Aeneas Reveals Himself and Enters Carthage in Mist — Virgil, Aeneid Book 1 (lines 376–450), Latin & English

376

Troiae nomen iit, diversa per aequora vectos¹

if the name of Troy has ever reached your ears, a tempest by its own chance

forte sua Libycis tempestas adpulit oris.

has driven us, who have been carried through various seas, to the Libyan shores.

Sum pius Aeneas, raptos qui ex hoste Penates

I am pious Aeneas, who carry with me in my fleet the Penates snatched from the enemy,

classe veho mecum, fama super aethera notus.

known by fame above the heavens.

380

Italiam quaero patriam et genus² ab Iove summo.

I seek my homeland Italy, and my ancestry from supreme Jupiter.

Bis denis Phrygium conscendi navibus aequor,

I embarked on the Phrygian sea with twice ten ships,

matre dea monstrante viam, data fata secutus;

my goddess mother showing the way, having followed the fates given to me;

vix septem convolsae undis Euroque supersunt.

scarcely seven remain, shattered by the waves and the East Wind.

Ipse ignotus, egens, Libyae deserta peragro,

I myself, unknown and needy, wander through the deserts of Libya,

385

Europa atque Asia pulsus. Nec plura querentem

driven from Europe and Asia.” And as he was complaining of more,

passa Venus medio sic interfata dolore est:

Venus, not permitting it, interrupted him in the midst of his grief thus:

Quisquis es, haud, credo, invisus caelestibus auras

”Whoever you are, I believe, not hated by the heavenly gods do you draw

vitalis carpis, Tyriam qui adveneris³ urbem.

vital air, since you have arrived at the Tyrian city.

Perge modo, atque hinc te reginae ad limina perfer,

Only go on, and betake yourself from here to the threshold of the queen,

390

Namque tibi reduces socios classemque relatam

For I announce to you that your companions are returned and your fleet brought back,

nuntio, et in tutum versis aquilonibus actam,

and driven into safety by the shifted north winds,

ni frustra augurium vani docuere parentes.

unless my deceitful parents taught me augury in vain.

Aspice bis senos laetantis agmine cycnos,

Behold the twelve swans rejoicing in a flock,

aetheria quos lapsa plaga Iovis ales aperto

whom the bird of Jupiter, gliding from the ethereal region, was dispersing

395

turbabat caelo; nunc terras ordine longo

in the open sky; now they seem in a long line either to choose ground,

aut capere, aut captas iam despectare videntur:

or to look down upon the ground already chosen:

ut reduces illi ludunt stridentibus alis,

as they, returned, play with whirring wings,

et coetu cinxere polum, cantusque dedere,

and have encircled the sky in a flock, and uttered their songs,

haud aliter puppesque tuae pubesque tuorum

not otherwise do your ships and the youth of your people

400

aut portum tenet aut pleno subit ostia velo.

either hold the harbor or enter its mouth with full sail.

Perge modo, et, qua te ducit via, dirige gressum.

Only go on, and, where the way leads you, direct your step.”

Dixit, et avertens rosea cervice refulsit,

She spoke, and turning away she shone with her rosy neck,

ambrosiaeque comae divinum vertice odorem

and her ambrosial hair breathed a divine odor from her head,

spiravere, pedes vestis defluxit ad imos,

her garment flowed down to her feet,

405

et vera incessu patuit dea. Ille ubi matrem

and by her gait she was revealed as a true goddess. When he recognized

adgnovit, tali fugientem est voce secutus:

his mother, he pursued her as she fled with such words:

Quid natum totiens, crudelis tu quoque, falsis

”Why do you, cruel also, mock your son so many times with false

ludis imaginibus? Cur dextrae iungere dextram

images? Why is it not granted to join right hand to right hand,

non datur, ac veras audire et reddere voces?

and to hear and return true voices?”

410

Talibus incusat, gressumque ad moenia tendit:

With such words he accuses her, and directs his step toward the walls:

at Venus obscuro gradientes aere saepsit,

but Venus enclosed them as they went with a dark air,

et multo nebulae circum dea fudit amictu,

and as a goddess she poured around them a thick mantle of mist,

cernere ne quis eos, neu quis contingere posset,

lest anyone should be able to see them, or anyone to touch them,

molirive moram, aut veniendi poscere causas.

or to cause delay, or to demand the reasons for their coming.

