Juno's Wrath and Her Appeal to Aeolus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 1 (lines 1–75), Latin & English

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris

Arms and the man I sing, who first from the shores of Troy,

Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit

driven by fate, came to Italy and the Lavinian

litora,¹ multum ille et terris iactatus et alto

shores, much tossed about on both land and deep

vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram;

by the power of the gods above, on account of the mindful anger of cruel Juno;

multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet² urbem,

also having suffered much in war, until he could found his city,

inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum,

and bring his gods to Latium, whence came the Latin race,

Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae.

and the Alban fathers, and the walls of lofty Rome.

Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso,

Muse, relate to me the causes, by what divinity offended,

quidve dolens, regina deum tot volvere casus

or grieving at what, did the queen of the gods force a man

insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores

distinguished for piety to undergo so many misfortunes, to face so many labors.

impulerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?

Is there such great anger in heavenly minds?

Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni,

There was an ancient city, Tyrian colonists held it,

Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe

Carthage, opposite Italy and far from the Tiber’s

ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli;

mouths, rich in resources and very fierce in the pursuits of war;

quam Iuno fertur terris magis omnibus unam

which single city Juno is said to have cherished more than all lands,

posthabita coluisse Samo; hic illius arma,

even with Samos held second; here were her arms,

hic currus fuit; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse,

here was her chariot; that this should be the ruling kingdom for nations,

si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.

if any fates should allow, she already then intended and cherished.

Progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci

But indeed she had heard that a progeny was being derived from Trojan blood,

audierat, Tyrias olim quae verteret arces;

which one day would overturn the Tyrian citadels;

hinc populum late regem belloque superbum

hence a people widely ruling and proud in war

venturum excidio Libyae: sic volvere Parcas.

would come for the destruction of Libya: thus the Fates spun.

Id metuens, veterisque memor Saturnia belli,

Fearing this, and mindful of the ancient war, the daughter of Saturn,

prima quod ad Troiam pro caris gesserat Argis—

which she first had waged at Troy for her beloved Argos—

necdum etiam causae irarum saevique dolores

nor yet indeed had the causes of her anger and her cruel griefs

exciderant animo: manet alta mente repostum

fallen from her mind: there remains stored up deep in her soul

iudicium Paridis spretaeque iniuria formae,

the judgment of Paris and the insult to her slighted beauty,

et genus invisum, et rapti Ganymedis honores.

and the hated race, and the honors of stolen Ganymede.

His accensa super, iactatos aequore toto

Incensed by these things besides, she was keeping the Trojans, tossed over the whole sea,

Troas, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli,

the remnants left by the Greeks and fierce Achilles,

arcebat longe Latio, multosque per annos

far away from Latium, and for many years

errabant, acti fatis, maria omnia circum.

they wandered, driven by the fates, around all the seas.

Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem!

Of so great an effort it was to found the Roman race!

Vix e conspectu Siculae telluris in altum

Scarcely out of sight of the Sicilian land into the deep

vela dabant laeti, et spumas salis aere ruebant,

were they joyfully giving sail, and plowing the foam of the salt sea with their bronze,

cum Iuno, aeternum servans sub pectore volnus,

when Juno, keeping the eternal wound deep in her breast,

haec secum: Mene incepto desistere victam,³

spoke thus to herself: “Am I, defeated, to desist from my undertaking,

nec posse Italia Teucrorum avertere regem?

and not be able to turn away the king of the Trojans from Italy?

Quippe vetor fatis. Pallasne exurere classem

To be sure, I am forbidden by the fates. Was Pallas able to burn the fleet

Argivum atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto,

of the Greeks and submerge them in the sea,

unius ob noxam et furias Aiacis Oilei?

on account of the guilt and madness of Ajax, son of Oileus alone?

Ipsa, Iovis rapidum iaculata e nubibus ignem,

She herself, having hurled Jupiter’s swift fire from the clouds,

disiecitque rates evertitque aequora ventis,

both scattered the ships and overturned the seas with winds,

illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas

and him, breathing out flames from his transfixed breast,

turbine corripuit scopuloque infixit acuto.

she caught up in a whirlwind and impaled on a sharp rock.

Ast ego, quae divom incedo regina, Iovisque

But I, who walk as queen of the gods, and of Jupiter

et soror et coniunx, una cum gente tot annos

both sister and wife, with one nation for so many years

bella gero! Et quisquam numen Iunonis adoret

wage war! And does anyone worship the divinity of Juno

praeterea, aut supplex aris imponet honorem?

hereafter, or place an offering on her altars as a suppliant?”

