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.tEneas offering a sacrifice-Altar of Peace, Rome

Adventures of !Eneas

One speech in it I chiefly loved: 'twas /Eneas' tale to•Dido.

Shakespeare

From Troy to Carthage

One of the bravest heroes of the Trojan War was A:neas, who, it will be recalled, was the only man that dared oppose Achilles in his wrath after the death of Patroclus. He was the son of Venus by a mortal father, Anchises, and from him the Romans traced their descent. A

great Latin poet, Virgil, told in one of the master epics of all times, the /f.neid, how A:neas escaped from Troy and after many adventures came to Italy and founded the state of Latium.

When Troy fell, A:neas escaped from the conflagration . He carried Anchises out on his back, and with him went his wife and young son. But before they could get away, his wife perished. For a time A:neas lingered at a place nearby, and then set sail for some new land. He came first to Thrace, afterwards to Crete, but in neither place did the gods favor the idea of building a city. In a dream A:neas was told to seek a land in the west called Hesperia.

So A:neas and his companions sailed westward , but before they reached Hesperia (today called Italy) many adventures befell them. First they encountered the Harpies. They had landed on an island on which roamed many fat cattle. Some of these they killed for food. just as they were sitting down to eat, a flock of evil-appearing and evil-smelling Harpies appeared and snatched the food from the tables. They beat at them with their swords in vain; and finally, left the island in disgust.

later they came to the land of the Cyclopes, and from the shore they were hailed by a man in tattered garments, who implored them to take him on board. He was a Greek, he told A:neas, a sailor on the ship of Ulysses, who had accidentally been left behind when Ulysses had fled from Polyphemus. Even as the Greek was speaking, ·rolyphemus himself came stumbling along-a fear-inspiring monster, huge in bulk, with an angry red cavity where his eye had been. Hearing the voiees, the terrible giant waded toward the ship of the Trojans, his immense height standing far above the waves. He shouted at them as he heard their oars fall in the water, and his voice brought the other Cyclopes to the shore, which they lined like a row of mighty pines. The Trojans were glad when their vessel was once more on the deep sea out of danger.

A:neas, warned by those familiar with the dangers of Scylla and Charybdis, avoided entirely the r~gion where these monsters dwelt and skirted the coast of Sicily. At this• time his father Anchises died. Juno, looking down from lwavl'n , f(•lt lwr n•spntrn(•nt risp ilgJin at th(' smTPSs with

.tEneas escaping from Troy

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which this remnant of the Trojan people was making its way to a new land. So she caused a great tempest to arise, and the vessels were scattered far and wide. They were all in danger of shipwreck when Neptune became aware that a storm was raging without his consent. He saw the fleet of A:neas in the midst of the storm, and immediately guessed that Juno was at fault. He ordered the waves to cease from tumult and he sent the clouds scurrying back to their mountain homes. Such ships as had run on the rocks he pried loose with his trident. As soon as the sea had become calm, the whole fleet sought the nearest port to repair the damage that the winds and waves had done. They found themselves on the shores of Carthage-a Phrenician colony which lay opposite Sicily on the coast of northern Africa.

Here reigned Queen Dido. She received A:neas hospitably, held games in his honor, and listened entranced to the tale of his adventures. So attractive was the Trojan hero and so moving was the narrative of his exploits that Dido fell in love with him, and offered herself to him as a bride-with her kingdom as a dowry. A:neas might perhaps have been tempted to accept, but Jupiter sent Mercury to him with a message reminding him that his destiny would not be fulfilled until he had journeyed farther. Dido, assisted by her sister Anna, did her best to dissuade A:neas from actually setting out, but when all her allurements proved in vain and A:neas hoisted sail, she prepared a funeral pyre, mounted it, staobed herself, and was consumed in flames. A:neas, looking back, saw the flames of the pyre mounting over Carthage.

Neptune, at the urging of Venus, now consented to let A:neas reach Italy in safety, but he demanded the sacrifice of one life. The pilot of A:neas, Palinurus, was the one whom fate selected as the victim. Neptune sent the god of sleep, Somnus, to him as he watched by ~he helm, and gradually slumber stole upon him. Then Somnus gently shoved him into the waves, but he continued to grasp the helm and it came away in his hands. Neptune guided the ship safely over the waves until A:neas saw that Palinurus had disappeared. Greatly grieved at his loss, A:neas himself took charge and at last they touched the Italian shore.

