The Adventures of Aeneas

The Adventures of
AENEAS
PART 1:
From
To Italy
Troy
• Aeneas, son of Venus,
was one of the heroes
who fought in the
Trojan war
• When the Greeks

captured Troy, he
escaped the city
together with his father
and son.
• In a dream, Aeneas
was told that he is
destined to sail to
Italy, known then
as Hesperia, the
Western Country.
• On the way to Italy, he and his crew face the
same Harpies whom the Argonauts battled
• They next encounter
Hector’s widow,
Andromache, who is now
married to the Trojan
prophet, Helenus.
• Helenus tells Aeneas not to land on the
nearest coast of Italy because it was full of
Greeks. They must take the circular route
southward of Sicily in order to avoid Scylla and
Charybdis.
• When Aeneas arrives in Sicily, he meets a sailor
whom Ulysses unintentionally leaves behind.
They escape just as Polyphemus charges the ship.
• While rounding Sicily,
the Trojans were
struck by a gigantic
storm that was caused
by Juno through the
help of Aeolus, King of
the Winds.
• Though Neptune’s intervention saves the
Trojans, they are blown off course all the way to
Africa near Carthage.
• Juno conspires to
have Aeneas fall in
love with Carthage’s
founder and queen,
Dido.
• However, Venus had
her own plan. She
was willing for Dido
to fall in love with
Aeneas, but Aeneas
would reciprocate
her love.
• Venus asked Jupiter for help. Jupiter promised
Venus that her son would be the ancestor of a
race who would some day rule the world.
• Venus also asks Cupid to set Dido’s heart on

fire the moment she lays eyes on Aeneas
• Venus, disguised as a huntress, tells Aeneas to visit
Dido for she will surely help him and his followers.
• Dido graciously welcomed Aeneas and his company
to her city. All she wanted in return was his love.
• Aeneas lived
comfortably with
Dido and thought less
and less of setting sail
to Italy.
• Mercury, sent by
Jupiter, urges Aeneas
to fulfill his destiny
and set sail to Italy.
• Aeneas leaves
Carthage and Dido,
who was extremely
devastated.
• As he sails away, he
sees smoke rising
from Carthage,
unknowing that he
was looking at source
of her funeral pyre.
PART 2:
The Descent Into The Lower World
• Helenus told Aeneas that as
soon as he reached Italy, he
must seek a prophet named
Sibyl of Cumae.
• Sibyl says that she must
take Aeneas to the
underworld to meet his
father, Anchises, who died
earlier in the journey.
• To travel to the
Underworld, Aeneas and
Achates must find golden
bough which grows from a
tree. This will give
admittance to Hades.
• Venus leads the men to Lake Avernus, the
cavern from which the road to the underworld
lies. She also helps them find the bough.
• Before entering
the cave, Sibyl
slaughtered four
black bullocks to
Hecate, the
Goddess of the
Night.
• They pass by many terrors, among them were
Disease, Hunger, War and Discord.
• Sibyl and Aeneas reached the two great rivers
of the underworld: Cocytus and Acheron
• Charon, the ferryman, was about to refuse
Sibyl and Aeneas until he saw the golden
bough
• In order to get past Cerberus, Sibyl fed him
with some cake.
• Sibyl and Aeneas passed by the Fields of
Mourning, where they saw Dido, who refused
to acknowledge Aeneas.
• Aeneas had a happy reunion with his father in
the Elysian fields.
• Anchises showed Aeneas Lethe, the river of
forgetfulness, where souls had to drink before
they start a new life.
• He also showed Aeneas the people who were to
be his descendants and gave him advice how to
establish his home in Italy.
• Aeneas and Sibyl made their way back to Earth.
PART 3:
The War in Italy
• Latinus, great grandson of Saturn and King of
Latium was warned by his father, Faunus’
spirit not to marry his daughter, Lavinia, to any
native but to a foreigner.
• So when Aeneas arrived in his domain, Latinus
received him warmly.
• However, Juno makes
Alecto, one of the
Furies, cause trouble.
Alecto convinces
Latinus’s wife, Queen
Amata, to oppose the
marriage.
• Then Alecto tells Turnus,
King of the Rutulians
and suitor of Lavinia,
about Aeneas.
• Finally, Alecto makes Ascanius, Aeneas’s son,
unwittingly kill a certain stag very popular
among the Latins while he was hunting.
• The news of the uprising was too much for
Latinus to handle, so he shut himself up in his
palace.
• According to the city’s customs, the gates of
the temple of Janus should be closed during
times of peace, but opened by the king during
war. Juno opened the gates herself since the
King was unavailable.
• The Trojans faced
the combined forces
of the Rutulians and
the Latins led by
Turnus. The two
armies are also aided
by Mezentius, a cruel
ex-leader of the
Etruscans, and
Camilla, a renowned
female warrior.
• Father Tiber, god of the great river, advised
Aeneas to seek help from Evander, king of the
town that will one day become Rome.
• Evander and his son, Pallas greeted Aeneas but
told him that they can offer no real help.
• Evander tells Aeneas that he can get help from the
powerful Etruscans, who wanted to get revenge
against the horrible Mezentius. Evander gives
Aeneas a few men, including Pallas.
• Meantime, the Trojans face a huge attack from
Turnus. The Trojan army was greatly outnumbered.
• They must get word to Aeneas, but Nisus and
Euryalus are the only Trojans brave enough to
sneak past enemy lines to send the message.
• Euryalus is captured. Nisus tries to save him,
but gets killed alongside his friend.
• Aeneas returns with Etruscan reinforcements.
• All of the Trojan’s enemies are killed, including
Camilla and Mezentius. But many allies die as
well, including Pallas.
• In the battlefield,
Aeneas is described
as a fearful prodigy.
When Aeneas and
Turnus meet in
single combat,
there is no doubt
Aeneas will win.
• Aeneas marries Lavinia, and founds
the Roman people

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What is Aeneas' destiny according to a dream?

Who does Aeneas encounter on his way to Italy?

The Adventures of

• When the Greeks

• Venus also asks Cupid to set Dido’s heart on

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