The Temple Murals in Carthage and Dido's Arrival — Virgil, Aeneid Book 1 (lines 451–528), Latin & English

451

leniit, hic primum Aeneas sperare salutem

eased [his fear], here first Aeneas dared to hope for safety,

ausus, et adflictis melius confidere rebus.

and to trust better in his afflicted fortunes.

Namque sub ingenti lustrat dum singula templo,

For while he surveys each thing beneath the huge temple,

reginam opperiens, dum, quae fortuna sit urbi,

waiting for the queen, while [he wonders] what the fortune of the city is,

455

artificumque manus inter se operumque laborem

and at the handiwork of the artists and the labor of their works among themselves,

miratur, videt Iliacas ex ordine pugnas,

he wonders, he sees the Trojan battles in order,

bellaque iam fama totum volgata per orbem,

and the wars now made common by fame through the whole world,

Atridas, Priamumque, et saevum ambobus Achillem.

the sons of Atreus, and Priam, and Achilles fierce to both.

Constitit, et lacrimans, Quis iam locus inquit Achate,

He stood, and weeping, “What place now, Achates,” he says,

460

quae regio in terris nostri non plena laboris?

what region on earth is not full of our labor?

En Priamus! Sunt hic etiam sua praemia laudi;

Behold Priam! Here too there are its own rewards for praise;

sunt lacrimae rerum¹ et mentem mortalia tangunt.

there are tears for things and mortal affairs touch the mind.

Solve metus; feret haec aliquam tibi fama salutem.

Dismiss your fears; this fame will bring you some safety.”

Sic ait, atque animum pictura pascit inani,

Thus he speaks, and feeds his mind on the lifeless painting,

465

multa gemens, largoque umectat flumine voltum.

groaning much, and wets his face with a large river [of tears].

Namque videbat, uti bellantes Pergama circum

For he saw how, warring around Troy,

hac fugerent Graii, premeret Troiana iuventus,

here the Greeks fled, the Trojan youth pursued,

hac Phryges, instaret curru cristatus Achilles.

there the Trojans fled, crested Achilles pressed on with his chariot.

Nec procul hinc Rhesi niveis tentoria velis

And not far from here he recognizes, weeping,

470

adgnoscit lacrimans, primo quae prodita somno

the tents of Rhesus with snowy canvases, which, betrayed in their first sleep,

Tydides multa vastabat caede cruentus,

the bloody son of Tydeus was devastating with much slaughter,

ardentisque avertit equos in castra, prius quam

and turned away the fiery horses into the camp, before

pabula gustassent² Troiae Xanthumque bibissent.

they could taste the pastures of Troy and drink from Xanthus.

Parte alia fugiens amissis Troilus armis,

In another part, fleeing with lost weapons, Troilus,

475

infelix puer atque impar congressus Achilli,

unhappy boy and unequally matched in conflict with Achilles,

fertur equis, curruque haeret resupinus inani,

is carried by his horses, and clings supine to the empty chariot,

lora tenens tamen; huic cervixque comaeque trahuntur

yet holding the reins; his neck and hair are dragged

per terram, et versa pulvis inscribitur hasta.

along the ground, and the dust is inscribed by his inverted spear.

Interea ad templum non aequae Palladis ibant

Meanwhile they were going to the temple of unfriendly Pallas,

480

crinibus Iliades passis peplumque ferebant,

the Trojan women with disheveled hair, and they were carrying a robe,

suppliciter tristes et tunsae pectora palmis;

suppliantly sad and beaten on their breasts with their palms;

diva solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat.

the goddess, turned away, kept her eyes fixed on the ground.

Ter circum Iliacos raptaverat Hectora muros,

Three times Achilles had dragged Hector around the Trojan walls,

exanimumque auro corpus vendebat Achilles.

and was selling the lifeless body for gold.

485

Tum vero ingentem gemitum dat pectore ab imo,

Then indeed he gives a huge groan from the depths of his breast,

ut spolia, ut currus, utque ipsum corpus amici,

as he beheld the spoils, the chariot, and the very body of his friend,

tendentemque manus Priamum conspexit inermis.

and Priam stretching out his defenseless hands.

Se quoque principibus permixtum adgnovit Achivis,

He recognized himself too mixed with the Achaean chiefs,

Eoasque acies et nigri Memnonis arma.

and the Eastern battle-lines, and the arms of black Memnon.

490

Ducit Amazonidum lunatis agmina peltis

Penthesilea raging leads her bands of Amazons

Penthesilea furens, mediisque in milibus ardet,

with crescent shields, and burns in the midst of thousands,

aurea subnectens exsertae cingula mammae,

fastening a golden girdle beneath her exposed breast,

bellatrix, audetque viris concurrere virgo.

a warrior queen, and a maiden dares to clash with men.

