Where do Aeneas and the Trojans arrive?
Cumae
What do Aeneas and his men first do in Cumae?
His men go hunting and exploring
Aeneas climbs to Apollo’s temple and the Sibyl’s cave.
Backstory of Apollo’s temple:
Daedalus flew here long ago using wings he constructed and built the temple for Apollo
What does the temple depict and why?
The doors depict the story of the Minotaur, who Daedalus helped to outwit.
However, Daedalus was too sad to depict the story of Icarus, his fallen son, on the doors
Who does the Sibly encourage and to do what? What does this cause?
She urges Aeneas and Achates to sacrifice animals to Apollo.
When they do this, she calls out, her voice echoing through a hundred doors.
She sees Apollo and enters a trance, possessed by the god.
What does Aeneas ask the Sybil?
To hear his fate, promising to build Apollo a temple and honour him as guardian of his future kingdom.
As Helenus had counselled, Aeneas asks the Sibyl not to write the prophecy on easily scattered leaves but to say it aloud.
What happens when the Sibyl answers and what does she say?
The hundred doors fly open as the possessed Sibyl answers.
The Trojans will reach and rule in Italy, but they must first fight a terrible war
How does the Sibyl tell Aeneas to get to the underworld to see Anchises?
She says that its easy to go down there, but its difficult to come back up.
To visit the ghosts, he must find a enarby tree with a golden bough, which he must present as a gift to Proserpina, queen of the Underworld
What is special about the golden bow?
Only those fated to go to the Underworld can remove it.
What should Aeneas do before he picks the golden bough?
Bury the body of his friend, Misenus, that has washed up on the shore.
What does Aeneas do after receiving his information from the Sibyl
The Trojans build a tomb for Misenus.
Aeneas prays to find the tree with the golden bough, and Venus sends two doves to help him.
He finds it and removes the bough
What does Aeneas do after removing the bough?
The Trojans bury Misenus
Aeneas performs sacrifices for good luck in the Underworld.
He is led to the Underworld’s entrance by the Sibyl
Who stands before the entrance of the Underworld? What does Aeneas want to do about them?
Monsters and embodiments of Hunger, War and Discord (among many others)
Aeneas wants to fight them with his sword, but the Sibyl tells him the sword will have no effect on them
Who does Aeneas reach first as they enter the Underworld?
Charon, who will ferry them across the river Styx
Who is on the banks of the Styx?
The shore is crowded with the ghosts of those who were not properly buried and therefore must wait a hundred years before crossing the river.
Aeneas sees the ghost of Palinurus among those waiting
What happened to Palinurus? Why is Aeneas surprised to see him there?
Aeneas says that Palinurus shouldn’t have died, since a prophecy predicted that he’d reach Italy.
Palinurus fell from the ship and floated to Italy, only to be killed by locals
What does Palinurus ask of Aeneas and how does the Sibyl respond to this request?
He asks for a proper burial, or for Aeneas to help him cross the river
The Sibyl tells him not to cheat his fate by trying to get across the river before he is destined to, but comforts him by saying that he will be long remembered on Earth.
What does Charon tell Aeneas?
He cannot take a living person across the river
How does Aeneas get across the river and pass Cerberus?
The Sibyl displays the golden bough.
After crossing, the Sibyl subdues Cerberus with a drugged cake.
Who do Aeneas and the Sibyl pass after drugging Cerberus?
A variety of dead people, who are being categorized (babies, suicides, those who died for love, etc) or, for particularly bad people, judged for punishment.
Who is among the dead-for-love group? What does Aeneas do?
Dido.
Aeneas tells her he left her unwillingly, begging her to stay, but she angrily ignores him and runs to Sychaeus, who ‘meets her with love’
How do the ghosts react to Aeneas?
They crowd around him, fascinated
The Greeks however are frightened of him and avoid him
Who does Aeneas speak to in the crowd first?
Deiphobus, son of Priam.
He describes how his wife betrayed him to the Greeks
What section of the Underworld does Aeneas pass?
The section for tormenting guilty souls. There are many methods, including whips and a liver-eating vulture.
