end to his mouth’s speaking.4209

But the wild prophetess raged in her cavern, not yet4210

submitting to Phoebus, as if she might shake the great god 4211

from her spirit: yet he exhausted her raving mouth 4212

all the more, taming her wild heart, shaping her by constraint.4213

And now the shrine’s hundred mighty lips have opened4214

of themselves, and carry the seer’s answer through the air:4215

‘Oh, you who are done with all the perils of the sea,4216

(yet greater await you on land) the Trojans will come4217

to the realm of Lavinium (put that care from your heart):4218

but will not enjoy their coming. War, fierce war,4219

I see: and the Tiber foaming with much blood.4220

You will not lack a Simois, a Xanthus, a Greek camp:4221

even now another Achilles is born in Latium,4222

he too the son of a goddess: nor will Juno, the Trojans’ bane,4223

be ever far away, while you, humbled and destitute,4224

what races and cities of Italy will you not beg in!4225

Once again a foreign bride is the cause of all 4226

these Trojan ills, once more an alien marriage.4227

Do not give way to misfortunes, meet them more bravely,4228

as your destiny allows. The path of safety will open up4229

for you from where you least imagine it, a Greek city.’4230

BkVI:98-155 Aeneas Asks Entry to Hades4231

With such words, the Sibyl of Cumae chants fearful enigmas, 4232

from her shrine, echoing from the cave,4233

tangling truths and mysteries: as she raves, Apollo4234

thrashes the reins, and twists the spur under her breast.4235

When the frenzy quietens, and the mad mouth hushes,4236

Aeneas, the Hero, begins: ‘O Virgin, no new, unexpected4237

kind of suffering appears: I’ve foreseen them all4238

and travelled them before, in my own spirit.4239

One thing I ask: for they say the gate of the King of Darkness4240

is here, and the shadowy marsh, Acheron’s overflow:4241

let me have sight of my dear father, his face: show me the way, 4242

open wide the sacred doors. I saved him, brought him4243

out from the thick of the enemy, through the flames, 4244

on these shoulders, with a thousand spears behind me:4245

companion on my journey, he endured with me4246

all the seas, all the threats of sky and ocean, weak, 4247

beyond his power, and his allotted span of old age.4248

He ordered me, with prayers, to seek you out, humbly, 4249

and approach your threshold: I ask you, kindly one,4250

pity both father and son: since you are all power, not for4251

nothing has Hecate set you to rule the groves of Avernus.4252

If Orpheus could summon the shade of his wife,4253

relying on his Thracian lyre, its melodious strings:4254

if Pollux, crossing that way, and returning, so often, 4255

could redeem his brother by dying in turn – and great Theseus,4256

what of him, or Hercules? – well, my race too is Jupiter’s on high.’4257

With these words he prayed, and grasped the altar,4258

as the priestess began to speak: ‘Trojan son of Anchises,4259

sprung from the blood of the gods, the path to hell is easy:4260

black Dis’s door is open night and day:4261

but to retrace your steps, and go out to the air above,4262

that is work, that is the task. Some sons of the gods have done it,4263

whom favouring Jupiter loved, or whom burning virtue4264

lifted to heaven. Woods cover all the middle part,4265

and Cocytus is round it, sliding in dark coils.4266

But if such desire is in your mind, such a longing4267

to sail the Stygian lake twice, and twice see Tartarus,4268

and if it delights you to indulge in insane effort,4269

listen to what you must first undertake. Hidden in a dark tree4270

is a golden bough, golden in leaves and pliant stem,4271

sacred to Persephone, the underworld’s Juno, all the groves4272

shroud it, and shadows enclose the secret valleys.4273

But only one who’s taken a gold-leaved fruit from the tree4274

is allowed to enter earth’s hidden places.4275

This lovely Proserpine has commanded to be brought to her4276

as a gift: a second fruit of gold never fails to appear 4277

when the first one’s picked, the twig’s leafed with the same metal.4278

So look for it up high, and when you’ve found it with your eyes,4279

take it, of right, in your hand: since, if the Fates have chosen you,4280

it will come away easily, freely of itself: otherwise you 4281

won’t conquer it by any force, or cut it with the sharpest steel.4282

And the inanimate body of your friend lies there4283

(Ah! You do not know) and taints your whole fleet with death,4284

while you seek advice and hang about our threshold.4285

Carry him first to his place and bury him in the tomb.4286

Lead black cattle there: let those be your first offerings of atonement.4287

Only then can you look on the Stygian groves, and the realms 4288

forbidden to the living.’ She spoke and with closed lips fell silent.4289

BkVI:156-182 The Finding of Misenus’s Body4290

Leaving the cave, Aeneas walked away, 4291

with sad face and downcast eyes, turning their dark fate4292

over in his mind. Loyal Achates walked at his side 4293

and fashioned his steps with similar concern. 4294

They engaged in intricate discussion between them,4295

as to who the dead friend, the body to be interred, was,4296

whom the priestess spoke of. And as they passed along4297

they saw Misenus, ruined by shameful death, on the dry sand,4298

Misenus, son of Aeolus, than whom none was more outstanding4299

in rousing men with the war-trumpet, kindling conflict with music.4300

He was great Hector’s friend: with Hector 4301

he went to battle, distinguished by his spear and trumpet.4302

When victorious Achilles despoiled Hector of life,4303

this most courageous hero joined the company4304

of Trojan Aeneas, serving no lesser a man. But when, 4305

by chance, he foolishly made the ocean sound4306

to a hollow conch-shell, and called gods to compete4307

in playing, if the tale can be believed, Triton overheard him4308

and drowned him in the foaming waves among the rocks.4309

So, with pious Aeneas to the fore, they all mourned 4310

round the body with loud clamour. Then, without delay, weeping,4311

they hurried to carry out the Sibyl’s orders, and laboured to pile4312

tree-trunks as a funeral pyre, raising it to the heavens.4313

They enter the ancient wood, the deep coverts of wild creatures: 4314

the pine-trees fell, the oaks rang to the blows of the axe,4315

ash trunks and fissile oak were split with wedges, 4316

and they rolled large rowan trees down from the hills.4317

BkVI:183-235 The Funeral Pyre4318

Aeneas was no less active in such efforts, encouraging4319

his companions, and employing similar tools.4320

And he turned things over in his own saddened mind,4321

gazing at the immense forest, and by chance prayed so:4322

‘If only that golden bough would show itself to us4323

now, on some such tree, among the woods! For the prophetess4324

spoke truly of you Misenus, alas, only too truly.’4325

He had barely spoken when by chance a pair of doves 4326

came flying down from the sky, beneath his very eyes,4327

and settled on the green grass. Then the great hero knew 4328

they were his mother’s birds, and prayed in his joy:4329

‘O be my guides, if there is some way, and steer a course4330

through the air, to that grove where the rich branch4331

casts its shadow on fertile soil. And you mother, O goddess,4332

don’t fail me in time of doubt.’ So saying he halted his footsteps,4333

observing what signs the doves might give, and which direction4334

they might take. As they fed they went forward in flight4335

just as far as, following, his eyes could keep them in sight.4336

Then, when they reached the foul jaws of stinking Avernus,4337

they quickly rose and, gliding through the clear air,4338

perched on the longed-for dual-natured tree, from which4339

the alien gleam of gold shone out, among the branches.4340

Just as mistletoe, that does not form a tree of its own,4341

grows in the woods in the cold of winter, with a foreign leaf, 4342

and surrounds a smooth trunk with yellow berries:4343

such was the vision of this leafy gold in the dark4344

oak-tree, so the foil tinkled in the light breeze.4345

Aeneas immediately plucked it, eagerly breaking the tough4346

bough, and carried it to the cave of the Sibylline prophetess.4347

Meanwhile, on the shore, the Trojans were weeping bitterly 4348

for Misenus and paying their last respects to his senseless ashes.4349

First they raised a huge pyre, heavy with cut oak and pine,4350

weaving the sides with dark foliage, set funereal cypress in front,4351

and decorated it above with shining weapons.4352

Some heated water, making the cauldrons boil on the flames,4353

and washed and anointed the chill corpse. They made lament.4354

Then, having wept, they placed his limbs on the couch,4355

and threw purple robes over them, his usual dress.4356

Some raised the great bier, a sad duty,4357

and, with averted faces, set a torch below, 4358

in ancestral fashion. Gifts were heaped on the flames,4359

of incense, foodstuffs, bowls brimming with olive-oil.4360

When the ashes collapsed, and the blaze died, they washed4361

the remains of the parched bones in wine, and Corynaeus,4362

collecting the fragments, closed them in a bronze urn.4363

Also he circled his comrades three times with pure water4364

to purify them, sprinkling fine dew from a full olive branch,4365

and spoke the words of parting. And virtuous Aeneas4366

heaped up a great mound for his tomb, with the hero’s4367

own weapons, his trumpet and oar, beneath a high mountain4368

which is called Misenus now after him, and preserves4369

his ever-living name throughout the ages.4370

BkVI:236-263 The Sacrifice to Hecate4371

This done, he quickly carried out the Sibyl’s orders.4372

There was a deep stony cave, huge and gaping wide,4373

sheltered by a dark lake and shadowy woods,4374

over which nothing could extend its wings in safe flight,4375

since such a breath flowed from those black jaws, 4376

and was carried to the over-arching sky, that the Greeks 4377

called it by the name Aornos, that is Avernus, or the Bird-less.4378

Here the priestess first of all tethered four black heifers,4379

poured wine over their foreheads, and placed 4380

the topmost bristles that she plucked, growing4381

between their horns, in the sacred fire, as a first offering,4382

calling aloud to Hecate, powerful in Heaven and Hell.4383

Others slit the victim’s throats and caught the warm blood4384

in bowls. Aeneas himself sacrificed a black-fleeced lamb4385

to Night, mother of the Furies, and Earth, her mighty sister,4386

and a barren heifer to you, Persephone.4387

Then he kindled the midnight altars for the Stygian King,4388

and placed whole carcasses of bulls on the flames,4389

pouring rich oil over the blazing entrails.4390

See now, at the dawn light of the rising sun,4391

the ground bellowed under their feet, the wooded hills began4392

to move, and, at the coming of the Goddess, dogs seemed to howl4393

in the shadows. ‘Away, stand far away, O you profane ones,’4394

the priestess cried, ‘absent yourselves from all this grove:4395

and you now, Aeneas, be on your way, and tear your sword4396

from the sheathe: you need courage, and a firm mind, now.’4397

So saying, she plunged wildly into the open cave:4398

he, fearlessly, kept pace with his vanishing guide.4399

BkVI:264-294 The Entrance to Hades4400

You gods, whose is the realm of spirits, and you, dumb shadows,4401

and Chaos, Phlegethon, wide silent places of the night, 4402

let me tell what I have heard: by your power, let me 4403

reveal things buried in the deep earth, and the darkness.4404

On they went, hidden in solitary night, through gloom,4405

through Dis’s empty halls, and insubstantial kingdom,4406

like a path through a wood, in the faint light 4407

under a wavering moon, when Jupiter has buried the sky4408

in shadow, and black night has stolen the colour from things.4409

Right before the entrance, in the very jaws of Orcus,4410

Grief and vengeful Care have made their beds,4411

and pallid Sickness lives there, and sad Old Age,4412

and Fear, and persuasive Hunger, and vile Need,4413

forms terrible to look on, and Death and Pain:4414

then Death’s brother Sleep, and Evil Pleasure of the mind,4415

and, on the threshold opposite, death-dealing War,4416

and the steel chambers of the Furies, and mad Discord,4417

her snaky hair entwined with blood-wet ribbons.4418

In the centre a vast shadowy elm spreads its aged trunks4419

and branches: the seat, they say, that false Dreams hold,4420

thronging, clinging beneath every leaf.4421

And many other monstrous shapes of varied creatures,4422

are stabled by the doors, Centaurs and bi-formed Scylla,4423

and hundred-armed Briareus, and the Lernean Hydra,4424

hissing fiercely, and the Chimaera armed with flame,4425

Gorgons, and Harpies, and the triple bodied shade, Geryon.4426

At this, trembling suddenly with terror, Aeneas grasped 4427

his sword, and set the naked blade against their approach:4428

and, if his knowing companion had not warned him4429

that these were tenuous bodiless lives flitting about4430

with a hollow semblance of form, he would have rushed at them,4431

and hacked at the shadows uselessly with his sword.4432

BkVI:295-336 The Shores of Acheron4433

From here there is a road that leads to the waters 4434

of Tartarean Acheron. Here thick with mud a whirlpool seethes 4435

in the vast depths, and spews all its sands into Cocytus.4436

A grim ferryman watches over the rivers and streams,4437

Charon, dreadful in his squalor, with a mass of unkempt4438

white hair straggling from his chin: flames glow in his eyes,4439

a dirty garment hangs, knotted from his shoulders.4440

He poles the boat and trims the sails himself,4441

and ferries the dead in his dark skiff,4442

old now, but a god’s old age is fresh and green.4443

Here all the crowd streams, hurrying to the shores,4444

women and men, the lifeless bodies of noble heroes,4445

boys and unmarried girls, sons laid on the pyre4446

in front of their father’s eyes: as many as the leaves that fall4447

in the woods at the first frost of autumn, as many as the birds4448

that flock to land from ocean deeps, when the cold of the year4449

drives them abroad and despatches them to sunnier countries.4450

They stood there, pleading to be first to make the crossing,4451

stretching out their hands in longing for the far shore.4452

But the dismal boatman accepts now these, now those,4453

but driving others away, keeps them far from the sand.4454

Then Aeneas, stirred and astonished at the tumult, said: 4455

‘O virgin, tell me, what does this crowding to the river mean?4456

What do the souls want? And by what criterion do these leave4457

the bank, and those sweep off with the oars on the leaden stream?4458

The ancient priestess spoke briefly to him, so:4459

‘Son of Anchises, true child of the gods, you see 4460

the deep pools of Cocytus, and the Marsh of Styx,4461

by whose name the gods fear to swear falsely.4462

All this crowd, you see, were destitute and unburied:4463

that ferryman is Charon: those the waves carry were buried:4464

he may not carry them from the fearful shore on the harsh waters4465

before their bones are at rest in the earth. They roam4466

for a hundred years and flit around these shores: only then4467

are they admitted, and revisit the pools they long for.’4468

The son of Anchises halted, and checked his footsteps,4469

thinking deeply, and pitying their sad fate in his heart.4470

He saw Leucaspis and Orontes, captain of the Lycian fleet,4471

there, grieving and lacking honour in death, whom a Southerly4472

overwhelmed, as they sailed together from Troy on the windswept 4473

waters, engulfing both the ship and crew in the waves.4474

BkVI:337-383 The Shade of Palinurus4475

Behold, there came the helmsman, Palinurus, 4476

who fell from the stern on the Libyan passage,4477

flung into the midst of the waves, as he watched the stars.4478

When Aeneas had recognised him with difficulty4479

sorrowing among the deep shadows, he spoke first, saying:4480

‘What god tore you from us, Palinurus, and drowned you 4481

mid-ocean? For in this one prophecy Apollo has misled me,4482

he whom I never found false before, he said that you would be safe4483

at sea and reach Ausonia’s shores. Is this the truth of his promise?’ 4484

But he replied: ‘Phoebus’s tripod did not fail you, Anchises,4485

my captain, nor did a god drown me in the deep.4486

By chance the helm was torn from me with violence,4487

as I clung there, on duty as ordered, steering our course,4488

and I dragged it headlong with me. I swear by the cruel sea4489

that I feared less for myself than for your ship,4490

lest robbed of its gear, and cleared of its helmsman,4491

it might founder among such surging waves.4492

The Southerly drove me violently through the vast seas4493

for three stormy nights: high on the crest of a wave,4494

in the fourth dawn, I could just make out Italy.4495

Gradually I swam to shore: grasped now at safety,4496

but as I caught at the sharp tips of the rocks, weighed down4497

by my water-soaked clothes, the savage people4498

attacked me with knives, ignorantly thinking me a prize.4499

Now the waves have me, and the winds roll me along the shore.4500

Unconquered one, I beg you, by the sweet light and air of heaven,4501

by your father, and your hopes in Iulus to come,4502

save me from this evil: either find Velia’s harbour again4503

(for you can) and sprinkle earth on me, or if there is some way,4504

if your divine mother shows you one (since you’d not attempt to sail4505

such waters, and the Stygian marsh, without a god’s will, I think)4506

then give this wretch your hand and take me with you through the waves4507

that at least I might rest in some quiet place in death.’4508

So he spoke, and the priestess began to reply like this:4509

‘Where does this dire longing of yours come from, O Palinurus?4510

Can you see the Stygian waters, unburied, or the grim 4511

river of the Furies, Cocytus, or come unasked to the shore?4512

Cease to hope that divine fate can be tempered by prayer.4513

But hold my words in your memory, as a comfort in your hardship: 4514

the nearby peoples, from cities far and wide, will be moved 4515

by divine omens to worship your bones, and build a tomb, 4516

and send offerings to the tomb, and the place will have4517

Palinurus as its everlasting name.’ His anxiety was quelled 4518

by her words, and, for a little while, grief was banished 4519

from his sad heart: he delighted in the land being so named.4520

BkVI:384-416 Charon the Ferryman4521

So they pursued their former journey, and drew near the river.4522

Now when the Boatman saw them from the Stygian wave4523

walking through the silent wood, and directing their footsteps4524

towards its bank, he attacked them verbally, first, and unprompted,4525

rebuking them: ‘Whoever you are, who come armed to my river,4526

tell me, from over there, why you’re here, and halt your steps.4527

This is a place of shadows, of Sleep and drowsy Night:4528

I’m not allowed to carry living bodies in the Stygian boat.4529

Truly it was no pleasure for me to take Hercules on his journey4530

over the lake, nor Theseus and Pirithous, though they may4531

have been children of gods, unrivalled in strength.4532

The first came for Cerberus the watchdog of Tartarus,4533

and dragged him away quivering from under the king’s throne:4534

the others were after snatching our Queen from Dis’s chamber.’4535

To this the prophetess of Amphrysian Apollo briefly answered:4536

‘There’s no such trickery here (don’t be disturbed),4537

our weapons offer no affront: your huge guard-dog 4538

can terrify the bloodless shades with his eternal howling:4539

chaste Proserpine can keep to her uncle’s threshold.4540

Aeneas the Trojan, renowned in piety and warfare,4541

goes down to the deepest shadows of Erebus, to his father.4542

If the idea of such affection does not move you, still you 4543

must recognise this bough.’ (She showed the branch, hidden 4544

in her robes.) Then the anger in his swollen breast subsided. 4545

No more was said. Marvelling at the revered offering,4546

of fateful twigs, seen again after so long, he turned the stern4547

of the dark skiff towards them and neared the bank. 4548

Then he turned off the other souls who sat on the long benches,4549

cleared the gangways: and received mighty Aeneas 4550

on board. The seamed skiff groaned with the weight4551

and let in quantities of marsh-water through the chinks.4552

At last, the river crossed, he landed the prophetess and the hero4553

safe, on the unstable mud, among the blue-grey sedge.4554

BkVI:417-439 Beyond the Acheron4555

Huge Cerberus sets these regions echoing with his triple-throated 4556

howling, crouching monstrously in a cave opposite.4557

Seeing the snakes rearing round his neck, the prophetess4558

threw him a pellet, a soporific of honey and drugged wheat.4559

Opening his three throats, in rabid hunger, he seized 4560

what she threw and, flexing his massive spine, sank to earth 4561

spreading his giant bulk over the whole cave-floor.4562

With the guard unconscious Aeneas won to the entrance,4563

and quickly escaped the bank of the river of no return.4564

Immediately a loud crying of voices was heard, the spirits4565

of weeping infants, whom a dark day stole at the first4566

threshold of this sweet life, those chosen to be torn 4567

from the breast, and drowned in bitter death.4568

Nearby are those condemned to die on false charges.4569

Yet their place is not ordained without the allotted jury:4570

Minos, the judge, shakes the urn: he convenes the voiceless court,4571

and hears their lives and sins. Then the next place 4572

is held by those gloomy spirits who, innocent of crime, 4573

died by their own hand, and, hating the light, threw away4574

their lives. How willingly now they’d endure4575

poverty and harsh suffering, in the air above!4576

Divine Law prevents it, and the sad marsh and its hateful4577

waters binds them, and nine-fold Styx confines them.4578

BkVI:440-476 The Shade of Dido4579

Not far from there the Fields of Mourning are revealed,4580

spread out on all sides: so they name them.4581

There, those whom harsh love devours with cruel pining4582

are concealed in secret walkways, encircled by a myrtle grove:4583

even in death their troubles do not leave them.4584

Here Aeneas saw Phaedra, and Procris, and sad Eriphyle,4585

displaying the wounds made by her cruel son,4586

Evadne, and Pasiphae: with them walked Laodamia,4587

and Caeneus, now a woman, once a young man,4588

returned by her fate to her own form again.4589

Among them Phoenician Dido wandered, in the great wood,4590

her wound still fresh. As soon as the Trojan hero stood near her4591

and knew her, shadowy among the shadows, like a man who sees,4592

or thinks he sees, the new moon rising through a cloud, as its month 4593

begins, he wept tears and spoke to her with tender affection:4594

‘Dido, unhappy spirit, was the news, that came to me 4595

of your death, true then, taking your life with a blade? 4596

Alas, was I the cause of your dying? I swear by the stars, 4597

by the gods above, by whatever truth may be in the depths4598

of the earth, I left your shores unwillingly, my queen.4599

I was commanded by gods, who drove me by their decrees,4600

that now force me to go among the shades, through places4601

thorny with neglect, and deepest night: nor did I think 4602

my leaving there would ever bring such grief to you.4603

Halt your footsteps and do not take yourself from my sight. 4604

What do you flee? This is the last speech with you that fate allows.’4605

With such words Aeneas would have calmed4606

her fiery spirit and wild looks, and provoked her tears.4607

She turned away, her eyes fixed on the ground,4608

no more altered in expression by the speech he had begun4609

than if hard flint stood there, or a cliff of Parian marble.4610

At the last she tore herself away, and, hostile to him,4611

fled to the shadowy grove where Sychaeus, her husband4612

in former times, responded to her suffering, and gave her4613

love for love. Aeneas, no less shaken by the injustice of fate,4614

followed her, far off, with his tears, and pitied her as she went.4615

BkVI:477-534 The Shade of Deiphobus4616

From there he laboured on the way that was granted them. 4617

And soon they reached the most distant fields,4618

the remote places where those famous in war4619

crowd together. Here Tydeus met him, Parthenopaeus4620

glorious in arms, and the pale form of Adrastus:4621

here were the Trojans, wept for deeply above, fallen in war,4622

whom, seeing them all in their long ranks, he groaned at,4623

Glaucus, Medon and Thersilochus, the three sons of Antenor,4624

Polyboetes, the priest of Ceres, and Idaeus4625

still with his chariot, and his weapons. 4626

The spirits stand there in crowds to left and right.4627

They are not satisfied with seeing him only once:4628

they delight in lingering on, walking beside him,4629

and learning the reason for his coming.4630

But the Greek princes and Agamemnon’s phalanxes,4631

trembled with great fear, when they saw the hero,4632

and his gleaming weapons, among the shades:4633

some turned to run, as they once sought their ships: some raised4634

a faint cry, the noise they made belying their gaping mouths.4635

And he saw Deiphobus there, Priam’s son, his whole body4636

mutilated, his face brutally torn, his face and hands both, the ears4637

ripped from his ruined head, his nostrils sheared by an ugly wound.4638

Indeed Aeneas barely recognised the quivering form, hiding its dire4639

punishment, even as he called to him, unprompted, in familiar tones: 4640

‘Deiphobus, powerful in war, born of Teucer’s noble blood,4641

who chose to work such brutal punishment on you?4642

Who was allowed to treat you so? Rumour has it 4643

that on that final night, wearied by endless killing of Greeks,4644

you sank down on a pile of the slaughtered.4645

Then I set up an empty tomb on the Rhoetean shore,4646

and called on your spirit three times in a loud voice.4647

Your name and weapons watch over the site: I could not 4648

see you, friend, to set you, as I left, in your native soil.’4649

To this Priam’s son replied: ‘O my friend, you’ve neglected4650

nothing: you’ve paid all that’s due to Deiophobus4651

and a dead man’s spirit. My own destiny, 4652

and that Spartan woman’s deadly crime, drowned me4653

in these sorrows: she left me these memorials.4654

You know how we passed that last night in illusory joy:4655

and you must remember it only too well.4656

When the fateful Horse came leaping the walls of Troy,4657

pregnant with the armed warriors it carried in its womb,4658

she led the Trojan women about, wailing in dance,4659

aping the Bacchic rites: she held a huge torch in their midst,4660

signalling to the Greeks from the heights of the citadel.4661

I was then in our unlucky marriage-chamber, worn out with care,4662

and heavy with sleep, a sweet deep slumber weighing on me4663

as I lay there, the very semblance of peaceful death.4664

Meanwhile that illustrious wife of mine removed every weapon4665

from the house, even stealing my faithful sword from under my head:4666

she calls Menelaus into the house and throws open the doors,4667

hoping I suppose it would prove a great gift for her lover,4668

and in that way the infamy of her past sins might be erased.4669

Why drag out the tale? They burst into the room, and with them4670

Ulysses the Aeolid, their co-inciter to wickedness. Gods, so repay4671

the Greeks, if these lips I pray for vengeance with are virtuous. 4672

But you, in turn, tell what fate has brought you here, living.4673

Do you come here, driven by your wandering on the sea,4674

or exhorted by the gods? If not, what misfortune torments you,4675

that you enter these sad sunless houses, this troubled place?’4676

BkVI:535-627 The Sibyl Describes Tartarus4677

While they spoke Aurora and her rosy chariot had passed 4678

the zenith of her ethereal path, and they might perhaps4679

have spent all the time allowed in such talk, but the Sibyl,4680

his companion, warned him briefly saying: 4681

‘Night approaches, Aeneas: we waste the hours with weeping.4682

This is the place where the path splits itself in two:4683

there on the right is our road to Elysium, that runs beneath4684

the walls of mighty Dis: but the left works punishment4685

on the wicked, and sends them on to godless Tartarus.’4686

Deiophobus replied: ‘Do not be angry, great priestess:4687

I will leave: I will make up the numbers, and return to the darkness.4688

Go now glory of our race: enjoy a better fate.’4689

So he spoke, and in speaking turned away.4690

Aeneas suddenly looked back, and, below the left hand cliff,4691

he saw wide battlements, surrounded by a triple wall,4692

and encircled by a swift river of red-hot flames,4693

the Tartarean Phlegethon, churning with echoing rocks.4694

A gate fronts it, vast, with pillars of solid steel,4695

that no human force, not the heavenly gods themselves,4696

can overturn by war: an iron tower rises into the air,4697

and seated before it, Tisiphone, clothed in a blood-wet dress,4698

keeps guard of the doorway, sleeplessly, night and day.4699

Groans came from there, and the cruel sound of the lash,4700

then the clank of iron, and dragging chains.4701

Aeneas halted, and stood rooted, terrified by the noise.4702

‘What evil is practised here? O Virgin, tell me: by what torments4703

are they oppressed? Why are there such sounds in the air?’4704

Then the prophetess began to speak as follows: ‘Famous leader4705

of the Trojans, it is forbidden for the pure to cross the evil threshold:4706

but when Hecate appointed me to the wood of Avernus,4707

she taught me the divine torments, and guided me through them all.4708

Cretan Rhadamanthus rules this harshest of kingdoms,4709

and hears their guilt, extracts confessions, and punishes 4710

whoever has deferred atonement for their sins too long4711

till death, delighting in useless concealment, in the world above.4712

Tisiphone the avenger, armed with her whip, leaps on the guilty immediately, lashes them, and threatening them with the fierce4713

