Pyrrhus Storms the Palace and Slays Priam — Virgil, Aeneid Book 2 (lines 487–564), Latin & English

487

miscetur, penitusque cavae plangoribus aedes

is thrown into confusion, and deep within, the hollow halls howl with female

femineis ululant; ferit aurea sidera clamor.

wailings; the clamor strikes the golden stars.

Tum pavidae tectis matres ingentibus errant;

Then through the vast palace the trembling mothers wander;

490

amplexaeque tenent postis atque oscula figunt.

they hold the doorposts in their embrace and imprint kisses upon them.

Instat vi patria Pyrrhus; nec claustra, neque ipsi

Pyrrhus presses on with his father’s might; neither barriers nor the guards themselves

custodes sufferre valent; labat ariete crebro

are able to withstand him; the door totters under the frequent battering-ram,

ianua, et emoti procumbunt cardine postes.

and the doorposts, wrenched from their hinges, fall flat.

Fit via vi; rumpunt aditus, primosque trucidant

A way is made by force; the Greeks, let in, burst the entrance, and slaughter the foremost

495

immissi Danai, et late loca milite complent.

men, and fill the places far and wide with soldiery.

Non sic,¹ aggeribus ruptis cum spumeus amnis

Not so violently, when a foaming river, its barriers burst,

exiit, oppositasque evicit gurgite moles,

has rushed out and overcome the opposing mounds with its swirling torrent,

fertur in arva furens cumulo, camposque per omnis

is it borne raging in a heap into the fields, and through all the plains

cum stabulis armenta trahit. Vidi ipse furentem

drags herds along with their stables. I myself saw Neoptolemus, raging with slaughter,

500

caede Neoptolemum geminosque in limine Atridas;

and the twin sons of Atreus on the threshold;

vidi Hecubam centumque nurus, Priamumque per aras

I saw Hecuba and her hundred daughters-in-law, and Priam amid the altars

sanguine foedantem, quos ipse sacraverat, ignis.²

defiling with blood the fires which he himself had consecrated.

Quinquaginta illi thalami, spes tanta nepotum,

Those fifty bridal chambers, so great a hope of descendants,

barbarico postes auro spoliisque superbi,

the doorposts proud with barbaric gold and spoils,

505

procubuere; tenent Danai, qua deficit ignis.

fell flat; the Greeks hold whatever the fire spares.

Forsitan et Priami fuerint quae fata requiras.

Perhaps you may also ask what the fate of Priam was.

Urbis uti captae casum convolsaque vidit

When he saw the downfall of his captured city and the torn-down

limina tectorum et medium in penetralibus hostem,

entrances of his palace, and the enemy in the midst of his inner chambers,

arma diu senior desueta trementibus aevo

the old man in vain puts his long-disused arms upon his shoulders trembling

510

circumdat nequiquam umeris, et inutile ferrum

with age, and girds on his useless sword,

cingitur, ac densos fertur moriturus in hostis.

and is borne into the thick of the enemy, destined to die.

Aedibus in mediis nudoque sub aetheris axe

In the middle of the palace and under the open vault of heaven

ingens ara fuit iuxtaque veterrima laurus,

there was a huge altar, and near it a very ancient laurel tree,

incumbens arae atque umbra complexa Penatis.

leaning over the altar and embracing the Penates with its shade.

515

Hic Hecuba et natae nequiquam altaria circum,

Here Hecuba and her daughters, in vain around the altars,

praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae,

like doves driven headlong by a black storm,

condensae et divom amplexae simulacra sedebant.

were sitting crowded together and embracing the images of the gods.

Ipsum autem sumptis Priamum iuvenalibus armis

But when she saw Priam himself, having taken up the arms of his youth,

ut vidit, Quae mens tam dira, miserrime coniunx,

she said: “What so dreadful thought, most wretched husband,

520

impulit his cingi telis? Aut quo ruis? inquit;

has driven you to gird yourself with these weapons? Or whither do you rush?

Non tali auxilio nec defensoribus istis

The time does not need such aid nor such defenders as those,

tempus eget, non, si ipse meus nunc adforet Hector.

no, not even if my Hector himself were now present.

Huc tandem concede; haec ara tuebitur omnis,

Come hither at last; this altar will protect us all,

aut moriere simul. Sic ore effata recepit

or we shall die together.” Having thus spoken, she received him

525

ad sese et sacra longaevum in sede locavit.

to herself and placed the aged man on the sacred seat.

Ecce autem elapsus Pyrrhi de caede Polites,

But look, having escaped from the slaughter of Pyrrhus, Polites,

unus natorum Priami, per tela, per hostis

one of the sons of Priam, through the weapons, through the enemy,

porticibus longis fugit, et vacua atria lustrat

flees along the long porticoes, and traverses the empty halls,

saucius: illum ardens infesto volnere Pyrrhus

wounded: him Pyrrhus, burning, pursues with hostile weapon,

530

insequitur, iam iamque manu tenet et premit hasta.

and now, even now, holds him in his hand and presses him with his spear.

