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The Aeneid Book 2 Summary
The Aeneid Book 2 Summary
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Aeneas and his followers take refuge beneath Mount Ida, in the neighborhood of Troy.
There they set to work building a fleet.
When the summer rolls around, they sail off.
First they head for Thrace, a region once allied with Troy.
Aeneas plots out a settlement on the coast. Then he prepares to make a sacrifice.
But when he tries to pick some myrtle saplings to make a shelter for the altar, something
strange happens: blood spurts out from the roots of the tree.
He tries again, and more blood spurts out.
Understandably freaked out, he makes some prayers. Then he tries for a third time.
This time, a voice speaks up from the ground, saying, "Hey! It's me, Polydorus, a Trojan.
Some guys killed me with a bunch of spears, which then took root and turned into myrtle
trees." What? You couldn't figure that out for yourself?
As it turns out, King Priam of Troy sent Polydorus to Thrace a while back with a shipment
of gold. He was to give the gold to the king of Thrace for safekeeping while the Trojan war
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of gold. He was to give the gold to the king of Thrace for safekeeping while the Trojan war
raged on. Unfortunately, the Thracian king decided to take the gold for himself, which is
why he had Polydorus killed.
After a brief consultation, Aeneas and the other leaders decide that this probably isn't the
best place to start a new city.
Before sailing off, they hold funeral rites for Polydorus.
Next they sail to the island of Delos, where there is an oracle of the god Apollo.
The oracle tells them to go to the original home of the Trojan people. There they will
found an empire that will rule the shores of the world for generations to come.
Cool. But where's the original home of the Trojan people? Aeneas's dad, Anchises, knows:
"Many years ago," he explains, "a guy named Teucrus came from Crete. He sailed from
there to Asia Minor, where he founded Troy. We should head for Crete."
Which is exactly where they go. And found a city. Sweet. Ormaybe not. The Trojans are
only there for a little while when a plague strikes them and their crops and the sun dries
up all the water. (Way to go, Dad.)
Anchises says that Aeneas should go back to Delos and ask the oracle for an explanation.
That night, while Aeneas is sleeping, the household gods start talking to him. They tell
him to go to Italy, where another ancestor of the Trojans Dardanus, Teucrus's son-inlaw came from.
The next day, Aeneas tells the prophecy to Anchises, who says, "You're right, my bad.
Let's go to Italy."
And off they go. Things are going pretty well for a while, but then the fleet gets caught in
three days of storms.
Eventually, they succeed in making their way to an island. What they don't know is that it
is inhabited by the Harpies disgusting flying bird creatures with the faces of women.
But all the Trojans see is all the livestock roaming the shore unattended. To them, this can
mean only one thing: BBQ time!
Unfortunately, when they go ashore to grab some dinner, the harpies swoop in and defile
the meat with their filthiness. The Trojans try to fight them, but they just fly away.
Then Celaeno, the queen Harpy tells them that they will make it to Italy alright, "but as
for what you did to my livestock your reward will be terrible hunger. In fact, you guys
are going to get so hungry that you're going to end up eating your tables!" Yikes.
After making prayers to avert this calamity, the men set sail again, and eventually make
it to the Leucas region of western Greece.
They stay there for the winter, and then set sail again.
Next they come to Chaonia in Epirus a region of Northwestern Greece.
Here they learn that Helenus, a son of the Trojan King Priam, has ended up ruling over
some Greek cities. They also learn that he has married Andromache, who used to be the
wife of the Trojan hero Hector (deceased).
On their way to find them, who should they run into butAndromache herself, making
sacrifice at a shrine she has made to her dead husband Hector.
Even though she faints when she sees them, when she wakes up she is full of information.
She tells them that, after the fall of Troy, she was enslaved by Achilles's son Neoptolemus.
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She tells them that, after the fall of Troy, she was enslaved by Achilles's son Neoptolemus.
But he soon got tired of her and took a Spartan woman, Hermione, for his wife.
At this point, he married her off to her fellow captive Trojan Helenus.
Then Agamemnon's son, Orestes, who was in love with Hermione, killed Neoptolemus; for
some reasons that aren't entirely clear, Helenus inherited some land as a result of this,
which is why he and Andromache have ended up as king and queen in this part of Epirus.
Then Helenus himself shows up. He leads them back to the city, which turns out to be a
miniature replica of Troy.
After they stay there for a few days, Aeneas asks Helenus who has the gift of prophecy
to tell them what's in store for them.
Helenus makes some sacrifices, and then starts telling them a lot of cool stuff.
