Chapter Synopsis of The Aeneid - Study Guide by Virgil

is suddenly reminded of his duty to his family, and finds that he is alone. He spies Helen keeping watch on the doors of the temple of Vesta and determines to kill her, as recompense for the deaths she has caused. However, Venus appears to prevent him and urges him to go to his family.

After a final glance at the burning city, Aeneas reaches his father's house, only to find his father stubbornly refusing to move. Creusa implores Aeneas not to desert them. Suddenly Iulus' hair catches fire and at this omen, Anchises is persuaded to join them. They prepare for departure but, when they reach the appointed place, Creusa is missing. Aeneas returns to search for her and sees his own home in flames. As he calls out for Creusa, her ghost appears to him, telling him of his long journey ahead and that he must leave her behind. Her ghost disappears and Aeneas and his companions set out on their journey.

Book 3 - The Trojans' Wanderings

Having built a fleet and embarked upon their journey, the Trojans come to Thrace. In attempting to build walls for a new city, Aeneas offers a sacrifice and begins uprooting trees. To demonstrate that this is not the desired site for the new Trojan settlement, a portent appears to Aeneas: blood drips from the roots of the trees and the voice of Polydorus, a son of Priam sent into the protection of the king of Thrace with a large quantity of gold and subsequently murdered by him for it, calls on Aeneas not to dig up his burial-place, but to escape. The Trojans pay fresh funeral rites to Polydorus and leave Thrace.

On arrival at Delos, Aeneas prays for an omen. Apollo informs him that the Trojans will found a new Troy. This is interpreted by Aeneas as being at Crete, since that was where Teucer had sailed from, when he originally set out to choose the site of Troy. They swiftly head for Crete, where they begin founding a new city. A plague afflicts them and they decide to return to Apollo's oracle. The Penates appear to Aeneas in a dream and, on behalf of Apollo, tell him to go to Hesperia. The Trojans set out again.

Having been blown off course by a terrible storm, they land in the Strophades, where the infamous Harpies live. They kill some cattle and perform a sacrifice before settling down to a feast. This is interrupted, however, by the Harpies. The Trojans prepare to do battle against them, but Calaeno speaks out, mocking their efforts. She confirms that they must go to Italy, where they will be allowed to land but will not be given a city; nor will they be able to build walls around their city until they have reached such depths of famine that they are forced to eat their own tables. Terrified, the Trojans embark again and sail to Leucate.

From Leucate, they sail to Buthrotum, where Aeneas by chance meets Helenus and Andromache, whom he discovers to be the rulers there. Andromache tells Aeneas her fate and asks him his. She then leads him into the city to be entertained. Having stayed there a few days, Aeneas approaches the prophet Helenus and asks for guidance. Helenus leads him to the temple of Apollo and, inspired by the god, tells Aeneas of his coming travels and of his visit to the Sibyl who will foretell the future.

After sad farewells, the Trojans cross the Adriatic and, enjoying a favourable journey, land in Italy, where their first action is to sacrifice to Juno in order to appease her hostility. Sailing past Scylla and Charybdis, they are driven down to the Cyclops' coast and Etna. They meet a castaway who asks them for help, claiming to be Achaemenides, one of Ulysses' men left behind after the encounter with Polyphemus. Suddenly catching sight of Polyphemus and the other Cyclopes, they make a swift getaway, with Achaemenides in tow, making sure that they avoid Scylla and Charybdis. Continuing around the coast of Sicily, they reach Drepanum. Here, Anchises dies and they are driven by Juno's storm to Carthage.

Book 4 - Dido and Aeneas

Dido is filled with desire for Aeneas and cannot sleep. The morning after the banquet, she confesses her love to her sister Anna, but assures her that she will not break the vow she made to her deceased husband of never re-marrying. Anna advises that resistance to desire is foolish and suggests that marriage to Aeneas would also have practical benefits, since he would act as a defence against her enemies.