The Aeneid: Plot Summary

• The Aeneid follows Aeneas as he encounters a storm and becomes shipwrecked in Carthage
• He tells Dido about his escape from Troy
• Aeneas wanders, encounters Harpies, meets Helenus, and Anchises dies
• Dido falls in love with Aeneas, but he departs at Jupiter's command
• Dido commits suicide
• Aeneas goes to Sicily and holds funeral games for Anchises
• Aeneas speaks with the Sibyl at Cumae and encounters Anchises in the Underworld
• Aeneas arrives in Latium, Latinus promises Lavinia to him and Juno and Allecto incite war
• Catalogue of Italian heroes
• Aeneas gets help from Evander and the Etruscans; a story of Hercules and Cacus is told; Vulcan provides armor
• Turnus attacks the Trojan camp, including the episodes of Nisus and Euryalus
• Camp takes hard press
• Council of the gods: A Tuscan catalogue appears
• Turnus kills Pallas
• Juno saves Turnus from an enraged Aeneas, who then kills Mezentius
• Burial of Pallas: Diomedes refuses to help
• Council
• Trojans attack
• Camilla dies
• A single combat is arranged, but treachery causes a general engagement
• Trojans attack the city
• Aeneas defeats Turnus in single combat

Book 1

• Aeneas leads a band of Trojans around the Mediterranean for seven years after the fall of Troy, seeking a new home they now know to be in Italy
• Juno knows the Trojans are fated to destroy Carthage, so she conjures a storm for Aeneas' fleet
• Some ships are wrecked
• Aeneas reaches the coast of Libya
• Venus, his mother, tells him to go to Carthage
• Queen Dido welcomes him, and he is reunited with survivors
• Dido invites the Trojans to a banquet, and Venus ensures she falls in love with Aeneas
• Dido wants Aeneas to tell about the capture of Troy

Full Synopsis - Book 1

• Juno's hatred for Carthage, knowledge of its future defeat by descendants of Troy, Trojan War memories, slighted beauty by Paris' judgment, and Ganymede's cupbearer promotion all fuel her anger
• Juno asks King Aeolus to unleash winds on the Trojans leaving Sicily, offering the nymph Deiopea as a bribe
• Winds scatter and destroy some ships
• Neptune calms the storm and guides Trojan ships
• Aeneas leads survivors to Libya, hunts deer, gives a pep talk, and provides food
• Venus complains to Jupiter about the Trojans' suffering and their delayed destiny as Romans
• Jupiter assures Venus that Aeneas will wage war, win, and found a city to rule for three years
• Ascanius, Aeneas' son, will rule for 30 years, move to Alba Longa, and Trojans will rule there for 300 years
• Romulus and Remus will then found Rome and the Trojan Caesar, Julius, will bring it peace
• Jupiter sends Mercury to influence the Carthaginians and Dido to be friendly
• Aeneas, with Achates, meets Venus disguised as a hunting girl, learns about Dido's past in Tyre, and tells her of her escape from her Pygmalion, her tyrannical brother
• Aeneas in turn recounts his story, Venus assures him with an omen of 12 returning swans, Aeneas recognizes her, and he reproaches her for disguise
• Venus shrouds Aeneas and Achates in mist as they head to Carthage, where they marvel at the building

Aeneas arrives in Carthage

• In a grove, Dido builds a temple to Juno
• Aeneas finds comfort in the scenes of the Trojan War; however, he is upset
• Dido arrives at the temple, Aeneas sees his lost companions
• Still invisible, Aeneas witnesses the Trojans pleading their case to Dido
• Dido welcomes them to stay in Carthage, journey to Hesperia (Italy), or return to Acestes in Sicily
• She sends a search party for missing Trojans
• The mist vanishes, and Venus makes Aeneas appear more handsome
• Aeneas introduces himself to Dido
• Dido, like one who has suffered, helps Aeneas, sharing similar experiences
• Dido leads the Trojans to the palace and gives food to those at the ships
• Aeneas asks for Ascanius and gifts for Dido
• Achates leaves to fetch them
• Venus plans to have Cupid replace Ascanius, making Dido fall in love as a result
• She is weary of the Carthaginians and Juno
• Venus instructs Cupid
• Cupid disguises himself as Ascanius and enters the palace for the start of the feast
• Dido becomes smitten
• Libations are poured to the gods
• Dido asks Aeneas about his travels