snakes in her left hand, calls to her savage troop of sisters.4714

Then at last the accursed doors open, screeching on jarring hinges. 4715

You comprehend what guardian sits at the door, what shape watches 4716

the threshold? Well still fiercer is the monstrous Hydra inside, 4717

with her fifty black gaping jaws. There Tartarus itself 4718

falls sheer, and stretches down into the darkness:4719

twice as far as we gaze upwards to heavenly Olympus.4720

Here the Titanic race, the ancient sons of Earth,4721

hurled down by the lightning-bolt, writhe in the depths.4722

And here I saw the two sons of Aloeus, giant forms,4723

who tried to tear down the heavens with their hands,4724

and topple Jupiter from his high kingdom.4725

And I saw Salmoneus paying a savage penalty4726

for imitating Jove’s lightning, and the Olympian thunder.4727

Brandishing a torch, and drawn by four horses4728

he rode in triumph among the Greeks, through Elis’s city,4729

claiming the gods’ honours as his own, a fool,4730

who mimicked the storm-clouds and the inimitable thunderbolt4731

with bronze cymbals and the sound of horses’ hoof-beats.4732

But the all-powerful father hurled his lighting from dense cloud,4733

not for him fiery torches, or pine-branches’ smoky light4734

and drove him headlong with the mighty whirlwind.4735

And Tityus was to be seen as well, the foster-child4736

of Earth, our universal mother, whose body stretches4737

over nine acres, and a great vulture with hooked beak4738

feeds on his indestructible liver, and his entrails ripe4739

for punishment, lodged deep inside the chest, groping 4740

for his feast, no respite given to the ever-renewing tissue.4741

Shall I speak of the Lapiths, Ixion, Pirithous,4742

over whom hangs a dark crag that seems to slip and fall?4743

High couches for their feast gleam with golden frames,4744

and a banquet of royal luxury is spread before their eyes: 4745

nearby the eldest Fury, crouching, prevents their fingers touching4746

the table: rising up, and brandishing her torch, with a voice of thunder.4747

Here are those who hated their brothers, in life, 4748

or struck a parent, or contrived to defraud a client, 4749

or who crouched alone over the riches they’d made,4750

without setting any aside for their kin (their crowd is largest),4751

those who were killed for adultery, or pursued civil war,4752

not fearing to break their pledges to their masters:4753

shut in they see their punishment. Don’t ask to know4754

that punishment, or what kind of suffering drowns them.4755

Some roll huge stones, or hang spread-eagled 4756

on wheel-spokes: wretched Theseus sits still, and will sit4757

for eternity: Phlegyas, the most unfortunate, warns them all4758

and bears witness in a loud voice among the shades:4759

“Learn justice: be warned, and don’t despise the gods.”4760

Here’s one who sold his country for gold, and set up4761

a despotic lord: this one made law and remade it for a price:4762

he entered his daughter’s bed and a forbidden marriage:4763

all of them dared monstrous sin, and did what they dared.4764

Not if I had a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths,4765

a voice of iron, could I tell all the forms of wickedness4766

or spell out the names of every torment.’4767

BkVI:628-678 The Fields of Elysium4768

When she had spoken of this, the aged priestess of Apollo said:4769

‘But come now, travel the road, and complete the task set for you:4770

let us hurry, I see the battlements that were forged 4771

in the Cyclopean fires, and the gates in the arch opposite us4772

where we are told to set down the gifts as ordered.’4773

She spoke and keeping step they hastened along the dark path4774

crossing the space between and arriving near the doors.4775

Aeneas gained the entrance, sprinkled fresh water4776

over his body, and set up the branch on the threshold before him.4777

Having at last achieved this, the goddess’s task fulfilled,4778

they came to the pleasant places, the delightful grassy turf4779

of the Fortunate Groves, and the homes of the blessed.4780

Here freer air and radiant light clothe the plain,4781

and these have their own sun, and their own stars.4782

Some exercise their bodies in a grassy gymnasium,4783

compete in sports and wrestle on the yellow sand:4784

others tread out the steps of a dance, and sing songs.4785

There Orpheus too, the long-robed priest of Thrace,4786

accompanies their voices with the seven-note scale,4787

playing now with fingers, now with the ivory quill.4788

Here are Teucer’s ancient people, loveliest of children,4789

great-hearted heroes, born in happier years,4790

Ilus, Assaracus, and Dardanus founder of Troy.4791

Aeneas marvels from a distance at their idle chariots4792

and their weapons: their spears fixed in the ground,4793

and their horses scattered freely browsing over the plain:4794

the pleasure they took in chariots and armour while alive,4795

the care in tending shining horses, follows them below the earth.4796

Look, he sees others on the grass to right and left, feasting, 4797

and singing a joyful paean in chorus, among the fragrant 4798

groves of laurel, out of which the Eridanus’s broad river 4799

flows through the woodlands to the world above.4800

Here is the company of those who suffered wounds fighting4801

for their country: and those who were pure priests, while they lived, 4802

and those who were faithful poets, singers worthy of Apollo, 4803

and those who improved life, with discoveries in Art or Science,4804

and those who by merit caused others to remember them:4805

the brows of all these were bound with white headbands.4806

As they crowded round, the Sibyl addressed them,4807

Musaeus above all: since he holds the centre of the vast crowd, 4808

all looking up to him, his tall shoulders towering above:4809

‘Blessed spirits, and you, greatest of Poets, 4810

say what region or place contains Anchises. We have 4811

come here, crossing the great rivers of Erebus, for him.’4812

And the hero replied to her briefly in these words:4813

‘None of us have a fixed abode: we live in the shadowy woods,4814

and make couches of river-banks, and inhabit fresh-water meadows.4815

But climb this ridge, if your hearts-wish so inclines,4816

and I will soon set you on an easy path.’4817

He spoke and went on before them, and showed them4818

the bright plains below: then they left the mountain heights.4819

BkVI:679-702 The Meeting with Anchises4820

But deep in a green valley his father Anchises 4821

was surveying the spirits enclosed there, destined4822

for the light above, thinking carefully, and was reviewing4823

as it chanced the numbers of his own folk, his dear grandsons,4824

and their fate and fortunes as men, and their ways and works.4825

And when he saw Aeneas heading towards him over the grass4826

he stretched out both his hands eagerly, his face4827

streaming with tears, and a cry issued from his lips:4828

‘Have you come at last, and has the loyalty your father expected4829

conquered the harsh road? Is it granted me to see your face, 4830

my son, and hear and speak in familiar tones?4831

I calculated it in my mind, and thought it would be so,4832

counting off the hours, nor has my trouble failed me.4833

From travel over what lands and seas, do I receive you!4834

What dangers have hurled you about, my son!4835

How I feared the realms of Libya might harm you!’4836

He answered: ‘Father, your image, yours, appearing to me4837

so often, drove me to reach this threshold:4838

My ships ride the Etruscan waves. Father, let me clasp4839

your hand, let me, and do not draw away from my embrace.’4840

So speaking, his face was also drowned in a flood of tears.4841

Three times he tries to throw his arms round his father’s neck,4842

three times, clasped in vain, that semblance slips though his hands,4843

like the light breeze, most of all like a winged dream.4844

BkVI:703-723 The Souls Due for Re-birth4845

And now Aeneas saw a secluded grove 4846

in a receding valley, with rustling woodland thickets,4847

and the river of Lethe gliding past those peaceful places.4848

Innumerable tribes and peoples hovered round it:4849

just as, in the meadows, on a cloudless summer’s day, 4850

the bees settle on the multifarious flowers, and stream4851

round the bright lilies, and all the fields hum with their buzzing.4852

Aeneas was thrilled by the sudden sight, and, in ignorance,4853

asked the cause: what the river is in the distance,4854

who the men are crowding the banks in such numbers.4855

Then his father Anchises answered: ‘They are spirits, 4856

owed a second body by destiny, and they drink4857

the happy waters, and a last forgetting, at Lethe’s stream.4858

Indeed, for a long time I’ve wished to tell you of them,4859

and show you them face to face, to enumerate my children’s4860

descendants, so you might joy with me more at finding Italy.’4861

‘O father, is it to be thought that any spirits go from here4862

to the sky above, returning again to dull matter?’4863

‘Indeed I’ll tell you, son, not keep you in doubt,’4864

Anchises answered, and revealed each thing in order.4865

BkVI:724-751 The Transmigration of Souls4866

‘Firstly, a spirit within them nourishes the sky and earth,4867

the watery plains, the shining orb of the moon, 4868

and Titan’s star, and Mind, flowing through matter,4869

vivifies the whole mass, and mingles with its vast frame.4870

From it come the species of man and beast, and winged lives,4871

and the monsters the sea contains beneath its marbled waves.4872

The power of those seeds is fiery, and their origin divine,4873

so long as harmful matter doesn’t impede them4874

and terrestrial bodies and mortal limbs don’t dull them.4875

Through those they fear and desire, and grieve and joy,4876

and enclosed in night and a dark dungeon, can’t see the light.4877

Why, when life leaves them at the final hour,4878

still all of the evil, all the plagues of the flesh, alas,4879

have not completely vanished, and many things, long hardened4880

deep within, must of necessity be ingrained, in strange ways.4881

So they are scourged by torments, and pay the price 4882

for former sins: some are hung, stretched out, 4883

to the hollow winds, the taint of wickedness is cleansed4884

for others in vast gulfs, or burned away with fire:4885

each spirit suffers its own: then we are sent4886

through wide Elysium, and we few stay in the joyous fields,4887

for a length of days, till the cycle of time, 4888

complete, removes the hardened stain, and leaves 4889

pure ethereal thought, and the brightness of natural air.4890

All these others the god calls in a great crowd to the river Lethe,4891

after they have turned the wheel for a thousand years, 4892

so that, truly forgetting, they can revisit the vault above,4893

and begin with a desire to return to the flesh.’4894

BkVI:752-776 The Future Race – The Alban Kings4895

Anchises had spoken, and he drew the Sibyl and his son, both4896

together, into the middle of the gathering and the murmuring crowd,4897

and chose a hill from which he could see all the long ranks 4898

opposite, and watch their faces as they came by him.4899

‘Come, I will now explain what glory will pursue the children4900

of Dardanus, what descendants await you of the Italian race,4901

illustrious spirits to march onwards in our name, and I will teach4902

you your destiny. See that boy, who leans on a headless spear,4903

he is fated to hold a place nearest the light, first to rise 4904

to the upper air, sharing Italian blood, Silvius, of Alban name,4905

your last-born son, who your wife Lavinia, late in your old age,4906

will give birth to in the wood, a king and the father of kings,4907

through whom our race will rule in Alba Longa.4908

Next to him is Procas, glory of the Trojan people,4909

and Capys and Numitor, and he who’ll revive your name,4910

Silvius Aeneas, outstanding like you in virtue and arms,4911

if he might at last achieve the Alban throne. 4912

What men! See what authority they display, 4913

their foreheads shaded by the civic oak-leaf crown!4914

They will build Nomentum, Gabii, and Fidenae’s city:4915

Collatia’s fortress in the hills, Pometii 4916

and the Fort of Inus, and Bola, and Cora.4917

Those will be names that are now nameless land.4918

BkVI:777-807 The Future Race – Romulus and the Caesars4919

Yes, and a child of Mars will join his grandfather to accompany him,4920

Romulus, whom his mother Ilia will bear, of Assaracus’s line. 4921

See how Mars’s twin plumes stand on his crest, and his father 4922

marks him out for the world above with his own emblems?4923

Behold, my son, under his command glorious Rome 4924

will match earth’s power and heaven’s will, and encircle 4925

seven hills with a single wall, happy in her race of men: 4926

as Cybele, the Berecynthian ‘Great Mother’, crowned 4927

with turrets, rides through the Phrygian cities, delighting4928

in her divine children, clasping a hundred descendants, 4929

all gods, all dwelling in the heights above.4930

Now direct your eyes here, gaze at this people,4931

your own Romans. Here is Caesar, and all the offspring4932

of Iulus destined to live under the pole of heaven.4933

This is the man, this is him, whom you so often hear4934

promised you, Augustus Caesar, son of the Deified, 4935

who will make a Golden Age again in the fields4936

where Saturn once reigned, and extend the empire beyond4937

the Libyans and the Indians (to a land that lies outside the zodiac’s belt,4938

beyond the sun’s ecliptic and the year’s, where sky-carrying Atlas4939

turns the sphere, inset with gleaming stars, on his shoulders):4940

Even now the Caspian realms, and Maeotian earth, 4941

tremble at divine prophecies of his coming, and 4942

the restless mouths of the seven-branched Nile are troubled.4943

Truly, Hercules never crossed so much of the earth,4944

though he shot the bronze-footed Arcadian deer, brought peace4945

to the woods of Erymanthus, made Lerna tremble at his bow:4946

nor did Bacchus, who steers his chariot, in triumph, with reins 4947

made of vines, guiding his tigers down from Nysa’s high peak.4948

Do we really hesitate still to extend our power by our actions,4949

and does fear prevent us settling the Italian lands? 4950

BkVI:808-853 The Future Race – Republic and Beyond4951

Who is he, though, over there, distinguished by his olive branches,4952

carrying offerings? I know the hair and the white-bearded chin4953

of a king of Rome, Numa, called to supreme authority 4954

from little Cures’s poverty-stricken earth, who will secure4955

our first city under the rule of law. Then Tullus 4956

will succeed him who will shatter the country’s peace, 4957

and call to arms sedentary men, ranks now unused to triumphs.4958

The over-boastful Ancus follows him closely, 4959

delighting too much even now in the people’s opinion.4960

Will you look too at Tarquin’s dynasty, and the proud spirit4961

of Brutus the avenger, the rods of office reclaimed?4962

He’ll be the first to win a consul’s powers and the savage axes,4963

and when the sons foment a new civil war, the father4964

will call them to account, for lovely freedom’s sake:4965

ah, to be pitied, whatever posterity says of his actions:4966

his love of country will prevail, and great appetite for glory. 4967

Ah, see over there, the Decii and Drusi, and Torquatus4968

brutal with the axe, and Camillus rescuing the standards.4969

But those others, you can discern, shining in matching armour,4970

souls in harmony now, while they are cloaked in darkness,4971

ah, if they reach the light of the living, what civil war4972

what battle and slaughter, they’ll cause, Julius Caesar,4973

the father-in-law, down from the Alpine ramparts, from the fortress4974

of Monoecus: Pompey, the son-in-law, opposing with Eastern forces.4975

My sons, don’t inure your spirits to such wars,4976

never turn the powerful forces of your country on itself:4977

You be the first to halt, you, who derive your race from heaven:4978

hurl the sword from your hand, who are of my blood!4979

There’s Mummius: triumphing over Corinth, he’ll drive his chariot,4980

victorious, to the high Capitol, famed for the Greeks he’s killed:4981

and Aemilius Paulus, who, avenging his Trojan ancestors, and Minerva’s4982

desecrated shrine, will destroy Agamemnon’s Mycenae, and Argos, 4983

and Perseus the Aeacid himself, descendant of war-mighty Achilles.4984

Who would pass over you in silence, great Cato, or you Cossus,4985

or the Gracchus’s race, or the two Scipios, war’s lightning bolts,4986

the scourges of Libya, or you Fabricius, powerful in poverty,4987

or you, Regulus Serranus, sowing your furrow with seed?4988

Fabii, where do you hurry my weary steps? You, Fabius 4989

Maximus, the Delayer, are he who alone renew our State.4990

Others (I can well believe) will hammer out bronze that breathes4991

with more delicacy than us, draw out living features 4992

from the marble: plead their causes better, trace with instruments4993

the movement of the skies, and tell the rising of the constellations:4994

remember, Roman, it is for you to rule the nations with your power,4995

(that will be your skill) to crown peace with law,4996

to spare the conquered, and subdue the proud.’4997

BkVI:854-885 The Future Race – Marcellus4998

So father Anchises spoke, and while they marvelled, added:4999

‘See, how Claudius Marcellus, distinguished by the Supreme Prize,5000

comes forward, and towers, victorious, over other men.5001

As a knight, he’ll support the Roman State, turbulent5002

with fierce confusion, strike the Cathaginians and rebellious Gauls,5003

and dedicate captured weapons, a third time, to father Quirinus.’5004

And, at this, Aeneas said (since he saw a youth of outstanding5005

beauty with shining armour, walking with Marcellus,5006

but his face lacking in joy, and his eyes downcast):5007

‘Father, who is this who accompanies him on his way?5008

His son: or another of his long line of descendants?5009

What murmuring round them! What presence he has!5010

But dark night, with its sad shadows, hovers round his head.’5011

Then his father Aeneas, with welling tears, replied:5012

‘O, do not ask about your people’s great sorrow, my son.5013

The Fates will only show him to the world, not allow him5014

to stay longer. The Roman people would seem5015

too powerful to you gods, if this gift were lasting.5016

What mourning from mankind that Field of Mars will 5017

deliver to the mighty city! And what funeral processions5018

you, Tiber, will see, as you glide past his new-made tomb!5019

No boy of the line of Ilius shall so exalt his Latin 5020

ancestors by his show of promise, nor will Romulus’s5021

land ever take more pride in one of its sons.5022

Alas for virtue, alas for the honour of ancient times, 5023

and a hand invincible in war! No one might have attacked him5024

safely when armed, whether he met the enemy on foot,5025

or dug his spurs into the flank of his foaming charger.5026

Ah, boy to be pitied, if only you may shatter harsh fate,5027

you’ll be a Marcellus! Give me handfuls of white lilies,5028

let me scatter radiant flowers, let me load my scion’s spirit5029

with those gifts at least, in discharging that poor duty.’5030

BkVI:886-901 The Gates of Sleep5031

So they wander here and there through the whole region,5032

over the wide airy plain, and gaze at everything.5033

And when Anchises has led his son through each place,5034

and inflamed his spirit with love of the glory that is to come,5035

he tells him then of the wars he must soon fight,5036

and teaches him about the Laurentine peoples,5037

and the city of Latinus, and how to avoid or face each trial.5038

There are two gates of Sleep: one of which is said to be of horn,5039

through which an easy passage is given to true shades, the other5040

gleams with the whiteness of polished ivory, but through it5041

the Gods of the Dead send false dreams to the world above.5042

After his words, Anchises accompanies his son there, and,5043

frees him, together with the Sibyl, through the ivory gate.5044

Aeneas makes his way to the ships and rejoins his friends:5045

then coasts straight to Caieta’s harbour along the shore.5046

The anchors are thrown from the prows: on the shore the sterns rest. 5047

BkVII:1-36 The Trojans Reach the Tiber5048

Caieta, Aeneas’s nurse, you too have granted 5049

eternal fame to our shores in dying: 5050

tributes still protect your grave, and your name5051

marks your bones in great Hesperia, if that is glory.5052

Now, as soon as the open sea was calm, having paid 5053

the last rites due to custom, and raised a funeral mound,5054

Aeneas the good left the harbour and sailed on his way.5055

The breezes blew through the night, and a radiant moon was no5056

inhibitor to their voyage, the sea gleaming in the tremulous light.5057

The next shores they touched were Circe’s lands,5058

where that rich daughter of the sun makes the hidden groves5059

echo with continual chanting, and burns fragrant cedar5060

for nocturnal light in her proud palace, as she sets5061

her melodious shuttle running through the fine warp.5062

From there the angry roar of lions could be heard,5063

chafing at their ropes, and sounding late into the night,5064

and the rage of bristling wild-boars, and caged bears,5065

and the howling shapes of huge wolves,5066

whom Circe, cruel goddess, had altered from human appearance 5067

to the features and forms of creatures, using powerful herbs.5068

But Neptune filled their sails with following winds, so that5069

Troy’s virtuous race should not suffer so monstrous a fate5070

entering the harbour, and disembarking on that fatal shore,5071

and carried them past the boiling shallows, granting them escape.5072

Now the sea was reddening with the sun’s rays, and saffron Aurora5073

in her rose-coloured chariot, shone from the heights of heaven,5074

when the winds dropped and every breeze suddenly fell away,5075

and the oars laboured slowly in the water. At this moment,5076

gazing from the sea, Aeneas saw a vast forest. Through it 5077

the Tiber’s lovely river, with swirling eddies full of golden sand,5078

bursts to the ocean. Countless birds, around and above,5079

that haunt the banks and streams, were delighting 5080

the heavens with their song and flying through the groves.5081

He ordered his friends to change course and turn their prows5082

towards land, and joyfully entered the shaded river.5083

BkVII:37-106 King Latinus and the Oracle5084

Come now, Erato, and I’ll tell of the kings, the times, 5085

the state of ancient Latium, when that foreign5086

troop first landed on Ausonia’s shores, and I’ll recall5087

the first fighting from its very beginning. You goddess, 5088

you must prompt your poet. I’ll tell of brutal war,5089

I’ll tell of battle action, and princes driven to death 5090

by their courage, of Trojan armies, and all of Hesperia5091

forced to take up arms. A greater order of things5092

is being born, greater is the work that I attempt.5093

King Latinus, now old in years, ruled fields5094

and towns, in the tranquillity of lasting peace.5095

We hear he was the child of Faunus and the Laurentine5096

nymph, Marica. Faunus’s father was Pictus, and he boasts5097

you, Saturn, as his, you the first founder of the line.5098

By divine decree, Latinus had no male heir, his son 5099

having been snatched from him in the dawn of first youth.5100

There was only a daughter to keep house in so noble a palace,5101

now ready for a husband, now old enough to be a bride.5102

Many sought her hand, from wide Latium and all Ausonia,5103

Turnus above all, the most handsome, of powerful ancestry,5104

whom the queen hastened to link to her as her son-in-law5105

with wonderful affection. But divine omens, with their many5106

terrors, prevented it. There was a laurel, with sacred leaves, 5107

in the high inner court in the middle of the palace, 5108

that had been guarded with reverence for many years.5109

It was said that Lord Latinus himself had discovered it,5110

when he first built his fortress, and dedicated it to Apollo,5111

and from it had named the settlers Laurentines.5112

A dense cloud of bees (marvellous to tell) borne5113

through the clear air, with a mighty humming,5114

settled in the very top of the tree, and hung there,5115

their feet all tangled together, in a sudden swarm.5116

Immediately the prophet cried: ‘I see a foreign hero,5117

approaching, and, from a like direction, an army5118

seeks this same place, to rule from the high citadel.’5119

Then as he lit the altars with fresh pine torches,5120

as virgin Lavinia stood there next to her father5121

she seemed (horror!) to catch the fire in her long tresses,5122

and all her finery to burn in crackling flame, her royally5123

dressed tresses set alight, her crown alight, remarkable5124

for its jewels: then wreathed in smoke and yellow light,5125

she seemed to scatter sparks through all the palace.5126

Truly it was talked of as a shocking and miraculous sight:5127

for they foretold she would be bright with fame and fortune,5128

but it signified a great war for her people.5129

Then the king, troubled by the wonder, visited the oracle5130

of Faunus, his far-speaking father, and consulted the groves5131

below high Albunea, mightiest of forests, that echoed5132

with the sacred fountain, and breathed a deadly vapour from the dark.5133

The people of Italy, and all the Oenotrian lands, sought answers5134

to their doubts, from that place: when the priest brought5135

offerings there, and, found sleep, in the silent night, lying5136

on spread fleeces of sacrificed sheep, he saw there many ghosts5137

flitting in marvellous forms, and heard various voices, had speech5138

with the gods, and talked with Acheron, in the depths of Avernus.5139

And here the king, Latinus, himself seeking an answer,5140

slaughtered a hundred woolly sheep according to the rite,5141

and lay there supported by their skins and woolly fleeces:5142

Suddenly a voice emerged from the deep wood:5143

‘O my son, don’t try to ally your daughter in a Latin marriage,5144

don’t place your faith in the intended wedding:5145

strangers will come to be your kin, who’ll lift our name5146

to the stars by their blood, and the children 5147

of whose race shall see all, where the circling sun5148

views both oceans, turning obediently beneath their feet.’5149

Latinus failed to keep this reply of his Father’s quiet,5150

this warning given in the silent night, and already5151

Rumour flying far and wide had carried it through5152

the Ausonian cities, when the children of Laomedon 5153

came to moor their ships by the river’s grassy banks.5154

BkVII:107-147 Fulfilment of A Prophecy5155

Aeneas, handsome Iulus, and the foremost leaders,5156

settled their limbs under the branches of a tall tree,5157

and spread a meal: they set wheat cakes for a base5158

under the food (as Jupiter himself inspired them) 5159

and added wild fruits to these tables of Ceres.5160

When the poor fare drove them to set their teeth5161

into the thin discs, the rest being eaten, and to break 5162

the fateful circles of bread boldly with hands and jaws,5163

not sparing the quartered cakes, Iulus, jokingly,5164

said no more than: ‘Ha! Are we eating the tables too?’5165

That voice on first being heard brought them to the end5166

of their labours, and his father, as the words fell 5167

from the speaker’s lips, caught them up 5168

and stopped him, awestruck at the divine will. 5169

Immediately he said: ‘Hail, land destined to me5170

by fate, and hail to you, O faithful gods of Troy:5171

here is our home, here is our country. For my father5172

Anchises (now I remember) left this secret of fate with me:5173

‘Son, when you’re carried to an unknown shore, food is lacking, 5174

and you’re forced to eat the tables, then look for a home5175

in your weariness: and remember first thing to set your hand5176

on a site there, and build your houses behind a rampart.’ 5177

This was the hunger he prophesied, the last thing remaining,5178

to set a limit to our ruin…come then,5179

and with the sun’s dawn light let’s cheerfully discover5180

what place this is, what men live here, where this people’s city is,5181

and let’s explore from the harbour in all directions.5182

Now pour libations to Jove and call, with prayer, 5183

on my father Anchises, then set out the wine once more.5184

So saying he wreathed his forehead with a leafy spray,5185

and prayed to the spirit of the place, and to Earth the oldest5186

of goddesses, and to the Nymphs, and the yet unknown rivers:5187

then he invoked Night and Night’s rising constellations,5188

and Idaean Jove, and the Phrygian Mother, in order,5189

and his two parents, one in heaven, one in Erebus.5190

At this the all-powerful Father thundered three times5191

from the clear sky, and revealed a cloud in the ether,5192

bright with rays of golden light, shaking it with his own hand.5193

Then the word ran suddenly through the Trojan lines5194

that the day had come to found their destined city.5195

They rivalled each other in celebration of the feast, and delighted5196

by the fine omen, set out the bowls and crowned the wine-cups.5197

BkVII:148-191 The Palace of Latinus5198

Next day when sunrise lit the earth with her first flames,5199

they variously discovered the city, shores and limits 5200

of this nation: here was the pool of Numicius’s fountain,5201

this was the River Tiber, here the brave Latins lived.5202

Then Anchises’s son ordered a hundred envoys, chosen5203

from every rank, all veiled in Pallas’s olive leaves5204

to go to the king’s noble fortress, carrying gifts 5205

for a hero, and requesting peace towards the Trojans. 5206

Without delay, they hastened as ordered, travelling 5207

at a swift pace. He himself marked out walls with a shallow ditch,5208

toiled at the site, and surrounded the first settlement on those shores5209

with a rampart and battlement, in the style of a fortified camp.5210

And now his men had pursued their journey and they saw5211

Latinus’s turrets and high roofs, and arrived beneath the walls.5212

Boys, and men in the flower of youth, were practising5213

horsemanship outside the city, breaking in their mounts 5214

in clouds of dust, or bending taut bows, or hurling firm spears 5215

with their arms, challenging each other to race or box:5216

when a messenger, racing ahead on his horse, reported5217

to the ears of the aged king that powerful warriors in unknown5218

dress had arrived. The king ordered them to be summoned5219

to the palace, and took his seat, in the centre, on his ancestral throne.5220

Huge and magnificent, raised on a hundred columns, 5221

his roof was the city’s summit, the palace of Laurentian Picus,5222

sanctified by its grove and the worship of generations.5223

It was auspicious for a king to receive the sceptre here and first lift5224

the fasces, the rods of office: this shrine was their curia,5225

their senate house, the place of their sacred feasts, here the elders,5226

after lambs were sacrificed, sat down at an endless line of tables.5227

There standing in ranks at the entrance were the statues of ancestors 5228

of old, in ancient cedar-wood, Italus, and father Sabinus, the vine-grower,5229

depicted guarding a curved pruning-hook, and aged Saturn, 5230

and the image of Janus bi-face, and other kings from the beginning, 5231

and heroes wounded in battle, fighting for their country.5232

Many weapons too hung on the sacred doorposts,5233

captive chariots, curved axes, helmet crests, the massive bars5234

of city gates, spears, shields and the ends of prows torn from ships.5235

There Picus, the Horse-Tamer, sat, holding the lituus, the augur’s5236

Quirinal staff, and clothed in the trabea, the purple-striped toga,5237

and carrying the ancile, the sacred shield, in his left hand,5238

he, whom his lover, Circe, captivated by desire, struck 5239

with her golden rod: changed him with magic drugs5240

to a woodpecker, and speckled his wings with colour.5241

BkVII:192-248 The Trojans Seek Alliance With Latinus 5242

Such was the temple of the gods in which Latinus, seated5243

on the ancestral throne, called the Trojans to him in the palace,5244

and as they entered spoke first, with a calm expression:5245

‘Sons of Dardanus (for your city and people are not unknown5246

to us, and we heard of your journey towards us on the seas),5247

what do you wish? What reason, what need has brought 5248

your ships to Ausonian shores, over so many azure waves?5249

Whether you have entered the river mouth, and lie in harbour,5250

after straying from your course, or driven here by storms,5251

such things as sailors endure on the deep ocean,5252

don’t shun our hospitality, and don’t neglect the fact5253

that the Latins are Saturn’s people, just, not through constraint or law,5254

but of our own free will, holding to the ways of the ancient god.5255

And I remember in truth (though the tale is obscured by time)5256

that the Auruncan elders told how Dardanus, sprung 5257

from these shores, penetrated the cities of Phrygian Ida,5258

and Thracian Samos, that is now called Samothrace.5259

Setting out from here, from his Etruscan home, Corythus,5260

now the golden palace of the starlit sky grants him a throne,5261

and he increases the number of divine altars.’5262

He finished speaking, and Ilioneus, following, answered so:5263

‘King, illustrious son of Faunus, no dark tempest, driving5264

us though the waves, forced us onto your shores,5265

no star or coastline deceived us in our course:5266

we travelled to this city by design, and with willing hearts,5267

exiled from our kingdom, that was once the greatest5268

that the sun gazed on, as he travelled from the edge of heaven.5269

The founder of our race is Jove, the sons of Dardanus enjoy5270

Jove as their ancestor, our king himself is of Jove’s high race:5271

Trojan, Aeneas, sends us to your threshold.5272

The fury of the storm that poured from fierce Mycenae,5273

and crossed the plains of Ida, and how the two worlds of Europe5274

and Asia clashed, driven by fate, has been heard by those whom5275

the most distant lands banish to where Ocean circles back,5276

and those whom the zone of excessive heat, stretched 5277

between the other four, separates from us. 5278

Sailing out of that deluge, over many wastes of sea,5279

we ask a humble home for our country’s gods, and a harmless5280

stretch of shore, and air and water accessible to all.5281

We’ll be no disgrace to the kingdom, nor will your reputation5282

be spoken of lightly, nor gratitude for such an action fade,5283

nor Ausonia regret taking Troy to her breast.5284

I swear by the destiny of Aeneas, and the power of his right hand,5285

whether proven by any man in loyalty, or war and weapons,5286

many are the peoples, many are the nations (do not scorn us5287

because we offer peace-ribbons, and words of prayer, unasked)5288

who themselves sought us and wished to join with us:5289

but through divine destiny we sought out your shores5290

to carry out its commands. Dardanus sprang from here,5291

Apollo recalls us to this place, and, with weighty orders, drives us5292

to Tuscan Tiber, and the sacred waters of the Numician fount. 5293

Moreover our king offers you these small tokens of his5294

former fortune, relics snatched from burning Troy.5295

His father Anchises poured libations at the altar from this gold,5296

this was Priam’s burden when by custom he made laws5297

for the assembled people, the sceptre, and sacred turban,5298

and the clothes, laboured on by the daughters of Ilium.’5299

BkVII:249-285 Latinus Offers Peace5300

At Ilioneus’s words Latinus kept his face set firmly5301

downward, fixed motionless towards the ground, moving his eyes5302

alone intently. It is not the embroidered purple that moves5303

the king nor Priam’s sceptre, so much as his dwelling5304

on his daughter’s marriage and her bridal-bed,5305

and he turns over in his mind old Faunus’s oracle:5306

this must be the man, from a foreign house, prophesied5307

by the fates as my son-in-law, and summoned to reign5308

with equal powers, whose descendants will be illustrious5309

in virtue, and whose might will take possession of all the world.5310

At last he spoke, joyfully: ‘May the gods favour this beginning,5311

and their prophecy. Trojan, what you wish shall be granted.5312

I do not reject your gifts: you will not lack the wealth5313

of fertile fields, or Troy’s wealth, while Latinus is king.5314

Only, if Aeneas has such longing for us, if he is eager5315

to join us in friendship and be called our ally, let him come5316

himself and not be afraid of a friendly face: it will be5317

part of the pact, to me, to have touched your leader’s hand.5318

Now you in turn take my reply to the king:5319

I have a daughter whom the oracles from my father’s shrine,5320

and many omens from heaven, will not allow to unite5321

with a husband of our race: sons will come from foreign shores,5322

whose blood will raise our name to the stars: this they prophesy5323

is in store for Latium,. I both think and, if my mind foresees 5324

the truth, I hope that this is the man destiny demands.’5325

So saying the king selected stallions from his whole stable5326

(three hundred stood there sleekly in their high stalls):5327

immediately he ordered one to be led to each Trojan by rank,5328

caparisoned in purple, swift-footed, with embroidered housings5329

(gold collars hung low over their chests, covered in gold,5330

they even champed bits of yellow gold between their teeth),5331

and for the absent Aeneas there was a chariot, with twin horses,5332

of heaven’s line, blowing fire from their nostrils,5333

bastards of that breed of her father’s, the Sun, that cunning5334

Circe had produced, by mating them with a mortal mare.5335

The sons of Aeneas, mounting the horses, rode back5336

with these words and gifts of Latinus, bearing peace.5337

BkVII:286-341 Juno Summons Allecto5338

But behold, the ferocious wife of Jove returning 5339

from Inachus’s Argos, winging her airy way,5340

saw the delighted Aeneas and his Trojan fleet,5341

from the distant sky, beyond Sicilian Pachynus.5342

She gazed at them, already building houses, already confident5343

in their land, the ships deserted: she halted pierced by a bitter pang.5344

Then shaking her head, she poured these words from her breast:5345

‘Ah loathsome tribe, and Trojan destiny, opposed to my5346

own destiny! Could they not have fallen on the Sigean plains,5347

could they not have been held as captives? Could burning Troy5348

not have consumed these men? They find a way through 5349

the heart of armies and flames. And I think my powers must5350

be exhausted at last, or I have come to rest, my anger sated.5351

Why, when they were thrown out of their country I ventured5352

to follow hotly through the waves, and challenge them on every ocean.5353

The forces of sea and sky have been wasted on these Trojans.5354

What use have the Syrtes been to me, or Scylla, or gaping5355

Charybdis? They take refuge in their longed-for Tiber’s channel,5356

indifferent to the sea and to me. Mars had the power 5357

to destroy the Lapiths’ vast race, the father of the gods himself5358

conceded ancient Calydon, given Diana’s anger, 5359

and for what sin did the Lapiths or Calydon, deserve all that?5360

But I, Jove’s great Queen, who in my wretchedness had the power5361

to leave nothing untried, who have turned myself to every means,5362

am conquered by Aeneas. But if my divine strength is not 5363

enough, I won’t hesitate to seek help wherever it might be:5364

if I cannot sway the gods, I’ll stir the Acheron.5365

I accept it’s not granted to me to withhold the Latin kingdom,5366

and by destiny Lavinia will still, unalterably, be his bride:5367

but I can draw such things out and add delays,5368

and I can destroy the people of these two kings.5369

Let father and son-in-law unite at the cost of their nations’ lives:5370

virgin, your dowry will be Rutulian and Trojan blood,5371

and Bellona, the goddess of war, waits to attend your marriage.5372

Nor was it Hecuba, Cisseus’s daughter, alone who was pregnant5373

with a fire-brand, or gave birth to nuptial flames.5374

Why, Venus is alike in her child, another Paris,5375

another funeral torch for a resurrected Troy.’5376

When she had spoken these words, fearsome, she sought the earth:5377

and summoned Allecto, the grief-bringer, from the house 5378

of the Fatal Furies, from the infernal shadows: in whose5379

mind are sad wars, angers and deceits, and guilty crimes.5380

A monster, hated by her own father Pluto, hateful 5381

to her Tartarean sisters: she assumes so many forms,5382

her features are so savage, she sports so many black vipers.5383

Juno roused her with these words, saying:5384

‘Grant me a favour of my own, virgin daughter of Night,5385

this service, so that my honour and glory are not weakened,5386

and give way, and the people of Aeneas cannot woo5387

Latinus with intermarriage, or fill the bounds of Italy.5388

You’ve the power to rouse brothers, who are one, to conflict, 5389

and overturn homes with hatred: you bring the scourge5390

and the funeral torch into the house: you’ve a thousand names,5391

and a thousand noxious arts. Search your fertile breast,5392

shatter the peace accord, sow accusations of war:5393

let men in a moment need, demand and seize their weapons.’5394

BkVII:341-405 Allecto Maddens Queen Amata5395

So Allecto, steeped in the Gorgon’s poison, first searches out5396

Latium and the high halls of the Laurentine king,5397

and sits at the silent threshold of Queen Amata, whom5398

concerns and angers have troubled, with a woman’s passion,5399

concerning the Trojan’s arrival, and Turnus’s marriage. 5400

The goddess flings a snake at her from her dark locks,5401

and plunges it into the breast, to her innermost heart, so that5402

maddened by the creature, she might trouble the whole palace.5403

Sliding between her clothing, and her polished breast,5404

it winds itself unfelt and unknown to the frenzied woman,5405

breathing its viperous breath: the powerful snake becomes her5406

twisted necklace of gold, becomes the loop of her long ribbon,5407

knots itself in her hair, and roves slithering down her limbs.5408

And while at first the sickness, sinking within as liquid venom,5409

pervades her senses, and clasps her bones with fire,5410

and before her mind has felt the flame through all its thoughts,5411

she speaks, softly, and in a mother’s usual manner, 5412

weeping greatly over the marriage of her daughter to the Trojan:5413

‘O, have you her father no pity for your daughter or yourself?5414

Have you no pity for her mother, when the faithless seducer5415

will leave with the first north-wind, seeking the deep, with the girl5416

as prize? Wasn’t it so when Paris, that Phrygian shepherd,5417

entered Sparta, and snatched Leda’s Helen off to the Trojan cities?5418

What of your sacred pledge? What of your former care for your own5419

people, and your right hand given so often to your kinsman Turnus?5420

If a son-in-law from a foreign tribe is sought for the Latins,5421

and it’s settled, and your father Faunus’s command weighs on you,5422

then I myself think that every land free of our rule 5423

that is distant, is foreign: and so the gods declare. 5424

And if the first origins of his house are traced, Inachus 5425

and Acrisius are ancestors of Turnus, and Mycenae his heartland.’5426

When, though trying in vain with words, she sees Latinus5427

stand firm against her, and when the snake’s maddening venom5428

has seeped deep into her flesh, and permeated throughout,5429

then, truly, the unhappy queen, goaded by monstrous horrors,5430

rages madly unrestrainedly through the vast city.5431

As a spinning-top, sometimes, that boys intent on play thrash 5432

in a circle round an empty courtyard, turns under the whirling lash,5433

- driven with the whip it moves in curving tracks: and the childish crowd5434

marvel over it in innocence, gazing at the twirling boxwood:5435

and the blows grant it life: so she is driven through the heart5436

of cities and proud peoples, on a course that is no less swift.5437

Moreover, she runs to the woods, pretending Bacchic possession,5438

setting out on a greater sin, and creating a wider frenzy,5439

and hides her daughter among the leafy mountains,5440

to rob the Trojans of their wedding and delay the nuptials,5441

shrieking ‘Euhoe’ to Bacchus, crying ‘You alone are worthy5442

of this virgin: it’s for you in truth she lifts the soft thyrsus,5443

you she circles in the dance, for you she grows her sacred hair.’5444

Rumour travels: and the same frenzy drives all the women, 5445

inflamed, with madness in their hearts, to seek strange shelter.5446

They leave their homes, and bare their head and neck to the winds:5447

while others are already filling the air with vibrant howling5448

carrying vine-wrapped spears, and clothed in fawn-skins.5449

The wild Queen herself brandishes a blazing pine-branch 5450

in their midst, turning her bloodshot gaze on them, and sings5451

the wedding-song for Turnus and her daughter, and, suddenly5452

fierce, cries out: ‘O, women of Latium, wherever you are, hear me: 5453

if you still have regard for unhappy Amata in your pious hearts, 5454

if you’re stung with concern for a mother’s rights,5455

loose the ties from your hair, join the rites with me.’5456

So Allecto drives the Queen with Bacchic goad, far and wide,5457

through the woods, among the wild creatures’ lairs.5458

BkVII:406-474 Allecto Rouses Turnus5459

When she saw she had stirred these first frenzies enough,5460

and had disturbed Latinus’s plans, and his whole household,5461

the grim goddess was carried from there, at once, on dark wings,5462

to the walls of Turnus, the brave Rutulian, the city they say5463

that Danae, blown there by a violent southerly, built5464

with her Acrisian colonists. The place was once called Ardea5465

by our ancestors, and Ardea still remains as a great name,5466

its good-fortune past. Here, in the dark of night, 5467

Turnus was now in a deep sleep, in his high palace.5468

Allecto changed her fierce appearance and fearful shape,5469

transformed her looks into those of an old woman,5470

furrowed her ominous brow with wrinkles, assumed5471

white hair and sacred ribbon, then twined an olive spray there:5472

she became Calybe, Juno’s old servant, and priestess of her temple,5473

and offered herself to the young man’s eyes with these words:5474

‘Turnus, will you see all your efforts wasted in vain,5475

and your sceptre handed over to Trojan settlers?5476

The king denies you your bride and the dowry looked for5477

by your race, and a stranger is sought as heir to the throne.5478

Go then, be despised, offer yourself, un-thanked, to danger:5479

go, cut down the Tuscan ranks, protect the Latins with peace!5480

This that I now say to you, as you lie there in the calm of night,5481

Saturn’s all-powerful daughter herself ordered me to speak openly.5482

So rise, and ready your men, gladly, to arm and march 5483

from the gates to the fields, and set fire to the painted ships5484

anchored in our noble river, and the Trojan leaders with them.5485

The vast power of the gods demands it. Let King Latinus 5486

himself feel it, unless he agrees to keep his word and give you5487

your bride, and let him at last experience Turnus armed.’5488

At this the warrior, mocking the priestess, opened his mouth in turn:5489

‘The news that a fleet has entered Tiber’s waters 5490

has not escaped my notice, as you think: 5491

don’t imagine it’s so great a fear to me. 5492

Nor is Queen Juno unmindful of me.5493

But you, O mother, old age, conquered by weakness5494

and devoid of truth, troubles with idle cares, and mocks5495

a prophetess, amidst the wars of kings, with imaginary terrors.5496

Your duty’s to guard the gods’ statues and their temples:5497

men will make war and peace, by whom war’s to be made.’ 5498

Allecto blazed with anger at these words.5499

And, as the young man spoke, a sudden tremor seized his body,5500

and his eyes became fixed, the Fury hissed with so many snakes,5501

such a form revealed itself: then turning her fiery gaze on him,5502

she pushed him away as he hesitated, trying to say more,5503

and raised up a pair of serpents amidst her hair,5504

and cracked her whip, and added this through rabid lips:5505

‘See me, conquered by weakness, whom old age, devoid of truth,5506

mocks with imaginary terrors amongst the wars of kings.5507

Look on this: I am here from the house of the Fatal Sisters,5508

and I bring war and death in my hand.’5509

So saying, she flung a burning branch at the youth,5510

and planted the brand, smoking with murky light, in his chest.5511

An immense terror shattered his sleep, and sweat, pouring 5512

from his whole body drenched flesh and bone.5513

Frantic, he shouted for weapons, looked for weapons by the bedside,5514

and through the palace: desire for the sword raged in him, 5515

and the accursed madness of war, anger above all: 5516

as when burning sticks are heaped, with a fierce crackling,5517

under the belly of a raging cauldron, and the depths5518

dance with the heat, the smoking mixture seethes inside,5519

the water bubbles high with foam, the liquid can no longer5520

contain itself, and dark vapour rises into the air.5521

So, violating the peace, he commanded his young leaders5522

to march against King Latinus, and ordered the troops to be readied,5523

to defend Italy, to drive the enemy from her borders:5524

his approach itself would be enough for both Trojans and Latins.5525

When he gave the word, and called the gods to witness his vows,5526

the Rutuli vied in urging each other to arm. 5527

This man is moved by Turnus’s youth and outstanding nobility5528

of form, that by his royal line, this one again by his glorious deeds.5529

BkVII:475-539 Allecto Among the Trojans5530

While Turnus was rousing the Rutulians with fiery courage,5531

Allecto hurled herself towards the Trojans, on Stygian wings,5532

spying out, with fresh cunning, the place on the shore5533

where handsome Iulus was hunting wild beasts on foot with nets.5534

Hades’s Virgin drove his hounds to sudden frenzy,5535

touching their muzzles with a familiar scent, 5536

so that they eagerly chased down a stag: this was a prime5537

cause of trouble, rousing the spirits of the countrymen to war.5538

There was a stag of outstanding beauty, with huge antlers,5539

that, torn from its mother’s teats, Tyrrhus and his sons had raised, 5540

the father being the man to whom the king’s herds submitted,5541

and who was trusted with managing his lands far and wide.5542

Silvia, their sister, training it to her commands with great care,5543

adorned its antlers, twining them with soft garlands, grooming 5544

the wild creature, and bathing it in a clear spring. Tame to the hand, 5545

and used to food from the master’s table, it wandered the woods, 5546

and returned to the familiar threshold, by itself, however late at night.5547

Now while it strayed far a-field, Iulus the huntsman’s5548

frenzied hounds started it, by chance, as it moved 5549

downstream, escaping the heat by the grassy banks. 5550

Iulus himself inflamed also with desire for high5551

honours, aimed an arrow from his curved bow,5552

the goddess unfailingly guiding his errant hand, 5553

and the shaft, flying with a loud hiss, pierced flank and belly.5554

But the wounded creature fleeing to its familiar home, 5555

dragged itself groaning to its stall, and, bleeding, filled5556

the house with its cries, like a person begging for help.5557

Silvia, the sister, beating her arms with her hands in distress, was5558

the first to call for help, summoning the tough countrymen.5559

They arrived quickly (since a savage beast haunted the silent woods)5560

one with a fire-hardened stake, one with a heavy knotted staff:5561

anger made a weapon of whatever each man found 5562

as he searched around. Tyrrhus called out his men:5563

since by chance he was quartering an oak by driving5564

wedges, he seized his axe, breathing savagely.5565

Then the cruel goddess, seeing the moment to do harm,5566

found the stable’s steep roof, and sounded the herdsmen’s5567

call, sending a voice from Tartarus through the twisted horn,5568

so that each grove shivered, and the deep woods echoed:5569

Diana’s distant lake at Nemi heard it: white Nar’s river, 5570

with its sulphurous waters, heard: and the fountains of Velinus:5571

while anxious mothers clasped their children to their breasts.5572

Then the rough countrymen snatching up their weapons, gathered 5573

more quickly, and from every side, to the noise with which5574

that dread trumpet sounded the call, nor were the Trojan5575

youth slow to open their camp, and send out help to Ascanius.5576

The lines were deployed. They no longer competed5577

with solid staffs, and fire-hardened stakes, in a rustic quarrel,5578

but fought it out with double-edged blades, and a dark crop5579

of naked swords bristled far and wide: bronze shone 5580

struck by the sun, and hurled its light up to the clouds:5581

as when a wave begins to whiten at the wind’s first breath,5582

and the sea swells little by little, and raises higher waves,5583

then surges to heaven out of its profoundest depths.5584

Here young Almo, in the front ranks, the eldest 5585

of Tyrrhus’s sons, was downed by a hissing arrow:5586

the wound opened beneath his throat, choking the passage5587

of liquid speech, and failing breath, with blood.5588

The bodies of many men were round him, old Galaesus5589

among them, killed in the midst of offering peace, who was5590

one of the most just of men, and the wealthiest in Ausonian land:5591

five flocks bleated for him, five herds returned 5592

from his fields, and a hundred ploughs furrowed the soil.5593

BkVII:540-571 Allecto Returns to Hades5594

While they fought over the plain, in an equally-matched contest,5595

the goddess, having, by her actions, succeeded in what she’d promised,5596

having steeped the battle in blood, and brought death in the first skirmish,5597

left Hesperia, and wheeling through the air of heaven5598

spoke to Juno, in victory, in a proud voice:5599

‘Behold, for you, discord is completed with sad war:5600

tell them now to unite as friends, or join in alliance.5601

Since I’ve sprinkled the Trojans with Ausonian blood,5602

I’ll even add this to it, if I’m assured that it’s your wish 5603

I’ll bring neighbouring cities into the war, with rumour,5604

inflaming their minds with love of war’s madness, so that they come5605

with aid from every side: I’ll sow the fields with weapons.’5606

Then Juno answered: ‘That’s more than enough terror and treachery:5607

the reasons for war are there: armed, they fight hand to hand,5608

and the weapons that chance first offered are stained with fresh blood.5609

Such be the marriage, such be the wedding-rites that this 5610

illustrious son of Venus, and King Latinus himself, celebrate.5611

The Father, the ruler of high Olympus, does not wish you5612

to wander too freely in the ethereal heavens.5613

Leave this place. Whatever chance for trouble remains5614

I will handle.’ So spoke Saturn’s daughter:5615

Now, the Fury raised her wings, hissing with serpents,5616

and sought her home in Cocytus, leaving the heights above.5617

There’s a place in Italy, at the foot of high mountains,5618

famous, and mentioned by tradition, in many lands,5619

the valley of Amsanctus: woods thick with leaves hem it in,5620

darkly, on both sides, and in the centre a roaring torrent5621

makes the rocks echo, and coils in whirlpools.5622

There a fearful cavern, a breathing-hole for cruel Dis,5623

is shown, and a vast abyss, out of which Acheron bursts,5624

holds open its baleful jaws, into which the Fury, 5625

that hated goddess, plunged, freeing earth and sky.5626

BkVII:572-600 Latinus Abdicates5627

Meanwhile Saturn’s royal daughter was no less active, 5628

setting a final touch to the war. The whole band of herdsmen5629

rushed into the city from the battle, bringing back the dead,5630

the boy Almo, and Galaesus, with a mangled face,5631

and invoking the gods, and entreating Latinus.5632

Turnus was there, and ,at the heart of the outcry,5633

he redoubled their terror of fire and slaughter:5634

‘Trojans are called upon to reign: Phrygian stock5635

mixes with ours: I am thrust from the door.’5636

Then those whose women, inspired by Bacchus, pranced about5637

in the pathless woods, in the god’s dance (for Amata’s name is not trivial),5638

drawing together from every side, gathered to make their appeal to Mars.5639

Immediately, with perverse wills, all clamoured for war’s 5640

atrocities, despite the omens, despite the god’s decrees,.5641

They vied together in surrounding King Latinus’s palace:5642

like an immoveable rock in the ocean, he stood firm,5643

like a rock in the ocean, when a huge breaker falls, 5644

holding solid amongst a multitude of howling waves,5645

while round about the cliffs and foaming reefs roar, in vain,5646

and seaweed, hurled against its sides, is washed back again.5647

As no power was really granted him to conquer5648

their blind will, and events moved to cruel Juno’s orders, 5649

with many appeals to the gods and the helpless winds,5650

the old man cried: ‘Alas, we are broken by fate, and swept away5651

by the storm! Oh, wretched people, you’ll pay the price yourselves5652

for this, with sacrilegious blood. You, Turnus, your crime and its punishment await you, and too late you’ll entreat the gods with prayers.5653

