The Penates' Prophecy and Arrival at the Strophades — Virgil, Aeneid Book 3 (lines 159–237), Latin & English

159

imperiumque urbi dabimus: tu moenia magnis

and we shall give empire to your city. Do you prepare a great

160

magna para,¹ longumque fugae ne linque laborem.

city for the great; and do not shrink from the long labor of flight.

Mutandae sedes: non haec tibi litora suasit

Your home must be changed; the Delian Apollo did not suggest these shores

Delius, aut Cretae iussit considere Apollo.

to you, nor did he order you to settle in Crete.

Est locus, Hesperiam Grai cognomine dicunt,

There is a place, the Greeks call it Hesperia by name,

terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere glaebae;

an ancient land, powerful in arms and in the richness of its soil;

165

Oenotri coluere viri; nunc fama minores

Oenotrian men cultivated it; now the rumor is that their descendants

Italiam dixisse ducis de nomine gentem:

have called the nation Italy from the name of their leader:

hae nobis propriae sedes; hinc Dardanus ortus,

this is our proper home; hence Dardanus arose,

Iasiusque pater, genus a quo principe nostrum.

and father Iasius, from which leader our race first began.

Surge age, et haec laetus longaevo dicta parenti

Arise, come, and joyful report these words, not to be doubted,

170

haud dubitanda refer: Corythum terrasque requirat

to your aged parent: let him seek Corythus and the Ausonian

Ausonias; Dictaea negat tibi Iuppiter arva.

lands; Jupiter denies you the Dictaean fields of Crete.”

Talibus attonitus visis et voce deorum—

I was astonished by such visions and the voice of the gods—

nec sopor illud erat, sed coram adgnoscere voltus

nor was that a sleep, but I seemed to recognize their countenances openly,

velatasque comas praesentiaque ora videbar;²

and their veiled hair, and their very faces before me;

175

tum gelidus toto manabat corpore sudor

then a cold sweat poured from my whole body—

corripio e stratis corpus, tendoque supinas

I snatch my body from the bed, and raise my upturned hands

ad caelum cum voce manus, et munera libo

to heaven with my voice, and pour pure offerings

intemerata focis. Perfecto laetus honore

on the hearths. Having completed the worship with joy,

Anchisen facio certum, remque ordine pando.

I inform Anchises, and lay open the matter in order.

180

Adgnovit prolem ambiguam geminosque parentes,

He recognized the double lineage and the twin ancestors,

seque novo veterum deceptum errore locorum.³

and that he had been deceived by a new mistake concerning ancient places.

Tum memorat: Nate, Iliacis exercite fatis,

Then he spoke: “O son, harassed by Iliac fates,

sola mihi talis casus Cassandra canebat.

only Cassandra used to foretell such events to me.

Nunc repeto haec generi portendere debita nostro,

Now I recall that she portended these things as due to our race,

185

et saepe Hesperiam, saepe Itala regna vocare.

and often called Hesperia, often the Italian kingdoms.

Sed quis ad Hesperiae venturos litora Teucros

But who would believe that the Teucrians would come to the shores of Hesperia,

crederet, aut quem tum vates Cassandra moveret?

or whom would the prophetess Cassandra move at that time?

Cedamus Phoebo, et moniti meliora sequamur.

Let us yield to Phoebus, and, having been advised, let us follow better things.”

Sic ait, et cuncti dicto paremus ovantes.

Thus he spoke, and we all, rejoicing, obey his word.

190

Hanc quoque deserimus sedem, paucisque relictis

This home also we desert, and, leaving a few behind,

vela damus, vastumque cava trabe currimus aequor.

we set sail, and run over the vast sea in our hollow wood.

Postquam altum tenuere rates, nec iam amplius ullae

After the ships held the deep, and no longer did any

adparent terrae, caelum undique et undique pontus,

lands appear, sky on all sides and sea on all sides,

tum mihi caeruleus supra caput adstitit imber,

then a dark-blue rain-cloud stood above my head,

195

noctem hiememque ferens, et inhorruit unda tenebris.

bringing night and storm, and the wave grew rough with darkness.

Continuo venti volvunt mare, magnaque surgunt

Immediately the winds roll the sea, and great waves

aequora; dispersi iactamur gurgite vasto;

arise; we are scattered and tossed on the vast abyss;

involvere diem nimbi, et nox umida caelum

clouds enveloped the day, and damp night took away

abstulit; ingeminant abruptis nubibus ignes.

the sky; lightning flashes repeatedly from the broken clouds.

200

Excutimur cursu, et caecis erramus in undis.

We are driven from our course, and wander in blind waves.