Book 2

• Aeneas begins the lengthy flashback of his story by telling how the Trojans were deceived into bringing the Wooden Horse into Troy
• Laocoon, Neptune's priest, warned them to destroy it, but his death was horrifying
• Hector appears in a dream, ordering Aeneas to escape with the Trojan people and the gods
• Aeneas awoke to discover the Greeks had entered the city and so joined the fighting
• Achilles' son Pyrrhus brutally murders King Priam
• Aeneas is about to kill Helen when Venus appears and tells him that the gods are destroying Troy
• She persuades him to leave
• Anchises initially refused to leave his home but then becomes convinced to leave
• Aeneas leads his family and followers
• Creusa, his wife, vanishes
• Aeneas returns to find her
• Her ghost informs him of his destiny and asks him to return to his family
• The refugees gather on Mount Ida

Synopsis - Book 2

• Aeneas begins his story of experiences in Troy
• The Greeks build a large wooden horse and fill it with soldiers
• The Greeks sail to Tenedos; the Trojans inspect the abandoned Greek camp and horse
• Laocoon warns against the horse and throws a spear into its side
• Sinon, a Greek prisoner who is actually an agent, is brought forth by Trojan shepherds
• Sinon claims to be a friend of Palamedes, killed by the Greeks for opposing the war
• Sinon says he sought revenge, earning Ulixes' enmity
• Sinon claims the Greeks wanted to leave but were halted by bad weather
• Poor weather continued, and Eurypylus consulted the oracle of Apollo, who demanded a human sacrifice
• Ulixes convinces Calchas to name Sinon as the sacrifice
• Sinon escapes sacrifice, hides, and asks the Trojans for mercy
• Priam spares Sinon and questions him about the horse
• Sinon says the Greeks depended on Pallas Athene, but Diomede and Ulixes angered her by stealing the Palladium from her temple
• On Calchas' advice, the Greeks sailed home to take omens and return with the Palladium
• Omens involved two snakes emerging from the sea, attacking Laocoon and his sons
• Laocoon tried to save his sons, snakes coiled around him, and then slithered to Pallas Athene's citadel
• The Trojans see the snakes as punishment for Laocoon for throwing a spear into the Wooden Horse's side
• They decide to bring the horse into the city with ironic joy
• The Greek fleet returns troops at night
• At a signal, Sinon releases the Greek soldiers from the horse
• The soldiers open the city gates
• Hector urges Aeneas to escape Troy in a dream
• Aeneas awakes at his father's house
• He is awoken by the din and puts on his armor
• He intends to fight and surveys urban fighting and fires
• Panthus informs Aeneas that all is lost
• Aeneas continues trhough the city, encountering other Trojans
• He addresses them, and they join in the fight to the death
• The group offends a Geek named Androgeos, who attacks and kills them
• Corebus suggests Trojans don Greek armour
• Trojans see Cassandra being dragged from Minerva's temple
• The Trojans who try to save her are attacked and overwhelmed
• Aeneas moves to Priam's palace with Iphitus and Pelias
• He finds intense fighting as the Greeks besiege the palace
• Using a secret door, Aeneas enters the palace, dislodges a high tower, and it falls down
• Achilles' son Pyrrhus kills many Trojans
• Aeneas describes the death of Priam
• Hecuba begs Priam to stay with her
• Pyrrhus kills their son Polites and then Priam at the altar
• Aeneas thinks about his family and spots Helen
• He decides to kill Helen
• Venus appears as her true self
• She tells him to not give in to anger and to see it is the gods who are destroying Troy, and not Helen's beauty
• Venus urges him to escape and says she will take him to Anchises' house
• Aeneas goes to his father's, who refuses to go
• Creusa and Ascanius beg Anchises to leave
• Aeneas berates his father and calls for his armor
• Creusa begs Aeneas to take her and Ascanius or for them to stay home
• Lulus' hair catches fire
• Anchises prays to Jupiter, and a falling star lands on Mt. Ida
• Anchises then agrees to go with them
• Aeneas puts his father on his back and takes the household gods
• With lulus and Creusa, he tells his slaves to meet him
• Aeneas becomes separated from Creusa, realizing it at the mound of Ceres
• Bitterly upset, Aeneas returns to the city, puts on his armour, and he is upset
• Creusa's ghost appears to show him that her death is the will of the gods
• She tells him to be a wandering exile and to marry a royal bride
• Creusa vanishes
• Aeneas returns to the mound, and the Trojans gather and set off for Mt. Ida