He says that, for the most part, things are looking good. Then he gives them a list of
things to watch out for.
He also tells them that, whenever they see a giant white sow suckling 30 white piglets,
they'll know that they've found their new homeland.
Then he gives them some more advice, and tells them to steer clear of the narrows
between Sicily and mainland Italy that's where Scylla and Charybdis lurk.
But Helenus still isn't finished. Now he tells them to keep praying to Juno maybe they'll
win her over eventually. Also, he says once they get to Italy, they should head for the
town of Cumae. There, they should consult with the Sibyl, a priestess and oracle.
After this, Helenus gives them all gifts, with some special gifts for Anchises.
Andromache also gives them gifts, with special stuff for Ascanius, who reminds her of her
dead son.
Then the Trojans sail off. First they go to Ceraunia, further up the coast of Greece. From
there, it's only a hop, skip, and a jump to the East coast of Italy. There they make a brief a
pit stop, and then head off again.
They follow the coast of Italy south, and round the boot.
Soon afterward, they feel the sea getting choppy. Anchises realizes that they're close to
Scylla and Charybdis. He tells them to head away from it.
They get away safely but are headed to the island of the Cyclopes, better known as
Sicily. (For information on the Cyclopes, check out this website.)
The volcanic Mt. Aetna is rumbling nearby, making things all the more spooky.
They make camp and spend the night in the forest.
In the morning, an emaciated man comes up to them out of the mist.
It turns out he is a Greek named Achaemenides. Even though he is scared at first to fall in
with a bunch of Trojans, he suddenly comes forward and throws himself at their mercy.
He tells them that if they kill him, it would be OK. "So long as I die at the hands of
humans, it's no big deal."
It turns out that Achaemenides was a sailor from the fleet of Ulysses (a.k.a. Odysseus),
who was left behind. He narrowly escaped from the Cyclops's lair, and has been hiding out
in the forest for the past three months. (If you don't know what happened when
Ulysses/Odysseus encountered the Cyclops, check out our summary of Book IX of
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Homer's Odyssey.)
He tells the Trojans to sail away from there like their life depends on it which it does. He
repeats that they can kill him if they want.
At this point, who should come galumphing down to the water but Polyphemus the
Cyclops Ulysses/Odysseus blinded!
Aeneas and his crew put the pedal to the metal that is, the paddle to the puddle and
get away in the nick of time. They take Achaemenides with them.
Then they keep sailing around the south coast of Sicily.
When they stop at the city of Drepanum, tragedy strikes again: Aeneas's father Anchises
dies.
After this, Aeneas and company make their way to Carthage. This is the end of Aeneas's
story.
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If she had a bit of a crush on him before, now that Aeneas has finished his story, Dido
totally has the hots for him.
The next morning, she confides in her sister, Anna. She says that even though she swore
she would never love anyone after her dead husband, Sychaeus, she seriously wants to
get with Aeneas. But she decides she can't do that.
Anna says, "What do the dead care if you're faithful or not? Anyway, Carthage is
surrounded by enemies. We could use a strong alliance. At least get the Trojans to stay for
the winter."
The days pass, and Dido becomes more and more in love. The city's building projects stall
with no one to oversee them.
The goddess Juno, seeing what is going on, recognizes Venus's fingerprints all over it.
She takes the matter up with Venus, and suggests they get Dido and Aeneas to marry.
Venus who knows that Juno wants to keep the Trojans down says that they should
maybe check with Jupiter first.
Juno says, "Leave it to me. But first, let's do some matchmaking. Soon, Dido and Aeneas
are going to go out hunting. While they're out there, I'll whip up some rain, so they will
have to take shelter together in a cave. Then we'll put on some Barry White or the
equivalent and wait for the magic to happen."
Things go according to plan, the magic happens, and Dido begins to see herself and Aeneas
as married. (Notice a certain lack of symmetry?)
But Rumor described as a weird winged goddess with as many eyes and tongues as
feathers can't pass up a juicy story like that.
Eventually, word makes its way to the North African king Iarbas, whose father is Jupiter,
and who was once rejected by Dido.
Iarbas doesn't like this one bit, and complains to his daddy about it.
Hearing his son's complaint, Jupiter takes a good look at what is going on down in
Carthage. Then he sends the god Mercury to go and ask Aeneas, "What's the deal?" and
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As they are sailing away, the Trojans see a huge fire burning on the shore. They can guess
what it is coming from. (Dido's funeral pyre.)
Shortly afterward as seems to happen whenever the Trojans set out anywhere a
storm comes up, and they decide to head for shore.