My share is rest, yet at the entrance to the harbour5654

I’m robbed of all contentment in dying.’ Speaking no more5655

he shut himself in the palace, and let fall the reins of power.5656

BkVII:601-640 Latium Prepares for War5657

There was a custom in Hesperian Latium, which 5658

the Alban cities always held sacred, as great Rome 5659

does now, when they first rouse Mars to battle, 5660

whether they prepare to take sad war in their hands 5661

to the Getae, the Hyrcanians, or the Arabs, or to head East5662

pursuing the Dawn, to reclaim their standards from Parthia:5663

there are twin gates of War (so they are named),5664

sanctified by religion, and by dread of fierce Mars:5665

a hundred bars of bronze, and iron’s eternal strength,5666

lock them, and Janus the guardian never leaves the threshold.5667

When the final decision of the city fathers is for battle, 5668

the Consul himself, dressed in the Quirine toga, folded5669

in the Gabine manner, unbars these groaning doors, himself,5670

and himself invokes the battle: then the rest of the men 5671

do so too, and bronze horns breathe their hoarse assent.5672

Latinus was also commanded to declare war in this way 5673

on Aeneas’s people, and unbolt the sad gates, 5674

but the old man held back his hand, and shrank 5675

from the vile duty, hiding himself in dark shadows. 5676

Then the Queen of the gods, gliding from the sky,5677

set the reluctant doors in motion, with her own hand:5678

Saturn’s daughter forced open the iron gates of War5679

on their hinges. Italy, once peaceful and immoveable, was alight.5680

Some prepared to cross the plains on foot, others stirred 5681

the deep dust on noble horses: all demanded weapons.5682

Others polished smooth shields, and bright javelins,5683

with thick grease, and sharpened axes on grindstones:5684

they delighted in carrying standards and hearing the trumpet call.5685

So five great cities set up anvils and forged 5686

new weapons: powerful Atina, proud Tibur, 5687

Ardea, Crustumeri, and towered Antemnae.5688

They beat out helmets to protect their heads, and wove5689

wickerwork frames for shields: others hammered5690

breastplates of bronze, and shiny greaves of malleable silver:5691

to this they yielded pride in the share’s blade and the sickle, all their 5692

passion for the plough: they recast their father’s swords in the furnace.5693

And now the trumpets began to sound, the word that signalled war 5694

went round: this man, in alarm, snatched his helmet from his home, 5695

another harnessed quivering horses to the yoke, took up his shield,5696

and triple-linked coat of mail, and fastened on his faithful sword. 5697

BkVII:641-782 The Battle-List5698

Now Muses, open wide Helicon, and begin a song5699

of kings who were roused to war: what ranks of followers5700

each one had, filling the plain: with what men even then5701

Italy’s rich earth flowered: with what armies she shone:5702

since, goddesses, you remember, and have the power to tell:5703

while a faint breath of their fame has barely reached us.5704

First fierce Mezentius enters the war, that scorner of gods,5705

from the Tuscan shore, and rouses his troops to arms.5706

His son, Lausus, is beside him, than whom no other is5707

more handsome in form, except Laurentine Turnus.5708

Lausus, the tamer of horses, who subdues wild beasts,5709

leads a thousand men from Agylla’s town, who follow him5710

in vain, deserving to be happier than under his father’s 5711

rule, a father who might perhaps not be a Mezentius.5712

Aventinus follows them, the handsome son of handsome Hercules,5713

displaying his palm-crowned chariot and victorious horses,5714

over the turf, and carries his father’s emblem on his shield: 5715

a hundred snakes, and the Hydra wreathed with serpents:5716

the priestess Rhea brought him to the shores of light,5717

in a secret birth, in the woods, on the Aventine Hill,5718

a woman mated to a god when Tyrinthian Hercules,5719

the conqueror who slew Geryon, came to the Laurentine fields,5720

and bathed his Spanish cattle in the Tuscan stream. 5721

His men carry javelins and grim pikes, in their hands, to war,5722

and fight with polished swords and Sabellian spears.5723

He himself, on foot, a huge lion skin swinging,5724

with terrifying unkempt mane, and with its white teeth5725

crowning his head, enters the royal palace, just like that,5726

a savage, with Hercules’s clothing fastened round his shoulders.5727

Then twin-brothers, Catillus, and brave Coras, 5728

Argive youths, leaving the walls of Tibur, 5729

and a people named after their brother Tiburtus,5730

borne into the forefront of the army, among the dense spears,5731

like cloud-born Centaurs descending from a high peak 5732

in the mountains, leaving Homole and snow-covered Othrys5733

in their swift course: the vast woods give way as they go,5734

and, with a loud crash, the thickets yield to them.5735

Nor is Caeculus the founder of Praeneste’s city missing,5736

who as every age has believed was born a king, to Vulcan, 5737

among the wild cattle, and discovered on the hearth,5738

he’s followed by a rustic army drawn from far and wide,5739

men who live in steep Praeneste, and the fields of Juno5740

of Gabii, and beside cool Anio, and among the Hernican rocks5741

dew-wet from the streams: those you nurture, rich Anagnia, 5742

and you father Amasenus. They don’t all have weapons5743

or shields, or rumbling chariots: most fling pellets of blue lead,5744

some carry twin darts in their hand, and have reddish 5745

caps of wolf-skin for headgear: the left foot is bare 5746

as they walk, a boot of raw hide protects the other.5747

And Messapus, Neptune’s son, tamer of horses,5748

whom no one’s permitted to fell with fire or steel,5749

now suddenly calls to arms his settled tribes, and troops5750

unused to war, and grasps the sword again.5751

These hold Fescennium’s lines and Aequi Falisci’s,5752

those Soracte’s heights and Flavinium’s fields,5753

and Ciminus’s lake and hill, and Capena’s groves.5754

They march to a steady beat, and sing of their king:5755

as the river Cayster and the Asian meadows, struck from afar,5756

echo sometimes, when the snowy swans, among the flowing clouds,5757

return from pasture, and make melodious music from their long throats.5758

No one would think that bronze-clad ranks were joined5759

in such a crowd, but an airy cloud of strident birds5760

driving shore-wards from the deep gulf.5761

Behold, Clausus, of ancient Sabine blood, leading5762

a great army, and worth a great army in his own right.5763

Now the Claudian tribe and race has spread, from him,5764

through Latium, since Rome was shared with the Sabines.5765

With him, a vast company from Amiternum, and ancient Quirites5766

from Cures, all the forces of Eretum, and olive-clad Mutusca:5767

those who live in Nomentum town, and the Rosean fields, by Lake 5768

Velinus, those from Tetrica’s bristling cliffs, and from Mount Severus,5769

and Casperia and Foruli, and from beside Himella’s stream,5770

those who drink the Tiber and Fabaris, those cold Nursia sent,5771

and the armies of Horta and the Latin peoples, 5772

and those whom Allia, unlucky name, flows between and divides:5773

as many as the waves that swell in Libya’s seas,5774

when fierce Orion’s buried by the wintry waters,5775

or thick as the ears of corn scorched by the early sun,5776

in the plain of Hermus, or Lycia’s yellow fields.5777

The shields clang, and the earth is terrified by the tramp of feet.5778

Next Halaesus, Agamemnon’s son, hostile to the Trojan name,5779

harnesses his horses to his chariot, and hastens a thousand5780

warlike tribes to Turnus, men who turn the fertile5781

Massic soil for Bacchus, and those the Auruncan elders5782

have sent from the high hills, and the Sidicine levels nearby,5783

those who have left Cales behind, and those who live5784

by Volturnus’s shallow river, and by their side the rough 5785

Saticulan and the Oscan men. Polished javelins are their 5786

weapons, but their custom is to attach a flexible leash. 5787

A shield protects their left, with curved swords for close fighting.5788

Nor shall you, Oebalus, go un-sung in our verses,5789

you whom they say the nymph Sebethis bore to Telon,5790

who is old now, when he held the throne of Teleboan 5791

Capreae: but not content with his father’s fields, 5792

even then the son exercised his power over 5793

the Sarrastrian peoples, and the plains that Sarnus waters,5794

and those who hold Rufrae and Batulum and Celemna’s fields,5795

who are used to throwing their spears in the Teuton fashion:5796

and those apple-growers that the ramparts of Abella look down on,5797

whose head-cover is bark stripped from a cork-tree:5798

and their bronze shields gleam, their swords gleam with bronze.5799

And you too Ufens, sent to battle from mountainous Nersae,5800

well known to fame, and fortunate in arms, whose people5801

of the hard Aequian earth, are especially 5802

tough, and hunt extensively in the forests.5803

They plough the earth while armed, and always delight5804

in carrying off fresh spoils, and living on plunder.5805

There came a priest as well, of the Marruvian race,5806

sent by King Archippus, sporting a frond of fruitful olive5807

above his helmet, Umbro the most-valiant,5808

who, by incantation and touch, was able to shed sleep5809

on the race of vipers and water-snakes with poisonous breath,5810

soothing their anger, and curing their bites, by his arts. 5811

But he had no power to heal a blow from a Trojan spear-point,5812

nor did sleep-inducing charms, or herbs found on Marsian hills, 5813

help him against wounds. For you, Angitia’s grove wept: 5814

Fucinus’s glassy wave, for you: for you, the crystal lakes. 5815

And Virbius, Hippolytus’s son, most handsome, went5816

to the war, whom his mother Aricia sent in all his glory,5817

He was reared in Egeria’s groves, round the marshy shores,5818

where Diana’s altar stands, rich and forgiving.5819

For they tell in story that Hippolytus, after he had fallen prey5820

to his stepmother Phaedra’s cunning, and, torn apart by stampeding 5821

horses, had paid the debt due to his father with his blood,5822

came again to the heavenly stars, and the upper air beneath5823

the sky, recalled by Apollo’s herbs and Diana’s love.5824

Then the all-powerful father, indignant that any mortal5825

should rise from the shadows to the light of life,5826

hurled Aesculapius, Apollo’s son, the discoverer 5827

of such skill and healing, down to the Stygian waves.5828

But kindly Diana hid Hippolytus in a secret place,5829

and sent him to the nymph Egeria, to her grove,5830

where he might spend his life alone, unknown, 5831

in the Italian woods, his name altered to Virbius.5832

So too horses are kept away from the temple of Diana 5833

Trivia, and the sacred groves, they who, frightened 5834

by sea-monsters, spilt chariot and youth across the shore.5835

BkVII:783-817 Turnus and Camilla Complete the Array5836

Turnus himself went to and from, among the front ranks, grasping5837

his weapons, pre-eminent in form, overtopping the rest by a head. 5838

His tall helmet was crowned with a triple plume, holding up5839

a Chimaera, breathing the fires of Etna from its jaws,5840

snarling the more, and the more savage with sombre flames5841

the more violent the battle becomes, the more blood is shed.5842

But on his polished shield was Io, with uplifted horns,5843

fashioned in gold, already covered with hair, already a heifer,5844

a powerful emblem, and Argus, that virgin’s watcher,5845

and old Inachus pouring his river out of an engraved urn. 5846

A cloud of infantry followed, and the ranks with shields5847

were thick along the plain, Argive men 5848

and Auruncan troops, Rutulians and old Sicanians,5849

and the Sacranian lines, and Labicians, their shields painted:5850

and those who farmed your woodland pastures, Tiber,5851

and Numicius’s holy shore, and those whose ploughshare5852

turns Rutulian hills or Circe’s headland, those whose fields5853

Jupiter of Anxur guards, or Feronia, pleased with her green groves:5854

those from where Satura’s black marsh lies, and from where 5855

chill Ufens finds his valley’s course, and is buried in the sea.5856

Besides all these came Camilla, of the Volscian race,5857

leading her line of horse, and troops gleaming with bronze,5858

a warrior girl, her hands not trained to Minerva’s distaff,5859

and basket of wool, but toughened to endure a fight,5860

and, with her quickness of foot, out-strip the winds.5861

She might have skimmed the tips of the stalks of uncut5862

corn, and not bruised their delicate ears with her running:5863

or, hanging above the swelling waves, taken her path through5864

the heart of the deep, and not dipped her quick feet in the sea.5865

All of the young men flooding from houses and fields, 5866

and the crowds of women marvelled, and gazed, at her as she went by,5867

in open-mouthed wonder at how the splendour of royal purple5868

draped her smooth shoulders, how her brooch clasped her hair5869

with gold, how she herself carried her Lycian quiver,5870

and a shepherd’s myrtle staff, tipped with the point of a spear.5871

BkVIII:1-25 The Situation in Latium5872

When Turnus raised the war-banner on the Laurentine 5873

citadel, and the trumpets blared out their harsh music,5874

when he roused his fiery horses and clashed his weapons,5875

hearts were promptly stirred, all Latium together5876

swore allegiance in restless commotion, and young men 5877

raged wildly. The main leaders, Messapus, Ufens5878

and Mezentius, scorner of gods, gathered their forces5879

from every side, stripping the broad acres of farmers.5880

And Venulus was sent to great Diomedes’s city, Arpi,5881

to seek help, and explain that the Trojans were planted in Latium,5882

Aeneas had arrived with his fleet, carrying his vanquished gods,5883

and pronouncing himself a king summoned by destiny,5884

that many tribes were joining the Trojan hero,5885

and his name was spreading far and wide in Latium.5886

What Aeneas was intending given these beginnings,5887

what outcome he desired from the war, if fortune5888

followed him, might be seen more clearly by Diomedes,5889

himself, than by King Turnus or King Latinus. 5890

So it was in Latium. Meanwhile the Trojan hero of Laomedon’s 5891

line, seeing all this, tosses on a vast sea of cares, 5892

and swiftly casts his mind this way and that, seizing5893

on various ideas, turning everything over: 5894

as when tremulous light from the water in a bronze bowl,5895

thrown back by sunshine, or the moon’s radiant image,5896

flickers far and wide over everything, then angles 5897

upwards, and strikes the panelled ceiling overhead.5898

BkVIII:26-65 Aeneas’s Dream of Tiberinus5899

It was night, and through all the land, deep sleep gripped weary 5900

creatures, bird and beast, when Aeneas, the leader, lay down5901

on the river-bank, under the cold arch of the heavens, his heart5902

troubled by war’s sadness, and at last allowed his body to rest.5903

Old Tiberinus himself, the god of the place, appeared to him, 5904

rising from his lovely stream, among the poplar leaves 5905

(fine linen cloaked him in a blue-grey 5906

mantle, and shadowy reeds hid his hair),5907

Then he spoke, and with his words removed all cares:5908

‘O seed of the race of gods, who bring our Trojan city5909

back from the enemy, and guard the eternal fortress,5910

long looked-for on Laurentine soil, and in Latin fields,5911

here is your house, and your house’s gods, for sure 5912

(do not desist), don’t fear the threat of war,5913

the gods’ swollen anger has died away.5914

And now, lest you think this sleep’s idle fancy, you’ll find 5915

a huge sow lying on the shore, under the oak trees, 5916

that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow, 5917

lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats,5918

That place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labours.5919

By this in a space of thirty years Ascanius 5920

will found the city of Alba, bright name.5921

I do not prophesy unsurely. Now (attend), in a few words5922

I’ll explain how you can emerge the victor from what will come.5923

Arcadians have chosen a site on this coast, a race descended 5924

from Pallas, friends of King Evander, who followed 5925

his banner, and located their city in the hills,5926

named, from their ancestor Pallas, Pallantium. 5927

They wage war endlessly with the Latin race: summon them 5928

as allies to your camp, and join in league with them.5929

I’ll guide you myself along the banks by the right channels,5930

so you can defeat the opposing current with your oars.5931

Rise, now, son of the goddess, and, as the first stars set,5932

offer the prayers due to Juno, and with humble vows5933

overcome her anger and her threats. Pay me honour as victor.5934

I am him whom you see scouring the banks, 5935

with my full stream, and cutting through rich farmlands,5936

blue Tiber, the river most dear to heaven. Here is 5937

my noble house, my fount flows through noble cities.’5938

BkVIII:66-101 Aeneas Sails to Pallanteum5939

He spoke: then the river plunged into a deep pool,5940

seeking its floor: night and sleep left Aeneas.5941

He rose and, looking towards the heavenly sun’s5942

eastern light, raised water from the stream 5943

in his cupped hands, and poured out this prayer to heaven:5944

‘Nymphs, Laurentine Nymphs, from whom come the tribe 5945

of rivers, and you, O Father Tiber, and your sacred stream, 5946

receive Aeneas, and shield him at last from danger.5947

In whatever fountain the water holds you, pitying our trials,5948

from whatever soil you flow in your supreme beauty,5949

you will always be honoured by my tributes, by my gifts,5950

horned river, ruler of the Hesperian waters.5951

O, only be with me and prove your will by your presence.’5952

So he spoke, and chose two galleys from his fleet, manned them5953

with oarsmen, and also equipped his men with weapons.5954

But behold a sudden wonder, marvellous to the sight,5955

gleaming white through the trees, a sow the same colour5956

as her white litter, seen lying on the green bank: dutiful Aeneas, 5957

carrying the sacred vessel, sets her with her young before the altar 5958

and sacrifices her to you, to you indeed, most powerful Juno.5959

Tiber calmed his swelling flood all that night long, 5960

and flowing backwards stilled his silent wave, so that5961

he spread his watery levels as in a gentle pool,5962

or placid swamp, so it would be effortless for the oars.5963

Therefore they sped on the course begun, with happy5964

murmurs, the oiled pine slipped through the shallows:5965

the waves marvelled, the woods marvelled, unused to the far-gleaming5966

shields of heroes, and the painted ships floating in the river.5967

They wore out a night and a day with their rowing5968

navigated long bends, were shaded by many kinds of trees,5969

and cut through the green woods, over the calm levels.5970

The fiery sun had climbed to the mid-point of the sky’s arc,5971

when they saw walls and a fort in the distance, and the scattered5972

roofs of houses, which Roman power has now raised heavenwards:5973

then Evander owned a poor affair. They turned the prows5974

quickly towards land, and approached the town.5975

BkVIII:102-151 Aeneas Meets Evander5976

By chance that day the Arcadian king was making solemn offering5977

to Hercules, Amphitryon’s mighty son, and other gods in a grove 5978

in front of the city. His son Pallas was with him, and with him 5979

were all the leading young men, and his impoverished senate 5980

offering incense, and the warm blood smoked on the altars.5981

When they saw the noble ships: that they were gliding 5982

through the shadowy woods, rowing with silent oars:5983

they were alarmed at the sudden sight and rose together,5984

leaving the tables. But proud Pallas ordered them not to break off5985

the rites, and seizing his spear flew off to meet the strangers himself, 5986

and at some distance shouted from a hillock: ‘Warriors what motive5987

drives you to try unknown paths? Where are you heading? 5988

What people are you? Where from? Do you bring peace or war?’ 5989

Then Aeneas the leader spoke from the high stern,5990

holding out a branch of olive in peace: ‘You are looking5991

at men of Trojan birth, and spears hostile to the Latins,5992

men whom they force to flee through arrogant warfare.5993

We seek Evander. Take my message and say that the chosen5994

leaders of Troy have come, asking for armed alliance.’5995

Pallas was amazed, awestruck by that great name:5996

‘O whoever you may be, disembark, and speak to my father5997

face to face, and come beneath our roof as a guest.’5998

And he took his hand and gripped it tight in welcome:5999

they left the river, and went on into the grove.6000

Then Aeneas spoke to King Evander, in words of friendship:6001

‘Noblest of the sons of Greece, whom Fortune determines me6002

to make request of, offering branches decked with sacred ribbons:6003

indeed I did not fear your being a leader of Greeks, 6004

an Arcadian, and joined to the race of the twin sons of Atreus,6005

since my own worth, and the god’s holy oracles,6006

our fathers being related, your fame known throughout the world,6007

connect me to you, and bring me here willingly, through destiny.6008

Dardanus, our early ancestor, and leader of Troy’s city,6009

born of Atlantean Electra, as the Greeks assert, voyaged6010

to Troy’s Teucrian people: and mightiest Atlas begot Electra, 6011

he who supports the heavenly spheres on his shoulders.6012

Your ancestor is Mercury, whom lovely Maia conceived,6013

and gave birth to on Cyllene’s cold heights:6014

and Atlas, if we credit what we hear, begot Maia,6015

that same Atlas who lifts the starry sky. 6016

So both our races branch from the one root.6017

Relying on this, I decided on no envoys, no prior attempts6018

through diplomacy: myself, I set before you, myself6019

and my own life, and come humbly to your threshold.6020

The same Daunian race pursues us with war, as you yourself,6021

indeed they think if they drive us out, nothing will stop them6022

bringing all Hesperia completely under their yoke,6023

and owning the seas that wash the eastern and western shores.6024

Accept and offer friendship. We have brave hearts6025

in battle, soldiers and spirits proven in action.’6026

BkVIII:152-183 Evander Offers Alliance6027

Aeneas spoke. Evander scanned his face, eyes6028

and form, for a long time with his gaze, as he was speaking.6029

Then he replied briefly, so: ‘How gladly I know, and 6030

welcome you, bravest of Trojans! How it brings back 6031

your father’s speech, the voice and features of noble Anchises!6032

For I recall how Priam, son of Laomedon, visiting the realms6033

of his sister, Hesione, and seeking Salamis, 6034

came on further to see the chill territories of Arcadia.6035

In those days first youth clothed my cheeks with bloom,6036

and I marvelled at the Trojan leaders, and marvelled6037

at the son of Laomedon himself: but Anchises as he walked6038

was taller than all. My mind burned with youthful desire6039

to address the hero, and clasp his hand in mine:6040

I approached and led him eagerly inside the walls of Pheneus.6041

On leaving he gave me a noble quiver 6042

of Lycian arrows, a cloak woven with gold, 6043

and a pair of golden bits, that my Pallas now owns.6044

So the hand of mine you look for is joined in alliance,6045

and when tomorrow’s dawn returns to the earth,6046

I’ll send you off cheered by my help, and aid you with stores.6047

Meanwhile, since you come to us as friends, favour us 6048

by celebrating this annual festival, which it is wrong 6049

to delay, and become accustomed to your friends’ table.’6050

When he had spoken he ordered the food and drink6051

that had been removed to be replaced, and seated6052

the warriors himself on the turf benches. 6053

He welcomed Aeneas as the principal guest, and invited him6054

to a maple-wood throne covered by a shaggy lion’s pelt.6055

Then the altar priest with young men he had chosen 6056

competed to bring on the roast meat from the bulls, 6057

pile the baked bread in baskets, and serve the wine. 6058

Aeneas and the men of Troy feasted on an entire6059

chine of beef, and the sacrificial organs.6060

BkVIII:184-305 The Tale of Hercules and Cacus6061

When hunger had been banished, and desire for food sated,6062

King Evander said: ‘No idle superstition, or ignorance 6063

of the ancient gods, forced these solemn rites of ours,6064

this ritual banquet, this altar to so great a divinity, upon us.6065

We perform them, and repeat the honours due, 6066

Trojan guest, because we were saved from cruel perils. 6067

Now look first at this rocky overhanging cliff, how its bulk 6068

is widely shattered, and the mountain lair stands deserted, 6069

and the crags have been pulled down in mighty ruin.6070

There was a cave here, receding to vast depths,6071

untouched by the sun’s rays, inhabited by the fell shape6072

of Cacus, the half-human, and the ground was always warm6073

with fresh blood, and the heads of men, insolently 6074

nailed to the doors, hung there pallid with sad decay.6075

Vulcan was father to this monster: and, as he moved6076

his massive bulk, he belched out his dark fires.6077

Now at last time brought what we wished, the presence6078

and assistance of a god. Hercules, the greatest of avengers,6079

appeared, proud of the killing and the spoils of three-fold 6080

Geryon, driving his great bulls along as victor, 6081

and his cattle occupied the valley and the river.6082

And Cacus, his mind mad with frenzy, lest any 6083

wickedness or cunning be left un-dared or un-tried6084

drove off four bulls of outstanding quality, and as many 6085

heifers of exceptional beauty, from their stalls.6086

and, so there might be no forward-pointing spoor, the thief6087

dragged them into his cave by the tail, and, reversing6088

the signs of their tracks, hid them in the stony dark:6089

no one seeking them would find a trail to the cave.6090

Meanwhile, as Hercules, Amphitryon’s son, was moving 6091

the well-fed herd from their stalls, and preparing to leave,6092

the cattle lowed as they went out, all the woods were filled6093

with their complaining, and the sound echoed from the hills.6094

One heifer returned their call, and lowed from the deep cave,6095

and foiled Cacus’s hopes from her prison.6096

At this Hercules’s indignation truly blazed, with a venomous6097

dark rage: he seized weapons in his hand, and his heavy6098

knotted club, and quickly sought the slopes of the high mountain.6099

Then for the first time my people saw Cacus afraid, confusion6100

in his eyes: he fled at once, swifter than the East Wind,6101

heading for his cave: fear lent wings to his feet.6102

As he shut himself in, and blocked the entrance securely,6103

throwing against it a giant rock, hung there in chains 6104

by his father’s craft, by shattering the links, behold6105

Hercules arrived in a tearing passion, turning his head6106

this way and that, scanning every approach, and gnashing6107

his teeth. Hot with rage, three times he circled the whole 6108

Aventine Hill, three times he tried the stony doorway in vain,6109

three times he sank down, exhausted, in the valley.6110

A sharp pinnacle of flint, the rock shorn away 6111

on every side, stood, tall to see, rising behind 6112

the cave, a suitable place for vile birds to nest.6113

He shook it, where it lay, it’s ridge sloping towards the river 6114

on the left, straining at it from the right, loosening its deepest6115

roots, and tearing it out, then suddenly hurling it away, 6116

the highest heavens thundered with the blow,6117

the banks broke apart, and the terrified river recoiled.6118

But Cacus’s den and his vast realm stood revealed,6119

and the shadowy caverns within lay open,6120

no differently than if earth, gaping deep within, 6121

were to unlock the infernal regions by force, and disclose6122

the pallid realms, hated by the gods, and the vast abyss6123

be seen from above, and the spirits tremble at incoming light.6124

So Hercules, calling upon all his weapons, hurled missiles 6125

at Cacus from above, caught suddenly in unexpected daylight, 6126

penned in the hollow rock, with unaccustomed howling, 6127

and rained boughs and giant blocks of stone on him.6128

He on the other hand, since there was no escape now 6129

from the danger, belched thick smoke from his throat 6130

(marvellous to tell) and enveloped the place in blind darkness,6131

blotting the view from sight, and gathering 6132

smoke-laden night in the cave, a darkness mixed with fire.6133

Hercules in his pride could not endure it, and he threw himself,6134

with a headlong leap, through the flames, where the smoke6135

gave out its densest billows, and black mist heaved in the great cavern.6136

Here, as Cacus belched out useless flame in the darkness,6137

Hercules seized him in a knot-like clasp, and, clinging, choked him6138

the eyes squeezed, and the throat drained of blood.6139

Immediately the doors were ripped out, and the dark den exposed,6140

the stolen cattle, and the theft Cacus denied, were revealed 6141

to the heavens, and the shapeless carcass dragged out 6142

by the feet. The people could not get their fill of gazing6143

at the hideous eyes, the face, and shaggy bristling chest6144

of the half-man, and the ashes of the jaw’s flames.6145

Because of that this rite is celebrated, and happy posterity6146

remembers the day: and Potitius, the first, the founder, with 6147

the Pinarian House as guardians of the worship of Hercules,6148

set up this altar in the grove, which shall be spoken of for ever6149

by us as ‘The Mightiest’, and the mightiest it shall be for ever.6150

Come now, O you young men, wreathe your hair with leaves,6151

hold out wine-cups in your right hands, in honour of such great glory,6152

and call on the god we know, and pour out the wine with a will.’6153

He spoke, while grey-green poplar veiled his hair 6154

with Hercules’s own shade, hanging down in a knot of leaves, 6155

and the sacred cup filled his hand. Quickly they all poured 6156

a joyful libation on the table, and prayed to the gods.6157

Meanwhile, evening drew nearer in the heavens,6158

and now the priests went out, Potitius leading,6159

clothed in pelts as customary, and carrying torches.6160

They restarted the feast, bringing welcome offerings6161

as a second course, and piled the altars with heaped plates.6162

Then the Salii, the dancing priests, came to sing round 6163

the lighted altars, their foreheads wreathed with sprays6164

of poplar, one band of youths, another of old men, who praised6165

the glories and deeds of Hercules in song: how as an infant he strangled6166

the twin snakes in his grip, monsters sent by Juno his stepmother:6167

how too he destroyed cities incomparable in war,6168

Troy and Oechalia: how he endured a thousand hard labours6169

destined for him by cruel Juno, through King Eurystheus:6170

‘You, unconquerable one, you slew the cloud-born Centaurs,6171

bi-formed Hylaeus and Pholus, with your hand: the monstrous6172

Cretan Bull: and the huge lion below the cliffs of Nemea.6173

The Stygian Lake trembled before you: Cerberus, Hell’s guardian,6174

lying on half-eaten bones in his blood-drenched cave:6175

No shape, not Typheus himself, armed and towering 6176

upwards, daunted you: your brains were not lacking 6177

when Lerna’s Hydra surrounded you with its swarm of heads.6178

Hail, true child of Jove, a glory added to the gods,6179

visit us and your rites with grace and favouring feet.’6180

Such things they celebrated in song, adding to all this6181

Cacus’s cave, and the fire-breather himself.6182

All the grove rang with sound, and the hills echoed.6183

BkVIII:306-369 Pallanteum – the Site of Rome6184

Then they all returned to the city, the sacred rites complete.6185

The king walked clothed with years, and kept Aeneas and his son6186

near him for company, lightening the road with various talk.6187

Aeneas marvelled, and scanned his eyes about 6188

eagerly, captivated by the place, and delighted 6189

to enquire about and learn each tale of the men of old.6190

So King Evander, founder of Rome’s citadel, said:6191

‘The local Nymphs and Fauns once lived in these groves,6192

and a race of men born of trees with tough timber,6193

who had no laws or culture, and didn’t know how 6194

to yoke oxen or gather wealth, or lay aside a store, 6195

but the branches fed them, and the hunter’s wild fare.6196

Saturn was the first to come down from heavenly Olympus,6197

fleeing Jove’s weapons, and exiled from his lost realm.6198

He gathered together the untaught race, scattered among6199

the hills, and gave them laws, and chose to call it Latium,6200

from latere, ‘to hide’, since he had hidden in safety on these shores.6201

Under his reign was the Golden Age men speak of:6202

in such tranquil peace did he rule the nations,6203

until little by little an inferior, tarnished age succeeded,6204

with war’s madness, and desire for possessions.6205

Then the Ausonian bands came, and the Siconian tribes,6206

while Saturn’s land of Latium often laid aside her name:6207

then the kings, and savage Thybris, of vast bulk,6208

after whom we Italians call our river by the name 6209

of Tiber: the ancient Albula has lost her true name.6210

As for me, exiled from my country and seeking 6211

the limits of the ocean, all-powerful Chance, 6212

and inescapable fate, settled me in this place,6213

driven on by my mother the Nymph Carmentis’s 6214

dire warnings, and my guardian god Apollo.’6215

He had scarcely spoken when advancing he pointed out6216

the altar and what the Romans call the Carmental Gate,6217

in ancient tribute to the Nymph Carmentis, 6218

the far-seeing prophetess, who first foretold6219

the greatness of Aeneas’s sons, the glory of Pallanteum.6220

Next he pointed to a vast grove, which brave Romulus would restore 6221

as a sanctuary, and the Lupercal, the Wolf’s Cave, under a cold cliff,6222

named in the Arcadian way for the wolf-god, Lycaean Pan.6223

And he also pointed out the grove of sacred Argiletum6224

calling the place to witness, relating the death of Argus his guest. 6225

He leads him from here to the Tarpeian Rock and the Capitol,6226

now all gold, once bristling with wild thorns.6227

Even then the dreadful holiness of the place awed the fearful 6228

country folk, even then they trembled at the wood and the rock.6229

‘A god inhabits this grove,’ he said, ‘ and this hill with its leafy summit,6230

(which god is unknown): my Arcadians believe they have seen6231

Jove himself, as his right hand has often shaken6232

his darkening shield, and called up the storm clouds.6233

Moreover you can see in these two townships 6234

with broken walls, the memorials and relics of men of old. 6235

Father Janus built this fort, Saturn that:6236

this was named the Janiculum, that the Saturnia.’6237

Talking among themselves they came to the house6238

of the impoverished Evander, and saw cattle here and there, lowing6239

where the Roman Forum and the fashionable Carinae would be.6240

When they reached the house, Evander said: ‘Victorious Hercules6241

stooped to entering this doorway, this palace charmed him.6242

My guest, dare to scorn wealth, and make yourself worthy too6243

to be a god: don’t be scathing about the lack of possessions.’6244

He spoke, and led mighty Aeneas beneath the confines 6245

of his sloping roof, and allotted him a mattress 6246

stuffed with leaves, and the pelt of a Libyan bear:6247

Night fell, and embraced the earth with her darkening wings.6248

BkVIII:370-406 Venus Seeks Weapons from Vulcan6249

Now Venus, a mother fearful, and not without reason, in her mind,6250

troubled by the Laurentine threats, and fierce uprising,6251

spoke to Vulcan, her husband, in their golden bridal chamber,6252

beginning this way, breathing divine passion into her words:6253

‘I didn’t ask weapons of your skill or power, dearest husband,6254

nor any help for my poor people, while the Argive kings6255

destroyed doomed Troy in the war, her citadel fated6256

to fall to hostile flames: no, I didn’t want to exercise6257

you or your skills in vain, though I owed much indeed6258

to Priam’s sons, and often wept at Aeneas’s cruel suffering.6259

Now at Jove’s command he has set foot on Rutulian shores,6260

so I come likewise as a suppliant and ask arms of the power6261

sacred to me, a mother on behalf of her son. Thetis, Nereus’s6262

daughter, and Aurora, Tithonus’s wife, could move you with tears.6263

See what nations gather, what cities, closing their gates, 6264

are sharpening their swords against me, to destroy my people.’6265

She had spoken, and as he hesitated, the goddess caressed him6266

in a tender embrace, on this side and on that, in her snowy arms.6267

At once he felt the familiar flame, and that warmth he knew6268

penetrated him to the marrow, and ran through his melting bones,6269

no differently than when, with a peal of thunder, a forked 6270

streak of fire tears through the storm-clouds with dazzling light:6271

his partner felt it, delighted with her cleverness and conscious6272

of her beauty. Then old Vulcan spoke, chained by immortal love:6273

‘Why do you seek instances from the past? Goddess, where 6274

has your faith in me gone? If your anxiety then was the same,6275

it would have been right for me too to arm the Trojans then:6276

neither fate nor the almighty Father refused to let Troy stand,6277

or Priam live, ten years more. And so now, if war is your intent,6278

and your mind is set on it, cease to doubt your powers, entreating6279

whatever care I can promise in my craft, whatever can be made 6280

of iron and molten electrum, whatever fire and air can do.’6281

Saying these words he gave her a desired embrace, and sinking6282

onto his wife’s breast, sought gentle sleep in every limb.6283

BkVIII:407-453 Vulcan’s Smithy6284

When, in vanishing night’s mid-course, first rest 6285

has conquered the need for sleep: when a woman, 6286

who supports life with distaff and the humble work6287

Minerva imposes, first wakes the ashes, and slumbering flames,6288

adding night hours to her toil, and maintains her servants6289

at their endless task, by lamplight, to keep her husband’s bed6290

pure, and raise her young sons: just so, the god, 6291

with the power of fire, rose now from his soft bed, 6292

no idler at that hour, to labour at the forge.6293

An island, its rocks smoking, rises steeply by6294

the Sicilian coast, near the flanks of Aeolian Lipare.6295

Beneath it a cave, and the galleries of Etna, eaten at6296

by the Cyclopean furnaces, resound, and the groans from6297

the anvils are heard echoing the heavy blows,6298

and masses of Chalybean steel hiss in the caverns,6299

and fire breathes through the furnaces. It is Vulcan’s home 6300

and called Vulcania. Here then the god 6301

with the power of fire descended from the heavens.6302

In the huge cave the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, 6303

and bare-limbed Pyrcamon, were forging iron.6304

They held a lightning-bolt, shaped with their hands, 6305

like many of those the Father hurls from all over6306

the sky, part of it polished, part still left to do.6307

They’d added three shafts of spiralling rain, three of watery6308

cloud, three of reddening fire, and the winged south wind.6309

now they were blending terrifying flashes, into the work,6310

sounds and fears, and fury with following flames.6311

Elsewhere they pressed on with a chariot for Mars, with winged wheels,6312

with which he rouses men, with which he rouses cities:6313

and a chilling aegis, the breastplate of Pallas,6314

competing to burnish its serpent scales of gold,6315

its interwoven snakes, and the Gorgon herself6316

on the goddess’s breast, with severed neck and rolling eyes:6317

‘Away with all this,’ he shouts, ‘remove the work 6318

you’ve started, Cyclopes of Etna, and turn your minds to this:6319

you’re to make arms for a brave hero. Now you 6320

need strength, swift hands now, all the art now of a master.6321

An end to delay.’ He said no more, but they all 6322

bent quickly to the toil, and shared the labour equally.6323

Bronze and golden ore flowed in streams, 6324

and steel, that deals wounds, melted in a vast furnace.6325

They shaped a giant shield, one to stand against all6326

the weapons of Latium, layering it seven times,6327

disc on disc. Some sucked in air and blew it out6328

again with panting bellows, others dipped the hissing bronze6329

in the lake: the cavern groaned beneath the weight of anvils.6330

With mighty force they lifted their arms together in rhythm,6331

and turned the mass of metal, gripping it with pincers.6332

BkVIII:454-519 Evander Proposes Assistance6333

While the lord of Lemnos hastened the work on the Aeolian6334

shore, the kindly light, and the dawn song of the birds6335

beneath the eaves, called Evander from his humble house.6336

The old man rose, clothed his body in a tunic6337

and strapped Tyrrhenian sandals to the soles of his feet.6338

Then he fastened his Tegaean sword over his shoulder 6339

and to his side, flinging back a panther’s hide on the left.6340

Two guard dogs besides ran ahead from the high6341

threshold, and accompanied their master’s steps.6342

The hero made his way to his guest Aeneas’s6343

secluded lodging, thinking of his words, 6344

and the help he had promised. Aeneas was no less6345

early to rise: his son Pallas walked with the one, 6346

Achates with the other. They clasped hands as they met, 6347

sat down among the houses, and finally enjoyed 6348

open conversation. The king was the first to begin, so:6349

‘Greatest leader of the Teucrians, for my part while you’re safe6350

and sound I’ll never accept that the kingdom and power of Troy 6351

have been overthrown, our strength in war is inadequate to such 6352

a name: on this side we are shut in by the Tuscan river, while on that6353

the Rutulian presses us, and thunders in arms round our walls. 6354

But I propose to affiliate mighty peoples to you, 6355

and a war-camp rich in kingships, help that chance 6356

unpredictably reveals. You arrive at fate’s command. 6357

Not far from here is the site of Argylla’s city, 6358

built of ancient stone, where the Lydian race, 6359

famous in war, once settled the Etruscan heights.6360

For many years it flourished, until King Mezentius6361

ruled it with arrogant power, and savage weaponry. 6362

Why recount the tyrant’s wicked murders and vicious acts?6363

May the gods reserve such for his life and race!6364

He even tied corpses to living bodies, as a means6365

of torture, placing hand on hand and face against face,6366

so killing by a lingering death, in that wretched6367

embrace, that ooze of disease and decomposition.6368

But the weary citizens at last armed themselves6369

surrounded the atrocious madman in his palace,6370

mowed down his supporters, and fired the roof.6371

Amongst the carnage he escaped and fled 6372

to Rutulian soil, protected by Turnus’s allied army.6373

So all Etruria has risen in rightful anger, demanding 6374

the king for punishment, with the threat of immediate war.6375

Aeneas, I’ll make you leader of those thousands.6376

For their ships clamour densely on the shore,6377

and they order the banners to advance, but an aged6378

soothsayer holds them back, singing of destiny:6379

‘O chosen warriors of Maeonia, the flower, the honour6380

of our ancient race, whom just resentment sends against6381

the enemy, and whom Mezentius fires with rightful anger,6382

no man of Italy may control such a people as you: choose6383

foreigners as leaders.’ So the Etruscan ranks camped 6384

on that plain, fearful of this warning from the gods.6385

Tarchon himself has sent ambassadors to me, with the royal 6386

sceptre and crown, entrusting me with the insignia:6387

I to come to the camp, and take the Tuscan throne.6388

But the slow frost of old age wearied by the years, and strength6389

now beyond acts of valour, begrudge me the command. 6390

I would urge my son to it, except that of mixed blood 6391

with a Sabine mother, he takes part of his nationality from her. 6392

You, O bravest leader of Trojans and Italians, to whose race 6393

and years destiny is favourable, whom the divine will calls, 6394

accept. Moreover I’ll add Pallas here, our hope and comfort:6395

let him become accustomed under your guidance 6396

to endure military service, and the grave work of war, 6397

witness your actions, and admire you from his early years.6398

I’ll grant him two hundred Arcadian horsemen, the choice flower 6399

of our manhood, and Pallas will grant the same to you himself.’6400

BkVIII:520-584 The Preliminary Alarms6401

He had scarcely finished, and Aeneas, Anchises’s son,6402

and loyal Achates, with eyes downcast, were thinking6403

of many a difficulty, in their own sombre minds,6404

when Cytherea sent a sign from a cloudless sky.6405

For lightning came flashing unexpectedly from heaven,6406

with thunder, and suddenly all seemed to quake,6407

and, through the air, a Tyrrhenian trumpet blast seemed to bray.6408

They looked upwards, a great crash sounded again and again.6409

In a calm region of the sky among the clouds they saw6410

weapons reddening in the bright air, and heard the noise of blows.6411

The others were astounded but the Trojan hero knew6412

the sounds as those of things which his mother had promised.6413

Then he cried: ‘My friend, indeed, do not wonder I beg you6414

as to what these marvels might prophesy: I am called 6415

by Olympus. The goddess who bore me foretold 6416

she would send this sign if war was near, and bring6417

weapons from Vulcan through the air to aid me.6418

Alas what slaughter awaits the wretched Laurentines!6419

What a price you’ll pay me, Turnus! What shields and helmets6420

and bodies of the brave you’ll roll beneath your waves, 6421

father Tiber! Let them ask for battle and break their treaties.’6422

Having spoken, he raised himself from his high throne, 6423

and firstly revived the dormant altars with Herculean fire, 6424

then gladly visited yesterday’s Lar and the humble 6425

household gods. Evander and the Trojan warriors6426

equally sacrificed chosen ewes according to the rite.6427

Next he went to the ships and met again with his comrades,6428

choosing the most outstanding in courage to follow him6429

to war: the others slipped downstream, floating effortlessly 6430

on the helpful current, carrying news to Ascanius6431

of his father and his fortunes. Horses were granted 6432

to the Trojans who were to take the Tyrrhenian field:6433

They lead out a choice mount for Aeneas, clothed6434