In the Underworld

In order to obtain further counsel, IEneas visited the Cumcean sibyl. She dwelt in a grove sacred to Apollo, and had been endowed with the gift of prophecy. No sooner did she behold IEneas than she seemed to recognize him. She prophesied that he would still have to undergo many hardships and perils, but in the end would conquer them. IEneas asked her to help him enter the abode of the dead, in order to meet his father Anchises, and hear from him what the future of the Trojans would be in their new home. The sibyl warned him that the descent to Avernus was easy, but that to retrace's one's steps and come to the upper air again was very difficult. First he must seek a certain tree on which grew a golden bough. He was to pluck this bough and carry it along with him as a gift to Proserpina. IEneas, with the help of Venus, found the tree, plucked the branch, and sought the sibyl once more.

Near Mount Vesuvius IEneas found the cavern of Avernus, and, guided by the sibyl, descended into the underworld. There, in deep terror,·he beheld the Furies, saw the dread forms of Death, Hunger, and Fear, heard hydras hiss frightfully and shrank back as chimeras breathed fire. At the sight of the Golden Bough Charon relaxed his sternness and consented to ferry IEneas across the Styx.

On the opposite shore Cerberus came to meet them, his three heads growling, but when he had devoured a drugged sop that the sibyl threw him, he fell fast asleep. Through the regions of the underworld IEneas then passed, sometimes with great sadness as he beheld persons whom he had known. Among others whom he encountered was Dido, and IEneas realized that the flames that he had seen when he left Carthage were those of her funeral pyre. He asked her to forgive him and to bid him a last farewell, but with eyes averted she vouchsafed him no word.

He saw, too, the warriors in whose company he had fought and those others against whom his spear had many times been cast. The Trojans thronged around him, but the GreC'ks, as on the plains of Troy, fled when they beheld his

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glittering armor. He saw and recognized Palinurus, and heard from him how he had been thrust into the sea and drowned. The pilot begged IEneas to take him back with him to the land of the living, but the sibyl told him that this was impossible, although the place where his body had been washed ashore should ever after be called Cape Palinurus. He also saw lxion and Tantalus. Wandering through the Elysian Fields he heard Orpheus playing his lyre, and he gazed on heroes and bards feasting merrily or listening to strains of music.

At last he found Anchises, who showed him the Valley of Oblivion, where dwell the souls of those yet to be born. He enumerated to his son what heroes and statesmen would proceed from among these souls to establish the glory of the Trojan-later the Roman-state. Then IEneas and the sibyl made their way back to the mortal world.

In Italy

!Eneas parted from the sibyl, to whom he promised eternal reverence, and continued to sail along the coast of Italy until he came to the mouth of the Tiber. The land of Latium, situated around this river, was ruled by King Latinus, who traced his descent from Saturn. He had no son, but his beautiful daughter Lavinia had many suitors. Of them all her parents favored ~mus, king of the Rutulians, although Latinus had been warned in a dream that the man whom Lavinia was destined to marry would come from another land, and that their offspring would one day rule the world.

When IEneas appeared in the land of Latium, he was · hospitably received by Latinus, who immediately recognized in the Trojan hero the son-in-law destined for him. But Juno once more stirred up trouble for the Trojans, chiefly by arousing the wrath of Turnus against this possible rival. Finally King Latinus himself was persuaded to dismiss the" strangprs from his country; and Juno, descending from

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heaven, burst open the gates of the Temple of Janus-the sign of war.

To help Turnus, who was recognized as leader of the party opposed to A:neas, came Camilla, a favorite of Diana. She was a huntress and a warrior; and she had taken a resolution never to marry.