Book 3

• Aeneas tells Dido about his journeys around the Mediterranean after his escape from Troy in search of a new home
• They tried to settle in Thrace
• Apollo directs them to "the land which first cradled the race from which you were sprung"
• Anchises believes this to be Crete
• A plague forces them to leave, and the Penates tell them to head for Hesperia, now called Italy
• A storm drives them up the coast of Greece to the Strophades Islands, the Harpies' home
• A southerly wind takes them past Ithaca to Buthrotum
• Helenus becomes king after Pyrrhus is murdered by Orestes and welcomes Aeneas
• Aeneas knows they must sail to Italy, so he asks Helenus the dangers
• Helenus tells him to sail down the east coast of Italy, around Sicily, and up the west coast to Cumae
• Aeneas first reaches Mount Etna
• He encounters a Cyclops
• They next go to Drepanum, where Anchises dies
• A storm drives them to Libya, where they meet Dido
• Aeneas comes to terms with his fate and transitions form a warrior to a resourceful leader
• It is fated Aeneas reaches Italy

Book 4

• Dido falls in love with Aeneas
• Dido admits to her sister Anna that she would consider marrying him but for her chastity vow to her dead husband Sychaeus
• Anna tells Dido to live for herself
• She should consider marrying Aeneas and allying with the Trojans, seek blessings from the gods, and keep Aeneas in Carthage
• Anna's advice reassures Dido
• They sacrifice to the gods
• Dido is in love
• Dido spends all of her time with Aeneas
• Building ceases and war exercises stop
• Juno and Venus plot and agree to have Aeneas and Dido marry
• Venus realizes it is a plot to divert Aeneas so she suggests Juno gets Jupiter's approval
• Juno suggests a hunting trip where she will will conjure a downpour and cause them to seek shelter in a cave
• They'll have a union/marriage, if Venus is agreeable to that and Venus recognizes the trick

Hunting trip and marriage

• On the day of the hunt, Dido is dressed lavishly
• Ascanius, Tyrians, and Trojans set off
• Aeneas is likened to Apollo
• They encounter goats and deer
• A thunderstorm scatters everyone
• Aeneas and Dido hide in a cave where they get married
• Dido is doomed
• Rumour spreads the news of the marriage through Libya
• King Iarbas complains to Jupiter
• Jupiter reminds Aeneas that his obligation is to found an Italian city
• He must set sail for Ascanius' future

Aeneas leaves Carthage

• Mercury inspires Aeneas reminding him of his duty
• Aeneas feels shock, is upset, and must decide to tell Dido
• He gets the fleet ready in secret and decides to tell Dido at the right moment
• Dido finds his plan through rumour and confronts Aeneas
• She accuses him of risking winter seas to go to an unknown land and asks him to stay
• Dido says she is hated by the Libyans because of Aeneas and despaired at not having his child
• Aeneas has been moved but has not shown it
• He thanks Dido and tells her he did not offer marriage and that fate constrains him and Jupiter
• Dido accuses her of not being a goddess
• She hopes he drowns and that she will haunt him