Ipse diem noctemque negat discernere caelo,

Palinurus himself says he cannot distinguish day and night in the sky,

nec meminisse viae media Palinurus in unda.

nor remember the way in the midst of the wave.

Tris adeo incertos caeca caligine soles

For three days, uncertain with blind darkness,

erramus pelago, totidem sine sidere noctes.

we wander on the sea, and for just as many starless nights.

205

Quarto terra die primum se attollere tandem

On the fourth day at last land was first seen to raise

visa, aperire procul montis, ac volvere fumum.

itself, to open mountains in the distance, and to roll up smoke.

Vela cadunt, remis insurgimus; haud mora nautae

The sails fall, we rise on our oars; without delay the sailors,

adnixi torquent spumas et caerula verrunt.

striving, churn the foam and sweep the blue waters.

Servatum ex undis Strophadum me litora primum

Saved from the waves, the shores of the Strophades first

210

accipiunt; Strophades Graio stant nomine dictae,

receive me; Strophades they are called by a Greek name,

insulae Ionio in magno, quas dira Celaeno

islands in the great Ionian sea, which dread Celaeno

Harpyiaeque colunt aliae, Phineia postquam

and other Harpies inhabit, after the house of Phineus

clausa domus, mensasque metu liquere priores.

was closed to them, and they left their former tables through fear.

Tristius haud illis monstrum, nec saevior ulla

No monster is more grim than they, nor did any more savage

215

pestis et ira deum Stygiis sese extulit undis.

plague and wrath of the gods rise from Stygian waves.

Virginei volucrum voltus, foedissima ventris

The birds have maiden faces, a most foul discharge

proluvies, uncaeque manus, et pallida semper

of the belly, hooked hands, and faces always pale

ora fame.

with hunger.

Huc ubi delati portus intravimus, ecce

When, brought hither, we entered the harbors, behold,

220

laeta boum passim campis armenta videmus,

we see fat herds of cattle all over the plains,

caprigenumque pecus nullo custode per herbas.

and a flock of goats without any keeper in the grass.

Inruimus ferro, et divos ipsumque vocamus

We rush upon them with the sword, and call the gods and Jupiter himself

in partem praedamque Iovem; tum litore curvo

to a share of the prey; then on the curved shore

exstruimusque toros, dapibusque epulamur opimis.

we build up couches, and feast on the rich banquet.

225

At subitae horrifico lapsu de montibus adsunt

But suddenly with a horrific swoop the Harpies are there

Harpyiae, et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas,

from the mountains, and shake their wings with great clangor,

diripiuntque dapes, contactuque omnia foedant

and tear the banquet to pieces, and pollute everything with their filthy

immundo; tum vox taetrum dira inter odorem.

touch; then a dread voice sounds amidst the foul smell.

Rursum in secessu longo sub rupe cavata,

Again, in a deep retreat under a hollowed rock,

230

arboribus clausi circum atque horrentibus umbris,

enclosed around by trees and terrifying shadows,

instruimus mensas arisque reponimus ignem:

we set up the tables and place the fire again on the altars:

rursum ex diverso caeli caecisque latebris

again from an opposite quarter of the sky and from blind hiding-places

turba sonans praedam pedibus circumvolat uncis,

the noisy crowd flies around the prey with hooked feet,

polluit ore dapes. Sociis tunc, arma capessant,

and pollutes the feast with their mouths. Then I order my companions to take up arms,

235

edico,⁴ et dira bellum cum gente gerendum.

and that war must be waged with the dreadful race.

Haud secus ac iussi faciunt, tectosque per herbam

They do no otherwise than ordered, and arrange

disponunt enses et scuta latentia condunt.

their swords hidden in the grass and conceal their shields.

Syntax notes4 items

3.159tu moenia magnis / magna para
magnis is a dative plural masculine used substantively, referring back to venturos... nepotes (future descendants) in the previous line: "prepare a great city/walls for the great [descendants]."
3.173nec sopor illud erat, sed coram adgnoscere voltus / velatasque comas praesentiaque ora videbar;
videbar is used in a personal construction with the active infinitive adgnoscere, rather than the impersonal videbatur (it seemed to me). Literally, "I seemed to recognize their countenances."
3.181seque novo veterum deceptum errore locorum.
This is an accusative with infinitive construction in indirect discourse depending on adgnovit. The subject is se (himself/Anchises), and deceptum [esse] acts as the infinitive. veterum locorum is a genitive dependent on errore ("by a new error concerning ancient places").
3.234Sociis tunc, arma capessant, / edico
This is an indirect command dependent on edico, with the subjunctive capessant used without the conjunction ut.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:3.159-3.237