in a tawny lion’s pelt with gleaming gilded claws.6435

A rumour suddenly flew through the little town, proclaiming6436

that horsemen were riding fast to the Tyrrhene king’s shores.6437

Mothers, in alarm, redoubled their prayers, and fear drew near6438

with danger, and now the war god’s image loomed larger.6439

Then old Evander, clasping his son’s hand as he departed,6440

clung to him weeping incessantly and spoke as follows:6441

‘O, if Jupiter would bring back the years that have vanished,6442

I to be as I was when I felled the foremost ranks under Praeneste’s6443

very walls, and as victor heaped up the shields,6444

and sent King Erulus down to Tartarus, by this right hand,6445

he to whom at his birth his mother Feronia (strange to tell)6446

gave three lives, triple weapons to wield – to be three times6447

brought low in death: who at last in a moment this right hand 6448

stripped of all his lives, and equally of all his weapons:6449

I would never be torn as now from your sweet embrace, my son,6450

never would Mezentius have poured insults on 6451

this neighbour’s head, caused so many cruel deaths 6452

with the sword, or widowed the city of so many of her sons.6453

But you, powers above, and you, Jupiter, mighty ruler of the gods,6454

take pity I beg you on this Arcadian king, and hear 6455

a father’s prayer. If your will, and fate, keep my Pallas safe,6456

if I live to see him and be together with him, I ask for life: 6457

I have the patience to endure any hardship.6458

But if you threaten any unbearable disaster, Fortune,6459

now, oh now, let me break the thread of cruel existence,6460

while fear hangs in doubt, while hope’s uncertain of the future.6461

while you, beloved boy, my late and only joy, are held 6462

in my embrace, and let no evil news wound my ears.’ 6463

These were the words the father poured out at their last parting:6464

then his servants carried him, overcome, into the palace.6465

BkVIII:585-625 Venus’s Gift of Armour6466

And now the horsemen had ridden from the opened gates,6467

Aeneas, and loyal Achetes, among the first: then the other6468

princes of Troy, Pallas himself travelling mid-column,6469

notable in his cloak and engraved armour,6470

like the Morning-Star, whom Venus loves above all6471

the other starry fires, when, having bathed in Ocean’s wave,6472

he raises his sacred head in heaven, and melts the dark.6473

Mothers stand fearfully on the battlements, and with their eyes6474

follow the cloud of dust, the squadrons bright with bronze.6475

The armed men pass through the undergrowth where the route6476

is most direct: a shout rises, and they form column,6477

and with the thunder of their hooves shake the broken ground.6478

There’s a large grove by the chilly stream of Caere, held sacred6479

far and wide, in ancestral reverence: the hollow hills enclose it6480

on all sides, and surround the wood with dark fir trees.6481

The tale is that the ancient Pelasgians, who once held6482

the Latin borders, dedicated this wood and a festive day6483

to Silvanus, god of the fields and the herds. 6484

Not far from here, Tarchon and the Tyrrhenians were camped6485

in a safe place, and now all their troops could be seen, 6486

from the high ground, scattered widely over the fields.6487

Aeneas, the leader, and the young men chosen for war,6488

arrived, and refreshed their horses and their weary bodies. 6489

Then Venus, bright goddess, came bearing gifts through6490

the ethereal clouds: and when she saw her son from far away6491

who had retired in secret to the valley by the cool stream,6492

she went to him herself, unasked, and spoke these words:6493

‘See the gifts brought to perfection by my husband’s6494

skill, as promised. You need not hesitate, my son, to quickly 6495

challenge the proud Laurentines, or fierce Turnus, to battle.’6496

Cytherea spoke, and invited her son’s embrace, and placed6497

the shining weapons under an oak tree opposite.6498

He cannot have enough of turning his gaze over each item,6499

delighting in the goddess’s gift and so high an honour,6500

admiring, and turning the helmet over with hands and arms,6501

with its fearsome crest and spouting flames,6502

and the fateful sword, the stiff breastplate of bronze,6503

dark-red and huge, like a bluish cloud when it’s lit6504

by the rays of the sun, and glows from afar:6505

then the smooth greaves, of electrum and refined gold,6506

the spear, and the shield’s indescribable detail.6507

BkVIII:626-670 Vulcan’s Shield: Scenes of Early Rome6508

There the lord with the power of fire, not unversed6509

in prophecy, and knowledge of the centuries to come,6510

had fashioned the history of Italy, and Rome’s triumphs:6511

there was every future generation of Ascanius’s stock,6512

and the sequence of battles they were to fight. 6513

He had also shown the she-wolf, having just littered,6514

lying on the ground, in the green cave of Mars,6515

the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, playing, hanging6516

on her teats, and fearlessly sucking at their foster-mother.6517

Bending her neck back smoothly she caressed them6518

in turn, and licked their limbs with her tongue.6519

Not far from that he had placed Rome, the Sabine women,6520

lawlessly snatched from the seated crowd, when the great games 6521

were held in the Circus: and the sudden surge of fresh warfare6522

between Romulus’s men, and the aged Tatius and his austere Cures.6523

Next, the same two kings stood armed in front of Jove’s altar,6524

holding the wine-cups and joined in league, sacrificing a sow,6525

the new-built palace bristling with Romulus’s thatch.6526

Then, not far from that, four-horse chariots driven 6527

in different directions tore Mettus apart (Alban, you should6528

have kept your word, though!), and Tullus dragged the liar’s6529

entrails through the woods, the briars wet with sprinkled blood.6530

There was Porsenna too, ordering Rome to admit the banished6531

Tarquin, and gripping the city in a mighty siege:6532

the scions of Aeneas running on the sword for freedom’s sake.6533

You could see Porsenna in angry, and in threatening, posture,6534

because Cocles dared to tear down the bridge,6535

because Cloelia broke her restraints and swam the river.6536

At the top Manlius, guardian of the Tarpeian Citadel,6537

stood before the temple, defending the high Capitol.6538

And there the silvery goose, flying through the gilded6539

colonnades, cackled that the Gauls were at the gate.6540

The Gauls were there in the gorse, taking the Citadel,6541

protected by the dark, the gift of shadowy night.6542

Their hair was gold, and their clothes were gold,6543

they shone in striped cloaks, their white necks6544

torqued with gold, each waving two Alpine javelins6545

in his hand, long shields defending their bodies.6546

Here he had beaten out the leaping Salii and naked Luperci,6547

the woolly priest’s caps, and the oval shields that fell6548

from heaven, chaste mothers in cushioned carriages6549

leading sacred images through the city. Far from these6550

he had added the regions of Tartarus, the high gates of Dis,6551

the punishment for wickedness, and you Catiline, hanging6552

from a threatening cliff, trembling at the sight of the Furies:6553

and the good, at a distance, Cato handing out justice.6554

BkVIII:671-713 Vulcan’s Shield: The Battle of Actium6555

The likeness of the swollen sea flowed everywhere among these, 6556

in gold, though the flood foamed with white billows,6557

and dolphins in bright silver swept the waters 6558

round about with arching tails, and cut through the surge.6559

In the centre bronze ships could be seen, the Battle of Actium,6560

and you could make out all Leucate in feverish6561

preparation for war, the waves gleaming with gold.6562

On one side Augustus Caesar stands on the high stern, 6563

leading the Italians to the conflict, with him the Senate,6564

the People, the household gods, the great gods, his happy brow 6565

shoots out twin flames, and his father’s star is shown on his head.6566

Elsewhere Agrippa, favoured by the winds and the gods6567

leads his towering column of ships, his brow shines 6568

with the beaks of the naval crown, his proud battle distinction.6569

On the other side Antony, with barbarous wealth and strange weapons,6570

conqueror of eastern peoples and the Indian shores, bringing Egypt, 6571

and the might of the Orient, with him, and furthest Bactria:6572

and his Egyptian consort follows him (the shame).6573

All press forward together, and the whole sea foams, 6574

churned by the sweeping oars and the trident rams.6575

They seek deep water: you’d think the Cycladic islands were uprooted 6576

and afloat on the flood, or high mountains clashed with mountains,6577

so huge the mass with which the men attack the towering sterns.6578

Blazing tow and missiles of winged steel shower from their hands,6579

Neptune’s fields grow red with fresh slaughter.6580

The queen in the centre signals to her columns with the native 6581

sistrum, not yet turning to look at the twin snakes at her back.6582

Barking Anubis, and monstrous gods of every kind6583

brandish weapons against Neptune, Venus, 6584

and Minerva. Mars rages in the centre of the contest, 6585

engraved in steel, and the grim Furies in the sky, 6586

and Discord in a torn robe strides joyously, while 6587

Bellona follows with her blood-drenched whip.6588

Apollo of Actium sees from above and bends his bow: at this 6589

all Egypt, and India, all the Arabs and Sabaeans turn and flee.6590

The queen herself is seen to call upon the winds,6591

set sail, and now, even now, spread the slackened canvas.6592

The lord with the power of fire has fashioned her pallid6593

with the coming of death, amidst the slaughter,6594

carried onwards by the waves and wind of Iapyx,6595

while before her is Nile, mourning with his vast extent,6596

opening wide his bays, and, with his whole tapestry, calling6597

the vanquished to his dark green breast, and sheltering streams.6598

BkVIII:714-731 Vulcan’s Shield: Augustus’s Triple Triumph6599

Next Augustus, entering the walls of Rome in triple triumph,6600

is dedicating his immortal offering to Italy’s gods,6601

three hundred great shrines throughout the city.6602

The streets are ringing with joy, playfulness, applause:6603

a band of women in every temple, altars in every one:6604

before the altars sacrificial steers cover the ground.6605

He himself sits at the snow-white threshold of shining Apollo,6606

examines the gifts of nations, and hangs them on the proud gates.6607

The conquered peoples walk past in a long line, as diverse 6608

in language as in weapons, or the fashion of their clothes.6609

Here Vulcan has shown the Nomad race and loose-robed Africans,6610

there the Leleges and Carians and Gelonians with their quivers:6611

Euphrates runs with quieter waves, and the Morini, 6612

remotest of mankind, the double-horned Rhine,6613

the untamed Dahae, and Araxes, resenting its restored bridge.6614

Aeneas marvels at such things on Vulcan’s shield, his mother’s gift,6615

and delights in the images, not recognising the future events,6616

lifting to his shoulder the glory and the destiny of his heirs.6617

BkIX:1-24 Iris Urges Turnus to War6618

While all these things were happening in various places, 6619

Saturnian Juno sent Iris from heaven to brave Turnus, 6620

who chanced to be sitting in a sacred valley, a grove to Pilumnus 6621

his father. To him Thaumas’s daughter spoke, from her rosy lips:6622

‘Turnus, see, the circling days, unasked, have brought6623

what you wished, but what no god dared to promise.6624

Aeneas leaving the city, his friends and ships,6625

seeks the Palatine kingdom, and Evander’s house.6626

Unsatisfied he has reached Corythus’s furthest cities,6627

and, gathering men from the country, arms Lydian troops.6628

Why wait? Now is the time to call on horse and chariot.6629

End all delays: seize their camp, in its confusion.’6630

She spoke, and rose into the sky on level wings,6631

tracing a vast arc against the clouds in her flight.6632

The youth knew her, raised both his hands to the heavens,6633

and sent these words after her as she flew:6634

‘Iris, glory of the sky, who sent you down through6635

the clouds, to me, on earth? Where does this sudden 6636

bright moment spring from? I see the sky split apart6637

at its zenith, and the stars that roam the pole. I follow6638

so mighty an omen, whoever calls me to arms.’6639

Saying this he went to the river and scooped water6640

from the surface of the stream, calling often6641

to the gods, and weighting the air with prayers.6642

BkIX:25-76 Turnus Attacks the Trojan Fleet6643

Now the whole army, rich in horses, rich in ornate clothes, 6644

and gold, was engaged in moving over the open fields: 6645

Messapus controlling the front ranks, Tyrrhus’s sons6646

the rear, Turnus, the leader, in the centre of the line:6647

like the deep Ganges, swelling in silence, through 6648

his seven placid streams, or Nile when his rich stream 6649

inundates the fields, soon sinking down into his course.6650

The Trojans suddenly see a black dust cloud 6651

gathering there, and darkness rising over the plain.6652

Caicus shouted first from the forward rampart:6653

‘What’s that rolling mass of black fog, countrymen?6654

Bring your swords, quickly: hand out spears: mount the walls:6655

ah, the enemy is here!’ With a great clamour the Trojans6656

retreated through the gates, and filled the ramparts.6657

For Aeneas, wisest in warfare, had commanded, on leaving,6658

if anything chanced in the meantime, they were not to dare6659

to form ranks or trust themselves to the open field: they were6660

only to guard the camp and walls, safe behind the ramparts.6661

So, though anger and shame counselled the troops to fight,6662

still they shut the gates and followed his orders,6663

awaiting the enemy, armed, within their hollow turrets.6664

But Turnus had galloped forward ahead of his slow column,6665

accompanied by twenty chosen horsemen, and reached6666

the city unexpectedly: a piebald Thracian horse carried him,6667

a golden helmet with a crimson crest protected his head.6668

‘Men,’ he shouted, ‘is there anyone who’ll be first with me6669

among the enemy – ? Look,’ and twirling a javelin sent it6670

skyward to start the fight, and rode proudly over the field.6671

His friends welcomed him with a shout, and followed 6672

with fearful battle-cries: marvelling at the Trojan’s dull souls,6673

not trusting themselves to a level field, nor facing men 6674

carrying weapons, but hugging the camp. He rode to and fro6675

wildly round the walls, seeking a way in where there was none.6676

Like a wolf, lying in wait by a full sheepfold, that snarls6677

by the pens at midnight, enduring the wind and rain,6678

the lambs bleating safe beneath their mothers, 6679

and rages against the prey out of reach, fierce and persistent6680

in its anger, tormented by its dry, bloodless jaws,6681

and the fierceness of its long-increasing hunger:6682

so as Turnus scanned the wall and camp, the Rutulian’s anger6683

was alight, and indignation burned in his harsh marrow.6684

How could he try and enter, and hurl the penned-up 6685

Trojans from their rampart, and scatter them over the plain?6686

He attacked the ships, that lay close to a flank of the camp,6687

defended by earthworks, and the flowing river,6688

calling out to his exultant friends for fire,6689

and fervently grasped a blazing pine-brand in his hand.6690

Then they set to (urged on by Turnus’s presence)6691

and all the men armed themselves with dark torches.6692

They stripped the hearths: the smoking branches threw6693

a pitchy glow, and Vulcan hurled the cloud of ashes to heaven.6694

BkIX:77-106 Cybele Makes a Plea to Jove6695

O Muse, what god, turned away such fierce flames 6696

from the Trojans? Who drove such savage fires from the ships?6697

Tell me: belief in the story’s ancient, its fame is eternal.6698

In the days when Aeneas first built his fleet on Phrygian Ida6699

and prepared to set out over the deep ocean,6700

they say the Mother of the gods herself, Berecyntian Cybele,6701

spoke so to great Jupiter: ‘My son, lord of Olympus, 6702

grant what your dear mother asks of you in request.6703

There was a pine-forest a delight to me for many years6704

a grove on the summit of the mountain, where they brought6705

offerings, dark with blackened firs and maple trunks.6706

I gave these gladly to the Trojan youth, since he lacked6707

a fleet: now, troubled, anxious fear torments me.6708

Relieve my fears, and let your mother by her prayers ensure6709

they are not destroyed, shattered by voyaging or violent storm:6710

let their origin on our mountain be of aid to them.’6711

Her son, who turns the starry globe, replied: 6712

‘O, my mother, to what do you summon fate? What do you seek 6713

for them? Should keels made by mortal hands have eternal rights?6714

Should Aeneas travel in certainty through uncertain6715

dangers? To what god are such powers permitted?6716

No, one day when they’ve served their purpose, 6717

and reached an Italian haven, I’ll take away, from those6718

that escape the waves, and bear the Trojan chief 6719

to Laurentine fields, their mortal shape, and command 6720

them to be goddesses of the vast ocean, like Doto, Nereus’s6721

child, and Galatea, who part the foaming sea with their breasts.’6722

He spoke, and swore his assent, by his Stygian brother’s rivers,6723

by the banks that seethe with pitch on the black abyss,6724

and with his nod shook all Olympus.6725

BkIX:107-122 Cybele Transforms the Ships6726

So the day he had promised came, and the Fates fulfilled6727

their appointed hour, when Turnus’s injury to the sacred fleet6728

prompted the Mother to defend them from the flames. 6729

At first a strange light flared to the watchers, and a huge cloud6730

was seen to travel across the sky from the east,6731

with bands of her Idaean attendants: then a terrible voice6732

rang through the air, echoing among the Trojan and Rutulian lines:6733

‘Trojans, don’t rush to defend the ships, or take up arms.6734

Turnus can burn the ocean, sooner than my sacred pines. Go free,6735

you Goddesses of the sea: your mother commands it.’ And at once6736

each ship tore her cable loose from the bank: they dipped their noses6737

like dolphins, and sought the watery deep. Then (strange wonder)6738

as many virgin shapes re-surfaced, and swam about the sea.6739

BkIX:123-167 Turnus Lays Siege to the Camp6740

The Rutulians were amazed in mind, Messapus himself6741

was awe-struck, his horses panicked: and even the noisy flow6742

of the river halted, as Tiber retreated from the deep.6743

But brave Turnus’s confidence never wavered:6744

and he raised their spirits as well, and chided them:6745

‘These marvels are aimed at the Trojans, Jupiter himself6746

has deprived them of their usual allies: those didn’t wait6747

for Rutulian missiles and fires. So the seas are impassable6748

for the Trojans, and they have no hope of flight: other regions6749

are lost to them, and this land is in our hands, so many6750

thousands of Italy’s peoples are in arms. I’m not afraid6751

of all the fateful omens from the gods these Phrygians 6752

openly boast of: enough has been granted to Venus and the Fates,6753

since the Trojans have reached Ausonia’s fertile fields.6754

I have my own counter destiny, to root out the guilty race,6755

that has snatched my bride, with the sword. That’s a sorrow6756

that doesn’t touch Atrides alone, nor is Mycenae alone allowed6757

to take up arms. ‘But to die once is enough.’? To have sinned6758

before should be enough for these men, to whom confidence 6759

in a dividing wall, and slight obstacles to death, defensive moats,6760

grant courage, to utterly detest well-nigh the whole tribe 6761

of women. Did they not witness the work of Neptune’s 6762

hands, the battlements of Troy, sink in flames? But you, 6763

O chosen ones, which of you is ready to uproot the ramparts6764

with your steel, and invade their terrified camp with me?6765

I don’t need Vulcan’s arms, or a thousand ships,6766

against Trojans. Let all Etruria join them now in alliance.6767

They need not fear darkness, or cowardly theft6768

‘of their Palladium, killing guards on the citadel’s heights’,6769

we won’t hide in the dark belly of a horse:6770

I intend to circle their walls in broad daylight with fire.6771

I’ll make them concede its not Greeks, Pelasgic youth,6772

they’re dealing with, whom Hector held till the tenth year.6773

Now, since the best part of the day’s gone, men, 6774

refresh yourselves with what’s left, pleased with work6775

well done, and look forward to starting the battle.6776

Meanwhile the order was given to Messapus to picket6777

the gates alertly with sentries and ring the ramparts with flames.6778

Fourteen Rutulians were chosen to guard the walls6779

with their men, each with a hundred soldiers 6780

under them, purple-plumed and glittering with gold. 6781

They ran about, took turns on watch, or lifted 6782

the bronze bowls and enjoyed their wine, 6783

stretched out on the grass. The fires shone, 6784

while the guards spent the watchful night in games. 6785

BkIX:168-223 Nisus and Euryalus: A Mission Proposed6786

The armed Trojans held the heights, looking down 6787

on this from above, and also with anxious fears, 6788

checked the gates, built bulwarks and bridges, 6789

and disposed their weapons. Mnestheus and brave Serestus,6790

whom Aeneas their leader appointed to command the army6791

and state, if adversity ever required it, urged them on. 6792

Sharing the risk, the whole company kept watch and served6793

in turn, at whatever point was to be guarded by each.6794

Nisus, bravest of warriors, son of Hyrtacus, was a guard6795

at the gates, he whom Ida the huntress had sent 6796

to accompany Aeneas, agile with javelin and light darts,6797

and Euryalus was with him, than whom none was 6798

more beautiful among the Aenedae, or wearing Trojan armour,6799

a boy, whose unshaven face, showed the first bloom of youth.6800

One love was theirs, and they charged side by side into battle:6801

now they were also guarding the gate at the same sentry-post. 6802

Nisus said: ‘Euryalus, do the gods set this fire in our hearts,6803

or does each man’s fatal desire become godlike to him?6804

My mind has long urged me to rush to battle, or high6805

adventure, and is not content with peace and quiet.6806

You see what confidence the Rutulians have in events:6807

their lights shine far apart, and they lie drowned in sleep6808

and wine, everywhere is quiet. Listen to what I’m now6809

thinking, and what purpose comes to mind. The army6810

and the council all demand Aeneas be recalled, 6811

and men be sent to report the facts to him.6812

If they were to grant what I suggest to you (the glory 6813

of doing it is enough for me) I think I could find a way, 6814

beyond that hill, to the walls and ramparts of Pallanteum.’6815

Euryalus was dazzled, struck by a great desire for glory,6816

and replied to his ardent friend at once, like this:6817

‘Nisus, do you shun my joining in this great deed,6818

then? Shall I send you into such danger alone?6819

That’s not how my father Opheltes, seasoned in war,6820

educated me, raising me among Greek terrors 6821

and Troy’s ordeals, nor have I conducted myself so6822

with you, following noble Aeneas and the ends of fate.6823

This is my spirit, one scornful of the day, that thinks6824

the honour you aim at well bought with life itself.’6825

Nisus replied: ‘Indeed I had no such doubts of you,6826

that would be wrong: not so will great Jupiter, or whoever6827

looks at this action with favourable gaze, bring me back to you6828

in triumph: but if (as you often see in such crises) 6829

if chance or some god sweeps me to disaster,6830

I want you to survive: your youth is more deserving of life.6831

Let there be someone to entrust me to earth, my body6832

rescued from conflict, or ransomed for a price,6833

or if Fortune denies the customary rites, to perform 6834

them in my absence, and honour me with a stone.6835

And don’t let me be a cause of grief to your poor mother,6836

my boy, who alone among many mothers dared to follow 6837

you, without thought of staying in great Acestes’s city.’6838

But the lad said: ‘You weave your excuses in vain,6839

my purpose won’t change or yield to yours. Let’s hurry’, 6840

and he roused guards, who came up to take their place:6841

leaving his post he walked by Nisus’s side to seek the prince.6842

BkIX:224-313 Nisus and Euryalus: Aletes Consents6843

Every other creature, throughout the land, was easing6844

its cares with sleep, its heart forgetful of toil:6845

the Trojans’ chief captains, the pick of their manhood,6846

were holding council on the most serious affairs of state,6847

what to do, and who should go now as messenger to Aeneas.6848

They stood, between the camp and the plain, leaning 6849

on their long spears, holding their shields. Nisus and Euryalus, 6850

together, begged eagerly to be admitted at once:6851

the matter being important, and worth the delay. Iulus was first6852

to welcome the impatient pair, and ordered Nisus to speak. 6853

So the son of Hyrtacus said: ‘Followers of Aeneas, listen6854

with fair minds, and don’t judge my words by our years.6855

The Rutulians are quiet, drowned in sleep and wine.6856

We ourselves have seen a place for a sortie: it opens 6857

in a fork of the road by the nearest gate to the sea.6858

There’s a gap between the fires, and black smoke rises6859

to the stars. If you allow us to seize the chance,6860

you’ll soon see us back again burdened with spoils6861

after carrying out vast slaughter. The road will not 6862

deceive us as we seek Aeneas and Pallanteum’s walls. 6863

In our frequent hunting through the secret valleys6864

we’ve seen the outskirts of the city, and know the whole river.’6865

To this Aletes, heavy with years and wise in mind, replied:6866

‘Gods of our fathers, under whose power Troy lies,6867

you do not intend to obliterate the Trojan race as yet6868

since you bring us such courage in our young men and such 6869

firm hearts.’ So saying, he took them both by the shoulder6870

and hand while tears flooded his cheeks and lips.6871

‘What possible prize could I consider worthy6872

to be granted you men for such a glorious action?6873

The gods and tradition will give you the first 6874

and most beautiful one: then good Aeneas, and Ascanius,6875

who’s untouched by the years and never unmindful 6876

of such service, will immediately award the rest.’6877

Ascanius interrupted: ‘Rather I entreat you both, Nisus,6878

since my well-being depends on my father’s return, 6879

by the great gods of our house, by the Lar of Assaracus, 6880

and by grey-haired Vesta’s innermost shrine, I lay 6881

all my fortune and my promise in your lap, call my father back,6882

give me a sight of him: there’s no sorrow if he’s restored.6883

I’ll give you a pair of wine-cups, all of silver, with figures6884

in relief, that my father captured when Arisba was taken,6885

and twin tripods, two large talents of gold, 6886

and an antique bowl Sidonian Dido gave me.6887

If we truly manage to capture Italy, and take the sceptre,6888

and assign the spoils by lot, you have seen the horse 6889

golden Turnus rode, and the armour he wore, I’ll separate6890

from this moment, from the lots, that same horse, the shield, 6891

and the crimson plumes as your reward, Nisus.6892

Moreover my father will give you twelve women 6893

of choicest person, and male captives all with their own armour,6894

and, beyond that, whatever land King Latinus owns himself.6895

But now I truly welcome you wholly to my heart, Euryalus,6896

a boy to be revered, whose age I come closer to in time,6897

and embrace you as a friend for every occasion.6898

I’ll never seek glory in my campaigns without you:6899

whether I enjoy peace or war, you’ll have my firmest trust6900

in word and action.’ Euryalus spoke like this in reply:6901

‘No day will ever find me separated from such6902

bold action: inasmuch as fortune proves kind 6903

and not cruel. But I ask one gift above all from you:6904

I have a mother, of Priam’s ancient race, unhappy woman,6905

whom neither the land of Troy, nor King Acestes’s city6906

could keep from accompanying me. I leave her now,6907

ignorant of whatever risk to me there might be,6908

and of my farewell, since ( this night and your 6909

right hand bear witness) I could not bear 6910

a mother’s tears. But I beg you, comfort 6911

her helplessness and aid her loss. Let me carry 6912

this hope I place in you with me, I will meet all dangers 6913

more boldly.’ Their spirits affected, the Trojans6914

shed tears, noble Iulus above all, and this image 6915

of filial love touched his heart. Then he said:6916

‘Be sure I’ll do everything worthy of your great venture.6917

She’ll be as my mother to me, only lacking her name Creusa:6918

no small gratitude’s due to her for bearing such a son.6919

Whatever the outcome of your action, I swear by this life,6920

by which my father used once to swear: what I promised 6921

to you when you return, your campaign successful,6922

that same will accrue to your mother and your house.’ 6923

So he spoke, in tears: and at the same time stripped the gilded6924

sword from his shoulder, that Lycaon of Cnossos had made 6925

with marvellous art, and equipped for use with an ivory sheath.6926

Mnestheus gave Nisus a pelt, taken from a shaggy lion,6927

loyal Aletes exchanged helmets. They armed, and left 6928

immediately: and the whole band of leaders, young and old,6929

escorted them to the gate as they went, with prayers. 6930

And noble Iulus too, with mature mind and duties 6931

beyond his years, gave them many commissions 6932

to carry to his father: but the winds were to scatter 6933

them all, and blow them vainly to the clouds.6934

BkIX:314-366 Nisus and Euryalus: The Raid6935

Leaving, they crossed the ditches, seeking the enemy camp6936

in the shadow of night, destined yet to first bring many deaths.6937

They saw bodies in drunken sleep, stretched here and there 6938

on the grass, chariots tilted upwards on the shore, men, among6939

wheels and harness, and weapons and wine-cups lying about. 6940

Nisus, Hyrtacus’s son, spoke first, saying: 6941

‘Euryalus, now the occasion truly calls for a daring 6942

right hand. This is our road. You must see that no arm’s6943

raised against us at our back, and keep watch carefully:6944

I’ll deal destruction here, and cut you a wide path.’6945

So he spoke, and checked his speech, and at once 6946

drove his sword at proud Rhamnes, who chanced to be6947

breathing deeply in sleep, piled with thick coverlets,6948

He was King Turnus’s best-beloved augur, and a king 6949

himself, but he could not avert destruction with augury.6950

Nisus killed three of his servants nearby, lying careless6951

among their weapons, and Remus’s armour bearer, and his charioteer, 6952

found at the horses’ feet: he severed lolling necks with his sword. 6953

Then he struck off the head of their lord himself, and left 6954

the trunk spurting blood, the ground and the bed drenched 6955

with dark warm blood. And Lamyrus too, and Lamum,6956

and young Serranus, noted for his beauty, who had sported 6957

much that night, and lay there limbs drowned by much wine –6958

happy if he’d carried on his game all night till dawn:6959

So a starving lion churning through a full sheepfold, (driven 6960

by its raging hunger) gnaws and tears at the feeble flock 6961

mute with fear, and roars from its bloodstained mouth.6962

Nor was Euryalus’s slaughter any less: he too raged, ablaze,6963

and among the nameless crowd he attacked Fadus,6964

and Herbesus, and Abaris, while they were unconscious:6965

and Rhoetus, but Rhoetus was awake and saw it all,6966

but crouched in fear behind a huge wine-bowl. As he rose, 6967

in close encounter, Euryalus plunged his whole blade6968

into Rhoetus’s chest, and withdrew it red with death. Rhoetus6969

choked out his life in dark blood, and, dying, brought up wine6970

mixed with gore: the other pressed on fervently and stealthily.6971

Now he approached Messapus’s followers: there he saw6972

the outermost fires flickering, and the horses, duly tethered,6973

cropping the grass: Nisus (seeing him carried away 6974

by slaughter and love of the sword’s power) said briefly:6975

‘Let’s go, since unhelpful dawn is near. Enough: vengeance 6976

has been satisfied: a path has been made through the enemy.’6977

They left behind many of the men’s weapons 6978

fashioned from solid silver, and wine-bowls and splendid hangings.6979

Euryalus snatched Rhamnes’s trappings, and gold-studded6980

sword-belt, gifts that wealthy Caedicus had once sent to Remulus6981

of Tibur, expressing friendship in absence: he when dying 6982

gave them to his grandson as his own, and after his death in turn6983

the Rutulians captured them during the war in battle: now6984

Euryalus fitted them over his brave shoulders, though in vain. 6985

Then he put on Messapus’s excellent helmet with its handsome 6986

plumes. The left the camp and headed for safety.6987

BkIX:367-459 The Death of Euryalus and Nisus6988

Meanwhile riders arrived, sent out from the Latin city,6989

while the rest of the army waited in readiness, 6990

on the plain, bringing a reply for King Turnus:6991

three hundred, carrying shields, led by Volcens.6992

They were already near the camp, and below the walls,6993

when they saw the two men turning down a path on the left:6994

his helmet, gleaming in the shadow of night, betrayed6995

the unthinking Euryalus, and reflected back the rays.6996

It was not seen in vain. Volcens shouted from his column:6997

‘You men, halt, what’s the reason for your journey? Who are you,6998

you’re armed? Where are you off to?’ They offered no response,6999

but hastened their flight to the woods, trusting to the dark.7000

The riders closed off the known junctions, on every side,7001

and surrounded each exit route with guards.7002

The forest spread out widely, thick with brambles 7003

and holm-oaks, the dense thorns filling it on every side:7004

there the path glinted through the secret glades.7005

Euryalus was hampered by shadowy branches, and the weight7006

of his plunder, and his fear confused the path’s direction.7007

Nisus was clear: and already unaware had escaped the enemy,7008

and was at the place later called Alba from Alba Longa7009

(at that time King Latinus had his noble stalls there)7010

when he stopped, and looked back vainly for his missing friend.7011

‘Euryalus, unhappy boy, where did I separate from you? 7012

Which way shall I go?’ he said, considering all the tangled tracks7013

of the deceptive wood, and at the same time scanning 7014

the backward traces he could see, criss-crossing the silent thickets.7015

He heard horses, heard the cries and signals of pursuit:7016

and it was no great time before a shout reached his ears7017

and he saw Euryalus, betrayed by the ground and the night,7018

confused by the sudden tumult, whom the whole troop7019

were dragging away, overpowered, struggling violently in vain.7020

What can he do? With what force, or weapons, can he dare 7021

to rescue the youth? Should he hurl himself to his death among7022

the swords, and by his wounds hasten to a glorious end?7023

He swiftly drew back his spear arm and gazing upwards7024

at the moon above, prayed, with these words:7025

‘O you, goddess, O you, Latona’s daughter, glory of the stars,7026

and keeper of the woods, be here and help us in our trouble.7027

If ever my father, Hyrtacus, brought offerings on my behalf7028

to your altars, if ever I added to them from my own hunting, 7029

hung them beneath your dome, or fixed them to the sacred eaves,7030

let me throw their troop into confusion, guide my spear through the air.’7031

He spoke and flung the steel, straining with his whole body.7032

The flying javelin divided the shadows, struck Sulmo’s back,7033

as he turned, and snapped, the broken shaft piercing the heart.7034

He rolled over, a hot stream pouring from his chest,7035

and deep gasps shook his sides, as he grew cold. 7036

They gazed round them, in every direction. See, Nisus, 7037

all the more eager, levelled another spear against his ear.7038

While they hesitated, the javelin hissed through both7039

of Tagus’s temples, and fixed itself still warm in the pierced7040

brain. Fierce Volcens raged, but could not spy out the author 7041

of the act, nor any place that he could vent his fire.7042

He rushed at Euryalus with his naked sword, as he7043

cried out: ‘In the mean time you’ll pay in hot blood 7044

and give me revenge for both your crimes.’7045

Then, truly maddened with fear, Nisus shouted aloud, unable7046

to hide himself in the dark any longer, or endure such agony:7047

On me, Rutulians, turn your steel on me, me who did the deed!7048

The guilt is all mine, he neither dared nor had the power:7049

the sky and the all-knowing stars be witnesses:7050

he only loved his unfortunate friend too much.’7051

He was still speaking, but the sword, powerfully driven,7052

passed through the ribs and tore the white breast.7053

Euryalus rolled over in death, and the blood flowed 7054

down his lovely limbs, and his neck, drooping, 7055

sank on his shoulder, like a bright flower scythed7056

by the plough, bowing as it dies, or a poppy weighed 7057

down by a chance shower, bending its weary head.7058

But Nisus rushed at them, seeking Volcens 7059

above all, intent on Volcens alone.7060

The enemy gathered round him, to drive him off,7061

in hand to hand conflict. He attacked none the less, whirling 7062

his sword like lightning, until he buried it full in the face7063

of the shrieking Rutulian, and, dying, robbed his enemy of life. 7064

Then, pierced through, he threw himself on the lifeless body7065

of his friend, and found peace at last in the calm of death.7066

Happy pair! If my poetry has the power, 7067

while the House of Aeneas lives beside the Capitol’s 7068

immobile stone, and a Roman leader rules the Empire,7069

no day will raze you from time’s memory.7070

The victorious Rutulians, gaining new plunder, and the spoils,7071

weeping carried the lifeless Volcens to the camp.7072

Nor was there less grief in that camp when Rhamnes7073

was discovered, drained of blood, and so many other leaders,7074

killed in a single slaughter, with Serranus and Numa. A huge 7075

crowd rushed towards the corpses and the dying, and the place7076

fresh with hot killing, and foaming streams full of blood. 7077

Between them they identified the spoils, Messapus’s 7078

gleaming helmet, and his trappings re-won with such sweat.7079

BkIX:460-524 Euryalus’s Mother Laments7080

And now Aurora, early, leaving Tithonus’s saffron bed, 7081

sprinkled her fresh rays onto the earth. And now7082

as the sun streamed down, now as day revealed all things,7083

Turnus armed himself, and roused his heroes to arms:7084

they gathered their bronze-clad troops for the battle,7085

each his own, and whetted their anger with various tales.7086

They even fixed the heads of Euryalus and Nisus 7087

on raised spears (wretched sight), and followed7088

behind them, making a great clamour.7089

The tough sons of Aeneas had fixed their opposing lines7090

on the left side of the ramparts (the right bordered on the river)7091

and they held the wide ditches and stood grieving 7092

on the high turrets: moved as one, made wretched by seeing the heads 7093

of men they know only too well transfixed and streaming dark blood.7094

Meanwhile winged Rumour, flying through the anxious town,7095

sped the news, and stole to the ears of Euryalus’s mother.7096

And suddenly all warmth left her helpless bones,7097

the shuttle was hurled from her hands, the thread unwound.7098

The wretched woman rushed out and sought the ramparts7099

and the front line, shrieking madly, her hair dishevelled:7100

she ignored the soldiers, the danger, the weapons, 7101

then she filled the heavens with her lament:’7102

‘Is it you I see, Euryalus? You who brought peace7103

at last to my old age, how could you bring yourself7104

to leave me alone, cruel child? Why did you not give 7105

your poor mother the chance for a final goodbye 7106

when you were being sent into so much danger?7107

Ah, you lie here in a strange land, given as prey to the carrion 7108

birds and dogs of Latium! I, your mother, did not escort you7109

in funeral procession, or close your eyes, or bathe your wounds, 7110

or shroud you with the robes I laboured at night and day 7111

for you, soothing the cares of old age at the loom.7112

Where shall I go? What earth now holds your body,7113

your torn limbs, your mangled corpse? My son, 7114

is this what you bring home to me? Is this why I followed you7115

by land and sea? O Rutulians, if you have feelings, pierce me: 7116

hurl all your spears at me: destroy me above all with your steel:7117

or you, great father of the gods, pity me, and with 7118

your lightning bolt, hurl this hated being down to Tartarus,7119

since I can shatter this cruel life no other way.’7120

This wailing shook their hearts, and a groan of sorrow swept 7121

them all: their strength for battle was numbed and weakened.7122

She was igniting grief and Idaeus and Actor, 7123

at Ilioneus’s order, with Iulus weeping bitterly, 7124

caught her up, and carried her inside in their arms. 7125

But the war-trumpet, with its bronze singing, rang out7126

its terrible sound, a clamour followed, that the sky re-echoed.7127

The Volscians, raising their shields in line, ran forward,7128

ready to fill in the ditches, and tear down the ramparts:7129

Some tried for an entrance, and to scale the wall with ladders,7130

where the ranks were thin, and a less dense cordon of men7131

allowed the light through. The Trojans accustomed to defending7132

their walls by endless warfare, hurled missiles at them7133

of every sort, and fended them off with sturdy poles.7134

They rolled down stones too, deadly weights, 7135

in the hope of breaking through the well-protected ranks,7136

which under their solid shields, however, rejoiced7137

in enduring every danger. But soon even they were inadequate7138

since the Trojans rolled a vast rock to where a large formation7139

threatened, and hurled it down, felling the Rutulians 7140

far and wide, and breaking their armoured shell. 7141

The brave Rutulians no longer cared to fight blindly, 7142

but tried to clear the ramparts with missiles.7143

Elsewhere, Mezentius, deadly to behold, brandished7144

Tuscan pine, and hurled smoking firebrands:7145

while Messapus, tamer of horses, scion of Neptune,7146

tore at the rampart, and called for scaling ladders.7147

BkIX:525-589 Turnus in Battle7148

I pray to you, O Calliope, Muses, inspire my singing7149

of the slaughter, the deaths Turnus dealt with his sword7150

that day, and who each warrior was, that he sent down to Orcus,7151

and open the lips of mighty war with me,7152

since, goddesses, you remember, and have the power to tell:7153

There was a turret, tall to look at, with high access-ways,7154

and a good position, that all the Italians tried with utmost power7155

to storm, and to dislodge with the utmost power of their efforts:7156

the Trojans in turn defended themselves with stones7157

and hurled showers of missiles through the open loopholes.7158

Turnus was first to throw a blazing torch and root the flames7159

in its flank, that, fanned by a strong wind, seized7160

the planking, and clung to the entrances they devoured.7161

The anxious men inside were afraid, and tried in vain7162

to escape disaster. While they clung together and retreated7163

to the side free from damage, the turret suddenly 7164

collapsed, and the whole sky echoed to the crash.7165

Half-dead they fell to earth, the huge mass following,7166

pierced by their own weapons, and their chests impaled 7167

on the harsh wood. Only Helenor and Lycus managed 7168

to escape: Helenor being in the prime of youth, one7169

whom a Licymnian slave had secretly borne to the Maeonian king,7170

and sent to Troy, with weapons he’d been forbidden,7171

lightly armed with naked blade, and anonymous white shield.7172

When he found himself in the midst of Turnus’s thousands,7173

Latin ranks standing to right and left of him,7174

as a wild creature, hedged in by a close circle of hunters,7175

rages against theirs weapons, and hurls itself, consciously, 7176

to death, and is carried by its leap on to the hunting spears,7177

so the youth rushed to his death among the enemy,7178

and headed for where the weapons appeared thickest.7179

But Lycus, quicker of foot, darting among the enemy7180

and their arms reached the wall, and tried to grasp 7181

the high parapet with his hands, to reach his comrades’ grasp.7182

Turnus following him closely on foot, with his spear,7183

taunted in triumph: ‘Madman, did you hope to escape7184

my reach?’ He seized him, there and then, as he hung,7185

and pulled him down, with a large piece of the wall,7186

like an eagle, carrier of Jove’s lightning bolt, soaring high,7187

lifting a hare or the snow-white body of a swan in its talons,7188

or a wolf, Mars’s creature, snatching a lamb from the fold,7189

that its mother searches for endlessly bleating. A shout rose7190

on all sides: the Rutulians drove forwards, some filling7191

the ditches with mounds of earth, others throwing burning brands7192

onto the roofs. Ilioneus felled Lucetius with a rock, a vast fragment7193

of the hillside, as he neared the gate, carrying fire, Liger7194

killed Emathion, Asilas killed Corynaeus, the first skilled 7195

with the javelin, the other with deceptive long-range arrows:7196

Caenus felled Ortygius, Turnus victorious Caeneus, and Itys7197

and Clonius, Dioxippus and Promolus, and Sagaris, and Idas7198

as he stood on the highest tower, and Capys killed Privernus.7199

Themillas had grazed him slightly first with his spear, foolishly7200

he threw his shield down, and placed his hand on the wound:7201

so the arrow winged silently, fixed itself deep in his left side,7202

and, burying itself within, tore the breathing passages 7203

with a lethal wound. Arcens son stood there too in glorious7204

armour, his cloak embroidered with scenes, bright with Spanish blue,7205

a youth of noble features, whom his father Arcens had sent,7206

reared in Mars’s grove by Symaethus’s streams,7207

where the rich and gracious altars of Palicus stand:7208

Mezentius, dropping his spears, whirled a whistling sling7209

on its tight thong, three times round his head, and split 7210

his adversary’s forehead open in the middle, with 7211