Other allies ranged themselves with Turnus. A:neas was troubled at the forces arrayed against him, but in a dream Father Tiber appeared to him and encouraged him. He told him, too, that he must seek Evander, chief of the Arcadians, who was an old enemy of Turnus's, and ally himself with him. A:neas awoke and immediately sought out King Evander, whose capital was situated where later Rome arose. Evander and his son, Pallas, welcomed A:neas and were glad to ally themselves with him; but Evander told A:neas that his own power was very slight. He proposed, however, that A:neas seek out the Etruscans, who had just ejected their king, Mezentius, for cruelty. Mezentius had taken refuge with Turnus, and the Etruscans would naturally be willing to join A:neas. The latter immediately set out for the Etruscan camp, and found that the Etruscan leaders rejoiced at the opportunity to conclude an alliance with him.

While A:neas was away on this business of winning allies for himself, Juno sent Iris to Turnus and urged him to take advantage of the fact that the leader of the Trojans was absent. Turnus accordingly attacked the Trojan camp, but the Trojans defended themselves skillfully and refused to be drawn out of their entrenchments. Night came on, and the army of Turnus withdrew in seeming triumph. Two Trojans, Nisus and Euryalus, offered to steal through the camp of their enemies and carry word of their situation to A:neas. They set out on their mission, and had actually passed through the army of besiegers when they were intercepted by a troop coming to join Turnus. Even then Nisus might have escaped, but seeing his friend in the hands of their foes, he slew as many as he could before he and Euryalus were killed.

Soon A:neas arrived on the scene with his Etruscan allies, and then the war raged in earnest. The two armies were pretty well matched, and for a time the advantage lay

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with neither. In a personal combat A:neas killed the tyrant Mezentius and his son Lausus, while in the same battle Turnus overcame Pallas. In another battle Camilla greatly distinguished herself, but while she pursued one man too ardently, she was slain by a javelin hurled by an Etruscan warrior named Aruns. Diana was angered at the death of her follower, and as Aruns stole away from the field in secret triumph, he was struck and killed by an arrow from the bow of a nymph in Diana's train.

Gradually A:neas seemed to be getting the upper hand, and when Turnus could no longer resist the murmurings and reproaches of his followers, he was obliged to seek out A:neas in single combat. The Trojan hero was assisted by his divine mother and by the Fates, and to protect himself he wore an armor specially fashioned for him by Vulcan. Turnus, on the other hand, was quite without the aid of the gods, for Jupiter, in obedience to the decrees of destiny, forbade Juno to interfere in his behalf against the might of A:neas. The spear of Turnus fell harmless from the shield of A:neas, but the spear of A:neas pierced the shield of Turnus and wounded the latter in the thigh. Turnus begged for mercy, and A:neas would have granted it to him gladly. But even as Turnus spoke the eye of the Trnjan fell upon the belt of Pallas, a trophy of the slain prince that Turnus had taken from him when he slew him. Then A:neas was again filled with wrath and in the nan;ie of Pallas he killed Turnus.

Thus the war ended, A:neas triumphed, and the Roman state began. A:neas married Lavinia and founded a city in her name-Lavinium. His son, Ascanius or lulus, founded Alba Longa. From him Julius Ccesar himself claimed descent.

Romulus and Remus

It was in Alba Longa that twins, called Romulus and Remus, were born to a descendant of lulus, named Rhea Sylvia, and it was believed that they were her children by Mars. The branch of the family to which Rhea Sylvia belonged had, however, bPen excluded

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This statue has become the most famous portrayal of the founders of Rome.

from the throne, and she and her children, in order to prevent any hostile demonstrations in their favor, were condemned to be drowned in the Tiber.

But the cradle in whi~h the children were exposed was stranded on the shore before any harm had come to them. There they were found by a she-wolf, which carried them to her den and suckled them along with her own young. They were found by thE! king's shepherd, who took the infants to his own house and gave them into the care of his wife.

When they had grown to manhood Romulus and Remus resolved to found a city of their own. This they did on the banks of the Tiber. But a strife arose between the brothers over the name of the city, each wishing it to be called after himself; and a combat ensued in which Remus was killed.

