Basic Summaries (Adapted from Kenneth Quinn, Virgil S Aeneid: a Critical Description)

Lerer Humanities 2, 2017 The Aeneid Basic summaries (adapted from Kenneth Quinn, Virgil’s Aeneid: A Critical Description)

Book I: Aeneas and his men, having left Troy, are overtaken by a great storm; the fleet is scattered; Aeneas makes it, with seven ships, to the north coast of Africa. He meets Venus, his mother, disguised as a hunting girl; she tells him to head for Carthage, where he is reunited with his companions and meets the Queen of Carthage, Dido. Dido arranges a great feast; Venus sends her other son, Cupid, disguised as Aeneas’ own son (Ascanius), and instructs him to make Dido fall in love with Aeneas.

The prologue Invocation The central cause or purpose of the poem The Storm Juno and Aeolus Aeneas Neptune Landing in Africa Interlude – Jove and Venus; Jove’s prophecy Arrival in Carthage Venus and Aeneas Aeneas arrives; the temple; meets Dido Ilioneus’ speech; Aeneas and Dido The Banquet Preparing Venus and Cupid; Ascanius kidnapped The banquet itself and the song of Iopas

Book 2: Aeneas tells his story; he tells the story of the Trojan horse, how the Trojans listened to Sinon instead of Laocoon and brought the wooden horse inside the walls of the city of Troy. He recalls how, that night, Hector visited Aeneas in a vision and told him to save the Trojans. Aeneas tells how he joined the fighting in the streets, went to Priam’s palace, and saw Priam killed by Neopteolemus; Aeneas is ready to kill Helen in revenge when Venus reveals to him that the gods have joined together in the destruction of Troy and that he should get on his way to escape. Aeneas tells how he returns home, sees the flame and the comet as omens, gets his father Anchises to agree to leave; Aeneas loses his wife, Creusa; the Trojan refugees gather on Mount Ida.

The Trojan Horse Inspection Laocoon speaks Sinon’s three speeches Laocoon speaks The horse is let in Fall of Troy 2

Beginning of the attack Hector visits Aeneas in a vision Aeneas and Panthus; Aeneas gathers his troops The Fighting In the streets At the temple of Pallas; Cassandra At Priam’s palace Death of Priam Helen Venus and the vision of the gods destroying Troy Preparing for Exile Anchises; visions of the flame and comet Aeneas and his group set out Creusa lost; Aeneas returns Vision of Creusa On Mount Ida

Book 3: Aeneas and his people spend a winter preparing, then set out to travel the Mediterranean in search of their new home; they try to settle, unsuccessfully, in Trace and Crete; the reach Buthrotum in Epirus; several years have gone by. They spend a few months in Buthrotum; Helenus, who governs these former dominions of Chilles in Thrace, tells Aeneas a detailed prophecy about what lies ahead. Finally, they sail from Epirus to Italy and then to Sicily; after a night near Mount Etna in Sicily, they pick up one of Ulysses’ men, named Achaemenides, and they travel around the south coast of Sicily, where Achaemenides dies.

Introduction To Buthrotum Thrace Delos Crete Storm at sea; island of the Harpies Leucas To Buthrotum At Buthroum Andromachae and Helenus Prophecy of Helenus Departure To Sicily To Italy Near Etna Achaemenides and Polyphemus Around Sicily; summary of actions

Book IV: Dido has been listening to the story the whole time and, thanks to the ministrations of Cupid, has fallen in love with Aeneas. She is tormented by her infatuation with him; she has been frustrated in marriage. She lets herself be seduced by Aeneas (or does she?) while they are 3 taking shelter from a storm on the day of the great hunt. She believes they are, in some sense now, “married.” Aeneas and Dido continue their relationship, until Mercury visits Aeneas and tells him to get on with his mission and leave Carthage. Aeneas and Dido have a fight; she begs him to stay longer; he refuses; she kills herself. Dido builds a great pyre in the palace, and after cursing Aeneas, kills herself on it as Aeneas sails out of Carthage with his ships.

Dido in love Juno and Venus The hunt and the cave scene Fame Iarbas Jove, Mercury, and Aeneas Aeneas decides to leave Aeneas and Dido argue She asks him to stay He refuses; she plans She gets ready to kill herself Aeneas leaves She dies Epilogue

Book V: Aeneas and his men sail away from Carthage and watch the flames of Dido’s funeral pyre from their ships; a storm forces them to land at Drepanum in Sicily; they decide to take a day off and have funeral games there to mark the anniversary of the death at Drepanum of Anchises (Aeneas’s father). There is a boat race, a food race, a boxing match, an archery contest; there is a final ceremonial cavalry parade; the Trojan women freak out and try to set fire to the fleet. Aeneas can’t decide whether to keep on going to Italy, but eventually Neptune intercedes and escorts the ships out of harbor; Palunurus is lost at sea during the night.

To Drepanum Games announced; tomb of Anchises; the snake The Games Boat race Foot race Boxing Archery Troy Game Burning of the ships – Aeneas loses his nerve Aeneas’s indecision Vision of Anchises They leave Venus and Neptune Under way, finally; Palinurus’ death 4

Book VI: Aeneas and his men land in Italy, at Cumae – the home of the Sibyl. Aeneas consults the Sibyl for her prophecy; she makes her prophecy, and he asks her how to find his father in the underworld; she tells him he has to find the golden bough, and then he has to bury the body of a companion when he returns to the ships. He does these things, and then the Sibyl leads Aeneas into Hades. Aeneas and the Sibyl pass through the entrance, they get Charon to take them across the river Acheron, then make their way through the plains of grief (where they run into many dead people, including Dido); the Sibyl describes Tartarus (where Aeneas will not go). They reach the elysian fields; Aeneas sees his father and gets a revelation and a prophecy from him; the returns to the world above and to his fleet.

Arrival at Cumae Sibyl speaks; at the temple of Apollo Misenus speaks Aeneas finds the golden bough Misenus speaks Sibyl speaks; at Avernus; they leave for the underworld Invocation before the entry into the underworld Entrance to the underworld described Crossing Acheron: Charon, Palinurus, Charon, Cerberus The inhabitants of the underworld Children who have died in infancy The unjustly condemned Suicides Those who died of love Dido Others Deiphobus Description of Tartarus Arrival in Elysium Aeneas and Anchises Anchises’ first speech: doctrine of the souls Anchises’ second speech: Rome’s men of destiny Aeneas returns to the upper world.