the now-molten lead, stretching him full length in the deep sand.7212

BkIX:590-637 Ascanius (Iulus) in Battle7213

Then they say Ascanius first aimed his swift arrows 7214

in war, used till now to terrify wild creatures in flight,7215

and with his hand he felled brave Numanus,7216

who was surnamed Remulus, and had 7217

lately won Turnus’s sister as his wife.7218

Numanus marched ahead of the front rank,7219

shouting words that were fitting and unfitting 7220

to repeat, his heart swollen with new-won royalty7221

and boasting loudly of his greatness:7222

‘Twice conquered Trojans aren’t you ashamed to be besieged7223

and shut behind ramparts again, fending off death with walls?7224

Behold, these are the men who’d demand our brides through war!7225

What god, what madness has driven you to Italy?7226

Here are no Atrides, no Ulysses, maker of fictions:7227

a race from hardy stock, we first bring our newborn sons 7228

to the river, and toughen them with the water’s fierce chill:7229

as children they keep watch in the chase, and weary the forest,7230

their play is to wheel their horses and shoot arrows from the bow:7231

but patient at work, and used to little, our young men7232

tame the earth with the hoe, or shake cities in battle.7233

All our life we’re abraded by iron: we goad our bullocks’7234

flanks with a reversed spear, and slow age7235

doesn’t weaken our strength of spirit, or alter our vigour:7236

we set a helmet on our white hairs, and delight7237

in collecting fresh spoils, and living on plunder.7238

You wear embroidered saffron and gleaming purple,7239

idleness pleases you, you delight in the enjoyment of dance,7240

and your tunics have sleeves, and your hats have ribbons.7241

O truly you Phrygian women, as you’re not Phrygian men,7242

run over the heights of Dindymus, where a double-reed7243

makes music for accustomed ears. The timbrels call to you,7244

and the Berecynthian boxwood flute of the Mother of Ida:7245

leave weapons to men and abandon the sword.’7246

Ascanius did not tolerate such boastful words and dire warnings,7247

but facing him, fitted an arrow to the horsehair string, and, 7248

straining his arms apart, paused, and first prayed humbly to Jove7249

making these vows: ‘All-powerful Jupiter, assent to my bold attempt.7250

I myself will bring gifts each year to your temple,7251

and I’ll place before your altar a snow-white bullock 7252

with gilded forehead, carrying his head as high as his mother,7253

already butting with his horns, and scattering sand with his hooves.’7254

The Father heard, and thundered on the left 7255

from a clear sky, as one the fatal bow twanged.7256

The taut arrow sped onwards with a dreadful hiss,7257

and passed through Remulus’s brow, and split the hollow7258

temples with its steel. ‘Go on, mock at virtue with proud words!7259

This is the reply the twice-conquered Phrygians send the Rutulians’:7260

Ascanius said nothing more. The Trojans followed this 7261

with cheers, shouted for joy, and raised their spirits to the skies.7262

BkIX:638-671 Apollo Speaks to Iulus7263

Now, by chance, long-haired Apollo, seated in the cloudy7264

skies, looked down on the Italian ranks and the town,7265

and spoke to the victorious Iulus as follows:7266

‘Blessings on your fresh courage, boy, scion of gods7267

and ancestor of gods yet to be, so it is man rises 7268

to the stars. All the wars that destiny might bring 7269

will rightly cease under the rule of Assaracus’s house,7270

Troy does not limit you.’ With this he launched himself7271

from high heaven, parted the living air, and found 7272

Ascanius: then changed the form of his features7273

to old Butes. He was once armour-bearer to Trojan 7274

Anchises, and faithful guardian of the threshold:7275

then Ascanius’s father made him the boy’s companion.7276

As he walked Apollo was like the old man in every way,7277

in voice and colouring, white hair, and clanging of harsh 7278

weapons, and he spoke these words to the ardent Iulus:7279

‘Enough, son of Aeneas, that Numanus has fallen to your bow7280

and is un-avenged. Mighty Apollo grants you this first glory,7281

and does not begrudge you your like weapons:7282

but avoid the rest of the battle, boy.’ So Apollo 7283

spoke and in mid-speech left mortal sight 7284

and vanished far from men’s eyes into clear air. 7285

The Trojan princes recognised the god and his celestial 7286

weapons, and heard his quiver rattling as he flew.7287

So, given the god’s words and his divine will, they stopped7288

Ascanius, eager for the fight, while themselves returning 7289

to the battle, and openly putting their lives at risk.7290

The clamour rang through the towers along the whole wall,7291

they bent their bows quickly and whirled their slings.7292

The whole earth was strewn with spears: shields and hollow7293

helmets clanged as they clashed together, the battle grew fierce: 7294

vast as a rainstorm from the west, lashing the ground 7295

beneath watery Auriga, and dense as the hail the clouds hurl7296

into the waves, when Jupiter, bristling with southerlies,7297

twirls the watery tempest, and bursts the sky’s cavernous vapours. 7298

BkIX:672-716 Turnus at the Trojan Gates7299

Pandarus and Bitias, sons of Alcanor from Ida, whom Iaera 7300

the wood-nymph bore in Jupiter’s grove, youths tall 7301

as the pine-trees on their native hills, threw open the gate7302

entrusted to them by their leader’s command, and, relying on7303

their weapons, drew the Rutulian enemy within the walls.7304

They themselves stood in the gate, in front of the towers to right7305

and left, steel armoured, with plumes waving on their noble heads:7306

just as twin oaks rise up into the air, by flowing rivers,7307

on the banks of the Po, or by delightful Athesis, lifting7308

their shaggy heads to the sky, and nodding their tall crowns.7309

When they saw the entrance clear the Rutulians rushed through.7310

At once Quercens and Aquicolus, handsome in his armour,7311

Tmarus, impulsive at heart, and Haemon, a son of Mars,7312

were routed with all their Rutulian ranks, and took to their heels,7313

or laid down their lives on the very threshold of the gate.7314

Then the anger grew fiercer in their fighting spirits,7315

and soon the Trojans gathering massed in the same place,7316

and dared to fight hand to hand, and advance further outside. 7317

The news reached Turnus, the Rutulian leader, as he raged7318

and troubled the lines in a distant part of the field, that the enemy,7319

hot with fresh slaughter, were laying their doors wide open.7320

He left what he had begun, and, roused to savage fury,7321

he ran towards the Trojan gate, and the proud brothers.7322

And first he brought Antiphates down with a spear throw,7323

(since he was first to advance), bastard son of noble Sarpedon7324

by a Theban mother: the Italian cornel-wood shaft flew through7325

the clear air and, fixing in his belly, ran deep up into his chest:7326

the hollow of the dark wound released a foaming flow,7327

and the metal became warm in the pierced lung.7328

Then he overthrew Meropes and Erymas with his hand,7329

and then Aphidnus, then Bitias, fire in his eyes, clamour7330

in his heart, not to a spear (he would never have lost his life7331

to a spear) but a javelin arrived with a great hiss, hurled7332

and driven like a thunderbolt, that neither two bulls’ hides 7333

nor the faithful breastplate with double scales of gold7334

could resist: the mighty limbs collapsed and fell,7335

earth groaned and the huge shield clanged above him.7336

So a rock pile sometimes falls on Baiae’s Euboic shore,7337

first constructed of huge blocks, then toppled into the sea:7338

as it falls it trails havoc behind, tumbles into the shallows7339

and settles in the depths: the sea swirls in confusion, 7340

and the dark sand rises upwards, then Procida’s 7341

lofty island trembles at the sound and Ischia’s isle’s7342

harsh floor, laid down over Typhoeus, at Jove’s command. 7343

BkIX:717-755 The Death of Pandarus7344

At this Mars, powerful in war, gave the Latins strength7345

and courage, and twisted his sharp goad in their hearts,7346

and sent Rout and dark Fear against the Trojans. 7347

Given the chance for action, the Latins came together7348

from every side, and the god of battle possessed their souls.7349

Pandarus, seeing his brother’s fallen corpse, and which side7350

fortune was on, and what fate was driving events,7351

pushed with a mighty heave of his broad shoulders7352

and swung the gate on its hinges, leaving many a comrade7353

locked outside the wall in the cruel conflict: but the rest7354

he greeted as they rushed in and shut in there, with himself,7355

foolishly, not seeing the Rutulian king bursting through7356

among the mass, freely closing him inside the town,7357

like a huge tiger among a helpless herd.7358

At once fresh fire flashed from Turnus’s eyes7359

his weapons clashed fearfully, the blood-red plumes7360

on his helmet quivered, and lightning glittered from his shield.7361

In sudden turmoil the sons of Aeneas recognised that hated form7362

and those huge limbs. Then great Pandarus sprang forward,7363

blazing with anger at his brother’s death, shouting:7364

This is not Queen Amata’s palace, given in dowry, or the heart 7365

of Ardea, surrounding Turnus with his native walls.7366

You see an enemy camp: you can’t escape from here.’7367

Turnus, smiling, his thoughts calm, replied to him:7368

‘Come then, if there’s courage in your heart, close with me:7369

you can go tell Priam that, here too, you found an Achilles.’7370

He spoke. Pandarus, straining with all his force, hurled 7371

his spear rough with knots and un-stripped bark:7372

the wind took it, Saturnian Juno deflected 7373

the imminent blow, and the spear stuck fast in the gate.7374

Turnus cried: ‘But you’ll not escape this weapon7375

my right arm wields with power, the source of this weapon 7376

and wound is not such as you.’: and he towered up, his sword7377

lifted, and, with the blade, cleft the forehead in two between 7378

the temples, down to the beardless jaw, in an evil wound.7379

There was a crash: the ground shook under the vast weight.7380

Pandarus, dying, lowered his failing limbs and brain-spattered7381

weapons to the ground, and his skull split in half 7382

hung down on either side over both his shoulders. 7383

BkIX:756-787 Turnus Slaughters the Trojans7384

The Trojans turned and fled in sudden terror,7385

and if Turnus had thought at once to burst the bolts7386

by force, and let in his comrades through the gates,7387

that would have been the end of the war and the nation.7388

But rage and insane desire for slaughter drove him,7389

passionate, against the enemy. First he caught Phaleris7390

and Gyges whom he hamstrung, then flung their spears,7391

which he seized, at the backs of the fleeing crowd.7392

Juno aided him in strength and spirit. He sent7393

Halys and Phegeus, his shield pierced, to join them, 7394

then Alcander and Halius, Noemon and Prytanis7395

unawares, as they roused those on the walls to battle.7396

As Lynceus calling to his comrades moved towards him,7397

he anticipated him with a stroke of his glittering sword7398

from the right-hand rampart, Lynceus’s head, severed7399

by the single blow at close quarters, fell to the ground7400

with the helmet some distance away. Then Amycus,7401

that threat to wild creatures, than whom none was better7402

at coating spears and arming steel with poison,7403

and Clytius, son of Aeolus, and Cretheus, friend to the Muses,7404

Cretheus the Muses’ follower, to whom song and lyre7405

and striking measures on the strings were always a delight,7406

always he sang of horses, of soldiers’ weapons and battles.7407

At last the Trojan leaders, Mnestheus and brave Serestus,7408

hearing of this slaughter of their men, arrived to see 7409

their troops scattered and the enemy within. 7410

Mnestheus shouted: ‘Where are you running to, off where?7411

What other walls or battlements do you have, but these? 7412

O citizens, shall one man, hemmed in on all sides by ramparts,7413

cause such carnage through this our city, and go unpunished? 7414

Shall he send so many of our noblest youths to Orcus?7415

Cowards, have you no pity, no shame, for your wretched 7416

country, for your ancient gods, for great Aeneas?’ 7417

BkIX:788-818 Turnus Is Driven Off7418

Inflamed by such words they were strengthened, and they halted,7419

densely packed. Turnus little by little retreated from the fight,7420

heading for the river, and a place embraced by the waves.7421

The Trojans pressed towards him more fiercely, with a great clamour,7422

and massed together, as a crowd of hunters with levelled spears7423

close in on a savage lion: that, fearful but fierce, glaring in anger,7424

gives ground, though fury and courage won’t let it turn its back,7425

nor will men and spears allow it to attack, despite its wish. 7426

So Turnus wavering retraced his steps 7427

cautiously, his mind seething with rage.7428

Even then he charged amongst the enemy twice,7429

and twice sent them flying a confused rabble along the walls:7430

but the whole army quickly gathered en masse from the camp,7431

and Saturnian Juno didn’t dare empower him against them,7432

since Jupiter sent Iris down through the air from heaven,7433

carrying no gentle commands for his sister, if Turnus did not leave7434

the high Trojan ramparts. Therefore the warrior, overwhelmed 7435

by so many missiles hurled from every side, couldn’t so much as 7436

hold his own with shield and sword-arm. The helmet protecting7437

his hollow temples rang with endless noise, the solid bronze gaped7438

from the hail of stones, his crest was torn off, and his shield-boss7439

couldn’t withstand the blows: the Trojans, with deadly Mnestheus 7440

himself, redoubled their rain of javelins. Then the sweat ran all over7441

Turnus’s body, and flowed in a dark stream (he’d no time to breathe)7442

and an agonised panting shook his exhausted body.7443

Then, finally, leaping headlong, he plunged down into the river7444

in full armour. The Tiber welcomed him to its yellow flood 7445

as he fell, lifted him on its gentle waves, and, washing away7446

the blood, returned him, overjoyed, to his friends.7447

BkX:1-95 The Council of the Gods7448

Meanwhile the palace of all-powerful Olympus7449

was opened wide, and the father of the gods, and king of men,7450

called a council in his starry house, from whose heights7451

he gazed at every land, at Trojan camp, and Latin people.7452

They took their seats in the hall with doors at east and west,7453

and he began: ‘Great sky-dwellers, why have you changed7454

your decision, competing now, with such opposing wills? 7455

I commanded Italy not to make war on the Trojans.7456

Why this conflict, against my orders? What fear7457

has driven them both to take up arms and incite violence?7458

The right time for fighting will arrive (don’t bring it on)7459

when fierce Carthage, piercing the Alps, will launch 7460

great destruction on the Roman strongholds:7461

then it will be fine to compete in hatred, and ravage things.7462

Now let it alone, and construct a treaty, gladly, as agreed.’7463

Jupiter’s speech was brief as this: but golden Venus’s reply was not:7464

‘O father, eternal judge of men and things7465

(for who else is there I can make my appeal to now?)7466

you see how the Rutulians exult, how Turnus is drawn7467

by noble horses through the crowd, and, fortunate in war,7468

rushes on proudly. Barred defences no longer protect the Trojans:7469

rather they join battle within the gates, and on the rampart 7470

walls themselves, and the ditches are filled with blood.7471

Aeneas is absent, unaware of this. Will you never let the siege7472

be raised? A second enemy once again menaces and harasses 7473

new-born Troy, and again, from Aetolian Arpi, a Diomede rises.7474

I almost think the wound I had from him still awaits me:7475

your child merely delays the thrust of that mortal’s weapon.7476

If the Trojans sought Italy without your consent, and despite7477

your divine will, let them expiate the sin: don’t grant them help.7478

But if they’ve followed the oracles of powers above and below,7479

why should anyone change your orders now, and forge new destinies?7480

Shall I remind you of their fleet, burned on the shores of Eryx?7481

Or the king of the storms and his furious winds roused 7482

from Aeolia, or Iris sent down from the clouds?7483

Now Juno even stirs the dead (the only lot still left to use)7484

and Allecto too, suddenly loosed on the upper world,7485

runs wild through all the Italian cities.7486

I no longer care about Empire. Though that was my hope7487

while fortune was kind. Let those you wish to win prevail.7488

Father, if there’s no land your relentless queen will grant the Trojans,7489

I beg, by the smoking ruins of shattered Troy, let me bring7490

Ascanius, untouched, from among the weapons: let my grandson live.7491

Aeneas, yes, may be tossed on unknown seas, and go7492

wherever Fortune grants a road: but let me have the power7493

to protect the child and remove him from the fatal battle.7494

Amathus is mine, high Paphos and Cythera are mine,7495

and Idalia’s temple: let him ground his weapons there,7496

and live out inglorious years. Command that Carthage,7497

with her great power, crush Italy: then there’ll be 7498

no obstacle to the Tyrian cities. What was the use in their escaping7499

the plague of war, fleeing through the heart of Argive flames,7500

enduring the dangers at sea, and in desolate lands,7501

as long as the Trojans seek Latium and Troy re-born?7502

Wouldn’t it have been better to build on those last embers7503

of their country, on the soil where Troy once stood?7504

Give Xanthus and Simois back to these unfortunates, 7505

father, I beg you, and let the Trojans re-live the course of Ilium.’7506

Then royal Juno goaded to savage frenzy, cried out:7507

‘Why do you make me shatter my profound silence,7508

and utter words of suffering to the world?7509

Did any god or man force Aeneas to make war7510

and attack King Latinus as an enemy?7511

He sought Italy prompted by the Fates (so be it)7512

impelled by Cassandra’s ravings: was he urged by me7513

to leave the camp, and trust his life to the winds?7514

To leave the outcome of war, and their defences to a child:7515

to disturb Tuscan good faith, and peaceful tribes?7516

What goddess, what harsh powers of mine drove him7517

to harm? Where is Juno in this, or Iris sent from the clouds?7518

If it’s shameful that the Italians surround new-born Troy7519

with flames, and Turnus make a stand on his native soil,7520

he whose ancestor is Pilumnus, divine Venilia his mother:7521

what of the Trojans with smoking brands using force against the Latins,7522

planting their yoke on others’ fields and driving off their plunder?7523

Deciding whose daughters to marry, and dragging betrothed girls7524

from their lover’s arms, offering peace with one hand, 7525

but decking their ships with weapons? You can steal7526

Aeneas away from Greek hands and grant them fog and empty air7527

instead of a man, and turn their fleet of ships into as many nymphs:7528

is it wrong then for me to have given some help to the Rutulians?7529

“Aeneas is absent, unaware of this.” Let him be absent and unaware.7530

Paphos, Idalium, and high Cythera are yours? Why meddle then7531

with a city pregnant with wars and fierce hearts?7532

Is it I who try to uproot Troy’s fragile state from its base? 7533

Is it I? Or he who exposed the wretched Trojans to the Greeks?7534

What reason was there for Europe and Asia to rise up7535

in arms, and dissolve their alliance, through treachery?7536

Did I lead the Trojan adulterer to conquer Sparta?7537

Did I give him weapons, or foment a war because of his lust?7538

Then, you should have feared for your own: now, too late,7539

you raise complaints without justice, and provoke useless quarrels.’7540

BkX:96-117 Jupiter Leaves the Outcome to Fate7541

So Juno argued, and all the divinities of heaven murmured7542

their diverse opinions, as when rising gales murmur in the woods7543

and roll out their secret humming, warning sailors of coming storms. 7544

Then the all-powerful father, who has prime authority over things,7545

began (the noble hall of the gods fell silent as he spoke,7546

earth trembled underground, high heaven fell silent,7547

the Zephyrs too were stilled, the sea calmed its placid waters).7548

‘Take my words to heart and fix them there. 7549

Since Italians and Trojans are not allowed to join 7550

in alliance, and your disagreement has no end,7551

I will draw no distinction between them, Trojan or Rutulian,7552

whatever luck each has today, whatever hopes they pursue,7553

whether the camp’s under siege, because of Italy’s fortunes,7554

or Troy’s evil wanderings and unhappy prophecies.7555

Nor will I absolve the Rutulians. What each has instigated7556

shall bring its own suffering and success. Jupiter is king of all, 7557

equally: the fates will determine the way.’ He nodded, 7558

swearing it by the waters of his Stygian brother, 7559

by the banks that seethe with pitch, and the black chasm7560

and made all Olympus tremble at his nod.7561

So the speaking ended. Jupiter rose from his golden throne,7562

and the divinities led him to the threshold, among them.7563

BkX:118-162 Aeneas Returns From Pallantium7564

Meanwhile the Rutulians gathered round every gate,7565

to slaughter the men, and circle the walls with flames,7566

while Aeneas’s army was held inside their stockade,7567

imprisoned, with no hope of escape. Wretchedly they stood7568

there on the high turrets, and circling the walls, a sparse ring.7569

Asius, son of Imbrasus, Thymoetes, son of Hicetaon,7570

the two Assaraci, and Castor with old Thymbris were the front rank:7571

Sarpedon’s two brothers, Clarus and Thaemon, from noble Lycia, 7572

were at their side. Acmon of Lyrnesus, no less huge than his father 7573

Clytius, or his brother Mnestheus, lifted a giant rock, 7574

no small fragment of a hillside, straining his whole body.7575

Some tried to defend with javelins, some with stones,7576

hurling fire and fitting arrows to the bow.7577

See, the Trojan boy, himself, in their midst, 7578

Venus’s special care, his handsome head uncovered,7579

sparkling like a jewel set in yellow gold 7580

adorning neck or forehead, gleaming like ivory, 7581

inlaid skilfully in boxwood or Orician terebinth: 7582

his milk-white neck, and the circle of soft gold7583

clasping it, received his flowing hair. 7584

Your great-hearted people saw you too Ismarus,7585

dipping reed-shafts in venom, and aiming them 7586

to wound, from a noble Lydian house, there where men7587

till rich fields, that the Pactolus waters with gold. There was 7588

Mnestheus as well, whom yesterday’s glory, of beating 7589

Turnus back from the wall’s embankment, exalted highly, 7590

and Capys: from him the name of the Campanian city comes.7591

Men were fighting each other in the conflict of bitter war:7592

while Aeneas, by night, was cutting through the waves.7593

When, on leaving Evander and entering the Tuscan camp,7594

he had met the king, announced his name and race,7595

the help he sought, and that he himself offered, 7596

what forces Mezentius was gathering to him, 7597

and the violence in Turnus’s heart, and then had warned7598

how little faith can be placed in human powers,7599

and had added his entreaties, Tarchon, joined forces with him7600

without delay, and agreed a treaty: then fulfilling their fate7601

the Lydian people took to their ships by divine command,7602

trusting to a ‘foreign’ leader. Aeneas’s vessel took the van,7603

adorned with Phrygian lions below her beak, Mount Ida 7604

towering above them, a delight to the exiled Trojans.7605

There great Aeneas sat and pondered the varying issues7606

of the war, and Pallas sticking close to his left side, asked him7607

now about the stars, their path through the dark night,7608

and now about his adventures on land and sea.7609

BkX:163-214 The Leaders of the Tuscan Fleet7610

Now, goddesses, throw Helicon wide open: begin your song7611

of the company that followed Aeneas from Tuscan shores,7612

arming the ships and riding over the seas.7613

Massicus cut the waters at their head, in the bronze-armoured Tiger,7614

a band of a thousand warriors under him, leaving the walls7615

of Clusium, and the city of Cosae, whose weapons are arrows,7616

held in light quivers over their shoulders, and deadly bows.7617

Grim Abas was with him: whose ranks were all splendidly 7618

armoured, his ship aglow with a gilded figure of Apollo.7619

Populonia, the mother-city, had given him six hundred7620

of her offspring, all expert in war, and the island of Ilva, rich 7621

with the Chalybes’ inexhaustible mines, three hundred.7622

Asilas was third, that interpreter of gods and men,7623

to whom the entrails of beasts were an open book, the stars7624

in the sky, the tongues of birds, the prophetic bolts of lightning.7625

He hurried his thousand men to war, dense ranks bristling with spears.7626

Pisa ordered them to obey, city of Alphean foundation,7627

set on Etruscan soil. Then the most handsome Astur7628

followed, Astur relying on horse and iridescent armour.7629

Three hundred more (minded to follow as one) were added 7630

by those with their home in Caere, the fields 7631

by the Minio, ancient Pyrgi, unhealthy Graviscae. 7632

I would not forget you, Cunerus, in war the bravest 7633

Ligurian leader, or you with your small company, Cupavo, 7634

on whose crest the swan plumes rose, a sign of your father’s 7635

transformation (Cupid, your and your mother’s crime).7636

For they say that Cycnus wept for his beloved Phaethon,7637

singing amongst the poplar leaves, those shades of Phaethon’s7638

sisters, consoling his sorrowful passion with the Muse,7639

and drew white age over himself, in soft plumage,7640

relinquishing earth, and seeking the stars with song.7641

His son, Cupavo, drove on the mighty Centaur, following 7642

the fleet, with troops of his own age: the figurehead towered 7643

over the water, threatening from above to hurl a huge rock 7644

into the waves, the long keel ploughing through the deep ocean.7645

Ocnus, also, called up troops from his native shores,7646

he, the son of Manto the prophetess and the Tuscan river,7647

who gave you your walls, Mantua, and his mother’s name,7648

Mantua rich in ancestors, but not all of one race:7649

there were three races there, under each race four tribes,7650

herself the head of the tribes, her strength from Tuscan blood.7651

From there too Mezentius drove five hundred to arm against him,7652

lead in pine warships through the sea by a figure, the River Mincius, 7653

the child of Lake Benacus, crowned with grey-green reeds.7654

Aulestes ploughed on weightily, lashing the waves as he surged7655

to the stroke of a hundred oars: the waters foamed as the surface churned.7656

He sailed the huge Triton, whose conch shell alarmed the blue waves,7657

it’s carved prow displayed a man’s form down to the waist, 7658

as it sailed on, its belly ending in a sea-creature’s, while 7659

under the half-man’s chest the waves murmured with foam.7660

Such was the count of princes chosen to sail in the thirty ships7661

to the aid of Troy, and plough the salt plains with their bronze rams.7662

BkX:215-259 The Nymphs of Cybele7663

Now daylight had vanished from the sky and kindly Phoebe7664

was treading mid-heaven with her nocturnal team:7665

Aeneas (since care allowed his limbs no rest) sat there7666

controlling the helm himself, and tending the sails.7667

And see, in mid-course, a troop of his own friends7668

appeared: the nymphs, whom gracious Cybele7669

had commanded to be goddesses of the sea,7670

to be nymphs not ships, swam beside him and cut the flood,7671

as many as the bronze prows that once lay by the shore.7672

They knew the king from far off, and circled him dancing:7673

and Cymodocea, following, most skilful of them in speech, 7674

caught at the stern with her right hand, lifted her length herself, 7675

and paddled along with her left arm under the silent water.7676

Then she spoke to the bemused man, so: ‘Are you awake, Aeneas,7677

child of the gods? Be awake: loose the sheets: make full sail.7678

We are your fleet, now nymphs of the sea, once pines of Ida, 7679

from her sacred peak. Against our will we broke our bonds7680

when the treacherous Rutulian was pressing us hard,7681

with fire and sword, and we have sought you over the waves.7682

Cybele, the Mother, refashioned us in this form, from pity,7683

granting that we became goddesses, spending life under the waves.7684

Now, your son Ascanius is penned behind walls and ditches,7685

among weapons, and Latins bristling for a fight.7686

The Arcadian Horse, mixed with brave Etruscans already hold7687

the positions commanded: while Turnus’s certain purpose7688

is to send his central squadrons against them, lest they reach the camp.7689

Up then, in the rising dawn, call your friends with an order7690

to arm, and take your invincible shield that the lord of fire7691

gave you himself, that he circled with a golden rim.7692

If you don’t think my words idle, tomorrow’s light7693

will gaze on a mighty heap of Rutulian dead.’7694

She spoke, and, knowing how, with her right hand, 7695

thrust the high stern on, as she left: it sped through the waves7696

faster than a javelin, or an arrow equalling the wind.7697

Then the others quickened speed. Amazed, the Trojan son7698

of Anchises marvelled, yet his spirits lifted at the omen.7699

Then looking up to the arching heavens he briefly prayed:7700

‘Kind Cybele, Mother of the gods, to whom Dindymus,7701

tower-crowned cities, and harnessed lions are dear,7702

be my leader now in battle, duly further this omen,7703

and be with your Trojans, goddess, with your favouring step.’7704

He prayed like this, and meanwhile the wheeling day7705

rushed in with a flood of light, chasing away the night:7706

first he ordered his comrades to obey his signals,7707

prepare their spirits for fighting, and ready themselves for battle.7708

BkX:260-307 Aeneas Reaches Land7709

Now, he stood on the high stern, with the Trojans and his fort7710

in view, and at once lifted high the blazing shield, in his left hand.7711

The Trojans on the walls raised a shout to the sky, new hope 7712

freshened their fury, they hurled their spears, just as Strymonian7713

cranes under dark clouds, flying through the air, give noisy 7714

cries, and fleeing the south wind, trail their clamour.7715

This seemed strange to the Rutulian king and the Italian7716

leaders, until looking behind them they saw the fleet 7717

turned towards shore, and the whole sea alive with ships.7718

Aeneas’s crest blazed, and a dark flame streamed from the top,7719

and the shield’s gold boss spouted floods of fire:7720

just as when comets glow, blood-red and ominous in the clear night,7721

or when fiery Sirius, bringer of drought and plague 7722

to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light.7723

Still, brave Turnus did not lose hope of seizing the shore first,7724

and driving the approaching enemy away from land.7725

And he raised his men’s spirits as well, and chided them:7726

‘What you asked for in prayer is here, to break through 7727

with the sword. Mars himself empowers your hands, men!7728

Now let each remember his wife and home, now recall7729

the great actions, the glories of our fathers. And let’s 7730

meet them in the waves, while they’re unsure and 7731

their first steps falter as they land. Fortune favours the brave.’7732

So he spoke, and asked himself whom to lead in attack7733

and whom he could trust the siege of the walls. 7734

Meanwhile Aeneas landed his allies from the tall ships7735

using gangways. Many waited for the spent wave to ebb7736

and trusted themselves to the shallow water: others rowed.7737

Tarchon, noting a strand where no waves heaved 7738

and no breaking waters roared, but the sea swept in7739

smoothly with the rising tide, suddenly turned 7740

his prow towards it, exhorting his men: 7741

‘Now, O chosen band, bend to your sturdy oars:7742

lift, drive your boats, split this enemy shore 7743

with your beaks, let the keel itself plough a furrow.7744

I don’t shrink from wrecking the ship in such a harbour7745

once I’ve seized the land.’ When Tarchon had finished7746

speaking so, his comrades rose to the oars and drove 7747

their foam-wet ships onto the Latin fields,7748

till the rams gained dry ground and all the hulls7749

came to rest unharmed. But not yours, Tarchon,7750

since, striking the shallows, she hung on an uneven ridge7751

poised for a while, unbalanced, and, tiring the waves,7752

broke and pitched her crew into the water,7753

broken oars and floating benches obstructed them7754

and at the same time the ebbing waves sucked at their feet.7755

BkX:308-425 The Pitched Battle7756

But the long delay didn’t keep Turnus back: swiftly he moved7757

his whole front against the Trojans, and stood against them on the shore.7758

The trumpets sounded. Aeneas, first, attacked the ranks 7759

of farmers, as a sign of battle, and toppled the Latins,7760

killing Theron, noblest of men, who unprompted 7761

sought out Aeneas. The sword drank from his side, pierced7762

through the bronze joints, and the tunic scaled with gold.7763

Then he struck Lichas, who had been cut from the womb7764

of his dead mother and consecrated to you, Phoebus: why7765

was he allowed to evade the blade at birth? Soon after,7766

he toppled in death tough Cisseus, and huge Gyas, as they7767

laid men low with their clubs: Hercules’s weapons 7768

were no help, nor their stout hands nor Melampus their father,7769

Hercules’s friend, while earth granted him heavy labours.7770

See, Aeneas hurled his javelin as Pharus uttered 7771

words in vain, and planted it in his noisy gullet.7772

You too, unhappy Cydon, as you followed Clytius, your new 7773

delight, his cheeks golden with youthful down, you too7774

would have fallen beneath the Trojan hand, and lain there, 7775

wretched, free of that love of youth that was ever yours, 7776

had the massed ranks of your brothers, not opposed him,7777

the children of Phorcus, seven in number, seven the spears7778

they threw: some glanced idly from helmet and shield,7779

some gentle Venus deflected, so they only grazed 7780

his body. Aeneas spoke to faithful Achates:7781

‘Supply me with spears, those that lodged in the bodies7782

of Greeks on Ilium’s plain: my right hand won’t hurl7783

any at these Rutulians in vain.’ Then he grasped a great javelin7784

and threw it: flying on, it crashed through the bronze7785

of Maeon’s shield, smashing breastplate and breast in one go.7786

His brother Alcanor was there, supporting his brother 7787

with his right arm as he fell: piercing the arm, the spear 7788

flew straight on, keeping its blood-wet course, 7789

and the lifeless arm hung by the shoulder tendons.7790

Then Numitor, ripping the javelin from his brother’s body,7791

aimed at Aeneas: but he could not strike at him 7792

in return, and grazed great Achates’s thigh.7793

Now Clausus of Cures approached, relying on his youthful7794

strength, and hit Dryopes under the chin from a distance away,7795

with his rigid spear, driven with force, and, piercing his throat 7796

as he spoke, took his voice and life together: he hit the ground7797

with his forehead, and spewed thick blood from his mouth.7798

Clausus toppled, in various ways, three Thracians too, 7799

of Boreas’s exalted race, and three whom Idas their father 7800

and their native Ismarus sent out. Halaesus ran to join him,7801

and the Auruncan Band, and Messapus, Neptune’s scion,7802

with his glorious horses. Now one side, now the other strained7803

to push back the enemy: the struggle was at the very 7804

threshold of Italy. As warring winds, equal in force 7805

and purpose, rise to do battle in the vast heavens7806

and between them neither yield either clouds or sea:7807

the battle is long in doubt, all things stand locked in conflict:7808

so the ranks of Troy clashed with the Latin ranks,7809

foot against foot, man pressed hard against man.7810

But in another place, where a torrent had rolled and scattered 7811

boulders, with bushes torn from the banks, far and wide,7812

Pallas, seeing his Arcadians unused to charging in ranks7813

on foot turning to run from the pursuing Latins, because 7814

the nature of the ground, churned by water, had persuaded them to leave7815

their horses for once, now with prayers, and now with bitter words,7816

the sole recourse in time of need, fired their courage:7817

‘Friends, where are you running to? Don’t trust to flight,7818

by your brave deeds, by King Evander’s name,7819

and the wars you’ve won, and my hopes, now seeking7820

to emulate my father’s glory. We must hack a way through7821

the enemy with our swords. Your noble country calls you7822

and your leader Pallas, to where the ranks of men are densest.7823

No gods attack us. We are mortals driven before a mortal foe:7824

we have as many lives, as many hands as they do.7825

Look, the ocean closes us in with a vast barrier of water,7826

there’s no land left to flee to: shall we seek the seas or Troy?’7827

He spoke, and rushed into the midst of the close-packed enemy.7828

Lagus met him first, drawn there by a hostile fate.7829

As he tore at a huge weight of stone, Pallas pierced him 7830

where the spine parts the ribs in two, with the spear he hurled,7831

and plucked out the spear again as it lodged in the bone.7832

Nor did Hisbo surprise him from above, hopeful though he was,7833

since, as he rushed in, raging recklessly at his friend’s cruel death,7834

Pallas intercepted him first, and buried his sword in his swollen chest.7835

Next Pallas attacked Sthenius, and Anchemolus, of Rhoetus’s7836

ancient line, who had dared to violate his step-mother’s bed.7837

You, twin brothers, also fell in the Rutulian fields, Laridus7838

and Thymber, the sons of Daucus, so alike you were 7839

indistinguishable to kin, and a dear confusion to your parents:7840

but now Pallas has given you a cruel separateness.7841

For Evander’s sword swept off your head, Thymber:7842

while your right hand, Laridus, sought its owner,7843

and the dying fingers twitched and clutched again at the sword.7844

Fired by his rebuke and seeing his glorious deeds, a mixture 7845

of remorse and pain roused the Arcadians against their enemy. 7846

Then Pallas pierced Rhoetus as he shot past in his chariot.7847

Ilus gained that much time and that much respite,7848

since he had launched his solid spear at Ilus from far off,7849

which Rhoetus received, as he fled from you, noble Teuthras7850

and your brother Tyres, and rolling from the chariot7851

he struck the Rutulian fields with his heels as he died.7852

As in summer, when a hoped-for wind has risen,7853

the shepherd sets scattered fires in the woods,7854

the spaces between catch light, and Vulcan’s bristling 7855

ranks extend over the broad fields, while the shepherd sits7856

and gazes down in triumph over the joyful flames:7857

so all your comrades’ courage united as one 7858

to aid you Pallas. But Halaesus, fierce in war,7859

advanced against them and gathered himself behind his shield.7860

He killed Ladon, Pheres and Demodocus, struck off7861

Strymonius’s right hand, raised towards his throat,7862

with his shining sword, and smashed Thoas in the face 7863

with a stone, scattering bone mixed with blood and brain.7864

Halaesus’s father, prescient of fate, had hidden him in the woods:7865

but when, in white-haired old age, the father closed his eyes in death,7866

the Fates laid their hands on Halaesus and doomed him7867

to Evander’s spear. Pallas attacked him first praying:7868

‘Grant luck to the spear I aim to throw, father Tiber, 7869

and a path through sturdy Halaesus’s chest. Your oak7870

shall have the these weapons and the soldier’s spoils.’7871

The god heard his prayer: while Halaesus covered Imaon7872

he sadly exposed his unshielded chest to the Arcadian spear.7873

BkX:426-509 The Death of Pallas7874

But Lausus, a powerful force in the war, would not allow7875

his troops to be dismayed by the hero’s great slaughter:7876

first he killed Abas opposite, a knotty obstacle in the battle.7877

The youth of Arcadia fell, the Etruscans fell, and you, 7878

O Trojans, men not even destroyed by the Greeks.7879

The armies met, equal in leadership and strength:7880

the rear and front closed ranks, and the crush prevented7881

weapons or hands from moving. Here, Pallas pressed and urged,7882

there Lausus opposed him, not many years between them,7883

both of outstanding presence, but Fortune had denied them7884

a return to their country. Yet the king of great Olympos7885

did not allow them to meet face to face: their fate 7886

was waiting for them soon, at the hand of a greater opponent.7887

Meanwhile Turnus’s gentle sister Juturna adjured him to help 7888

Lausus, and he parted the ranks between in his swift chariot.7889

When he saw his comrades he cried: ‘It’s time to hold back7890

from the fight: it’s for me alone to attack Pallas, Pallas 7891

is mine alone: I wish his father were here to see it.’7892

And his comrades drew back from the field as ordered.7893

When the Rutulians retired, then the youth, amazed at that proud7894

command, marvelled at Turnus, casting his eyes over 7895

the mighty body, surveying all of him from the distance 7896

with a fierce look, and answered the ruler’s words with these:7897

‘I’ll soon be praised for taking rich spoils, or for a glorious death:7898

my father is equal to either fate for me: away with your threats.’7899

So saying he marched down the centre of the field: 7900

the blood gathered, chill, in Arcadian hearts.7901

Turnus leapt from his chariot, preparing to close on foot,7902

and the sight of the advancing Turnus, was no different7903

than that of a lion, seeing from a high point a bull far off 7904

on the plain contemplating battle, and rushing down.7905

But Pallas came forward first, when he thought Turnus might 7906

be within spear-throw, so that chance might help him, in venturing7907

his unequal strength, and so he spoke to the mighty heavens:7908

‘I pray you, Hercules, by my father’s hospitality and the feast7909

to which you came as a stranger, assist my great enterprise.7910

Let me strip the blood-drenched armour from his dying limbs,7911

and let Turnus’s failing sight meet its conqueror.’7912

Hercules heard the youth, and stifled a heavy sigh 7913

deep in his heart, and wept tears in vain.7914

Then Jupiter the father spoke to Hercules, his son,7915

with kindly words: ‘Every man has his day, the course7916

of life is brief and cannot be recalled: but virtue’s task7917

is this, to increase fame by deeds. So many sons of gods7918

fell beneath the high walls of Troy, yes, and my own son7919

Sarpedon among them: fate calls even for Turnus,7920

and he too has reached the end of the years granted to him.’7921

So he spoke, and turned his eyes from the Rutulian fields.7922

Then Pallas threw his spear with all his might,7923

and snatched his gleaming sword from its hollow sheath.7924

The shaft flew and struck Turnus, where the top of the armour7925

laps the shoulder, and forcing a way through the rim7926

of his shield at last, even grazed his mighty frame.7927

At this, Turnus hurled his oak spear tipped 7928

with sharp steel, long levelled at Pallas, saying:7929

‘See if this weapon of mine isn’t of greater sharpness.’7930

The spear-head, with a quivering blow, tore through7931

the centre of his shield, passed through all the layers 7932

of iron, of bronze, all the overlapping bull’s-hide,7933

piercing the breastplate, and the mighty chest.7934

Vainly he pulled the hot spear from the wound:7935

blood and life followed, by one and the same path.7936

He fell in his own blood (his weapons clanged over him)7937

and he struck the hostile earth in death with gory lips.7938

Then Turnus, standing over him, cried out: 7939

‘Arcadians, take note, and carry these words of mine7940

to Evander: I return Pallas to him as he deserves.7941

I freely give whatever honours lie in a tomb, whatever7942

solace there is in burial. His hospitality to Aeneas7943

will cost him greatly.’ So saying he planted his left foot on the corpse,7944

and tore away the huge weight of Pallas’s belt, engraved 7945

with the Danaids’ crime: that band of young men foully murdered7946

on the same wedding night: the blood-drenched marriage chambers:7947

that Clonus, son of Eurytus had richly chased in gold.7948

Now Turnus exulted at the spoil, and gloried in winning.7949

Oh, human mind, ignorant of fate or fortune to come,7950

or of how to keep to the limits, exalted by favourable events!7951

The time will come for Turnus when he’d prefer to have bought7952

an untouched Pallas at great price, and will hate those spoils7953

and the day. So his friends crowded round Pallas with many 7954

groans and tears, and carried him back, lying on his shield.7955

O the great grief and glory in returning to your father:7956

that day first gave you to warfare, the same day took you from it,7957

while nevertheless you left behind vast heaps of Rutulian dead!7958

BkX:510-605 Aeneas Rages In Battle7959

Now not merely a rumour of this great evil, but a more trustworthy7960

messenger flew to Aeneas, saying that his men were a hair’s breadth 7961

from death, that it was time to help the routed Trojans. Seeking you,7962

Turnus, you, proud of your fresh slaughter, he mowed down 7963

his nearest enemies, with the sword, and fiercely drove a wide path7964

through the ranks with its blade. Pallas, Evander, all was before 7965

his eyes, the feast to which he had first come as a stranger,7966

the right hands pledged in friendship. Then he captured7967

four youths alive, sons of Sulmo, and as many reared 7968

by Ufens, to sacrifice to the shades of the dead, and sprinkle7969

the flames of the pyre with the prisoners’ blood. 7970

Next he aimed a hostile spear at Magus from a distance:7971

Magus moved in cleverly, and the spear flew over him, quivering,7972

and he clasped the hero’s knees as a suppliant, and spoke as follows:7973

‘I beg you, by your father’s shade, by your hope in your boy 7974

Iulus, preserve my life, for my son and my father.7975

I have a noble house: talents of chased silver lie buried there:7976

I have masses of wrought and unwrought gold. Troy’s victory7977

does not rest with me: one life will not make that much difference.’7978

Aeneas replied to him in this way: ‘Keep those many talents7979

of silver and gold you mention for your sons. Turnus, before we spoke,7980