415

Ipsa Paphum sublimis abit, sedesque revisit

She herself departs sublime to Paphos, and revisits her own seats

laeta suas, ubi templum illi, centumque Sabaeo

with joy, where she has a temple, and a hundred altars warm

ture calent arae, sertisque recentibus halant.

with Sabaean incense, and exhale with fresh garlands.

Corripuere viam interea, qua semita monstrat.

Meanwhile, they hastened on the way, where the path directs.

Iamque ascendebant collem, qui plurimus urbi

And now they were ascending the hill, which in huge bulk hangs over

420

imminet, adversasque adspectat desuper arces.

the city, and looks down from above upon the opposing citadels.

Miratur molem Aeneas, magalia quondam,

Aeneas admires the mass, once huts,

miratur portas strepitumque et strata viarum.

admires the gates and the noise and the paved streets.

Instant ardentes Tyrii pars ducere muros,

The eager Tyrians are pressing on: some to extend the walls,

molirique arcem et manibus subvolvere saxa,

to build the citadel, and to roll up stones with their hands;

425

pars optare locum tecto et concludere sulco.

others to choose a site for a dwelling, and to enclose it with a trench.

hic portus alii effodiunt; hic alta theatris

Here, some dig out harbors; there, others lay deep foundations for theaters,

fundamenta locant alii, immanisque columnas

and cut out huge columns

rupibus excidunt, scaenis decora alta futuris.

from the rocks, lofty decorations for future stages.

430

Qualis apes aestate nova per florea rura

Just as labor exercises bees in early summer through the flowery fields

exercet sub sole labor, cum gentis adultos

under the sun, when they lead forth the grown offspring of the race,

educunt fetus, aut cum liquentia mella

or when they pack the liquid honey

stipant et dulci distendunt nectare cellas,

and swell the cells with sweet nectar,

aut onera accipiunt venientum, aut agmine facto

or receive the burdens of those coming, or having formed a band

435

ignavom fucos pecus a praesepibus arcent:

keep off the drones, a lazy herd, from the hives:

fervet opus, redolentque thymo fragrantia mella.

the work glows, and the fragrant honey smells of thyme.

O fortunati, quorum iam moenia surgunt!

”O fortunate ones, whose walls are already rising!”

Aeneas ait, et fastigia suspicit urbis.

says Aeneas, and looks up at the heights of the city.

Infert se saeptus nebula, mirabile dictu,

He enters, enclosed in a mist, wondrous to tell,

440

per medios, miscetque viris, neque cernitur ulli.

through the midst of the people, and mixes with the men, and is seen by none.

Lucus in urbe fuit media, laetissimus umbra,

There was a grove in the midst of the city, very rich in shade,

quo primum iactati undis et turbine Poeni

in which place the Carthaginians, first tossed by the waves and tempest,

effodere loco signum, quod regia Iuno

dug up the sign which royal Juno had shown,

monstrarat, caput acris equi; sic nam fore bello

the head of a spirited horse; for thus she said the nation would be illustrious in war

445

egregiam et facilem victu⁴ per saecula gentem.

and rich in living through the ages.

Hic templum Iunoni ingens Sidonia Dido

Here Sidonian Dido was building a huge temple to Juno,

condebat, donis opulentum et numine divae,

rich in gifts and the divine presence of the goddess,

aerea cui gradibus surgebant limina, nexaeque

to which bronze thresholds rose on steps, and the beams were joined

aere trabes, foribus cardo stridebat aenis.

with bronze, and the hinge creaked on bronze doors.

450

Hoc primum in luco nova res oblata timorem

In this grove first a new sight presented itself and eased his fear

Syntax notes4 items

1.376vectos
The accusative pronoun nos is omitted before vectos, serving as the direct object of adpulit.
1.380genus
Along with Italiam patriam, this acts as the second direct object of the verb quaero.
1.388qui adveneris
The relative pronoun qui with the subjunctive adveneris expresses a causal relationship ('since you have arrived').
1.445facilem victu
victu is the ablative of the noun victus (sustenance, living), derived from vivere (to live), meaning 'easy in respect to living' (i.e., prosperous).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:1.376-1.450