They land in Sicily, coincidentally, at exactly the spot where they buried Anchises
coincidentally again, exactly one year before. This is in the region of Sicily ruled by
Acestes, another exile from Troy.
Aeneas decrees a feast day and ritual commemoration of his father. He also says that in
nine days they will hold athletic contests in the man's honor.
Then, while Aeneas is making ritual offerings to his father, something weird happens: a
giant snake crawls out of the Anchises's burial mound and curls up around it. Then it
slithers around all the ritual objects, eats off the altar, and then heads back under the
tomb.
Aeneas wonders if the snake is a local god, or if it is the spirit of his father. He proceeds
with the sacrifice anyway.
When the ninth day after that rolls around, it is time for some athletic contests. Both
Trojans and local Sicilians are competing.
The first event is a boat-race. The idea is for the competitors teams of rowers in long
galleys to sail out to sea, round a certain half-submerged rock designated as the turning
post, and then be the first to make it back to shore. Four ships are competing.
On the way out, the ship commanded by a man called Gyas is in the lead. He keeps telling
his pilot (the guy who mans the tiller) to come in close around the rock, but Menoetes
(that's the guy's name) is afraid of crashing, and makes a wide turn.
This gives Cloanthus, the captain of the next ship, to squeeze in between Gyas and the
rock, making a sharper turn that puts him in the lead for the homestretch.
Gyas is so mad that he throws Menoetes overboard and takes the tiller himself. Menoetes
swims over to the rock and climbs on top of it.
The two ships in the rear are commanded by guys named Sergestus and Mnestheus.
Sergestus is in front until he gets greedy, tries to cut the turn too close, and smashes up
his oars against the rock. Mnestheus rounds the turn ahead of him.
Next Mnestheus passes Gyas, who is having trouble acting as captain and pilot at the
same time.
Now Mnestheus and Cloanthus are competing for first place.
Cloanthus prays to the sea-gods for help. Sure enough, a bunch of divinities show up to
help him on his way to victory.
Cloanthus comes in first, followed by Mnestheus, with Gyas coming after him, and
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Cloanthus comes in first, followed by Mnestheus, with Gyas coming after him, and
Sergestus bringing up the rear in his disabled craft.
Aeneas gives prizes to each of them.
The next event is a footrace. It looks like a guy called Nisus is going to win it, but then he
slips in some blood and guts left over from one of the sacrificial animals.
When he falls, he makes sure to trip up the guy behind him, so his boyfriend Euryalus can
speed ahead to victory.
After the race, the guy tripped up by Nisus demands a consolation prize. So does Nisus.
Aeneas obliges both of them.
Next comes boxing. The first challenger to stand up is a Trojan guy named Dares.
For a long time, nobody has the guts to take him on, but then, after some prodding, a
Sicilian old-timer named Entellus steps up.
The fight goes on pretty evenly at first, though then Entellus puts all his weight into a
punch he fails to land, and falls right on his face.
King Acestes comes and helps him up.
The fight goes on, however, and now that Entellus's pride has been hurt he starts giving
Dares a royal thumping. Eventually, Aeneas steps in to stop the fight.
As a pretext, he tells everyone that the gods must be supporting Entellus, and that their
will must be followed. (Though we haven't seen any indication that the gods were helping
him.)
When Entellus claims his prize, a bull, to prove he's still got it he punches the creature
between the horns, shattering its skull, killing it.
Next comes the archery contest. Aeneas raises the mast of a ship on the plain. To the top
is tethered a bird, which flaps around helplessly. The idea is to shoot the bird. (Between
this contest and Entellus's bull-bashing, it's clear that the People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals would have had a field-day with the ancient Trojans.)
A guy called Hippocon shoots first. He hits the mast, but misses the bird.
Next, Mnestheus shoots. He misses the bird, but cuts the cord. The bird flutters away.
Now it is Eurytion's turn. He is the brother of Pandarus, a famous Trojan archer who died
in the war against the Greeks. After saying a prayer to the spirit of his brother, Eurytion
takes aim, shoots, and hits the escaping bird.
Last up is the Sicilian King Acestes, who now has nothing to shoot at. Just to prove he still
has strength in him, he shoots an arrow into the air. In mid-flight, the arrow catches fire
and turns into a shooting star.
Aeneas gives Acestes first prize. Second prize goes to Eurytion, third to Mnestheus, and
fourth to Hippocon.
Next, the youth take part in a display of cavalry maneuvers.
Then things take a turn for the worse. Determined to stir up trouble, Juno sends Iris, the
messenger of the gods, down to where the Trojan women are gathered on the shore.