Haec dum Dardanio Aeneae miranda videntur,

While these things seem wondrous to Dardanian Aeneas,

495

dum stupet, obtutuque haeret defixus in uno,

while he is amazed, and clings fixed in one gaze,

regina ad templum, forma pulcherrima Dido,

the queen, Dido, most beautiful in form, proceeded to the temple,

incessit magna iuvenum stipante caterva.

with a great crowd of young men thronging her.

Qualis in Eurotae ripis aut per iuga Cynthi

Just as on the banks of Eurotas or along the ridges of Cynthus

exercet Diana choros, quam mille secutae

Diana trains her dancers, whom a thousand [Oreads] following

500

hinc atque hinc glomerantur oreades; illa pharetram

Oreads gather here and there; she [carries] a quiver

fert umero, gradiensque deas supereminet omnis:

on her shoulder, and walking towers above all other goddesses:

Latonae tacitum pertemptant gaudia pectus:

joys thrill the silent breast of Latona:

talis erat Dido, talem se laeta ferebat

such was Dido, such she happily bore herself

per medios, instans operi regnisque futuris.

through the midst, pressing on with the work and her future kingdoms.

505

Tum foribus divae, media testudine templi,

Then at the doors of the goddess, under the middle dome of the temple,

saepta armis, solioque alte subnixa resedit.

enclosed by arms, and resting on a high throne, she sat down.

Iura dabat legesque viris, operumque laborem

She was giving rights and laws to men, and [was dividing] the labor of the works

partibus aequabat iustis, aut sorte trahebat:

into equal parts, or drawing them by lot:

cum subito Aeneas concursu accedere magno

when suddenly Aeneas sees approaching in a great crowd

510

Anthea Sergestumque videt³ fortemque Cloanthum,

Antheus and Sergestus and brave Cloanthus,

Teucrorumque alios, ater quos aequore turbo

and other Trojans, whom the dark storm on the sea

dispulerat penitusque alias avexerat oras.

had scattered and carried far away to other shores.

Obstipuit simul ipse simul perculsus Achates

He was amazed, and at the same time Achates was struck

laetitiaque metuque; avidi coniungere dextras

with joy and fear; they eagerly [burned] to join right hands;

515

ardebant; sed res animos incognita turbat.

but the unknown situation disturbs their minds.

Dissimulant, et nube cava speculantur amicti,

They hide their feelings, and covered in the hollow cloud they watch

quae fortuna viris, classem quo litore linquant,

what fortune the men have, on what shore they leave the fleet,

quid veniant; cunctis nam lecti navibus ibant,

why they are coming; for chosen men from all the ships were going,

orantes veniam, et templum clamore petebant.

begging for favor, and were seeking the temple with shouting.

520

Postquam introgressi et coram data copia fandi,

After they entered and opportunity of speaking face-to-face was given,

maxumus Ilioneus placido sic pectore coepit:

Ilioneus the eldest thus began with calm breast:

O Regina, novam cui condere Iuppiter urbem

”O Queen, to whom Jupiter has granted to build a new city

iustitiaque dedit gentis frenare superbas,

and to curb proud nations with justice,

Troes te miseri, ventis maria omnia vecti,

we, miserable Trojans, carried by the winds through all seas,

525

oramus, prohibe infandos a navibus ignis,

implore you: keep away the unspeakable fires from our ships,

parce pio generi, et propius res aspice nostras.

spare a pious race, and look more closely upon our affairs.

Non nos aut ferro Libycos populare Penatis

We have not come either to ravage the Libyan household gods with the sword,

venimus, aut raptas ad litora vertere praedas;

or to turn stolen booty to the shores;

Syntax notes3 items

1.462lacrimae rerum
The genitive rerum can be interpreted either as a subjective genitive ('things themselves have tears') or as an objective genitive ('there are tears for things/misfortunes'). The latter is widely preferred, denoting sympathy for the hardships of human life.
1.472prius quam / pabula gustassent
The pluperfect subjunctives gustassent (syncopated for gustavissent) and bibissent, introduced by priusquam, indicate not just a temporal sequence (which would take the indicative), but a sense of anticipation or prevention (to prevent the horses from tasting Trojan pasture and drinking from the Xanthus).
1.509cum subito Aeneas... videt
This is a 'cum inversum' (inverted cum-clause) construction. The background action is set in the main clause with imperfect verbs (dabat, aequabat), while the sudden, main event is introduced in the temporal cum clause with a present indicative (videt, historical present).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:1.451-1.528