The numbers in Rome were so few that Romulus invited all murderers and runaway slaves to take refuge'in it, and so he increased its population. But the inhabitants

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The king's shepherds disco:er Romulus and Remus.

were mainly men, and to secure wives a large number of maidens were carried off from the neighboring tribe of the Sabines and brought to Rome. When their fathers angrily advanced on Rome with an army, the Sabine women themselves, now reconciled to their Roman husbands, intervened and begged them all to make peac;e. They not only did so, but agreed to form a single nation, over which Romulus ruled for thirty-seven years. At the end of that period he was snatched up to heaven in a fiery chariot by his father Mars. He was worshiped thereafter by the Romans, sometimes under the name of Quirinus. Rome itself became in time the ruler of the world.

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PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

References to Mythology in Literature

What do the following references mean? Where a word or phrase is italicized, explain only the word of phrase.

1. The word by seers or sibyls told, In groves of oak or fanes of gold, Still floats upon the morning wind, Still whispers to th~ willing mind.-Emerson

2. It was like the golden branch that gained fEnE\as and the sibyl admittance into Hades.-Hawthome

3. They do not willingly seek Lavinian shores.-lamb 4. Softer than the lap where Venus lulled Ascanius.

-lamb 5. In such a night

Stood Dido, with a willow in her hand, Upon the wild sea-banks, and waved her love To come again to Carthage.-~hakespeare

Suggestions for Oral or Written Composition

1. When fEneas takes on board the sailor of Ulysses who was left behind in the land of the Cyclopes, the marooned Greek has an interesting story to tell. Describe how fEneas questions him, and what replies he gives.

2. fEneas tells Dido about the fall of Troy, as a result of the stratagem of the wooden horse. Give the story as he tells it.

3. You have an opportunity to interview fEneas in the Elysian Fields. Tell him about Rome and Italy today, and report his comments.

4. Invent an adventure in which Camilla played a part, in the days before the coming of fEneas and of the war in which she fell.

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5. Give a number of suggestions for effective scenes in a motion-picture play to be based on the story of fEneas.

Word Study

1. Tell something about the origin of the following words:

sibylline-prophetic, mysterious harpy-a greedy, grasping person

2. Look up the following names in a mythological dictionary and practice the correct pronunciation. fEneas, Anchises, Cyclopes, Polyphemus, Phrenician, Dido, sibyl, Latinus, Lavinia, Camilla.

3. Which names of characters in the story of fEneas are still used today as given names? Select one that you would like to see revived and explain why.

4. What names of places are explained by the story of fEneas? How did Rome derive its name? What is meant by the expression "to cut up didoes"?

Questions for Review

1. Who was fEneas? Describe his parentage. 2. How did he escape from Troy? 3. Where was Hesperia? • 4. What adventure did fEneas and his companions

have with the Harpies? In the land of the Cyclopes? 5. How did fEneas escape Scylla and Charybdis? 6. Who was the enemy of fEneas among the gods? 7. What trouble did she cause as he was approaching

his future home? 8. How did Neptune help him? 9. Where did fEneas find himself at the end of the

storm? 10. Who was the ruler of the land? 11. Was she attracted to fEneas? 12. What happened when fEneas rejected her

proposals and set sail? 13. What sacrifice did Juno demand before A:neas was

allowed to reach Italy? 14. What prophetess did A:neas visit? 15. What land did he visit with her assistance? 16. What did A:neas see on his trip to the underworld? 17. What figures of the future did Anchises show him? 18. What was the "Lavinian shore," and who was

Lavinia? 19. Who was the rival of A:neas for the hand of the

latter? What war ensued? 20. Who was Camilla? 21. Who were Evander and Pallas? 22. Why did the Etruscans help A:neas? 23. How did Nisus and Euryalus die? 24. How was Camilla slain? 25. Who was the victor in the combat between A:neas

and Turnus? 26. Who were the descendants of A:neas, and how did

they become the founders of the Roman state? 27. Who was the father of Romulus and Remus? 28. What happened to them? 29. What city did they found? 30. Why did they quarrel?

Reading List

Brooks, Edward: The Story of the "/fneid" Church, A. J.: Yirgil's "/fneid" Retold Clarke, M.: The Story of /fneas Dryden, John: Virgil's "/fneid" in English Verse Howe I I, H. L.: Stories from the "/f neid" Marlowe, Christopher, and Thomas Nash: Dido Slaughter, M.: The Story of Turnus ..

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