There, they are lamenting the journeys that await them.
Iris takes the form of a Trojan woman, Beroe. In this disguise, she plays to the women's
discontent, and tells them to burn the ships. She adds that Cassandra appeared to her in a
dream, and instructed her to do so.
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from the River Lethe in the underworld, makes Palinurus incredibly sleepy.
Finally, Palinurus tumbles overboard, breaking off a piece of the stern and rudder and
taking them with him. He calls for help but no one hears him.
The ship sails on, and a little while later is passing by the rocks where the Sirens hang out.
Aeneas hears the surf breaking off the rocks, and takes the helm. He laments the loss of
his friend, but blames him for trusting too much in a calm sea.
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Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? SIMMER DOWN ALREADY. Yes.
Aeneas arrives in Italy.
Like many a globetrotter after him, Aeneas's first visit is to the local tourist office
meaning, of course, the cave of the Sibyl, a prophetess who owes her power to the god
Apollo.
When Aeneas arrives at her temple, which was built by the famous inventor Daedalus
(click here and scroll down to read all about him).
He spends some time admiring the doors of the temple, also built by Daedalus. These
depict various mythological scenes. Something they don't depict is the death of Daedalus's
son Icarus (read that link above to get the scoop). Virgil tells us that Daedalus twice tried
to fashion a depiction of his death in gold, but both times was overcome by emotion.
Then out of the temple comes Achates, who had gone ahead, with the Sibyl.
The Sibyl tells him stop admiring the doors and sacrifice seven young bulls and seven
ewes. Aeneas passes along the orders to his men to make it happen.
Then, the Sibyl takes them into her inner shrine. There, she becomes possessed by the
god Apollo, and instructs Aeneas to pray.
After that, the Sibyl busts out some prophecies. Specifically, she says that things are going
be tough: they will have to fight a war to secure their territory in Italy. She predicts that a
new Achilles will arise in the territory of Latium. (Achilles was the greatest of the Greek
warriors fighting against Troy in the Trojan War.)
The Sibyl then says that the war will arise as a result of a foreign bride. She says that the
Trojans will find safety from an unexpected source: a Greek city. (If this all sounds kind of
weird, don't worry, prophecies are supposed to sound weird.)
After receiving this prophecy, Aeneas prays to be allowed to descend to the underworld,
so that he can visit his father.
The Sibyl says that the way down to the underworld is easy, it's coming back out that's
the tricky part.
She says that Aeneas must go deep into the forest and, in darkest and most secluded part,
find a tree sprouting a golden bough. He must pluck this bough and bring it as a gift to
Proserpina, the queen of the underworld. She says that only those who are fated to can
pluck the bough: it won't come off for those who try to force it.
But then the Sibyl reveals a snag. She says that the Trojans have become defiled and have
to purify themselves. This is because one of their number has died and remains unburied.
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The Sibyl says they have to find out who it is, bury him, and then sacrifice some black
animals. Then Aeneas can go down to the underworld.
You might have thought that the unburied dead guy was Palinurus, but actually it's some
guy named Misenus. He had apparently made the mistake of thinking he was better at
blowing his conch shell than the sea god Triton. Gods don't take kindly to that sort of
boast, and Triton's response was to drown Misenus in the surf.
While the Trojans start building a pyre for Misenus, Aeneas prays for a sign that the
Sibyl's other predictions will come true, just like this one did. Venus sends down two
doves, reassuring Aeneas.
Then Aeneas asks to be shown where the golden bough is. The doves fly off and he
follows. Eventually, they lead him to the spot.
Aeneas is totally excited, and breaks the bough off the tree. We are told that it "clung" to
the tree a bit. Does this mean that Aeneas is acting against fate? Generations of scholars
haven't been able to give a conclusive answer. (That's your cue to have at it!)
Now armed with the golden bough, Aeneas follows the Sibyl down into the underworld,
where they immediately encounter a lot of freaky stuff.
Then they come to the banks of the River Styx, where a crowd of souls has assembled,
waiting to be ferried across by Charon, the boatman of the underworld.
The Sibyl explains that only those who have been buried can cross; those who haven't
been must first wait a hundred years on the Styx's banks.
At this point, Aeneas catches sight of his lost pilot, Palinurus now one of the unburied
dead crowding the bank, denied passage.
Aeneas asks Palinurus if Apollo's oracle had lied, and some god had killed him.
Palinurus says, "No, no god killed me. The rudder broke while I was leaning on it, and I
fell into the water. Then I swam ashore, but some locals killed me."