did away with the courtesies of war, the moment he killed Pallas.7981

So my father Anchises’s spirit thinks, so does Iulus.’7982

Saying this he held the helmet with his left hand and, bending7983

the suppliant’s neck backwards, drove in his sword to the hilt.7984

Haemon’s son, a priest of Apollo and Diana, was not far away,7985

the band with its sacred ribbons circling his temples, and all 7986

his robes and emblems shining white. Aeneas met him and drove him7987

over the plain, then, standing over the fallen man, killed him and cloaked7988

him in mighty darkness: Serestus collected and carried off 7989

his weapons on his shoulders, a trophy for you, King Gradivus.7990

Caeculus, born of the race of Vulcan, and Umbro 7991

who came from the Marsian hills restored order, 7992

the Trojan raged against them: his sword sliced off Anxur’s7993

left arm, it fell to the ground with the whole disc of his shield7994

(Anxur had shouted some boast, trusting the power 7995

of words, lifting his spirit high perhaps, promising7996

himself white-haired old age and long years):7997

then Tarquitus nearby, proud in his gleaming armour,7998

whom the nymph Dryope had born to Faunus of the woods,7999

exposed himself to fiery Aeneas. He, drawing back his spear,8000

pinned the breastplate and the huge weight of shield together:8001

then as the youth begged in vain, and tried to utter a flow of words,8002

he struck his head to the ground and, rolling the warm trunk over,8003

spoke these words above him, from a hostile heart:8004

‘Lie there now, one to be feared. No noble mother will bury you8005

in the earth, nor weight your limbs with an ancestral tomb:8006

you’ll be left for the carrion birds, or, sunk in the abyss,8007

the flood will bear you, and hungry fish suck your wounds.’8008

Then he caught up with Antaeus, and Lucas, in Turnus’s8009

front line, brave Numa and auburn Camers, son of noble Volcens,8010

the wealthiest in Ausonian land, who ruled silent Amyclae.8011

Once his sword was hot, victorious Aeneas raged 8012

over the whole plain, like Aegeaon, who had a hundred 8013

arms and a hundred hands they say, and breathed fire8014

from fifty chests and mouths, when he clashed 8015

with as many like shields of his and drew as many swords8016

against Jove’s lightning-bolts. See now he was headed 8017

towards the four horse team of Niphaeus’s chariot 8018

and the opposing front. And when the horses saw him taking 8019

great strides in his deadly rage, they shied and galloped in fear,8020

throwing their master, and dragging the chariot to the shore.8021

Meanwhile Lucagus and his brother Liger entered the fray8022

in their chariot with two white horses: Liger handling 8023

the horses’ reins, fierce Lucagus waving his naked sword.8024

Aeneas could not tolerate such furious hot-headedness:8025

he rushed at them, and loomed up gigantic with levelled spear.8026

Liger said to him: ‘These are not Diomedes’s horses 8027

that you see, nor Achille’s chariot, nor Phrygia’s plain:8028

now you’ll be dealt an end to your war and life.’ 8029

Such were the words that flew far, from foolish8030

Liger’s lips. But the Trojan hero did not ready 8031

words in reply, he hurled his spear then against his enemies.8032

While Lucagus urged on his horses, leaning forward8033

towards the spear’s blow, as, with left foot advanced,8034

he prepared himself for battle, the spear entered the lower 8035

rim of his bright shield, then pierced the left thigh:8036

thrown from the chariot he rolled on the ground in death:8037

while noble Aeneas spoke bitter words to him:8038

‘Lucagus, it was not the flight of your horses in fear that betrayed8039

your chariot, or the enemy’s idle shadow that turned them:8040

it was you, leaping from the wheels, who relinquished the reins.’ 8041

So saying he grasped at the chariot: the wretched brother, 8042

Liger, who had fallen as well, held, out his helpless hands:8043

‘Trojan hero, by your own life, by your parents who bore8044

such a son, take pity I beg you, without taking this life away.’ 8045

As he begged more urgently, Aeaneas said: ‘Those were not8046

the words you spoke before. Die and don’t let brother desert brother.’8047

Then he sliced open his chest where the life is hidden.8048

Such were the deaths the Trojan leader caused across 8049

that plain, raging like a torrent of water or a dark8050

tempest. At last his child, Ascanius, and the men 8051

who were besieged in vain, breaking free, left the camp.8052

BkX:606-688 Juno Withdraws Turnus from the Fight8053

Meanwhile Jupiter, unasked, spoke to Juno:8054

‘O my sister, and at the same time my dearest wife,8055

as you thought (your judgement is not wrong)8056

it is Venus who sustains the Trojans’ power, 8057

not their own right hands, so ready for war,8058

nor their fierce spirits, tolerant of danger.’8059

Juno spoke submissively to him: ‘O loveliest of husbands8060

why do you trouble me, who am ill, and fearful of your 8061

harsh commands? If my love had the power it once had,8062

that is my right, you, all-powerful, would surely not8063

deny me this, to withdraw Turnus from the conflict8064

and save him, unharmed, for his father, Daunus.8065

Let him die then, let him pay the Trojans in innocent blood.8066

Yet he derives his name from our line: Pilumnus 8067

was his ancestor four generations back, and often weighted8068

your threshold with copious gifts from a lavish hand.’8069

The king of heavenly Olympus briefly replied to her like this:8070

‘If your prayer is for reprieve from imminent death8071

for your doomed prince, and you understand I so ordain it,8072

take Turnus away, in flight, snatch him from oncoming fate:8073

there’s room for that much indulgence. But if thought8074

of any greater favour hides behind your prayers, and you think8075

this whole war may be deflected or altered, you nurture a vain hope.’8076

And Juno, replied, weeping: ‘Why should your mind not grant8077

what your tongue withholds, and life be left to Turnus?8078

Now, guiltless, a heavy doom awaits him or I stray empty8079

of truth. Oh, that I might be mocked by false fears, 8080

and that you, who are able to, might harbour kinder speech!8081

When she had spoken these words, she darted down at once8082

from high heaven through the air, driving a storm before her,8083

and wreathed in cloud, and sought the ranks of Ilium 8084

and the Laurentine camp. Then from the cavernous mist8085

the goddess decked out a weak and tenuous phantom,8086

in the likeness of Aeneas, with Trojan weapons (a strange8087

marvel to behold), simulated his shield, and the plumes8088

on his godlike head, gave it insubstantial speech,8089

gave it sound without mind, and mimicked the way 8090

he walked: like shapes that flit, they say, after death, 8091

or dreams that in sleep deceive the senses. 8092

And the phantom flaunted itself exultantly8093

in front of the leading ranks, provoking Turnus 8094

with spear casts, and exasperating him with words. 8095

Turnus ran at it, and hurled a hissing spear 8096

from the distance: it turned its heels in flight.8097

Then, as Turnus thought that Aeneas had retreated8098

and conceded, and in his confusion clung to this idle hope 8099

in his mind, he cried: ‘Where are you off to, Aeneas?8100

Don’t desert your marriage pact: this hand of mine8101

will grant you the earth you looked for over the seas.’8102

He pursued him, calling loudly, brandishing his naked sword,8103

not seeing that the wind was carrying away his glory.8104

It chanced that the ship, in which King Osinius sailed8105

from Clusium’s shores, was moored to a high stone pier,8106

with ladders released and gangway ready. The swift phantom8107

of fleeing Aeneas sank into it to hide, and Turnus followed 8108

no less swiftly, conquering all obstacles and leapt 8109

up the high gangway. He had barely reached the prow8110

when Saturn’s daughter snapped the cable,8111

and, snatching the ship, swept it over the waters.8112

Then the vague phantom no longer tried to hide8113

but, flying into the air, merged with a dark cloud.8114

Meanwhile Aeneas himself was challenging his missing enemy8115

to battle: and sending many opposing warriors to their deaths,8116

while the storm carried Turnus over the wide ocean.8117

Unaware of the truth, and ungrateful for his rescue,8118

he looked back and raised clasped hands and voice to heaven:8119

‘All-powerful father, did you think me so worthy of punishment,8120

did you intend me to pay such a price? Where am I being taken?8121

From whom am I escaping? Why am I fleeing: how will I return?8122

Will I see the walls and camp of Laurentium again?8123

What of that company of men that followed me, and my standard?8124

Have I left them all (the shame of it) to a cruel death,8125

seeing them scattered now, hearing the groans as they fall?8126

What shall I do? Where is the earth that could gape 8127

wide enough for me? Rather have pity on me, O winds:8128

Drive the ship on the rocks, the reefs (I, Turnus, beg you, freely)8129

or send it into the vicious quicksands, where no Rutulian,8130

nor any knowing rumour of my shame can follow me?8131

So saying he debated this way and that in his mind,8132

whether he should throw himself on his sword, mad8133

with such disgrace, and drive the cruel steel through his ribs,8134

or plunge into the waves, and, by swimming, gain 8135

the curving bay, and hurl himself again at the Trojan weapons.8136

Three times he attempted each: three times great Juno8137

held him back, preventing him from heartfelt pity. He glided on, 8138

with the help of wave and tide, cutting the depths, 8139

and was carried to his father Daunus’s ancient city.8140

BkX:689-754 Mezentius Rages in Battle8141

But meanwhile fiery Mezentius, warned by Jupiter,8142

took up the fight, and attacked the jubilant Trojans.8143

The Etruscan ranks closed up, and concentrated8144

all their hatred, and showers of missiles, on him alone.8145

He (like a vast cliff that juts out into the vast deep,8146

confronting the raging winds, and exposed to the waves,8147

suffering the force and threat of sky and sea,8148

itself left unshaken) felled Hebrus, son of Dolichaon,8149

to the earth, with him were Latagus and swift Palmus,8150

but he anticipated Latagus, with a huge fragment of rock8151

from the hillside in his mouth and face, while he hamstrung8152

Palmus and left him writhing helplessly: he gave Lausus the armour 8153

to protect his shoulders, and the plumes to wear on his crest.8154

He killed Evanthes too, the Phrygian, and Mimas, Paris’s8155

friend and peer, whom Theano bore to his father Amycus8156

on the same night Hecuba, Cisseus’s royal daughter, pregnant8157

with a firebrand, gave birth to Paris: Paris lies in the city 8158

of his fathers, the Laurentine shore holds the unknown Mimas.8159

And as a boar, that piny Vesulus has sheltered 8160

for many years and Laurentine marshes have nourished8161

with forests of reeds, is driven from the high hills, 8162

by snapping hounds, and halts when it reaches the nets,8163

snorts fiercely, hackles bristling, no one brave enough 8164

to rage at it, or approach it, but all attacking it with spears, 8165

and shouting from a safe distance: halts, unafraid,8166

turning in every direction, grinding its jaws,8167

and shaking the spears from its hide: so none of those 8168

who were rightly angered with Mezentius had the courage 8169

to meet him with naked sword, but provoked him 8170

from afar with their missiles, and a mighty clamour.8171

Acron, a Greek had arrived there from the ancient lands8172

of Corythus, an exile, his marriage ceremony left incomplete.8173

When Mezentius saw him in the distance, embroiled8174

among the ranks, with crimson plumes, and in purple robes8175

given by his promised bride, he rushed eagerly into the thick8176

of the foe, as a ravenous lion often ranges the high coverts8177

(since a raging hunger drives it) and exults, with vast gaping jaws,8178

if it chances to see a fleeing roe-deer, or a stag with immature horns,8179

then clings crouching over the entrails, with bristling mane,8180

its cruel mouth stained hideously with blood.8181

Wretched Acron fell, striking the dark earth with his heels8182

in dying, drenching his shattered weapons with blood.8183

And he did not even deign to kill Orodes as he fled,8184

or inflict a hidden wound with a thrust of his spear:8185

he ran to meet him on the way, and opposed him man to man,8186

getting the better of him by force of arms not stealth.8187

Then setting his foot on the fallen man, and straining at his spear,8188

he called out: ‘Soldiers, noble Orodes lies here, he was no small part8189

of this battle.’ His comrades shouted, taking up the joyful cry:8190

Yet Orodes, dying, said: ‘Whoever you are, winner here, 8191

I’ll not go unavenged, nor will you rejoice for long: 8192

a like fate watches for you: you’ll soon lie in these same fields.’8193

Mezentius replied, grinning with rage: ‘Die now,8194

as for me, the father of gods and king of men will see to that.’8195

So saying he withdrew his spear from the warrior’s body.8196

Enduring rest, and iron sleep, pressed on Orodes’s eyes,8197

and their light was shrouded in eternal night.8198

Caedicus killed Alcathous: Sacrator killed Hydapses:8199

Rapo killed Parthenius, and Orses of outstanding strength.8200

Messapus killed Clonius, and Ericetes, son of Lycaon,8201

one lying on the ground fallen from his bridle-less horse,8202

the other still on his feet. Lycian Agis had advanced his feet8203

but Valerus overthrew him, with no lack of his ancestors’ skill:8204

Salius killed Thronius, and Nealces, famed for the javelin,8205

and the deceptive long-distance arrow, in turn killed Salcius.8206

BkX:755-832 The Death of Mezentius’s Son, Lausus8207

Now grievous War dealt grief and death mutually:8208

they killed alike, and alike they died, winners and losers,8209

and neither one nor the other knew how to flee.8210

The gods in Jupiter’s halls pitied the useless anger of them both,8211

and that such pain existed for mortal beings:8212

here Venus gazed down, here, opposite, Saturnian Juno.8213

Pale Tisiphone raged among the warring thousands. 8214

And now Mezentius shaking his mighty spear,8215

advanced like a whirlwind over the field. Great as Orion,8216

when he strides through Ocean’s deepest chasms, forging a way,8217

his shoulders towering above the waves, or carrying 8218

an ancient manna ash down from the mountain heights, 8219

walking the earth, with his head hidden in the clouds,8220

so Mezentius advanced in his giant’s armour.8221

Aeneas, opposite, catching sight of him in the far ranks8222

prepared to go and meet him. Mezentius stood there unafraid,8223

waiting for his great-hearted enemy, firm in his great bulk:8224

and measuring with his eye what distance would suit his spear,8225

saying: ‘Now let this right hand that is my god, and the weapon8226

I level to throw, aid me! I vow that you yourself, Lausus, as token8227

of my victory over Aeneas, shall be dressed in the spoils stripped 8228

from that robber’s corpse.’ He spoke, and threw the hissing spear 8229

from far out. But, flying on, it glanced from the shield, 8230

and pierced the handsome Antores, nearby, between flank8231

and thigh, Antores, friend of Hercules, sent from Argos8232

who had joined Evander, and settled in an Italian city.8233

Unhappy man, he fell to a wound meant for another, 8234

and dying, gazing at the sky, remembered sweet Argos.8235

Then virtuous Aeneas hurled a spear: it passed through 8236

Mezentius’s curved shield of triple-bronze, through linen, 8237

and the interwoven layers of three bull’s hides, and lodged8238

deep in the groin, but failed to drive home with force.8239

Aeneas, joyful at the sight of the Tuscan blood, 8240

snatched the sword from his side, and pressed 8241

his shaken enemy hotly. Lausus, seeing it, groaned heavily8242

for love of his father, and tears rolled down his cheeks – 8243

and here I’ll not be silent, for my part, about your harsh death,8244

through fate, nor, if future ages place belief in such deeds, your actions, 8245

so glorious, nor you yourself, youth, worthy of remembrance – 8246

his father was retreating, yielding ground, helpless,8247

hampered, dragging the enemy lance along with his shield.8248

The youth ran forward, and plunged into the fray,8249

and, just as Aeneas’s right hand lifted to strike a blow,8250

he snatched at the sword-point, and checked him in delay:8251

his friends followed with great clamour, and, with a shower 8252

of spears, forced the enemy to keep his distance till the father8253

could withdraw, protected by his son’s shield.8254

Aeneas raged, but kept himself under cover.8255

As every ploughman and farmer runs from the fields8256

when storm-clouds pour down streams of hail,8257

and the passer by shelters in a safe corner, under a river 8258

bank or an arch of high rock, while the rain falls to earth, 8259

so as to pursue the day’s work when the sun returns:8260

so, overwhelmed by missiles from every side, 8261

Aeneas endured the clouds of war, while they all thundered,8262

and rebuked Lausus, and threatened Lausus, saying:8263

‘Why are you rushing to death, with courage beyond your strength?8264

Your loyalty’s betraying you to foolishness.’ Nevertheless8265

the youth raged madly, and now fierce anger rose higher8266

in the Trojan leader’s heart, and the Fates gathered together8267

the last threads of Lausus’s life. For Aeneas drove his sword8268

firmly through the youth’s body, and buried it to the hilt:8269

the point passed through his shield, too light for his threats,8270

and the tunic of soft gold thread his mother had woven,8271

blood filled its folds: then life left the body and fled, 8272

sorrowing, through the air to the spirits below.8273

And when Anchises’s son saw the look on his dying face,8274

that face pale with the wonderment of its ending,8275

he groaned deeply with pity and stretched out his hand,8276

as that reflection of his own love for his father touched 8277

his heart. ‘Unhappy child, what can loyal Aeneas grant8278

to such a nature, worthy of these glorious deeds of yours?8279

Keep the weapons you delighted in: and if it is something you are8280

anxious about, I return you to the shades and ashes of your ancestors. 8281

This too should solace you, unhappy one, for your sad death:8282

you died at the hands of great Aeneas.’ Also he rebuked 8283

Lausus’s comrades, and lifted their leader from the earth, 8284

where he was soiling his well-ordered hair with blood.8285

BkX:833-908 The Death of Mezentius8286

Meanwhile the father, Mezentius, staunched his wounds8287

by the waters of Tiber’s river, and rested his body 8288

by leaning against a tree trunk. His bronze helmet hung8289

on a nearby branch, and his heavy armour lay peacefully on the grass.8290

The pick of his warriors stood around: he himself, weak and panting8291

eased his neck, his flowing beard streaming over his chest.8292

Many a time he asked for Lausus, and many times sent men 8293

to carry him a sorrowing father’s orders and recall him.8294

But his weeping comrades were carrying the dead Lausus, 8295

on his armour, a great man conquered by a mighty wound.8296

The mind prescient of evil, knew their sighs from far off.8297

Mezentius darkened his white hair with dust, and lifted8298

both hands to heaven, clinging to the body:8299

‘My son, did such delight in living possess me,8300

that I let you face the enemy force in my place,8301

you whom I fathered? Is this father of yours alive8302

through your death, saved by your wounds? Ah, now at last 8303

my exile is wretchedly driven home: and my wound, deeply!8304

My son, I have also tarnished your name by my crime,8305

driven in hatred from my fathers’ throne and sceptre.8306

I have long owed reparation to my country and my people’s hatred:8307

I should have yielded my guilty soul to death in any form!8308

Now I live: I do not leave humankind yet, or the light,8309

but I will leave.’ So saying he raised himself weakly on his thigh,8310

and, despite all, ordered his horse to be brought, though his strength8311

ebbed from the deep wound. His mount was his pride, 8312

and it was his solace, on it he had ridden victorious from every battle.8313

He spoke to the sorrowful creature, in these words:8314

‘Rhaebus, we have lived a long time, if anything lasts long8315

for mortal beings. Today you will either carry the head of Aeneas,8316

and his blood-stained spoils, in victory, and avenge Lausus’s pain8317

with me, or die with me, if no power opens that road to us:8318

I don’t think that you, the bravest of creatures, will deign8319

to suffer a stranger’s orders or a Trojan master.’8320

He spoke, then, mounting, disposed his limbs as usual,8321

and weighted each hand with a sharp javelin,8322

his head gleaming with bronze, bristling with its horsehair crest.8323

So he launched himself quickly into the fray. In that one heart8324

a vast flood of shame and madness merged with grief.8325

And now he called to Aeneas in a great voice.8326

Aeneas knew him and offered up a joyous prayer:8327

‘So let the father of the gods himself decree it, so8328

noble Apollo! You then begin the conflict….’8329

He spoke those words and moved against him with level spear.8330

But Mezentius replied: ‘How can you frighten me, most savage 8331

of men, me, bereft of my son? That was the only way you could8332

destroy me: I do not shrink from death, or halt for any god.8333

Cease, since I come here to die, and bring you, first,8334

these gifts.’ He spoke, and hurled a spear at his enemy:8335

then landed another and yet another, wheeling 8336

in a wide circle, but the gilded shield withstood them.8337

He rode three times round his careful enemy, widdershins,8338

throwing darts from his hand: three times the Trojan hero8339

dragged round the huge thicket of spears fixed in his bronze shield.8340

Then tired of all that drawn-out delay, and burdened 8341

by the unequal conflict, he thought hard, and finally broke free,8342

hurling his spear straight between the war horse’s curved temples.8343

The animal reared, and lashed the air with its hooves,8344

and throwing its rider, followed him down, from above,8345

entangling him, collapsing headlong onto him, its shoulder thrown.8346

Trojans and Latins ignited the heavens with their shouts.8347

Aeneas ran to him, plucking his sword from its sheath8348

and standing over him, cried: ‘Where is fierce Mezentius, now,8349

and the savage force of that spirit?’ The Tuscan replied, as, lifting8350

his eyes to the sky, and gulping the air, he regained his thoughts:8351

‘Bitter enemy, why taunt, or threaten me in death?8352

There is no sin in killing: I did not come to fight believing so,8353

nor did my Lausus agree any treaty between you and me.8354

I only ask, by whatever indulgence a fallen enemy might claim,8355

that my body be buried in the earth. I know that my people’s8356

fierce hatred surrounds me: protect me, I beg you, 8357

from their anger, and let me share a tomb with my son.’8358

So he spoke, and in full awareness received the sword in his throat,8359

and poured out his life, over his armour, in a wave of blood.8360

BkXI:1-99 Aeneas Mourns Pallas8361

Meanwhile Dawn rose and left the ocean waves:8362

though Aeneas’s sorrow urged him to spend his time8363

on his comrades’ burial, and his mind was burdened by death,8364

as victor, at first light, he discharged his vows to the gods.8365

He planted a great oak trunk, its branches lopped all round,8366

on a tumulus, and decked it out as a trophy to you, great god of war, 8367

in the gleaming armour stripped from the leader, Mezentius: 8368

he fastened the crests to it, dripping with blood, the warrior’s8369

broken spears, and the battered breastplate, pierced 8370

in twelve places: he tied the bronze shield to its left side, 8371

and hung the ivory-hilted sword from its neck.8372

Then he began to encourage his rejoicing comrades:8373

‘We have done great things, men: banish all fear of what’s left8374

to do: these are the spoils of a proud king, the first fruits of victory,8375

and this is Mezentius, fashioned by my hands.8376

Now our path is towards King Latinus and his city walls.8377

Look to your weapons, spiritedly, make war your expectation,8378

so when the gods above give us the sign to take up our standards,8379

and lead out our soldiers from the camp, no delay may halt us8380

unawares, or wavering purpose hold us back through fear.8381

Meanwhile let us commit to earth the unburied bodies8382

of our friends, the only tribute recognised in Acheron’s depths.8383

Go,’ he said, ‘grace these noble spirits with your last gifts,8384

who have won this country for us with their blood,8385

and first let Pallas’s body be sent to Evander’s grieving city,8386

he, whom a black day stole, though no way lacking8387

in courage, and plunged in death’s bitterness.’8388

So he spoke, weeping, and retraced his steps to the threshold8389

where Pallas’s lifeless corpse was laid, watched8390

by old Acoetes, who before had been armour-bearer8391

to Arcadian Evander, but then, under less happy auspices,8392

set out as the chosen guardian for his dear foster-child.8393

All the band of attendants, and the Trojan crowd, stood around,8394

and the Ilian women, hair loosened as customary in mourning.8395

As Aeneas entered the tall doorway they struck 8396

their breasts, and raised a great cry to the heavens, 8397

and the royal pavilion rang with sad lamentation. 8398

When he saw the pillowed face and head of Pallas,8399

pale as snow, and the open wound of the Ausonian spear8400

in his smooth chest, he spoke, his tears rising:8401

‘Unhappy child, when Fortune entered smiling was it she8402

who begrudged you to me, so that you would not see 8403

my kingdom, or ride, victorious, to your father’s house? 8404

This was not the last promise I made your father, Evander,8405

on leaving, when he embraced me, sending me off8406

to win a great empire, and warned me with trepidation8407

that the enemy were brave, a tough race.8408

And now, greatly deluded by false hopes, he perhaps8409

is making vows, piling the altars high with gifts,8410

while we, grieving, follow his son in vain procession,8411

one who no longer owes any debt to the gods.8412

Unhappy one, you will see the bitter funeral of your child!8413

Is this how we return, is this our hoped-for triumph?8414

Is this what my great promise amounted to? 8415

Yet, Evander, your eyes will not see a son struck down8416

with shameful wounds, nor be a father praying for death,8417

accursed because your son came home alive. Alas, how great8418

was the protector, who is lost to you, Ausonia, and you, Iulus.’8419

When he had ended his lament, he ordered them to lift8420

the sad corpse, and he sent a thousand men, chosen8421

from the ranks, to attend the last rites, and share the father’s tears,8422

a meagre solace for so great a grief, but owed a father’s sorrow.8423

Others, without delay, interwove the frame of a bier 8424

with twigs of oak, and shoots of arbutus, shading 8425

the bed they constructed with a covering of leaves.8426

Here they placed the youth high on his rustic couch:8427

like a flower plucked by a young girl’s fingers,8428

a sweet violet or a drooping hyacinth, whose brightness8429

and beauty have not yet faded, but whose native earth 8430

no longer nourishes it, or gives it strength.8431

Then Aeneas brought two robes of rigid gold and purple8432

that Sidonian Dido had made for him once, with her own hands,8433

delighting in the labour, interweaving the fabric with gold thread.8434

Sorrowing, he draped the youth with one of these as a last honour,8435

and veiled that hair, which would be burned, with its cloth,8436

and heaped up many gifts as well from the Laurentine battle8437

and ordered the spoils to be carried in a long line:8438

he added horses and weapons stripped from the enemy.8439

He had the hands of those he sent as offerings to the shades,8440

to sprinkle the flames with blood in dying, bound behind their backs,8441

and ordered the leaders themselves to carry tree-trunks8442

draped with enemy weapons, with the names of the foe attached.8443

Unhappy Acoetes, wearied with age, was led along, 8444

now bruising his chest with his fists, now marring his face 8445

with his nails, until he fell, full-length on the ground:8446

and they led chariots drenched with Rutulian blood.8447

Behind went the war-horse, Aethon, without his trappings,8448

mourning, wetting his face with great tear drops.8449

Others carried Pallas’s spear and helmet, the rest Turnus8450

held as victor. Then a grieving procession followed,8451

Trojans, Etruscans, and Arcadians with weapons reversed.8452

When all the ranks of his comrades had advanced far ahead,8453

Aeneas halted, and added this, with a deep sigh:8454

‘This same harsh fate of warfare calls me from here8455

to other weeping: my salute for eternity to you, noble Pallas,8456

and for eternity, farewell.’ Without speaking more he turned8457

his steps toward the camp and headed for the walls.8458

BkXI:100-138 Aeneas Offers Peace8459

And now ambassadors, shaded with olive branches, 8460

came from the Latin city, seeking favours: they asked him 8461

to return the bodies of men, felled by the sword, overflowing 8462

the plain, and allow them to be buried under a mound of earth.8463

there could be no quarrel with the lost, devoid of the light:8464

let him spare those who were once hosts and fathers of brides.8465

Aeneas courteously granted prayers he could not refuse,8466

and added these words as well: ‘Latins, what shameful 8467

mischance has entangled you in a war like this, 8468

so that you fly from being our friends? Do you 8469

seek peace for your dead killed by fate in battle?8470

I would gladly grant it to the living too. I would not8471

be here, if fate had not granted me a place, a home,8472

nor do I wage war on your people: your king abandoned 8473

our friendship, and thought Turnus’s army greater.8474

It would have been more just for Turnus himself to meet 8475

this death. If he seeks to end the war by force, and drive out8476

the Trojans, he should have fought me with these weapons, he 8477

whom the gods, or his right hand granted life, would have survived. 8478

Now go and light the fires for your unfortunate countrymen.’8479

Aeneas had spoken. They were silent, struck dumb,8480

and kept their faces and their gaze fixed on one another.8481

Then Drances, an elder, always hostile to young Turnus,8482

shown in his dislike and reproaches, replied in turn, so:8483

‘O, Trojan hero, great in fame, greater in battle,8484

how can I praise you to the skies enough? Should I 8485

wonder first at your justice, or your efforts in war?8486

Indeed we will gratefully carry these words back 8487

to our native city, and if Fortune offers a way, we will8488

ally you to our king. Let Turnus seek treaties for himself.8489

It will be a delight even to raise those massive walls8490

and lift the stones of Troy on our shoulders.’8491

He spoke, and they all murmured assent with one voice.8492

They fixed a twelve day truce, and with peace as mediator,8493

Trojans and Latins wandered together, in safety, 8494

through the wooded hills. The tall ash rang to the two-edged axe,8495

they felled pine-trees towering to the heavens, and they never 8496

ceased splitting the oaks, and fragrant cedars, with wedges,8497

or carrying away the manna ash in rumbling wagons.8498

BkXI:139-181 Evander Mourns Pallas8499

And now Rumour filled Evander’s ears, and the palace’s 8500

and the city’s, flying there, bringing news of that great grief:8501

Rumour, that a moment since was carrying Pallas’s victory8502

to Latium. The Arcadians ran to the gates, and following 8503

ancient custom, seized torches for the funeral: the road shone8504

with the long ranks of flames, parting the distant fields.8505

The Trojan column, approaching, merged its files of mourners8506

with them. When the women saw them nearing 8507

the houses, grief set the city ablaze with its clamour.8508

But no force could restrain Evander, and he ran into their midst,8509

flung himself on Pallas’s body, once the bier was set down,8510

clinging to it with tears and groans, till at last, he spoke,8511

his grief scarcely allowing a path for his voice:8512

‘O Pallas, this was not the promise you made your father,8513

that you would enter this savage war with caution.8514

I am not ignorant how great new pride in weapons8515

can be, and honour won in a first conflict is very sweet.8516

Alas for the first fruits of your young life, and your8517

harsh schooling in a war so near us, and for my vows8518

and prayers unheard by any god! Happy were you, O my 8519

most sacred Queen, in a death that saved you from this sorrow!8520

I, by living on, have exceeded my fate, to survive as father8521

without son. I should have marched with the allied armies 8522

of Troy and been killed by those Rutulian spears! I should have8523

given my life, and this pomp should have carried me, not Pallas, home!8524

Yet I do not blame you, Trojans, or our treaty, or the hands8525

we clasped in friendship: my white hairs are the cause of this.8526

And if an untimely death awaited my son it is my joy that he fell8527

leading the Trojans into Latium, killing Volscians in thousands.8528

Indeed, Pallas, I thought you worthy of no other funeral 8529

than this that virtuous Aeneas, the great Phyrgians, 8530

the Etruscan leaders and all the Etruscans chose. 8531

Those, whom your right hand dealt death to, bring great trophies:8532

Turnus, you too would be standing here, a vast tree-trunk hung with8533

weapons, if years and mature strength had been alike in both.8534

But why in my unhappiness do I keep the Trojans from war? 8535

Go, and remember to take this message to your king:8536

if I prolong a life that’s hateful to me, now Pallas is dead,8537

it’s because you know your right hand owes father and son 8538

the death of Turnus. That is the one path of kindness to me 8539

and success for you that lies open. I don’t ask for joy while alive,8540

(that’s not allowed me) but to carry it to my son deep among the shades.’8541

BkXI:182-224 The Funeral Pyres8542

Dawn, meanwhile, had raised her kindly light on high8543

for wretched men, calling them again to work and toil:8544

now Aeneas the leader, now Tarchon, had erected pyres8545

on the curving bay. Here according to ancestral custom they each 8546

brought the bodies of their people, and as the gloomy fires 8547

were lit beneath, the high sky was veiled in a dark mist.8548

Three times they circled the blazing piles, clad in gleaming8549

armour, three times they rounded the mournful 8550

funeral flames on horseback, and uttered wailing cries.8551

Tears sprinkled the earth, and sprinkled the armour,8552

the clamour of men and blare of trumpets climbed to the heavens.8553

Then some flung spoils, stripped from the slaughtered Latins,8554

onto the fire, helmets and noble swords, bridles and swift wheels:8555

others, gifts familiar to the dead, their shields and luckless weapons.8556

Many head of cattle were sacrificed round these, to Death.8557

They cut the throats of bristling boars, and flocks culled 8558

from the whole country, over the flames. Then they watched 8559

their comrades burn, all along the shore, and kept guard 8560

over the charred pyres, and could not tear themselves away8561

till dew-wet night wheeled the sky round, inset with shining stars.8562

Elsewhere too the wretched Latins built innumerable pyres.8563

Some of the many corpses they buried in the earth, some they took8564

and carried to the fields nearby, or sent onwards to the city. 8565

The rest, a vast pile of indiscriminate dead, they burnt8566

without count, and without honours: then the wide fields8567

on every side shone thick with fires, in emulation.8568

The third dawn dispelled chill shadows from the sky:8569

grieving, they raked the bones, mixed with a depth of ash,8570

from the pyres, and heaped a mound of warm earth over them.8571

Meanwhile, the main clamour, and the heart of their prolonged 8572

lamentation, was inside the walls, in the city of rich Latinus.8573

Here mothers and unhappy daughters-in-law, here the loving hearts8574

of grieving sisters, and boys robbed of their fathers, cursed the dreadful8575

war, and the marriage Turnus had intended, and demanded that he 8576

and he alone should fight it out with armour and blade, he who 8577

claimed for himself the kingdom of Italy, and the foremost honours.8578

Cruelly, Drances added to this and testified that Turnus alone8579

was summoned, that he alone was challenged to battle.8580

At the same time many an opinion in varied words was against it,8581

and for Turnus, and the Queen’s noble name protected him,8582

while his great fame, and the trophies he’d earned, spoke for him. 8583

BkXI:225-295 An Answer From Arpi8584

Amongst this stir, at the heart of the blaze of dissension,8585

behold, to crown it all, the ambassadors brought an answer8586

from Diomedes’s great city, sad that nothing had been achieved8587

at the cost of all their efforts, presents and gold 8588

and heartfelt prayers had been useless, the Latins must find8589

other armies or seek peace with the Trojan king.8590

King Latinus sank beneath this vast disappointment.8591

The angry gods and the fresh graves before his eyes, had given8592

warning that this fateful Aeneas was clearly sent by divine will. 8593

So, summoning his high council, the leaders of his people, 8594

by royal command, he gathered them within his tall gates.8595

They convened, streaming to the king’s palace, through8596

the crowded streets. Latinus, the oldest and most powerful,8597

seated himself at their centre, with no pleasure in his aspect.8598

And he ordered the ambassadors, back from the Aetolian city,8599

to tell their news, asking for all the answers in order.8600

Then all tongues fell silent, and, obeying 8601

his order, Venulus began as follows:8602

‘O citizens, we have seen Diomedes and his Argive camp,8603

completed our journey, overcome all dangers,8604

and grasped that hand by which the land of Troy fell.8605

As victor over the Iapygian fields, by the Garganus hills, he was8606

founding the city of Argyripa, named after his father’s people.8607

When we had entered, and were given leave to speak to him8608

in person, we offered our gifts, and declared our name and country:8609

who had made war on us: and what had brought us to Arpi.8610

He listened and replied in this way with a calm look:8611

“O fortunate nations, realms of Saturn, ancient peoples8612

of Ausonia, what fortune troubles your peace8613

and persuades you to invite base war?8614

We who violated the fields of Troy with our blades,8615

(forgetting what we endured in battle beneath her high walls,8616

or those warriors Simois drowned) have paid in atrocious suffering,8617

and every kind of punishment, for our sins, throughout the world,8618

a crew that even Priam would have pitied: Minerva’s dark star8619

and that cliff of Euboea, Caphereus the avenger, know it. 8620

Menelaus, son of Atreus, driven from that warfare to distant shores,8621

was exiled as far as Egypt, and the Pillars of Proteus,8622

while Ulysses has viewed the Cyclopes of Aetna.8623

Even Mycenean Agamemnon, leader of the mighty Greeks,8624

was struck down at the hand of his wicked wife, when barely8625

over the threshold: he conquered Asia, but an adulterer lurked.8626

Need I speak of the kingdom of Neoptolemus, Idomeneus’s8627

household overthrown, or the Locrians living on Libya’s coast?8628

How the gods begrudged me my return to my country’s 8629

altars: the wife I longed for: and lovely Calydon?8630

Even now visitations pursue me, dreadful to see:8631

my lost comrades, as birds, sought the sky with their wings8632

or haunt the streams (alas a dire punishment for my people!)8633

and fill the cliffs with their mournful cries.8634

This was the fate I should have expected from that moment8635

when, in madness, I attacked Venus’s heavenly body8636

with my sword, and harmed her hand by wounding it.8637

Do not, in truth, do not urge me to such conflict. Since Troy’s 8638

towers have fallen I have no quarrel with Teucer’s race,8639

nor have I joyful memories of those ancient evils.8640

Take the gifts your bring me, from your country,8641

to Aeneas. I have withstood his cruel weapons and fought him8642

hand to hand: trust my knowledge of how he looms8643

tall above his shield, with what power he hurls his spear. 8644

Had the Troad produced two other men like him, 8645

the Trojans would have reached the Greek cities,8646

and Greece would be grieving, their fates reversed. 8647

During all that time we spent facing the walls of enduring Troy8648

a Greek victory was stalled at the hands of Hector 8649

and Aeneas, and denied us till the tenth year.8650

Both were outstanding in courage and weaponry:8651

Aeneas was first in virtue. Join hands with him in confederation,8652

as best you can, but beware of crossing swords with him.”8653

Noblest of kings, you have heard, in one, what their king replies8654

and what his counsels are concerning this great war.’8655

BkXI:296-335 Latinus’s Proposal8656

The ambassadors had scarcely finished speaking when diverse 8657

murmurs passed swiftly among the troubled Italian faces, just as8658

when rocks detain a flowing river a muttering rises from the imprisoned8659

eddies, and the banks, that border it echo with splashing waves. 8660

As soon as thoughts were calmer and anxious lips were quiet, the king8661

began to speak, from his high throne, first calling on the gods:8662

‘Latins, I wish we had decided on this vital matter before now,8663

and it would have been better not to convene the council at such8664

a moment, when the enemy is settled in front of our walls. 8665

Citizens we are waging a wrong-headed war with a divine race,8666

unconquered warriors whom no battles weary, and who8667

will not relinquish the sword even when beaten.8668

If you had hopes of the alliance with Aetolian armies,8669

forgo them. Each has his own hopes: but see how slight they are.8670

As for the rest of our affairs, the utter ruin they lie in8671

is in front of your eyes and under your hands.8672

I accuse no one: what the utmost courage could do has 8673

been done: the conflict has taken all the strength of our kingdom.8674

So let me explain the decision of my deliberating mind,8675

and I will outline it briefly (apply your thoughts to it).8676

There’s an ancient domain of mine along the Tuscan river,8677

stretching westward, to the Sicanian border and beyond:8678

Auruncans and Rutulians work the stubborn hills with the plough,8679

sow seed there, and use the roughest slopes as pasture. 8680

Let us yield all this region, with the pine-clad tract of high hills,8681

to the Trojans in friendship, and spell out the just terms 8682

of a treaty, and invite them to share our kingdom:8683

let them settle, if their desire is such, and build their city.8684

But if their wish is to conquer other territories 8685

and some other nation, and they might leave our soil,8686

let us fashion twenty ships of Italian oak: or more if they8687

can fill them, all the timber lies close to the water:8688

let them set out the number and design of their fleet8689

themselves: we’ll give the labour, the shipyard and the bronze.8690

Moreover, I want a hundred envoys to go to carry the news8691

and seal the pact, Latins of noblest birth, holding out branches8692

as peace tokens in their hands, and bearing gifts, talents8693

of ivory and gold, and the throne and the robe, symbols of royalty.8694

Consult together, and repair our weary fortunes.’8695

BkXI:336-375 Drances Attacks Turnus Verbally8696

Then Drances, whom Turnus’s glory provoked with the bitter8697

sting of secret envy, rose, hostile as before,: lavish 8698

of his wealth, and a better speaker, but with a hand 8699

frozen in battle: held to be no mean adviser in council,8700

and powerful in a quarrel (his mother’s high birth8701

granted him nobility, his father’s origin was uncertain):8702

and with these words added weight and substance to their anger:8703

‘O gracious king, you consult us on a subject clear to all,8704

and needing no speech from us: everyone acknowledges8705

they know what the public good demands, but shrink from speech.8706

Let that man, through whose inauspicious leadership8707

and perverse ways (speak I will though he threaten me 8708

with violence or death) we have seen so many glorious leaders8709

fall, and the city sunk in mourning, while he attacks the Trojan camp,8710

trusting in flight, and frightens heaven with his weapons, let him8711

grant freedom of speech, and cease his arrogance.8712

Add one further gift to the many you order us to send8713

and communicate to the Trojans, one more, gracious king,8714

why not, as a father may, and let no man’s violence prevent you,8715

give your daughter to an illustrious man in a marriage 8716

worthy of her, binding this peace with an everlasting contract.8717

But if fear of doing such possesses our minds and hearts,8718

let us appeal to the prince, and beg permission from him:8719

to yield, and give up his rights in favour of his king and his country.8720

O Turnus, you who are the source and reason for all these problems8721

for Latium, why do you so often hurl your wretched countrymen8722

into obvious danger? There’s no remedy in war, we all ask you8723

for peace, together with the sole inviolable pledge of peace.8724

I first of all, whom you imagine to be your enemy (and I8725

will not contest it) come as a suppliant. Pity your people,8726

set your pride aside, and conquered, give way. Routed,8727

we have seen enough of death and made broad acres desolate.8728

Or, if glory stirs you, if you harbour such strength of feeling,8729

and if a palace as dowry is so dear to you, be bold,8730

and carry yourself confidently against the enemy.8731

Surely we whose lives are worthless should be scattered8732

over the fields, unburied and unwept, so that Turnus8733

might gain his royal bride? And you too, if you have8734

any strength, if you have any of your father’s warlike spirit, 8735

you must look into the face of your challenger.’8736

BkXI:376-444 Turnus Replies8737

Turnus’s fury blazed at such a speech. He gasped8738

and from the depths of his heart gave vent to these words:8739

‘Drances, it’s true you always have more than plenty to say 8740

whenever war calls for men, and you’re first to appear when the senate 8741

is called together. But there’s no need to fill the council-house with words,8742