Talia flammato secum dea corde volutans

Revolving such things with herself in her inflamed heart, the goddess

nimborum in patriam, loca feta furentibus austris,

came to Aeolia, the homeland of storm clouds, places teeming with raging winds.

Aeoliam venit. Hic vasto rex Aeolus antro

Here in a vast cave, King Aeolus

luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras

presses down the struggling winds and resounding tempests

imperio premit ac vinclis et carcere frenat.

with authority, and curbs them with chains and a prison.

Illi indignantes magno cum murmure montis

They, indignant, with a great murmur of the mountain,

circum claustra fremunt; celsa sedet Aeolus arce

roar around their barriers; Aeolus sits on his lofty citadel,

sceptra tenens, mollitque animos et temperat iras.

holding his scepter, and softens their spirits and tempers their angers.

Ni faciat, maria ac terras caelumque profundum

Unless he should do so, surely they, rapid, would carry away with themselves

quippe ferant rapidi secum verrantque per auras.⁴

the seas and lands and deep sky, and sweep them through the air.

Sed pater omnipotens speluncis abdidit atris,

But the omnipotent father hid them in dark caves,

hoc metuens, molemque et montis insuper altos

fearing this, and placed a mass and lofty mountains above,

imposuit, regemque dedit, qui foedere certo

and gave them a king, who by a fixed agreement

et premere et laxas sciret dare iussus habenas.

would know both how to restrain them and how to give them loose reins when ordered.

Ad quem tum Iuno supplex his vocibus usa est:

To whom then Juno as a suppliant used these words:

Aeole, namque tibi divom pater atque hominum rex

”Aeolus, for to you the father of gods and king of men

et mulcere dedit fluctus et tollere⁵ vento ,

has given both to soothe the waves and to raise them with the wind,

gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum navigat aequor,

a race hostile to me sails the Tyrrhenian sea,

Ilium in Italiam portans victosque Penates:

carrying Ilium and their defeated Penates into Italy:

incute vim ventis submersasque obrue puppes,

strike force into the winds and overwhelm their submerged ships,

aut age diversos et disiice corpora ponto.

or drive them scattered and disperse their bodies on the sea.

Sunt mihi bis septem praestanti corpore nymphae,

I have twice seven nymphs of outstanding body,

quarum quae forma pulcherrima Deiopea,⁶

of whom, Deiopea, who is the most beautiful in form,

conubio iungam stabili propriamque dicabo,

I will join to you in stable wedlock and dedicate as your own,

omnis ut tecum meritis pro talibus annos

so that she may pass all her years with you for such merits,

exigat, et pulchra faciat te prole parentem.

and make you a parent with beautiful offspring.”

Syntax notes6 items

1.2Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit / litora
The verb "venit" here governs direct accusatives of direction ("Italiam" and "Lavinia litora") without prepositions ("ad" or "in"), which is a common poetic license. "Lavinia" is an adjective modifying "litora" (neuter accusative plural).
1.5dum conderet
The temporal conjunction "dum" (until) is paired with the imperfect subjunctive "conderet" to express not merely temporal succession but also purpose or anticipation (until he should/could found).
1.37Mene incepto desistere victam
This is an accusative and infinitive of exclamation or indignation. The accusative subject pronoun "me" is appended with the interrogative enclitic "-ne", expressing outraged disbelief: "Am I, defeated, to desist from my undertaking?"
1.58Ni faciat, maria ac terras caelumque profundum / quippe ferant rapidi secum verrantque per auras
A conditional sentence using the present subjunctive ("ni faciat" in the protasis, "ferant" and "verrant" in the apodosis). While a counterfactual condition in present time usually takes the imperfect subjunctive, the present subjunctive is used here to present the threat as vivid, imminent, or potential.
1.66et mulcere dedit ... et tollere
The verb "dedit" takes the infinitives "mulcere" and "tollere" as direct objects. This is a Greek-style poetic construction (equivalent to a complementary infinitive or infinitive of purpose), where standard Latin prose would typically use "ut" with the subjunctive.
1.72quarum quae forma pulcherrima Deiopea
The proper noun "Deiopea" is attracted to the nominative case of the relative pronoun "quae" inside the relative clause (standing for "quarum Deiopeam, quae forma pulcherrima est..."). Although it functions grammatically as the direct object of "iungam" in the main clause, it assumes the nominative form due to attraction.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.75