Dido's final moments

• Dido faints indoors and Aeneas goes to his ships
• Trojans launch their semi finished ships
• Virgil asks her what she feels with the sight
• Dido asks for Anna to visit Aeneas and stay for just a while before he leaves
• He resists pleas, resists staying and leaves
• Dido wishes to die and has omens - milk turns black, wine turns filthy, hears her dead dead husband
• Dido says Anna should build pyre to win back Aeneas and end her pain
• Anna builds pyre, Dido carries out rite and is tormented by her love in soliloquy in the night
• She decides to die, blames Anna and says she has unfaithful to Sychaeus
• Aeneas rests visited by Mercury, make haste, take the sail, take the sail

Aeneas departs

• Aeneas wakes up and prepares to sail
• At dawn Dido watches the Trojan fleet sail away. Her emotions make her momentarily think of pursuing them. Eventually she curses Aeneas
• She wishes war and a violent separation from Ascanius
• Dido asks Barce to fetch Anna to complete religious rites
• Did rushes to the pyre in a frenzy, then lies on the bed she shared with Aeneas, stabs herself with his sword
• Anna learns of Dido's death because Rumour
• Anna blames herself and Dido
• Anna embraces her dying sister
• Juno sends Iris to cut a lock of her hair so she can die

Book 5

• Quiet book where the action is not intense, book after, after the dramatic love affair and death
• Action of book centers on his men because Aeneas is a bit of an observer
• The ships are blown to Drepanum in Sicily
• It is where his father died, Aeneas decides, decides to hold funeral games in Anchises on the anniversary of his death
• The first is a ship race
• There is a footrace with unfair tactics to calm down
• There is a brutal boxing match
• An archery contest is followed by a display

Book 6

• Aeneas sails with his followers through the Etruscan Sea, to the west of Italy, and land on the coast at Cumae
• He asks to visit is father in the Underworld after the Sibyl tell him
• To enter, he must find The Golden Bough, which he must then take as a gift
• He and the Sibyl travel to a cave near Lake Avernus
• Grief and Agony are the first region
• They reach the river Acheron, but the ghosts of people who are unburied wait
• The Sibyl shows the Golden Bought
• She then drugs Cerberus
• Dido is found, speaks to the ghost
• To reach Elysium they must go by tartarus
• Aeneas meets his father and Anchises explains how souls are reborn
• They return to the real world above

Full synopsis - Book 6

• Trojan fleets land at Cumae
• Aeneas goes to the Citadel and Sibyl's Cave
• Daedalus founds a temple to Apollo
• Description of doors and the pictures
• Achates and Deiphobe arrives
• Deiphobe tells them about the sacrifice of 7 bullocks and 7 sheep, which they do, and enter the temple
• The priestess urges Aeneas to pray
• Aeneas asks that they be allowed to settle in Latium
• They give the prophesy
• The voyage is over
• They will face war like the Trojan War

The underworld - Book 6

• She tells Aeneas about the Golden Bough and buries the dead comrade
• Aeneas, with Achates, think of who this might be, it is Misenus, The Trojans prepare an elter pyre for him
• They have funeral of Misenus
• They Carry out rites
• Then are taken and lead into the cave
• Very vivid description
• Grief
• Revenge
• It is not the reality
• 2 comrades were drowned in the storm
• Palinurus asks for burial or to cross to the Underworld, gets reassures will be buried
• River challenges Sibyl
• Drugs Cerberus
• See haunted victims of love and crimes, also sees Dido
• Then looks to the right to see Tartarus
• The hurries to the former kings of Troy at Elysium
• Anchises is found
• Anchises shows his Romans from the river Lethe