Then Palinurus asks Aeneas to bury him. "Or," he says, "take me across with you."
But then the Sibyl cuts him off, saying, "You know that we can't take you. Anyhow, some
other locals are going to bury your body soon enough and then they are going to name
that cape of land after you." Palinurus is satisfied with this response.
Then up paddles Charon, the ferryman, and addresses Aeneas and the Sibyl as follows:
"Whaddaya want?"
The Sibyl explains that Aeneas is just going to see his dad. Then she reveals the golden
bough.
That does the trick, and Charon takes them across.
Once they get to the other side, Aeneas and the Sibyl see various dead people.
Aeneas sees Dido, and approaches her. He tells her he is sorry, and how it wasn't his fault
for leaving her: he was only doing the gods' bidding, just as he is now.
But Dido doesn't listen to him. Instead, without a word, she runs off to join the shade of
her dead husband, Sychaeus.
Next Aeneas sees some dead Trojan warriors plus some Greeks, who scatter when he
approaches.
Then he catches sight of Deiphobus, a Trojan warrior. His face shows that he has been
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Then he catches sight of Deiphobus, a Trojan warrior. His face shows that he has been
cruelly mutilated.
Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of Paris, says that his wife is to blame.
During the fall of Troy, she let her former husband, Menelaus, and Ulysses into their
bedroom, and the two of them went at him.
He asks what Aeneas is doing there, but before he can answer, the Sibyl taps her watch
(OK, points to the sky) and says that they've got to get a move on.
Deiphobus says, "That's cool. Peace out."
Then Aeneas and the Sibyl come to a place where the road forks. The path on the left
leads to Tartarus, the black pit of hell. The one on the right leads toward Elysium, where
the blessed go.
The Sibyl tells Aeneas about the horrible torments suffered by the souls in Tartarus.
Then she tells him again to hurry up. They go to the gates of Proserpina's palace where,
after performing a cleansing ritual, he leaves the golden bough.
After that, he and the Sibyl head to Elysium the ultimate chill-out zone, a.k.a. Club
Dead.
They go up to Musaeus, an ancient singer and poet, and ask where Anchises is. Musaeus
directs him to the spot. There they find Anchises watching the souls preparing for rebirth.
Aeneas and Anchises share a tearful reunion.
Then Aeneas catches sight of the thousands of souls crowding around a nearby river. He
asks Anchises, "What gives?"
Anchises says that these are souls waiting to be reborn. They are drinking from the River
Lethe, whose waters will wipe clean their memory of their previous lives.
Aeneas says, "Why would they want to live again?"
That's Anchises's cue to have a fatherly talk with Aeneas (a super-special fatherly talk,
since Anchises is now dead and knows the secrets of the universe).
Anchises explains that everything that exists including things like the sky, the land, the
water, the moon, sun, and stars, as well as living creatures is permeated with Spirit.
This Spirit occasionally becomes part of living things. When this happens, though, the
body pollutes the spirit and clouds its vision.
Even in death, the spirit retains traces of its old life. As a result, the souls of the dead must
spend a good deal of time (sometimes up to a thousand years) being purified (sometimes
involving torments), so that they can regain clear vision. (Those who were especially pure
in life like Anchises get to chill out in Elysium.)
Then, when the time comes, the soul of the dead man drinks from the waters of Lethe and
enters a new body.
Anchises shows Aeneas some of the people waiting to be reborn. These include many
future leaders of Rome.
First Anchises points out a bunch of Aeneas's immediate descendents. Then he points out
members of the Julian dynasty, culminating in Caesar Augustus (the first Roman
emperor).
Then they see various other figures from Roman history, last of whom is Marcellus, who
looks a little under the weather. Marcellus was Augustus's nephew, son-in-law, and 14/15
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looks a little under the weather. Marcellus was Augustus's nephew, son-in-law, and
prospective heir; Anchises explains that he looks glum because he is destined to die
young, without fulfilling his promise.
After this who's-who session, Anchises shows Aeneas a bunch of other cool stuff, including
glimpses of the future. This gets Aeneas all fired up for the rest of his mission.
But now it's time to wrap things up. Anchises takes Aeneas to the exit of the Underworld:
the Gates of Sleep. There are two gates, to be precise. One, made of horn, is the gate from
which "true shades" Emerge. The other is made of ivory; through it, "false dreams" make
their way to mankind.
Aeneas and the Sibyl leave through the ivory gate of false dreams. Why? That's a million
dollar question. Unfortunately, we don't have a million dollars to give you.
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