that fly so freely from you when you are safe, when the rampart walls8743

keep the enemy off and the ditches are not yet drowned in blood.8744

So thunder away, eloquently (as is your wont) Drances, and charge8745

me with cowardice when your hand has produced like mounds8746

of Trojan dead, and dotted the fields everywhere 8747

with trophies. You’re free to try what raw courage can do,8748

and certainly we don’t need to search far for enemies:8749

they’re surrounding the walls on every side.8750

Shall we go against them? Why hesitate? 8751

Will your appetite for war always remain 8752

in your airy tongue and fleeing feet?8753

I, beaten? You total disgrace, can anyone who sees 8754

the Tiber swollen with Trojan blood, and all Evander’s 8755

house and race toppled, and the Arcadians stripped 8756

of weapons, say with justice I am beaten?8757

Bitias, and giant Pandarus, and the thousand men that I as victor8758

sent down to Tartarus in one day, did not find it so, imprisoned 8759

though I was by the walls, and hedged by enemy ramparts.8760

No safety in war? Madman, sing such about the Trojan’s life,8761

and your possessions. Go on then, troubling everyone8762

with your great fears, and extolling the powers of a race8763

twice-defeated, while disparaging Latinus’s army.8764

Now even Myrmidon princes, now Diomede, Tydeus’s 8765

son, and Larissean Achilles, tremble at Trojan weapons,8766

and Aufidus’s river flows backwards from the Adriatic waves.8767

And what when he pretends he’s afraid to quarrel with me,8768

the cunning rascal, and intensifies the charge with false terror.8769

You’ll not lose a life like yours to my right hand 8770

(don’t shrink) keep it, let it remain in your breast.8771

Now, old father, I return to you and your great debate.8772

If you place no further hope in our forces,8773

if we’re so desolate, if one reverse for our troops8774

has utterly destroyed us, and our Fortunes cannot return,8775

let’s stretch out our helpless hands, and sue for peace.8776

Oh if only our traditional courage was here, though.8777

That man to me would be happy in his efforts, and outstanding 8778

in spirit, who had fallen in death, so as not to see8779

such things, and who had bitten the dust once and for all.8780

Yet if we still have our wealth and manhood intact8781

and nations and cities of Italy are still our allies,8782

if the Trojans won glory with great bloodshed,8783

(they too have their dead, the storm of war’s the same for all)8784

why do we lose heart, shamefully, on the very threshold?8785

Why does fear seize our limbs before the trumpets sound?8786

Many things change for the better with time, and the various8787

labours of altering years: Fortune toys with many a man,8788

then, visiting him in turn, sets him on solid ground again.8789

The Aetolian and his Arpi will be no help to us:8790

but Messapus will, and Tolumnius, the fortunate,8791

and all those leaders sent by many a people: no little glory8792

will accrue to the flower of Latium and Laurentine fields.8793

We have Camilla too, of the glorious Volscian nation,8794

leading her troop of riders, and squadrons bright with bronze.8795

But if the Trojans only call me to fight, and that’s your wish,8796

if I’m so great an obstacle to the common good, Victory is far8797

from having fled these hands of mine with such hatred 8798

that I should refuse to try anything for a hope so sweet.8799

I’d face him with courage though he outclassed great Achilles,8800

and wore armour to match, fashioned by Vulcan’s hands.8801

I, Turnus, not second in virtue to any of my ancestors,8802

dedicate my life to you all, and to Latinus, father of my bride,8803

Aeneas challenges me alone? I pray that he does so challenge:8804

and, if the gods’ anger is in this, that it is not Drances rather than I8805

who appeases them in death, or if there’s worth and glory, takes it all. 8806

BkXI:445-531 The Trojans Attack8807

Arguing among themselves, they debated the issues 8808

in doubt: while Aeneas was moving his camp and lines.8809

See, a messenger runs through the royal palace,8810

with great commotion, filling the city with huge alarm:8811

the Trojans, ready for battle, and the Etruscan ranks8812

were sweeping down from the river Tiber, over the plain.8813

At once people’s minds were troubled, their hearts shaken,8814

and their deep anger roused by the ungentle shock.8815

Anxiously they called for weapons: weapons the young men8816

shouted, while their sad fathers wept and murmured. 8817

And now a great clamour filled with discord rose to heaven 8818

on every side, as when a flock of birds settles by chance 8819

in some tall grove, or when the swans give their hoarse calls,8820

among noisy pools, by Padusa’s fish-filled streams.8821

‘Yes, oh citizens,’ Turnus cried, seizing his moment, 8822

‘convene your council and sit there praising peace:8823

while they attack us with weapons.’ He said no more8824

but sprang up and went swiftly from the high halls.8825

‘You, Volusus,’ he shouted, ‘tell the Volscian troops to arm, 8826

and lead the Rutulians. Messapus, and Coras with your brother, 8827

deploy the cavalry, under arms, over the wide plain. 8828

Let some secure the city gates, and occupy the towers:8829

the rest carry their weapons with me, where I order.’8830

At once there was a rush to the walls all over the city.8831

King Latinus himself left the council, dismayed by the darkness8832

of the hour, and abandoned his great plan, reproaching himself8833

again and again for not having freely received Trojan Aeneas,8834

and adopted him as his son-in-law for the city’s sake.8835

Some dug trenches in front of the gates or carried stones8836

and stakes. The harsh trumpet gave the cruel call to war.8837

Then a diverse circle of mothers and sons 8838

ringed the walls: this final trial summoned them all.8839

Moreover the Queen, with a great crowd of women, 8840

drove to Pallas’s temple on the heights of the citadel8841

carrying gifts, virgin Lavinia next to her as her companion,8842

a source of so much trouble, her beautiful eyes cast down.8843

The women climbed to the temple, filled it with incense 8844

fumes, and poured out sad prayers from the high threshold:8845

‘Tritonian Virgin, mighty in weapons, ruler of war, shatter8846

the spear of the Trojan robber, with your hand, hurl him flat8847

on the earth, stretch him prone beneath our high gates.’8848

Turnus, in a fury of zeal, armed himself for battle.8849

He was already dressed in his glowing breastplate, 8850

bristling with bronze scales, his legs sheathed in gold,8851

his temples still bare, his sword buckled to his side,8852

shining, splendid, as he ran down from the citadel’s heights,8853

exultant in spirit, already anticipating the enemy in hope:8854

like a stallion, breaking his tether and fleeing his stall,8855

free at last, lord of the open plain, who either heads8856

for the pastures and the herds of mares, or, used to bathing8857

in some familiar river, gallops away, and, with head held high,8858

neighs with pleasure, his mane playing over neck and shoulder.8859

Camilla sped to meet him, accompanied by her Volscian 8860

troops, and alighted from her horse close by the gates, 8861

all her company leaving their mounts at her example,8862

and slipping to earth: then she spoke as follows:8863

‘Turnus, if the brave may rightly have faith in themselves,8864

I dare to, and promise to, encounter Aeneas’s cavalry,8865

and ride to meet the Etruscan horsemen alone.8866

Let me attempt the first dangers of the battle with my hand8867

while you stay by the walls and protect the ramparts.’8868

Turnus replied, his gaze fixed on this amazing girl:8869

‘O virgin glory of Italy, how should I attempt 8870

to thank you or repay you? But as your spirit8871

soars beyond us all, share the task with me.8872

Aeneas, so rumour says, and scouts sent out confirm,8873

has deployed his light cavalry to search the plains8874

thoroughly: he himself climbing the ridge, marches8875

through the desolate heights towards the town.8876

I am preparing an ambush on a deep track in the woods,8877

so as to block both entrances to the gorge with armed men:8878

you must wait for the Etruscan cavalry charge:8879

brave Messapus will be with you, and the Latin troops,8880

and Tiburtus’s band, and you must take command as leader.’8881

So he spoke, and exhorted Messapus and all the allied generals8882

to battle, with similar words, then moved against the enemy.8883

There’s a valley with a winding bend, suitable for the tricks8884

and stratagems of warfare, crowded on both sides 8885

by a dark wall of dense leaves, to which a narrow track8886

leads: it has a confined floor, and a difficult entrance.8887

Above it, among the look-outs of the high mountain tops,8888

lies a hidden level and a secure shelter,8889

whether one wishes to attack to right or left,8890

or make a stand on the ridge and roll huge boulders down.8891

Here the warrior hurried by a well known network of paths8892

and taking position he occupied the treacherous woods.8893

BkXI:532-596 Diana’s Concern For Camilla8894

Meanwhile, in heaven’s halls, Diana, Latona’s daughter,8895

spoke to swift Opis, one of her sacred band of virgin 8896

followers, and gave voice to these sorrowful words:8897

‘O girl, Camilla, is going to the cruel war, and takes up8898

my weapons in vain. She’s dearer to me than all others, 8899

and this is no new love that comes to Diana, 8900

or moves my spirit with sudden sweetness.8901

When Metabus was driven from his throne by hatred8902

of his tyrannical power, and was leaving Privernum,8903

his ancient city, fleeing amidst the conflict of war,8904

he took his child to share his exile, and, slightly altering8905

her mother’s name Casmilla, called her Camilla.8906

Carrying her in front of him at his breast he sought a long ridge8907

of lonely forests: fierce weapons threatened him on every side, 8908

and the Volscians hovered round him with their troops.8909

While they were still in mid-flight, see, the Ausenus overflowed,8910

foaming to the top of its banks, so great a downpour burst 8911

from the clouds. He, preparing to swim across, was held back8912

by love of his child, and fear for his dear burden. Quickly,8913

debating all options with himself, he settled reluctantly8914

on this idea: the warrior fastened his daughter to the giant spear,8915

solid with knots and of seasoned oak, he chanced to be carrying8916

in his strong hand, wrapping her in the bark of a cork-tree8917

from the woods, and tying her wisely to the middle of the shaft:8918

then balancing it in his mighty hand he cried out to the heavens:8919

‘Kind virgin daughter of Latona, dweller in the woods, I her father8920

dedicate this child to your service: fleeing the enemy through the air,8921

yours is the first weapon she clasps as a suppliant. Goddess I beg you8922

to accept as your own this that I now commit to the uncertain breeze.’8923

He spoke, and drawing back his arm hurled the spinning shaft:8924

the waters roared, and the wretched Camilla flew 8925

over the rushing river on the hissing steel. And Metabus, 8926

with a great crowd of his enemies pressing him closely, 8927

gave himself to the flood, and victoriously snatched his gift8928

to Diana from the grassy turf, the spear and the little maid.8929

No city would accept him within their houses or their walls,8930

(nor would he in his savagery have given himself up to them)8931

he passed his life among shepherds on the lonely mountains.8932

Here, among the thickets of savage lairs, he nourished 8933

his child at the udders of a mare from the herd, and milk 8934

from wild creatures, squeezing the teats into her delicate mouth.8935

As soon as the infant had taken her first steps, 8936

he placed a sharp lance in her hands, and hung 8937

bow and quiver from the little one’s shoulder.8938

A tiger’s pelt hung over head and down her back8939

instead of a gold clasp for her hair, and a long trailing robe.8940

Even then she was hurling childish spears with tender hand,8941

whirling a smooth-thonged sling round her head,8942

bringing down Strymonian cranes and snowy swans.8943

Many a mother in Etruscan fortresses wished for her8944

as a daughter-in-law in vain: she, pure, content with Diana8945

alone, cherished her love of her weapons and maidenhood.8946

I wish she had not been swept up into such warfare, 8947

trying to challenge the Trojans: she would be 8948

my darling, and one of my company still.8949

Come now, nymph, since bitter fate drives her on,8950

slip from the sky and seek out the Latin borders,8951

where with evil omen they join in sad battle.8952

Take these weapons and draw an avenging arrow from the quiver, 8953

and if anyone violates her sacred flesh by wounding her, 8954

Trojan or Italian, pay me with their equal punishment in blood. 8955

Then I’ll carry the body and untouched weapons of the poor girl8956

in a cavernous cloud to a sepulchre, and bury her in her own land.’8957

She spoke, and Opis slid down with a sound through 8958

heaven’s light air, her body veiled in a dark whirlwind.8959

BkXI:597-647 The Armies Engage8960

In the meantime the Trojan band with the Etruscan8961

leaders, and all the cavalry, approached the walls,8962

marshalled in squadrons troop by troop. Warhorses8963

neighing, cavorted over the whole area, fighting the tight rein,8964

prancing this way and that: the field bristled far and wide8965

with the steel of spears, and the plain blazed with lifted weapons.8966

On the other side, also, Messapus, and the swift Latins, 8967

Coras with his brother, and virgin Camilla’s wing appeared,8968

opposing them on the plain, and drawing their right arms far back8969

they thrust their lances forward, the spear-points quivered:8970

the march of men and the neighing of horses increased.8971

And now both halted their advance within a spear’s throw:8972

they ran forward with a sudden shout and spurred on 8973

their maddened horses, spears showered from all sides at once8974

as dense as snowflakes, and the sky was veiled in darkness.8975

Immediately Tyrrhenus and brave Aconteus charged 8976

each other, with levelled spears, and were the first to fall8977

with a mighty crash, shattering their horses’ breastbones8978

as they collided: Aconteus, hurled like a thunderbolt8979

or a heavy stone shot from a catapult, was thrown 8980

some distance, and wasted his breath of life on the air.8981

At once the ranks wavered, and the Latins slung their shields8982

behind them, and turned their mounts towards the walls.8983

The Trojans pursued, Asilas their leader heading the squadrons.8984

Now they were nearing the gates when the Latins again8985

raised a shout, and turned their horse’s responsive necks:8986

the Trojans now fled, and retreated to a distance with loose reins,8987

like the sea running in with alternate waves, 8988

now rushing to shore, dashing over the rocks 8989

in a foaming flood, drenching the furthest sands 8990

with its swell, now retreating quickly, sucking rolling8991

pebbles in its wash, leaving dry sand as the shallows ebbed:8992

twice the Tuscans drove the routed Rutulians to the city, twice,8993

repulsed, they looked behind, defending their backs with their shields.8994

But when they clashed in a third encounter their lines 8995

locked tight, and man marked man, then truly, the battle8996

swelled fiercely among the groans of the dying, 8997

with weapons, bodies, and horses in their death-throes, 8998

in pools of blood, entangled with slaughtered riders.8999

Orsilochus hurled a lance at Remulus’s horse, fearing9000

to attack the man, and left the point embedded beneath its ear:9001

The rearing charger, maddened by the blow, and unable to bear9002

the wound, lifted its chest, and thrashed high with its forelegs,9003

Remulus thrown clear, rolled on the ground. Catillus9004

felled Iollas and Herminius, a giant in courage, a giant 9005

in torso and limbs, tawny hair on his head, his shoulders bare,9006

for whom wounds held no terror he spread so wide in his armour. 9007

The driven spear passed quivering through his broad shoulders,9008

and, piercing him, doubled him up with pain. Dark blood 9009

streamed everywhere: clashing with swords, they dealt death 9010

and sought a glorious ending through their wounds.9011

BkXI:648-724 Camilla In Action9012

But an Amazon exulted in the midst of the slaughter, 9013

with one breast bared for battle: Camilla, armed with her quiver:9014

now she showered sturdy javelins, scattering them from her hands,9015

now she lifted a strong battle-axe in her unwearied grasp:9016

and Diana’s weapon, a golden bow, rattled on her shoulder.9017

Even when she retreated, attacked from behind,9018

she reversed her bow and fired arrows while fleeing.9019

And around her were chosen comrades, virgin Larina,9020

and Tulla, and Tarpeia wielding her axe of bronze,9021

the Italides, daughters of Italy, whom noble Camilla 9022

chose herself as her glory, faithful servants in peace or war:9023

such were the Amazons of Thrace, treading Thermodon’s 9024

streams, and fighting with ornate weapons, around 9025

Hippolyte, or when Penthesilea returned, in her chariot,9026

and the ranks of women with crescent shields exulted.9027

Whom did you strike, first and last, with your spear, fierce girl?9028

How many bodies did you spill over the earth?9029

Euneus, son of Clytius, was the first, whose exposed chest9030

she pierced with her long shaft of pine, as he faced her.9031

He fell, spewing streams of blood, and bit9032

the gory dust, and, dying, writhed on his wound.9033

Then she killed Liris and Pagasus too, one gathering9034

the reins of his wounded horse as he rolled from it, the other 9035

nearing to stretch out a defenceless hand to the falling man,9036

both flung headlong together. She added to them Amastrus, 9037

son of Hippotas, and, leaning forward to throw, sent her spear 9038

after Tereus, Harpalycus, Demophoon and Cromis:9039

and as many spears as the girl sent spinning from her hand, 9040

so many Trojan warriors fell. The huntsman Ornytus9041

was riding far off, in unfamiliar armour, on his Iapygian9042

horse, the hide stripped from a bullock covering his broad9043

shoulders, his head protected by a wolf’s huge gaping mask,9044

and white-toothed jaws, a rustic’s hunting-spear in his hand:9045

he moved along in the centre of the army, a full head 9046

above the rest. Catching him she struck him (no effort9047

in the routed ranks) then with pitiless heart spoke above him:9048

‘Did you think you chased prey in the forest, Tuscan?9049

The day is here that proves your words wrong, with9050

a woman’s weapons. But you’ll carry no small fame9051

to your father’s shades, you fell to Camilla’s spear.’9052

Then she killed Orsilochus and Butes, two of the largest Trojans,9053

Butes she fixed with a spear in the back, between 9054

breastplate and helmet, where the rider’s neck 9055

gleams and the shield hangs from the left arm:9056

while fleeing from Orsilochus, chased in a wide circle, 9057

she eluded him, wheeling inside, pursuing the pursuer:9058

then, lifting herself higher, drove her strong axe, again and again,9059

through armour and bone, as he begged and prayed desperately:9060

the wounds staining his face with warm brain-matter.9061

Now the warrior son of Aunus, met her, and suddenly9062

halted, terrified at the sight, he a man of the Apennines,9063

not the least of the lying Ligurians while fate allowed it.9064

When he saw he couldn’t escape a fight by a turn of speed,9065

or divert the queen from her attack, he tried to devise9066

a stratagem with wit and cunning, as follows:9067

‘What’s so great about relying on a strong horse, woman?9068

Forget flight, and trust yourself to fighting me 9069

on level ground, equip yourself to battle on foot:9070

you’ll soon know whose windy boasting’s an illusion.’9071

He spoke, and she, raging and burning with bitter resentment,9072

handed her horse to a friend, and faced him with equal weapons.9073

on foot and unafraid, with naked sword and plain shield.9074

But the youth, sure he had won by guile, sped off 9075

(instantly), flicking his reins, took to flight, 9076

pricking his horse to a gallop with spurs of steel.9077

The girl shouted: ‘Stupid Ligurian, uselessly vaunting9078

your boastful spirit, you’ve tried your slippery native wiles9079

in vain, and cunning won’t carry you back to Aunus unharmed.’9080

And like lightening she intercepted the horse’s path, on swift feet,9081

and seizing the reins from in front tackled him, and took vengeance9082

on the blood she hated: as light as a falcon, Apollo’s sacred bird, 9083

swooping from a tall rock, overtaking a dove in flight in the high cloud,9084

holding her in its talons, and tearing her heart out with its curved talons:9085

while blood and torn feathers shower from the sky.9086

BkXI:725-767 Arruns Follows Her9087

But the father of gods and men with watchful eyes9088

sat throned on high Olympus observing it all.9089

The maker stirred the Etruscan, Tarchon, to fierce battle9090

and goaded him to anger with no gentle spur.9091

So Tarchon rode amidst the slaughter and the wavering ranks,9092

inciting his squadrons with varied shouts, and calling 9093

each man by name, rallying the routed to the fight.9094

‘What fear, what utter cowardice has filled your hearts,9095

O, you ever-sluggish Tuscans, O you who are never ashamed?9096

Can a woman drive you in disorder and turn your ranks?9097

Why do we bear swords and spears idle in our right hands?9098

But you are not slow to love or for nocturnal battles, nor when 9099

the curved pipe proclaims the Bacchic dance. Wait then for the feast 9100

and wine-cups on the loaded tables, (that is your passion 9101

and your pleasure) while the happy seer reports the sacred9102

omens, and the rich sacrifice calls you into the deep grove!’9103

So saying, and ready to die, he spurred his mount into the press,9104

tore at Venulus like a whirlwind, and snatched him from his horse, 9105

and, clasping his enemy to his chest with his right arm,9106

and stirring himself to a mighty effort, carried him off.9107

A shout rose to the skies and all the Latins turned their gaze9108

that way. Tarchon flew over the plain like lightning, 9109

carrying weapons and man: then he broke of the iron tip 9110

of his enemy’s spear, and searched for an unguarded opening9111

where he might deal a deadly wound: Venulus, struggling with him,9112

kept the hand from his throat, meeting force with force.9113

As when a tawny eagle soaring high carries a snake it has caught,9114

entwined in its feet, with talons clinging, while the wounded serpent 9115

writhes in sinuous coils, and rears its bristling scales, hissing9116

with its mouth as it rises up, and none the less attacks 9117

its struggling prey, with curved beak, while its wings beat the air:9118

so Tarchon carried his prize in triumph from the Tiburtian ranks.9119

Emulating their leader’s example and success, the Etruscans charged.9120

And now Arruns, a man whose life was owed to the fates,9121

began to circle swift Camilla, with his javelin, 9122

with skilful cunning, trying for the easiest of chances.9123

Wherever the girl rode among the ranks, in her fury,9124

there Arruns shadowed her, and followed her track in silence:9125

wherever she returned in triumph or withdrew from the foe,9126

there the youth secretly turned his quick reins.9127

He tried this approach and that, travelling the whole circuit9128

on every side, relentlessly brandishing his sure spear. 9129

BkXI:768-835 The Death of Camilla9130

It chanced that Chloreus, once a priest, sacred to Cybele,9131

glittered some distance away splendid in Phrygian armour,9132

spurring his foam-flecked horse, that a hide, plumed 9133

with bronze scales, and clasped with gold, protected.9134

He himself, shining with deep colours and foreign purple,9135

fired Gortynian arrows from a Lycian bow:9136

the weapon was golden on his shoulder, and golden9137

the seer’s helm: his saffron cloak and its rustling folds of linen9138

were gathered into a knot with yellow gold, his tunic9139

and barbaric leg-coverings embroidered by the needle.9140

The virgin huntress singling him out from all the press 9141

of battle, either hoping to hang his Trojan weapons 9142

in the temple, or to display herself in captured gold, 9143

pursued him blindly, and raged recklessly through the ranks,9144

with a feminine desire for prizes and spoil, 9145

when Arruns, finally seizing his chance, raised his spear9146

from ambush and prayed aloud, like this, to heaven:9147

‘Highest of gods, Apollo, guardian of holy Soracte,9148

whose chief followers are we for whom the blaze of the pine-wood 9149

fire is fed, and who as worshippers, confident in our faith,9150

plant our steps on deep embers among the flames, 9151

all-powerful father grant that this shame be effaced 9152

by our weapons. I seek no prize, no trophy of the girl’s defeat,9153

no spoils: some other deed will bring me fame: 9154

only let this dreadful scourge fall wounded under my blow,9155

and I’ll return without glory to the cities of my ancestors.’9156

Phoebus heard him, and granted the success of half the prayer9157

in his mind, half he scattered on the passing breeze: he agreed9158

to the prayer that Arruns might bring Camilla to sudden death’s ruin:9159

but did not grant that his noble country should see him return, 9160

and the gusts carried his words away on the southerly winds.9161

So as the spear whistled through the air, speeding from his hand,9162

all the Volscians turned their eager eyes and minds 9163

towards the queen. She herself noticed neither breeze9164

nor sound, nor the weapon falling from the sky, 9165

till the spear went home, fixing itself under her naked9166

breast, and driven deep, drank of her virgin blood.9167

Her friends rushed to her anxiously and caught 9168

their falling queen. Arruns, more fearful than the rest,9169

fled in joy and terror, not daring to trust 9170

his spear further, or meet the virgin’s weapons. 9171

And as a wolf that has killed a shepherd, or a great bullock,9172

immediately hides itself deep in the pathless mountains9173

before the hostile spears can reach it, conscious9174

of its audacious actions, and holds its lowered tail9175

quivering between its legs, as it heads for the woods:9176

so Arruns, in turmoil, stole away from sight,9177

and, content to escape, plunged into the midst of the army.9178

Camilla tugged at the weapon with dying hands, 9179

but the iron point was fixed between the bones,9180

near the ribs, deep in the wound. She sank back9181

bloodless, her eyes sank, chill with death,9182

the once radiant colour had left her cheeks.9183

Then, expiring, she spoke to Acca, one of her peers, faithful9184

to Camilla beyond all others, sole sharer of her sorrows, 9185

and uttered these words to her: ‘Acca, my sister, 9186

my strength lasted this far: now the bitter wound 9187

exhausts me, and all around me darkens with shadows.9188

Fly, and carry my final commands to Turnus: he must take9189

my place in the battle, and keep the Trojans from the city.9190

Now farewell.’ With these words she let go the reins, slipping 9191

helplessly to earth. Then, little by little, growing cold she loosed 9192

herself from her body completely, dipping the unresponsive neck9193

and that head death had seized, letting go her weapons, 9194

and with a sob her life fled angrily to the shades below.9195

Then indeed an immense shout rose, reaching 9196

the golden stars: with Camilla fallen, the battle swelled:9197

the Trojan host, the Etruscan leaders, and Evander’s9198

Arcadian squadrons rushed on in a mass together.9199

BkXI:836-915 Opis Takes Revenge9200

Now Opis, Diana’s sentinel, had been seated there 9201

on a mountain, for a long time, watching the battle fearlessly.9202

And when she saw far off, amongst the clamour of raging armies,9203

that Camilla had paid the penalty of death, she sighed9204

and uttered these words from the depths of her heart:9205

‘Ah too cruel, virgin girl, too cruel the sacrifice 9206

you have made, for trying to challenge the Trojans in war!9207

It has not helped you that you worshipped Diana 9208

in the lonely woods and wore our quiver on your shoulder.9209

Yet your queen has not left you without honour now 9210

in the extremes of death, nor will your loss be without fame9211

among the people, nor will you suffer the infamy of dying 9212

un-avenged. For whoever desecrated your body with this wound9213

will pay the price of death.’ An earthen mound, covered 9214

with shadowy holm-oak, stood beneath the high mountain, 9215

the vast tomb of Dercennus, an ancient Laurentine king:9216

here the loveliest of goddesses, after swift flight, first set foot9217

and caught sight of Arruns from the high tumulus.9218

When she saw him shining in armour, swollen with pride,9219

she cried: ‘Why go so far away? Turn your steps here,9220

come this way to destruction, and receive your reward,9221

worthy of Camilla. May even you not die by Diana’s weapons?’9222

She spoke: then the Thracian goddess took a winged arrow9223

from her golden quiver, and stretched the bow in anger,9224

drawing it far back, until the curving horns met, 9225

and now with levelled arms she touched the steel tip9226

with her left hand, and her breast and the bow-string with her right.9227

At the same moment as Arruns heard the hissing dart,9228

and the rushing air, both one, the steel was fixed in his body.9229

His allies, oblivious, left him on the unmemorable dust9230

of the plain, gasping and groaning in extremity:9231

while Opis winged her way to heavenly Olympus.9232

Camilla’s light cavalry were first to flee, their mistress lost,9233

the Rutulians fled in turmoil, brave Atinas fled,9234

scattered leaders and abandoned troops sought safety,9235

and, wheeling their horses about, headed for the walls.9236

No one could check the pursuing, death-dealing 9237

Trojans with weapons, or stand against them 9238

but slung their unstrung bows on bowed shoulders,9239

and their horses’ hooves shook the crumbling earth in flight. 9240

A cloud of dark murky dust rolled towards the walls,9241

and mothers, from the watchtowers, raised the womens’ 9242

cry to the stars in heaven, as they beat their breasts.9243

The enemy host pressed hard on those who first broke at speed 9244

through the open gates, mixing with their lines, so they did not9245

escape a pitiful death, but, pierced through, gasped away their lives9246

on the very threshold, their country’s walls around them, within 9247

the shelter of their houses. Some closed the gates, and dared not9248

open a path for their friends or let them inside the walls, 9249

though they begged, and the most pitiful death followed, of those 9250

defending the entrance in arms, and those rushing onto the swords.9251

Some driven by the rout, shut out, in front of the gaze 9252

and the weeping faces of their parents, rolled headlong 9253

into the ditches, others charging blindly with loose reins 9254

battered at the gates and the tough gate-posts barring their way.9255

The women themselves when they saw Camilla from the walls9256

in fierce emulation (true love of country guided them)9257

threw weapons with their weak hands, and in their haste9258

used poles of tough oak and fire-hardened stakes instead of steel,9259

and were ablaze to die in the forefront defending the walls.9260

Meanwhile in the forest, the bitterest of messages filled Turnus’s 9261

thoughts: Acca had brought the warrior her news of the mighty rout:9262

the Volscian ranks annihilated, Camilla killed, the enemy9263

advancing fiercely, sweeping all before them 9264

in the fortune of war, panic now reaching the city.9265

Maddened he abandoned the ambush among the hills9266

(so Jove’s cruel will demanded) and left the wild forest.9267

He had scarcely passed from view, in reaching the plain,9268

when Aeneas, the leader, mounted the ridge, after entering9269

the unguarded gorge, and emerging from the dense woods.9270

So they both marched quickly towards the walls, 9271

in full force, and with no great distance between them:9272

and at that moment Aeneas saw the plain, far off,9273

smoking with dust, and caught sight of the Laurentine army,9274

and Turnus realised that fatal Aeneas was in arms,9275

and heard the march of feet, and the sound of horses.9276

They would have joined battle at once and attempted combat,9277

but rosy Phoebus was already bathing his weary team9278

in the Spanish deeps, and, day waning, brought back the night.9279

They camped before the city, and strengthened their defences.9280

BkXII:1-53 Turnus Demands Marriage9281

When Turnus saw the Latins exhausted, and weakened9282

by their military reverse, himself the subject of every gaze, his own9283

promise to them yet unfulfilled, he burned implacably,9284

and unprompted, and raised his courage. As a lion, in the African9285

bush, severely hurt by huntsmen with a wound to the chest, 9286

only then rouses himself to battle, tosses his shaggy mane 9287

over his neck, in joy, and, unafraid, snaps off the spear 9288

some poacher has planted in him, roaring from blood-stained jaws:9289

so the violence grew in Turnus’s inflamed heart.9290

Then he spoke to the king, beginning turbulently like this:9291

‘There’s no reluctance here, in Turnus: there’s no reason9292

for Aeneas’s coward crew to take back their words9293

or renounce their pact: I go to meet him. Carry out 9294

the holy rite, father, and draw up the marriage contract. 9295

I’ll either send this Trojan, this Asian deserter, 9296

to Tartarus, (let the Latins sit and watch) and 9297

with my sword, alone, dispel the nation’s shame,9298

or let him possess the defeated, let Lavinia go then as his bride.’9299

Latinus replied to him with calm in his heart:9300

‘O youth of noble spirit, the more you excel9301

in fierce courage, the more it is right for me to take9302

careful thought, and weigh every event with caution.9303

You have your father Daunus’s kingdom, you have9304

the many fortresses you captured by force, 9305

and Latinus is not short of gold and generosity:9306

there are other unmarried girls, not ignoble in birth, 9307

in the fields of Latium and Laurentium. Allow me to say this, 9308

un-gently, openly stripped of all guile, and take it to heart:9309

it was forbidden for me to ally my daughter to any9310

of her former suitors, and all gods and men decreed it.9311

Conquered by love for you, conquered by kinship, and the tears9312

of a sorrowful wife, I broke all bounds: I snatched the betrothed 9313

girl from my son-in-law to be, and drew the impious sword.9314

You see, Turnus, what events, what war dogs me,9315

what a heavy burden you above all bear.9316

Defeated in two great battles we can hardly preserve9317

the hopes of Italy in our city: Tiber’s streams are yet warm9318

with our blood, the vast plains whitened by our bones.9319

Why did I waver so often? What madness changed my decision?9320

If I’d be ready to accept the Trojans as allies with Turnus 9321

dead, why not rather end the conflict while he’s alive?9322

What would your Rutulian kin say, and the rest of Italy, 9323

if I betrayed you to death (let chance deny those words!)9324

while seeking my daughter in marriage?9325

Consider the fortunes of war: pity your aged father,9326

whom his native Ardea keeps apart from us, sorrowing.’9327

Turnus’s fury was unaffected by these words:9328

it mounted higher, inflamed by the treatment.9329

As soon as he was able to speak, he began like this:9330

‘Most gracious one, that concern you feel for me, I beg you,9331

for me, set it aside, and allow me to barter death for glory.9332

I too can scatter spears and no lack of steel, from my hand, 9333

father, and blood flows from the wounds I make as well.9334

His goddess mother will be far from him, she who covers9335

his flight with mist, like a woman, and hides in empty shadows.’9336

BkXII:54-80 He Proposes Single Combat9337

But the queen wept, terrified by the new terms of conflict,9338

and clung to her ardent son, as if she were dying:9339

‘Turnus, one thing I beg of you, by these tears, by any respect9340

for Amata that touches your heart: you are my only hope,9341

the peace of my sad old age, the honour and power of Latinus9342

is in your hands, our whole tottering house rests on you:9343

do not engage in combat with the Trojans.9344

Whatever danger awaits you in that battle awaits me too,9345

Turnus: I would leave this hateful light with you9346

and will never, as a prisoner, see Aeneas as my son-in-law.’9347

Lavinia listened to her mother’s words, her burning 9348

cheeks wet with tears, while a deep blush kindled 9349

their fire, and spread over her glowing face.9350

Her virgin looks showed such colour as when one9351

stains Indian ivory with crimson dye, or as9352

white lilies redden when mixed with many a rose.9353

Love stirred Turnus, and he fixed his gaze on the girl:9354

fired still more for battle, he spoke briefly to Amata:9355

‘O mother, I beg you not to send me off with tears,9356

or like ill omens, as I leave for the battles of a bitter war:9357

Turnus is not free to delay his hour of death.9358

Idmon, as a messenger, carry my unwelcome words 9359

to the Trojan leader. When tomorrow’s Dawn, riding9360

her crimson chariot, reddens in the sky, do not lead9361

Trojans against Rutulians, let Trojan and Rutulian9362

weapons rest: let us resolve this war with our own blood,9363

on that field let Lavinia be sought as bride.’9364

BkXII:81-112 He Prepares For Battle9365

When he had spoken, and returned quickly to the palace, he called 9366

for his horses, and delighted in seeing them, neighing before him,9367

horses Orithyia herself gave Pilumnus, as a glory,9368

surpassing the snow in whiteness, and the wind for speed.9369

Their charioteers stood around eagerly patting their echoing chests,9370

with the flat of their hands, and combing their flowing manes.9371

Turnus drew a breastplate, stiff with gold and pale bronze,9372

over his shoulders, fitted his sword and shield in position,9373

and the horns with their crimson crest: the god with the power9374

of fire had wrought the sword for his father, Daunus, 9375

and dipped it, glowing, in the waters of the Styx.9376

Then Turnus gripped his strong spear firmly, that stood 9377

leaning on a great column in the middle of the hall,9378

a spoil won from the Auruncan, Actor, shook it till it quivered9379

and shouted: ‘Now, o spear that never failed my call,9380

now the time has come: Actor, the mightiest, carried you,9381

and now the right hand of Turnus: allow me to lay low 9382

the body of that Phrygian eunuch, tear off and shatter 9383

his breastplate with my powerful hand, and defile his hair 9384

with dust, that’s curled with a heated iron, and drowned in myrrh.’9385

He was driven by frenzy, glowing sparks shot 9386

from his whole aspect, fire flashed from his fierce eyes, 9387

like a bull, before a fight, that starts its formidable 9388

bellowing and, trying its anger with its horns, 9389

charges a tree-trunk, lashes the air with its blows,9390

and scatters the sand, as it practises for the battle.9391

Meanwhile Aeneas, no less fierce, armed with the weapons,9392

his mother’s gift, sharpened himself for conflict, and roused 9393

his anger, happy the war might be settled by the means on offer.9394

Then he comforted his friends, and Iulus’s anxious fears,9395

speaking of destiny, and ordered them to take a firm reply9396

to King Latinus, and declare his conditions for peace.9397

BkXII:113-160 Juno Speaks to Juturna9398

The next dawn had scarcely begun to sprinkle the mountain9399

summits with its rays, at that time when the horses of the sun 9400

first rise from the deep ocean, and breathe light from lifted nostrils:9401

the Rutulians and Trojans had measured out the field 9402

of combat, under the massive walls of the city, 9403

and were preparing hearths and turf altars for their mutual gods.9404

Others wearing priest’s aprons, their foreheads wreathed 9405

with vervain, brought spring water and fiery embers.9406

The Ausonian army marched out, and their ranks, armed 9407

with spears, poured through the crowded gates. All the host9408

of Trojans and Tuscans streamed out on the other side, arrayed 9409

in their various armour, equipped with steel, as if the bitter conflict9410

of war called out to them. And the captains too, among their many9411

thousands, darted about, brilliant in gold and purple,9412

Mnestheus of Assaracus’s line, brave Asilas,9413

and Messapus, tamer of horses, son of Neptune.9414

As soon as each had retired to their own ground, at the given signal,9415

they planted their spears in the earth, and leant their shields on them.9416

Then women, and weak old men, and the unarmed crowd, 9417

poured out eagerly, and gathered on towers 9418

and rooftops, or stood on the summit of the gates.9419

But Juno, gazed at the plain, looking from the top of a hill9420

(called Alban now, then without name, honour or glory)9421

at the twin ranks of Laurentum and Troy, and Latinus’s city.9422

Immediately, goddess to goddess, she spoke to Turnus’s sister, 9423

who ruled over lakes and echoing rivers (Jupiter, the king9424

of high heaven, gave her that honour for stealing her virginity):9425

‘Nymph, glory of rivers, dearest of all to my heart,9426

you know how I’ve preferred you alone of all the Latin girls9427

who’ve mounted unwelcome to the couch of great-hearted Jove,9428

and I have freely granted you a place in a part of the sky:9429

lest you blame me, Juturna, learn of impending grief.9430

Whenever Fortune allowed, and the Fates permitted9431

the Latin state to prosper, I protected Turnus and your city.9432

Now I see a warrior meeting with an unequal destiny,9433

and a day of Fate and inimical force draws near.9434

I cannot look at this combat, they agreed to, with my eyes.9435

If you dare do anything more for your brother in person, 9436

go on: it’s fitting. Perhaps better things will follow for the wretched.’9437

She had scarcely spoken, when Juturna’s eyes flowed with tears,9438

and her hand struck her lovely breast three or four times.9439

‘This is not the moment for tears,’ said Saturnian Juno:9440

‘Run, and, if there’s a way, snatch your brother from death:9441

or stir conflict and shatter the treaty they’ve made.9442

I teach you daring.’ Having urged her thus, she left her9443

uncertain and troubled, sadly hurt at heart.9444

BkXII:161-215 Aeneas and Latinus Sacrifice9445

Meanwhile the kings drove out: Latinus in a four-horsed chariot9446

of massive size (twelve golden rays circling his shining brow,9447

emblems of his ancestor, the Sun), Turnus behind a snow-white9448

team, brandishing two spears with broad steel blades in his hand.9449

On the other side, Aeneas, the leader, ancestor of the Roman race,9450

came from the camp, ablaze with starry shield and heavenly9451

armour, Ascanius with him, Rome’s second great hope, 9452

while a priest in pure robes brought the offspring 9453

of a bristly boar, and also an unshorn two-year sheep,9454

and tethered the animals next to the blazing altars.9455

The heroes turned their gaze towards the rising sun, sprinkled 9456

salt meal with their hands, marked the victims’ foreheads9457

with a knife, and poured libations from cups onto the altars.9458

Then pious Aeneas, with sword drawn, prayed like this:9459

‘Sun, be my witness, and this country that I call on,9460

for which I have been able to endure such labours,9461

and the all-powerful Father, and you Juno, his wife,9462

(now goddess, now, be kinder, I pray) and you, glorious Mars,9463

you, father, who control all warfare with your will:9464

I call on founts and rivers, on all the holiness 9465

of high heaven, and the powers in the blue ocean:9466

if by chance Victory falls to Turnus of Italy,9467

it is agreed the defeated will withdraw to Evander’s city,9468

Iulus will leave the land, and the people of Aeneas will never9469

bring renewed war in battle, or attack this realm with the sword.9470

But if victory agrees that our contest is mine (as I think 9471

more likely, and may the gods by their will prove it so),9472

I will not command the Italians to submit to Trojans nor do I9473

seek a kingdom for myself: let both nations, undefeated, 9474

put in place an eternal treaty. I will permit your gods 9475

and their rites: Latinus my father-in-law will keep his weapons,9476

my father-in-law will keep his accustomed power: the Trojans9477

will build walls for me, and Lavinia will give her name to a city.9478

So Aeneas was first to speak, then Latinus followed him, thus,9479

raising his eyes to heaven, and stretching his right hand to the sky:9480

‘I also swear, Aeneas, by the same earth, sea, and sky, 9481

by Latona’s twin offspring, and by two-faced Janus, 9482

by the power of the gods below, and the shrines of cruel Dis: 9483

may the Father, who ratifies treaties with his lightning, hear me.9484

I touch the altar: I call as witness the gods, and the flames 9485

between us, no day shall break this peace or truce on Italy’s side,9486

however things may fall out: nor will any power9487

deflect my will, not if it plunges the earth, drowned 9488

in flood, into the waves, and dissolves heaven in hell,9489

just as this sceptre (since he chanced to hold the sceptre in his hand)9490

hewn, once and for all, from the lowest stem in the woods,9491

having lost its parent trunk, and shedding its leaves and twigs 9492

to the knife, will never, now the craftsman’s hand has sheathed it9493

in fine bronze, and given it to the elders of Latium 9494

to carry, extend shoots or shade from light foliage.’9495

They sealed the treaty between them with these words9496

in full view of the leaders. Then with due rite they slaughtered9497

the sacrificial beasts over the flames, tore out the entrails, 9498