Ut tandem ante oculos evasit et ora parentum,

When at length he escaped before the eyes and faces of his parents,

concidit, ac multo vitam cum sanguine fudit.

he fell, and poured out his life with much blood.

Hic Priamus, quamquam in media iam morte tenetur,

Here Priam, although he is already held in the midst of death,

non tamen abstinuit, nec voci iraeque pepercit:

yet did not refrain, nor did he spare his voice and anger:

535

At tibi pro scelere , exclamat, pro talibus ausis,

”But to you, for your crime,” he exclaims, “for such outrageous deeds,

di, si qua est caelo pietas,³ quae talia curet,

may the gods, if there is any justice in heaven that cares for such things,

persolvant grates dignas et praemia reddant

pay fitting thanks and render the rewards

debita, qui nati coram me cernere letum

that are due, you who have made me see the death of my son before my face

fecisti et patrios foedasti funere voltus.

and have defiled a father’s countenance with death.

540

At non ille, satum quo te mentiris,⁴ Achilles

But that Achilles, from whom you falsely claim you were begotten,

talis in hoste fuit Priamo; sed iura fidemque

was not such toward his enemy Priam; but he respected the rights and honor

supplicis erubuit, corpusque exsangue sepulchro

of a suppliant, and restored the lifeless body of Hector for burial

reddidit Hectoreum, meque in mea regna remisit.

and sent me back into my own kingdom.”

Sic fatus senior, telumque imbelle sine ictu

Thus the old man spoke, and threw his feeble weapon without force,

545

coniecit, rauco quod protinus aere repulsum

which, immediately repelled by the ringing bronze,

e summo clipei nequiquam umbone pependit.

hung in vain from the very surface of the shield’s boss.

Cui Pyrrhus: Referes ergo haec et nuntius ibis

To him Pyrrhus replied: “You shall report these things then, and go as a messenger

Pelidae genitori; illi mea tristia facta

to my father, the son of Peleus; remember to tell him of my grim deeds

degeneremque Neoptolemum narrare memento.

and of his degenerate Neoptolemus.

550

Nunc morere. Hoc dicens altaria ad ipsa trementem

Now die.” Saying this, he dragged him trembling to the very altars,

traxit et in multo lapsantem sanguine nati,

and slipping in the abundant blood of his son,

implicuitque comam laeva, dextraque coruscum

and wound his hair in his left hand, and with his right drew his flashing

extulit, ac lateri capulo tenus abdidit ensem.

sword, and buried it in his side up to the hilt.

Haec finis Priami fatorum; hic exitus illum

This was the end of Priam’s fates; this exit carried him off

555

sorte tulit, Troiam incensam et prolapsa videntem

by destiny, as he beheld Troy ablaze and Pergama

Pergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbum

ruined, once the proud ruler of Asia over so many peoples and lands.

regnatorem Asiae. Iacet ingens litore truncus,

He lies, a huge trunk upon the shore,

avolsumque umeris caput, et sine nomine corpus.

the head torn from the shoulders, and a body without a name.

At me tum primum saevus circumstetit horror

But then for the first time a grim horror encompassed me.

560

Obstipui; subiit cari genitoris imago,

I stood aghast; the image of my dear father came to mind,

ut regem aequaevum crudeli volnere vidi

as I saw the king of equal age breathing out his life

vitam exhalantem; subiit deserta Creüsa,

from his cruel wound; there came to mind the abandoned Creusa,

et direpta domus, et parvi casus Iuli.

and my plundered house, and the fate of little Iulus.

Respicio, et quae sit me circum copia lustro.

I look back, and survey what forces are around me.

Syntax notes4 items

2.496Non sic
Introduces a comparison meaning 'not so (violently)'. It emphasizes the fury of the Greek intrusion by stating that even a devastating river flood is not as fierce.
2.502quos ipse sacraverat, ignis
The word ignis is an accusative plural (equivalent to ignes). It is the antecedent of the relative pronoun quos, attracted into the relative clause, referring to the altar fires that Priam himself had consecrated.
2.536si qua est caelo pietas
Here pietas refers to the 'justice' or 'righteousness' of the gods. The conditional 'if' is a strong appeal made with the conviction that such divine justice indeed exists.
2.540satum quo te mentiris
Satum is the perfect participle of sero ('begotten'). Combined with quo (ablative relative pronoun referring to Achilles), it forms the structure '[Achilles], from whom you falsely claim you were begotten,' with an ellipsis of the infinitive esse in the accusative-and-infinitive construction (satum esse te).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:2.487-2.564