while they were alive, and piled the alters with heaped dishes.9499

BkXII:216-265 The Rutulians Break The Treaty9500

But the duel had for a long time seemed unfair to the Rutulians, 9501

and their hearts were torn by varied emotions, more so9502

when they saw the combatants’ unequal strength near to.9503

Turnus added to the unrest, in advancing with silent tread9504

and venerating the altar humbly, with downcast eyes,9505

and by his wasted cheeks and the pallor of his youthful body.9506

As soon as his sister, Juturna, was aware that talk was spreading9507

and the minds of the multitude were wavering in doubt,9508

she entered the heart of the army, in the guise of Camers,9509

whose birth was of noble ancestry, his father’s name9510

famous for virtue, and he himself of the bravest in arms,9511

she entered the heart of the army, not ignorant of her task,9512

sowing various rumours and speaking as follows: 9513

‘O Rutulians, aren’t you ashamed to sacrifice one life9514

on behalf of so many of you ? Aren’t we their equals9515

in numbers and might? See, all the Trojans and Arcadians9516

are here, and the Etrurian band led by fate, and hostile to Turnus:9517

if every other man attacks, there’s barely an opponent for each of them.9518

Turnus will climb in glory to the gods, at whose altars9519

he has dedicated his life, and live borne on men’s lips:9520

but we will be forced to submit to proud masters, 9521

our country lost, we who now sit inactive in the field.’9522

The will of the young men was roused by these words, 9523

more and more so, and a murmur spread through the ranks:9524

even the Laurentines and the Latins changed their minds.9525

Those who had lately hoped for rest from battle, and a safe existence, 9526

now longed for weapons, prayed for the treaty to be broken,9527

and pitied Turnus’s unjust fate. Juturna added another greater spur,9528

showing a sign in the depths of the sky, none more significant9529

to disturb Italian minds, and charm them by the wonder of it.9530

Jove’s tawny eagle, flying through reddened air, 9531

stirred the shore-birds, with noisy confusion 9532

in their winged ranks, when suddenly diving to the water9533

he seized the most outstanding swan cruelly in his curved talons. 9534

The Italians paid attention, and (amazing to see) 9535

all the birds wheeled, clamouring, in flight and, in a cloud,9536

drove their enemy through the air, darkening the sky 9537

with their wings, until, defeated by force and the weight,9538

the bird gave way, and, dropping the prey 9539

from his talons into the river, fled deep into the clouds. 9540

Then the Rutulians truly hailed this omen with a shout 9541

and spread wide their hands, and Tolumnius the augur was first 9542

to cry out: ‘This, this was what my prayers have often sought.9543

I understand it, and recognise the gods: snatch up the sword 9544

with me, with me at your head, o unhappy race, fragile birds,9545

whom a cruel foreigner terrifies with war, ravaging9546

your coast with violence. He will take flight and sail9547

far away over the deep. Close ranks, together, and defend 9548

the king who has been snatched from you, in battle.9549

BkXII:266-310 Renewed Fighting9550

He spoke, and running forward hurled his spear 9551

at the enemy: the hissing cornel shaft sang, and cut unerringly9552

through the air, At one with this, at one, was a mighty shout9553

the army all in uproar, and hearts hot with the turmoil.9554

The spear flew on, to where, by chance, nine handsome brothers9555

stood in its path, all of whom one faithful 9556

Tuscan wife had borne to Arcadian Gylippus,9557

It struck one of them, a youth of great beauty, in shining armour,9558

at the waist, where a stitched belt rubbed against 9559

his stomach, and the buckle bit into the overlapping ends,9560

pierced his ribs, and hurled him to the yellow sand.9561

But his spirited band of brothers, fired by grief,9562

drew their swords or snatched their iron spears,9563

and rushed forward blindly. The Laurentine ranks9564

charged them: Trojans and Agyllines and Arcadians9565

in decorated armour, poured in from the other side:9566

so all had one longing, to let the sword decide.9567

They stripped the altars, there was a fierce storm 9568

of spears in the whole sky, and a steely rain fell:9569

wine-bowls and hearthstones were carried off:9570

Latinus himself fled, taking his defeated gods, 9571

the treaty void. Others harnessed their chariots or leapt9572

on their horses, and waited with drawn swords.9573

Messapus, keen to destroy the truce, charging on his horse, 9574

scared off Auletes, an Etruscan king with a king’s emblems:9575

the unfortunate man, as he backed away, entangled, fell, 9576

head and shoulders, on to the altar behind him: and Messapus 9577

flew at him furiously, spear in hand, and from his horse’s height9578

struck mightily at him with the massive weapon,9579

as Auletes begged piteously, and spoke like this, over him:9580

‘He’s done for: this nobler victim is given to the great gods.’9581

The Italians crowded round and stripped the warm body.9582

Against them, Corynaeus snatched a charred brand 9583

from an altar, and aiming a blow at the charging Ebyso9584

dashed flames in his face: his great beard flared9585

and gave off a smell of burning. Corynaeus following through9586

his blow, clutched the hair of his stunned enemy in his left hand9587

and brought him to earth with a thrust of his bent knee:9588

then stabbed him in the side with his straight sword.9589

Podalirius, towered over the shepherd Alsus, pursuing him9590

with naked steel as he ran through the shower of spears9591

in the front rank: but Alsus swung his axe back,9592

and sliced through the front of his enemy’s brow and chin,9593

drenching his armour with widely spouting blood.9594

Harsh repose and iron slumber pressed on his eyes9595

and their light was sunk in everlasting night.9596

BkXII:311-382 Aeneas Wounded: Turnus Rampant9597

But virtuous Aeneas his head bared, unarmed, stretched out 9598

his right hand, and called loudly to his troops:9599

‘Where are you running to? Why this sudden tide of discord?9600

O, control your anger! The agreement has already been struck,9601

and its terms fixed. I alone have the right to fight:9602

Let me do so: banish your fears. I’ll prove the treaty sound9603

with this right hand: these rites mean Turnus is already mine.’9604

Amidst these cries and words, see, a hissing arrow 9605

winged its way towards him, launched by what hand,9606

sent whirling by whom, was unknown, as was the chance9607

or god that brought the Rutulians such honour:9608

the glorious pride in it was kept concealed,9609

and no one boasted of wounding Aeneas.9610

As soon as Turnus saw Aeneas leave the ranks, his captains 9611

in confusion, he blazed with the fervour of sudden hope:9612

he called for weapons and horses as one, leapt proudly 9613

into his chariot, and gripped the reins in his hands.9614

He gave many a brave man death in his swift passage.9615

Many he overturned half-alive, crushed the ranks under his chariot,9616

or seizing his spears showered them on those fleeing.9617

Just as when blood-drenched Mars is roused, and clashes9618

his shield, by the icy streams of Hebrus and, inciting war, 9619

gives rein to his frenzied horses, so that they fly over the open plain9620

outrunning the south and west winds, and farthest Thrace groans9621

to the beat of their hooves, while around him the forms of black 9622

Terror, Anger and Treachery, speed, the companions of the god:9623

with the same swiftness Turnus lashed his horses, 9624

smoking with sweat, through the midst of the conflict, 9625

trampling on enemies piteously slain, while the galloping hooves 9626

splashed bloody dew, and trampled the gore mixed with sand.9627

Next he gave Sthenelus to death, Thamyrus, and Pholus, the latter9628

close to, the former at a distance, from a distance too9629

both sons of Imbrasas, Glaucus and Laudes, whom Imbrasus9630

himself had raised in Lycia, and equipped with matching armour, 9631

to fight hand to hand, or outstrip the wind on horseback.9632

Elsewhere Eumedes rode through the midst of the battle,9633

famous in warfare, the son of aged Dolon, 9634

recalling the grandfather in name, his father in courage9635

and skill, he who, in going as a spy that time to the Greek camp, 9636

dared to ask for Achilles’s chariot as his reward:9637

but Diomedes paid him a different reward for his daring9638

and he no longer aspired to Achilles’s team.9639

When Turnus saw Eumedes, far over the open plain, he first 9640

sent a light javelin after him across the long space between, 9641

then halted his paired horses, leapt from his chariot,9642

onto the half-dead, fallen man, and, planting his foot on his neck,9643

tore the sword from his hand, and bloodied the bright blade9644

deep in his throat, adding these words as well:9645

‘See the fields, that Western Land, you sought in war:9646

lie there and measure it: this is the prize for those9647

who dare to cross swords with me, thus they build their walls.’9648

Then with a cast of his spear he sent Asbytes to keep him company,9649

Chloreus and Sybaris, Dares and Thersilochus, and Thymoetes9650

who was flung from the neck of his rearing horse.9651

As when the blast of the Edonian northerly sounds9652

over the Aegean deep, and drives the breakers to shore,9653

while brooding gusts in the sky put the clouds to flight,9654

so, wherever Turnus cut a path, the lines gave way,9655

and the ranks turned and ran: his own speed carried him on,9656

and, as the chariot met it, the wind tossed his flowing plume.9657

Phegeus could not endure his attack or his spirited war-cry:9658

he threw himself at the chariot and with his right hand wrenched9659

the heads of the swift horses aside, as they foamed at the bit.9660

While he was dragged along, hanging from the yoke,9661

Turnus’s broad-headed lance reached for his exposed flank,9662

tore open the double-stranded mail where it entered,9663

and grazed the surface of the flesh in a wound.9664

Phegeus still turned towards his enemy, his shield raised,9665

and was trying to protect himself with his drawn sword,9666

when the wheel and the onrush of the spinning axle 9667

sent him headlong, throwing him to the ground, and Turnus,9668

following through, struck off his head with a sweep of his blade9669

between the rim of the helmet and the chain-mail’s 9670

upper edge, and left the body lying on the sand.9671

BkXII:383-467 Venus Heals Aeneas9672

While Turnus was victoriously dealing death over the plain,9673

Mnestheus and loyal Achates, with Ascanius9674

by their side, set Aeneas down inside the camp,9675

bleeding, supporting alternate steps with his long spear.9676

he struggled furiously to pull out the head of the broken 9677

shaft, and called for the quickest means of assistance:9678

to cut open the wound with a broadsword, lay open 9679

the arrow-tip’s buried depths, and send him back to war.9680

Now Iapyx, Iasus’s son, approached, dearest of all to Apollo,9681

to whom the god himself, struck by deep love, long ago9682

offered with delight his own arts, his own gifts, 9683

his powers of prophecy, his lyre, and swift arrows.9684

But Iapyx, in order to delay the fate of his dying father,9685

chose knowledge of the virtues of herbs, and the use 9686

of medicine, and, without fame, to practise the silent arts.9687

Aeneas stood leaning on his great spear, complaining bitterly,9688

amongst a vast crowd of soldiers, with Iulus sorrowing,9689

himself unmoved by the tears. The aged Iapyx, his robe rolled back9690

in Paeonian fashion, tried hard in vain with healing fingers 9691

and Apollo’s powerful herbs: he worked at the arrow uselessly 9692

with his hand, and tugged at the metal with tightened pincers.9693

No luck guided his course, nor did Apollo his patron help,9694

while cruel terror grew greater and greater over the plain,9695

and evil drew near. Now they saw the sky standing on9696

columns of dust: the horsemen neared and arrows fell9697

thickly in the midst of the camp. A dismal cry rose to heaven9698

of men fighting and falling under Mars’s harsh hand.9699

At this Aeneas’s mother, Venus, shaken by her son’s 9700

cruel pain, culled a dittany plant from Cretan Ida,9701

with downy leaves and purple flowers: a herb9702

not unknown to the wild goats when winged9703

arrows have fixed themselves in their sides.9704

This Venus brought, her face veiled in dark mist,9705

this, with its hidden curative powers, she steeped 9706

in river water, poured into a glittering basin, and sprinkled9707

there healing ambrosial juice and fragrant panacea.9708

Aged Iapyx bathed the wound with this liquid,9709

not knowing its effect, and indeed all pain fled9710

from Aeneas’s body, all the flow of blood ceased deep9711

in the wound. Now, without force, the arrowhead9712

slipped from the wound, following the motion of his hand,9713

and fresh strength returned to Aeneas, such as before.9714

Iapyx cried: ‘Quickly, bring our hero weapons. Why are you9715

standing there?’ and was first to excite their courage against9716

the enemy. ‘Aeneas, this cure does not come by human aid,9717

nor guiding art, it is not my hand that saved you: a god, 9718

a greater one, worked this, and sends you out again to glorious deeds.’9719

Aeneas, eager for battle, had sheathed his legs in gold,9720

left and right, and scornful of delay, brandished his spear.9721

As soon as his shield was fixed at his side, the chain mail 9722

to his back, he clasped Ascanius in his armed embrace,9723

and, kissing his lips lightly through the helmet, said:9724

‘My son, learn courage from me and true labour:9725

good fortune from others. Now my hand will protect you 9726

in war, and lead you to great rewards. Make sure later, 9727

when your years have reached maturity, that you remember: 9728

let your father Aeneas, and your uncle Hector9729

inspire your soul, by recalling their example.’9730

When he spoken these words, he rushed out through the gate,9731

in all his strength, brandishing a great spear in his hand:9732

Antheus and Mnestheus with him, and their massed ranks, and all 9733

the army streamed from the camp. Then the plain was a chaos9734

of blinding dust, and the quaking earth shook under the tramp of feet.9735

Turnus saw them advance, from the rampart opposite:9736

the Ausonians saw, and a cold tremor ran to the marrow9737

of their bones: Juturna was the first of all the Latins 9738

to hear and recognise the sound, and she fled in fear.9739

Aeneas flew ahead, racing his dark ranks over the open plain,9740

As when the weather breaks and a storm cloud moves towards9741

land, over the deep ocean (ah, the hearts of wretched farmers9742

know if from far off, and shudder: it brings ruin to trees, 9743

and havoc to harvests, everything far and wide is destroyed),9744

the gales run before it and carry their roar to the shore:9745

so the Trojan leader drove his ranks against the foe,9746

thickly they all gathered to him in dense columns.9747

Thymbreus struck mighty Osiris with his sword,9748

Mnestheus killed Arcetius: Achates killed Epulo,9749

Gyas killed Ufens: even Tolumnius the augur fell,9750

first to hurl his spear straight at the enemy.9751

A shout rose to heaven, and in turn the routed Rutulians9752

turned their backs in a cloud of dust, fleeing over the field.9753

Aeneas himself did not deign to send the fugitives to their death,9754

nor did he attack the foot-soldiers, cavalry or those hurling 9755

missiles: he tracked only Turnus, searching through 9756

the dense gloom, Turnus alone he summoned to combat.9757

BkXII:468-499 Juturna Foils Aeneas9758

Juturna, the warrior maiden, her mind stricken with fear,9759

knocked Turnus’s charioteer, Metiscus, from the reins, at this,9760

so that he slipped from the beam, and left him far behind:9761

she herself took his place, and guided the flowing reins 9762

with her hands, assuming Meniscus’s voice, form, weapons, all.9763

As when a dark swallow flies through the great house 9764

of some rich lord, winging her way through lofty halls9765

gathering tiny crumbs and scraps of food for her noisy young,9766

now twittering in the empty courtyards, now by the damp ponds:9767

so Juturna was drawn by the horses through the enemy centre9768

and, flying in her swift chariot, criss-crossed the whole plain,9769

now here, now there, she gives evidence of her triumphant brother,9770

not allowing him close combat, flying far away.9771

Nevertheless Aeneas traversed her winding course to meet him,9772

tracking him, calling him loudly among the ranks.9773

As often as he set eyes on his enemy, and tried to match9774

the flight of the swift horses in his course, as often9775

Juturna turned and wheeled the chariot. 9776

Ah, what to do? Vainly he fluctuated on the shifting tide,9777

and diverse concerns called his thoughts away.9778

Messapus, who happened to be carrying two strong spears9779

tipped with steel, advanced lightly towards him,9780

levelled one, and hurled it with unerring aim.9781

Aeneas stopped, and gathered himself behind his shield9782

sinking on one knee: the swift spear still took off the tip9783

of his helmet, and knocked the plumes from the crest.9784

Then his anger truly surged, and incited by all this treachery,9785

seeing his enemy’s chariot and horses driven far off,9786

calling loudly on Jove, and the altars of the broken treaty, 9787

as witness, he plunged at last into the fray, 9788

and, aided by Mars, he awoke dreadful, savage, 9789

indiscriminate slaughter, and gave full rein to his wrath.9790

BkXII:500-553 Aeneas And Turnus Amongst The Slaughter9791

What god can now relate for me such bitter things as these,9792

who can tell of such varied slaughter, the deaths of generals,9793

whom Turnus now, and now the Trojan hero, drove in turn9794

over the field? Jupiter was it your will that races who would live9795

together in everlasting peace should meet in so great a conflict?9796

Aeneas meeting Rutulian Sucro (in the first battle 9797

that brought the Trojan attack to a halt) quickly struck him9798

in the side, and drove the cruel steel through the ribs9799

that protect the heart, where death come fastest. 9800

Turnus threw Amycus from his horse, and Diores his brother, 9801

attacking them on foot, striking one with the long lance 9802

as he advanced, the other with his sword, then hanging both 9803

their severed heads from his chariot carried them away9804

dripping with blood. Aeneas sent Talos and Tanais 9805

and brave Cethegus to death, three in one attack, 9806

and sad Onites of Theban name, whose mother was Peridia:9807

Turnus killed the brothers sent from Lycia, Apollo’s fields,9808

and Menoetes of Arcadia, who had hated war, but in vain:9809

his humble home and his living were round Lerna’s9810

fish-filled streams, never knowing the patronage 9811

of the great, and his father farmed rented land. 9812

Like fires set burning from opposite sides of a dry forest9813

into the thickets of crackling laurel, or foaming rivers9814

falling swiftly from the mountain heights, roaring9815

and racing seawards, each leaving its path of destruction,9816

so Aeneas and Turnus with no less fury swept through the battle:9817

now anger surged within: now their hearts which knew no defeat 9818

were bursting: now with all their strength they set out to do harm.9819

As he boasted of his fathers, and the antiquity of his ancestors’ 9820

names, and all his race traced back through Latin kings,9821

Aeneas sent Murranus headlong with a stone, a great whirling rock,9822

and hurled him to the ground: beneath the reins and yoke,9823

the wheels churned him round, and the horses’ hooves,9824

forgetful of their master, trampled him under with many a blow.9825

Turnus met Hyllus as he charged, roaring with boundless pride,9826

and hurled a spear at his gilded forehead: piercing 9827

the helmet the weapon lodged in his brain. Cretheus,9828

bravest of Greeks, your right hand did not save you 9829

from Turnus, nor did the gods hide Cupencus when Aeneas9830

came: he set his chest against the weapon’s track, 9831

and the bronze shield’s resistance profited the wretch nothing.9832

The Laurentine field saw you fall also, Aeolus,9833

on your back, sprawled wide on the ground.9834

You fell, whom the Greek battalions could not lay low, nor Achilles 9835

who overturned Priam’s kingdom: here was the boundary 9836

of death for you: your noble house was below Mount Ida, 9837

that noble house at Lyrnesus, your grave in Laurentine soil. 9838

All the lines turned towards battle, the whole of the Latins,9839

the whole of the Trojans, Mnestheus and fierce Serestus,9840

Messapus, tamer of horses, and brave Asilas,9841

the Tuscan phalanx, Evander’s Arcadian squadron,9842

each for himself, men straining with all their strength:9843

no respite and no rest: exerting themselves in one vast conflict.9844

BkXII:554-592 Aeneas Attacks The City9845

Now his loveliest of mothers set in his mind the idea 9846

of moving against the walls, and turning his army on the city,9847

swiftly, to confound the Latins with sudden ruin.9848

While he tracked Turnus here and there through the ranks9849

and swept his glance this way and that, he could see9850

the city, free of fierce warfare and peacefully unharmed.9851

Suddenly an image of a more ambitious act of war inflamed him:9852

he called the generals Mnestheus, Sergestus and brave Serestus,9853

and positioned himself on a hillock, where the rest of the Trojan army9854

gathered round in a mass, without dropping their shields or spears.9855

Standing amongst them on the high mound he cried:9856

‘Let nothing impede my orders, Jupiter is with us, and let 9857

no one be slower to advance because this attempt is so sudden.9858

Today I will overthrow that city, a cause of war, Latinus’s 9859

capital itself, and lay its smoking roofs level with the ground,9860

unless they agree to accept our rule, and submit, in defeat.9861

Do you think I can wait until Turnus can face battle with me,9862

and chooses to meet with me again, though defeated before?9863

O citizens, this man is the fountainhead and source of this wicked war.9864

Quickly, bring burning brands, and re-establish the treaty, with fire.’9865

He spoke, and all his troops adopted wedge-formation, hearts 9866

equal in emulation, and advanced in a dense mass towards the walls:9867

in a flash, scaling ladders and sudden flames appeared.9868

Some ran to the gates and cut down the leading defenders,9869

others hurled steel, and darkened the sky with missiles.9870

Aeneas himself, among the leaders, raised his hand, at the foot9871

of the wall, accused Latinus in a loud voice, and called the gods9872

to witness that he was being forced into battle again,9873

that the Italians were doubly enemies, another treaty was broken.9874

Dissension rose among the fearful citizens: some commanded 9875

the city be opened, and the gates be thrown wide9876

to the Trojans, and they dragged the king himself to the ramparts:9877

others brought weapons and hurried to defend the walls,9878

as when a shepherd, who’s tracked a swarm to its lair 9879

concealed in the rock, fills it with acrid smoke:9880

the bees inside, anxious for safety, rush round9881

their wax fortress, and sharpen their anger in loud buzzing:9882

the reeking darkness rolls through their hive, the rocks9883

echo within to a blind humming, and fumes reach the clear air. 9884

BkXII:593-613 Queen Amata’s Suicide9885

Now further misfortune befell the weary Latins,9886

and shook the whole city to its foundations with grief.9887

When Queen Amata, from the palace, saw the enemy 9888

approaching, the walls assaulted, flames mounting to the roofs,9889

but no opposing Rutulian lines, nor Turnus’s army,9890

the unhappy queen thought Turnus had been killed 9891

in combat, and, her mind distraught, in sudden anguish,9892

she cried out that she was the cause, the guilty one, the source9893

of evil, and uttering many wild words in the frenzy 9894

of grief, wanting to die, she tore her purple robes,9895

and fastened a hideous noose of death to a high beam.9896

As soon as the wretched Latin women knew of the disaster,9897

first her daughter Lavinia fell into a frenzy, tearing at her golden9898

tresses and rosy cheeks with her hands, then all the crowd9899

around her: the wide halls echoed to their lamentations.9900

From there the unhappy rumour spread throughout the city:9901

Spirits sank: Latinus went about with rent clothing,9902

stunned by his wife’s fate and his city’s ruin,9903

fouling his white hair with clouds of vile dust,9904

reproaching himself again and again for not having freely9905

received Trojan Aeneas, and adopted him as his son-in-law.9906

BkXII:614-696 Turnus Hears Of Amata’s Death9907

Meanwhile Turnus, fighting at the edge of the plain,9908

was pursuing the stragglers now, more slowly,9909

and rejoicing less and less in his horses’ advance.9910

The breeze bore a clamour to him mingled 9911

with an unknown dread, and the cheerless sounds 9912

of a city in chaos met his straining ears. 9913

‘Ah, what is this great grief that shakes the walls?9914

What is this clamour that rises from the distant city?’9915

So he spoke, anxiously grasping the reins and halting.9916

At this his sister, controlling chariot, horses and reins9917

disguised in the shape of his charioteer, Metiscus, 9918

countered with these words: ‘Turnus, this way, let us chase9919

the sons of Troy, where victory forges the way ahead:9920

there are others with hands to defend our homes.9921

Aeneas is attacking the Italians, and stirring conflict:9922

let our hands too deal cruel death to the Trojans.9923

You will not leave the field inferior in battle honours9924

or the number you have killed’ Turnus replied to this:9925

‘O sister, I recognised you long ago, when you first 9926

wrecked the truce with your guile, and dedicated yourself to warfare,9927

and now too you hide your divinity in vain. But who desired9928

you to be sent down from Olympus to suffer such labours?9929

Was it so you might see your unlucky brother’s death?9930

What can I do? What chance can offer me life?9931

I saw Murranus fall, before my very eyes, calling out9932

to me, loudly, no one more dear to me than him remains,9933

a mighty man, and overwhelmed by a mighty wound. 9934

Unfortunate Ufens fell, so he might not witness our shame:9935

the Trojans captured his body and his armour.9936

Shall I endure the razing of our homes (the one thing left)9937

and not deny Drances’s words with my sword?9938

Shall I turn my back, and this country see Turnus run?9939

Is it indeed so terrible to die? Oh be good to me, you Shades9940

below, since the gods above have turned their faces from me.9941

I will descend to you, a virtuous soul, innocent9942

of blame, never unworthy of my great ancestors.’9943

He had barely spoken when Saces sped by, carried on a foaming 9944

horse through the thick of the enemy, wounded full in the face9945

by an arrow, and calling to Turnus by name as he rushed on:9946

‘Turnus, in you our last hope lies, pity your people.9947

Aeneas is explosive in arms, and threatens to throw down9948

Italy’s highest citadel and deliver it to destruction, even now 9949

burning brands fly towards the roofs. The Latins turn their faces 9950

to you, their eyes are on you: King Latinus mutters to himself, 9951

wavering as to whom to call his sons, towards what alliance to lean.9952

Moreover the queen, most loyal to you, has fallen 9953

by her own hand, and fled, in horror of the light.9954

Messapus and brave Atinas, alone in front of the gates9955

sustain our lines. Around them dense squadrons stand9956

on every side, a harvest of steel that bristles with naked swords,9957

while you drive your chariot over the empty turf.’9958

Stunned and amazed by this vision of multiple disaster,9959

Turnus stood silently gazing: fierce shame surged9960

in that solitary heart, and madness mingled with grief,9961

love stung to frenzy, consciousness of virtue.9962

As soon as the shadows dispersed, and light returned to his mind,9963

he turned his gaze, with blazing eyes, towards the walls,9964

and looked back on the mighty city from his chariot.9965

See, now, a spiralling crest of flame fastened 9966

on a tower, and rolled skyward through the stories, 9967

a tower he had built himself with jointed beams,9968

set on wheels, and equipped with high walkways.9969

He spoke: ‘Now, sister, now fate triumphs: no more delays:9970

where god and cruel fortune calls, let me follow.9971

I’m determined on meeting Aeneas, determined to suffer9972

death, however bitter: you’ll no longer see me ashamed, sister.9973

I beg you let me rage before I am maddened.’9974

And, leaping swiftly from his chariot to the ground,9975

he ran through enemy spears, deserting his grieving sister,9976

and burst, in his quick passage, through the ranks.9977

As when a rock torn from the mountaintop by a storm9978

hurtles downward, washed free by a tempest of rain9979

or loosened in time by the passage of the years,9980

and the wilful mass plunges down the slope in a mighty rush9981

and leaps over the ground, rolling trees, herds and men9982

with it: so Turnus ran to the city walls through the broken ranks,9983

where the soil was most drenched with blood, and the air9984

shrill with spears, signalled with his hand and began shouting aloud:9985

‘Rutulians stop now, and you Latins hold back your spears.9986

Whatever fate is here, is mine: it is better that I alone9987

make reparation for the truce and decide it with the sword.’9988

All drew back, and left a space in their midst.9989

BkXII:697-765 The Final Duel Begins9990

Now Aeneas the leader hearing the name of Turnus9991

left the walls, and left the high fortress,9992

cast aside all delay, broke off from every task,9993

and exultant with delight clashed his weapons fiercely:9994

vast as Mount Athos, or Mount Eryx, or vast as old Apennine9995

himself when he roars through the glittering holm-oaks9996

and joys in lifting his snowy summit to heaven.9997

Now all truly turned their eyes, stripping the armour 9998

from their shoulders, Rutulians, Trojans and Italians, 9999

those who held the high ramparts and those whose ram 10000

battered at the walls beneath. Latinus himself was amazed10001

at these mighty men, born at opposite ends of the world,10002

meeting and deciding the outcome with their swords.10003

As soon as the field was clear on the open plain,10004

they both dashed quickly forward, hurling their spears first10005

from a distance, rushing, with shield and ringing bronze, 10006

to battle. The earth groaned: they redoubled their intense10007

sword-strokes, chance and skill mingled together.10008

And as when two bulls charge head to head in mortal battle,10009

on mighty Sila or on Taburnus’s heights, and in terror10010

their keepers retreat, the whole herd stand silent with fear,10011

and the heifers wait, mute, to see who will be 10012

lord of the forest, whom all the herds will follow,10013

as they deal wounds to each other with immense force,10014

gore with butting horns, and bathe neck and shoulders10015

in streaming blood, while all the wood echoes to their bellowing:10016

so Trojan Aeneas and the Daunian hero, Turnus, 10017

clashed their shields, and the mighty crash filled the sky.10018

Jupiter himself held up two evenly balanced scales10019

before him, and placed in them the diverse fates of the two,10020

to see whom the effort doomed, with whose weight death sank down. 10021

Turnus leapt forward thinking himself safe, rose to the full height 10022

of his body with uplifted sword, and struck: the Trojans 10023

and the anxious Latins cried out, both armies were roused. 10024

But the treacherous blade snapped, and would have left the eager10025

warrior defenceless in mid-stroke, if immediate flight 10026

had not saved him. He ran swifter than the east wind, 10027

when he saw that strange hilt in his exposed right hand.10028

The tale is that in headlong haste, when he first mounted10029

behind his yoked team for battle, he left his father’s sword10030

behind, and snatched up the blade of his charioteer, Metiscus:10031

and that served him for a long while as the straggling Trojans10032

turned their backs, but the mortal blade flew apart10033

like brittle ice at the stroke, on meeting Vulcan’s 10034

divine armour: and the fragments gleamed on the yellow sand.10035

So Turnus ran madly this way and that over the plain, winding10036

aimless circles here and there: on all sides the Trojans 10037

imprisoned him in their crowded ring, and a vast marsh10038

penned him on one side, on the other the steep ramparts.10039

Aenaeas, no less, though his knees, slowed at times10040

by the arrow wound, failed him and denied him speed,10041

pursued and pressed his anxious enemy hotly, foot to foot:10042

as when a hound in the hunt presses on a stag, chasing 10043

and barking, one found trapped by the river or hedged in 10044

by fear of the crimson feathers: the stag, terrified 10045

by the snares and the high banks, flies backwards and forwards10046

a thousand ways, but the eager Umbrian clings close10047

with gaping mouth, almost has him, and snaps his jaws10048

as though he holds him, baffled and biting empty air:10049

Then a clamour breaks out indeed, the pools and banks10050

around echo, and the whole sky rings with the tumult.10051

As he fled Turnus chided the Rutulians, calling on each10052

by name and calling out for his own familiar sword.10053

Aeneas in turn threatened death and immediate destruction10054

if any one approached, and terrified his trembling enemies10055

threatening to raze the city, and pressing on though wounded.10056

They completed five circuits, and unwound as many,10057

this way and that: since they sought for no paltry prize 10058

at the games, but vied for Turnus’s life blood.10059

BkXII:766-790 The Goddesses Intervene10060

By chance this was the place where a bitter-leaved10061

wild olive, sacred to Faunus, had stood, a tree revered10062

by sailors of old, where, when saved from the sea, they used10063

to hang their gifts to the Laurentine god, and the votive garments:10064

but the Trojans had removed the sacred trunk, allowing10065

of no exceptions, in order to fight on open ground.10066

Here stood Aeneas’s spear, its impetus had carried it there,10067

fixed and held fast by the tough roots. The Trojan halted,10068

intending to pluck out the steel with his hand,10069

and pursue the man he couldn’t catch by running, 10070

with his javelin. Then Turnus mad with anxiety indeed cried: 10071

‘Faunus, pity me, I pray, and you, most gracious Earth10072

if I have every honoured your rites that the sons of Aeneas10073

have instead defiled by war, retain the steel.’10074

He spoke, and did not invoke the power of heaven in vain,10075

since Aeneas could not prise open the wood’s grip,10076

by any show of strength, though he wrestled long and lingered10077

over the strong stump. While he tugged and strained fiercely, Juturna,10078

the Daunian goddess, changing again to the shape of Metiscus,10079

the charioteer, ran forward and restored his sword to her brother.10080

But Venus, enraged that this was allowed the audacious nymph,10081

approached, and plucked the javelin from the deep root.10082

Refreshed with weapons and courage, one relying on his sword,10083

the other towering fiercely with his spear, both breathing hard,10084

they stood, tall, face to face, in martial conflict. 10085

BkXII:791-842 Jupiter And Juno Decide The Future10086

The king of almighty Olympus meanwhile was speaking 10087

to Juno, as she gazed at the fighting from a golden cloud:10088

‘Wife, what will the end be now? What will be left in the end?10089

You know yourself, and confess you know, that Aeneas,10090

is destined for heaven as the nation’s god: the Fates raise him to the stars.10091

What are you planning? What hope do you cling to in the cold clouds?10092

Was it right that this god be defiled by a mortal’s wound?10093

Or that the lost sword (for what could Juturna achieve without you?)10094

be restored to Turnus, the defeated gaining new strength?10095

Now cease, at last, and give way to my entreaties,10096

lest such sadness consume you in silence, and your bitter10097

woes stream back to me often from your sweet lips.10098

It has reached its end. You have had the power to drive10099

the Trojans over land and sea, to stir up evil war,10100

to mar a house, and mix marriage with grief:10101

I forbid you to attempt more.’ So Jupiter spoke:10102

so, with humble look, the Saturnian goddess replied:10103

‘Great Jupiter, truly, it was because I knew it was your wish10104

that I parted reluctantly from Turnus and the Earth:10105

or you would not see me alone now, on my celestial perch,10106

enduring the just and the unjust, but I’d be standing, wreathed in flame,10107

in the battle line itself, and drawing the Trojans into deadly combat.10108

I counselled Juturna (I confess) to help her unfortunate brother10109

and approved greater acts of daring for the sake of his life,10110

yet not for her to contend with the arrow or the bow:10111

I swear it by the implacable fountainhead of Styx, 10112

that alone is held in awe by the gods above.10113

And now I yield, yes, and leave the fighting I loathe.10114

Yet I beg this of you, for Latium’s sake, for the majesty 10115

of your own kin: since it is not prohibited by any law of fate: 10116

when they soon make peace with happy nuptials (so be it)10117

when they join together soon in laws and treaties,10118

don’t order the native Latins to change their ancient name,10119

to become Trojans or be called Teucrians,10120

or change their language, or alter their clothing.10121

Let Latium still exist, let there be Alban kings through the ages,10122

let there be Roman offspring strong in Italian virtue:10123

Troy has fallen, let her stay fallen, along with her name.’10124

Smiling at her, the creator of men and things replied:10125

‘You are a true sister of Jove, another child of Saturn,10126

such waves of anger surge within your heart.10127

Come, truly, calm this passion that was needlessly roused:10128

I grant what you wish, and I relent, willingly defeated.10129

Ausonia’s sons will keep their father’s speech and manners,10130

as their name is, so it will be: the Trojans shall sink, merged10131

into the mass, only. I will add sacred laws and rites,10132

and make them all Latins of one tongue.10133

From them a race will rise, merged with Ausonian blood,10134

that you will see surpass men and gods in virtue,10135

no nation will celebrate your rites with as much devotion.’10136

Juno agreed it, and joyfully altered her purpose:10137

then left her cloud, and departed from the sky.10138

BkXII:843-886 Jupiter Sends Juturna A Sign10139

This done the Father turns something else over in his mind10140

and prepares to take Juturna from her brother’s side.10141

Men speak of twin plagues, named the Dread Ones,10142

whom Night bore untimely, in one birth with Tartarean Megaera,10143

wreathing them equally in snaky coils, and adding wings swift10144

as the wind. They wait by Jove’s throne on the fierce king’s10145

threshold, and sharpen the fears of weak mortals 10146

whenever the king of the gods sends plagues 10147

and death’s horrors, or terrifies guilty cities with war.10148

Jupiter sent one of them quickly down from heaven’s heights10149

and ordered her to meet with Juturna as a sign:10150

she flew, and darted to earth in a swift whirlwind.10151

Like an arrow loosed from the string, through the clouds,10152

that a Parthian, a Parthian or a Cydonian, fired,10153

hissing, and leaping unseen through the swift shadows,10154

a shaft beyond all cure, armed with cruel poison’s venom:10155

so sped the daughter of Night, seeking the earth.10156

As soon as she saw the Trojan ranks and Turnus’s troops,10157

she changed her shape, suddenly shrinking to the form of that10158

small bird that perching at night on tombs or deserted rooftops, 10159

often sings her troubling song so late among the shadows – 10160

and the fiend flew screeching to and fro in front 10161

of Turnus’s face, and beat at his shield with her wings.10162

A strange numbness loosed his limbs in dread,10163

his hair stood up in terror, and his voice clung to his throat.10164

But when his wretched sister Juturna recognised the Dread One’s10165

whirring wings in the distance, she tore at her loosened hair, marring10166

her face with her nails, and her breasts with her clenched hands:10167

‘What help can your sister give you now, Turnus?10168

What is left for me who have suffered so? With what art10169

can I prolong your life? Can I stand against such a portent?10170

Now at last I leave the ranks. Bird of ill-omen, do not you 10171

terrify me who already am afraid: I know your wing-beats10172

and their fatal sound, and I do not mistake the proud command10173

of great-hearted Jupiter. Is this his reward for my virginity?10174

Why did he grant me eternal life? Why is the mortal condition10175

taken from me? Then, at least, I could end such pain10176

and go through the shadows at my poor brother’s side!10177

An immortal, I? Can anything be sweet to me without you10178

my brother? Oh what earth can gape deep enough for me,10179

to send a goddess down to the deepest Shades?’10180

So saying she veiled her head in a grey mantle, and the goddess,10181

with many a cry of grief, plunged into the river’s depths.10182

BkXII:887-952 The Death Of Turnus10183

Aeneas pressed on, brandishing his great spear like a tree,10184

and, angered at heart, he cried out in this way: 10185

‘Why now yet more delay? Why do you still retreat, Turnus? 10186

We must compete hand to hand with fierce weapons, not by running.10187

Change into every form: summon up all your powers 10188

of mind and art, wing your way if you wish 10189

to the high stars, or hide in earth’s hollow prison.’10190

Turnus shook his head: ‘Fierce man, your fiery words10191

don’t frighten me: the gods terrify me and Jupiter’s enmity.’10192

Saying no more he looked round seeing a great rock,10193

a vast ancient stone, that happened to lie there in the plain,10194

set up as a boundary marker, to distinguish fields in dispute.10195

Twelve picked men, men of such form as Earth 10196

now produces, could scarcely have lifted it on their shoulders,10197

but the hero, grasping it quickly, rising to his full height 10198

and as swiftly as he could, hurled it at his enemy.10199

But he did not know himself, running or moving10200

raising the great rock in his hands, or throwing:10201

his knees gave way, his blood was frozen cold.10202

The stone itself, whirled by the warrior through the empty air,10203

failed to travel the whole distance, or drive home with force.10204

As in dreams when languid sleep weighs down our eyes at night,10205

we seem to try in vain to follow our eager path,10206

and collapse helpless in the midst of our efforts,10207

the tongue won’t work, the usual strength is lacking10208

from our limbs, and neither word nor voice will come:10209

so the dread goddess denied Turnus success,10210

however courageously he sought to find a way.10211

Then shifting visions whirled through his brain:10212

he gazed at the Rutulians, and at the city, faltered10213

in fear, and shuddered at the death that neared,10214

he saw no way to escape, no power to attack his enemy,10215

nor sign of his chariot, nor his sister, his charioteer.10216

As he wavered, Aeneas shook his fateful spear,10217

seeing a favourable chance, and hurled it from the distance10218

with all his might. Stone shot from a siege engine10219

never roared so loud, such mighty thunder never burst10220

from a lightning bolt. Like a black hurricane the spear flew on10221

bearing dire destruction, and pierced the outer circle 10222

of the seven-fold shield, the breastplate’s lower rim,10223

and, hissing, passed through the centre of the thigh.10224

Great Turnus sank, his knee bent beneath him, under the blow.10225

The Rutulians rose up, and groaned, and all the hills around 10226

re-echoed, and, far and wide, the woods returned the sound.10227

He lowered his eyes in submission and stretched out his right hand:10228

‘I have earned this, I ask no mercy’ he said, 10229

‘seize your chance. If any concern for a parent’s grief10230

can touch you (you too had such a father, in Anchises)10231

I beg you to pity Daunus’s old age and return me,10232

or if you prefer it my body robbed of life, to my people.10233

You are the victor, and the Ausonians have seen me 10234

stretch out my hands in defeat: Lavinia is your wife,10235

don’t extend your hatred further.’ Aeneas stood, fierce10236

in his armour, his eyes flickered, and he held back his hand:10237

and even now, as he paused, the words began to move him10238

more deeply, when high on Turnus’s shoulder young Pallas’s10239

luckless sword-belt met his gaze, the strap glinting with its familiar10240

decorations, he whom Turnus, now wearing his enemy’s emblems10241

on his shoulder, had wounded and thrown, defeated, to the earth.10242

As soon as his eyes took in the trophy, a memory of cruel grief,10243

Aeneas, blazing with fury, and terrible in his anger, cried:10244

‘Shall you be snatched from my grasp, wearing the spoils10245

of one who was my own? Pallas it is, Pallas, who sacrifices you10246

with this stroke, and exacts retribution from your guilty blood.’10247

So saying, burning with rage, he buried his sword deep10248

in Turnus’s breast: and then Turnus’s limbs grew slack 10249

with death, and his life fled, with a moan, angrily, to the Shades.10250

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Comments

  • The whole Aeneid?! I don't think I have the time or the attention span to read it all, but I love mythology. It was a cool idea posting it here, but maybe it would be better in chapters?