The Oracle of Delos and the Plague in Crete — Virgil, Aeneid Book 3 (lines 81–158), Latin & English

vittis et sacra redimitus tempora lauro,¹

bound as to his sacred temples with fillets and sacred laurel,

occurrit; veterem Anchisen adgnovit amicum.

comes to meet us; he recognized his old friend Anchises.

Iungimus hospitio dextras, et tecta subimus.

We join right hands in hospitality, and enter his house.

Templa dei saxo venerabar structa vetusto:

I was worshiping the temple of the god built of ancient stone:

Da propriam, Thymbraee, domum; da moenia fessis

”Grant us a home of our own, O god of Thymbra; grant walls to the weary,

et genus et mansuram urbem; serva altera Troiae

and a race, and a lasting city; save this second Citadel of Troy,

Pergama, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli.

the remnant left by the Greeks and merciless Achilles.

Quem sequimur? Quove ire iubes? Ubi ponere sedes?

Whom do we follow? Or whither do you order us to go? Where to set up our home?

Da, pater, augurium, atque animis inlabere nostris.

Grant, father, an omen, and glide into our minds.”

Vix ea fatus eram: tremere omnia visa repente,

Hardly had I spoken these words, when suddenly everything seemed to tremble,

liminaque laurusque dei, totusque moveri

both the threshold and the laurel of the god, and the whole

mons circum, et mugire adytis cortina reclusis.²

mountain around was moved, and the tripod groaned within the opened shrine.

Submissi petimus terram, et vox fertur ad auris:

Humbled, we seek the ground, and a voice is borne to our ears:

Dardanidae duri, quae vos a stirpe parentum

”O hardy sons of Dardanus, the same land which first bore you

prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere laeto

from the stock of your parents, shall welcome you back

accipiet reduces. Antiquam exquirite matrem:

with joyful bosom on your return. Seek out your ancient mother:

hic domus Aeneae cunctis dominabitur oris,

here the house of Aeneas shall rule over all shores,

et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis.

and his children’s children, and those who shall be born from them.”

Haec Phoebus; mixtoque ingens exorta tumultu

Thus Phoebus spoke; and a great joy arose, mixed with confused

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laetitia, et cuncti quae sint ea moenia quaerunt,

tumult, and all ask what those walls may be,

quo Phoebus vocet errantis iubeatque reverti?

whither Phoebus calls the wanderers and orders them to return.

Tum genitor, veterum volvens monumenta virorum,

Then my father, turning over the records of ancient men,

Audite, O proceres ait et spes discite vestras:

said: “Hear, O leaders, and learn your hopes:

Creta Iovis magni medio iacet insula ponto;

Creta, the island of great Jupiter, lies in the midst of the sea,

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mons Idaeus ubi, et gentis cunabula nostrae.

where is Mount Ida, and the cradle of our race.

Centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna;

They inhabit a hundred great cities, most fertile realms,

maximus unde pater, si rite audita recordor,

whence our greatest father Teucer, if I rightly recall what was heard,

Teucrus Rhoeteas primum est advectus in oras,

first arrived at the Rhoetean shores,

optavitque locum regno. Nondum Ilium et arces

and chose a place for his kingdom. Not yet had Ilium and the towers of

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Pergameae steterant; habitabant vallibus imis.

Pergamum stood; they dwelt in the lowest valleys.

hinc mater cultrix Cybeli Corybantiaque aera

Hence came the Mother-goddess, dweller on Cybele, and the Corybantian cymbals,

Idaeumque nemus; hinc fida silentia sacris,

and the Idaean grove; hence came the faithful silence for her mysteries,

et iuncti currum dominae subiere leones.

and the yoked lions that submitted to the chariot of their mistress.

Ergo agite, et, divom ducunt qua iussa, sequamur;

Come then, and where the commands of the gods lead, let us follow,

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placemus ventos et Gnosia regna petamus.

let us appease the winds and seek the Gnossian realms.

Nec longo distant cursu; modo Iuppiter adsit,

Nor are they far distant by a long course; only let Jupiter be present,

tertia lux classem Cretaeis sistet in oris.

the third light will place our fleet on the Cretan shores.”

Sic fatus, meritos aris mactavit honores,

Having thus spoken, he sacrificed the deserved offerings on the altars,

taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo

a bull to Neptune, a bull to thee, O beautiful Apollo,

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nigram Hiemi pecudem, Zephyris felicibus albam.

a black sheep to the Storm, and a white one to the favorable West Winds.

Fama volat pulsum regnis cessisse³ paternis

A rumor flies that the leader Idomeneus, driven from his father’s realm, has departed,

Idomenea ducem, desertaque litora Cretae

and that the shores of Crete are deserted, the homes free

hoste vacare domos, sedesque adstare relictas.

from enemies, and the abandoned dwellings stand ready.

Linquimus Ortygiae portus, pelagoque volamus,

We leave the harbors of Ortygia and fly over the sea,

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bacchatamque iugis Naxon viridemque Donysam,

and we coast past Naxos with its mountaintops celebrated in Bacchic revels, and green Donysa,

Olearon, niveamque Paron, sparsasque per aequor

Olearos, and snowy Paros, and the Cyclades scattered through the sea,

Cycladas, et crebris legimus freta consita terris.

and we skim the straits sown with frequent lands.

Nauticus exoritur vario certamine clamor;

A sailor’s shout arises with varied rivalry,

hortantur socii: Cretam proavosque petamus!

the companions encourage one another: “Let us seek Crete and our ancestors!”

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Prosequitur surgens a puppi ventus euntis

A wind rising from the stern follows us as we go,

et tandem antiquis Curetum adlabimur oris.

and at last we glide to the ancient shores of the Curetes.

Ergo avidus muros optatae molior urbis,

Therefore eagerly I construct the walls of the longed-for city,

Pergameamque voco, et laetam cognomine gentem

and call it Pergamea, and I exhort my people, who rejoice in the name,

hortor amare focos arcemque attollere tectis.

to love their hearths and to raise a citadel over their dwellings.

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Iamque fere sicco subductae litore puppes;

And now the ships were almost hauled up on the dry shore;

conubiis arvisque novis operata iuventus;

the youth were busy with new marriages and tillings,

iura domosque dabam: subito cum tabida membris,

I was giving laws and homes: when suddenly, from a corrupted tract of the sky,

corrupto caeli tractu, miserandaque venit

there came a wasting and pitiable plague upon our limbs,

arboribusque satisque lues⁴ et letifer annus.

and upon the trees and crops, and a year of death.

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Linquebant dulcis animas, aut aegra trahebant

They left their sweet souls, or dragged their sick

corpora; tum sterilis exurere Sirius agros;

bodies; then Sirius burned the barren fields;

arebant herbae, et victum seges aegra negabat.

the grass withered, and the sick crop denied food.

Rursus ad oraclum Ortygiae Phoebumque remenso

Again my father exhorts us to go to the oracle of Ortygia and to Phoebus,

hortatur pater ire mari, veniamque precari:

measuring back the sea, and to entreat his favor:

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quam fessis finem rebus ferat; unde laborum

what end he may bring to our weary affairs; whence he may order us

temptare auxilium iubeat; quo vertere cursus.

to seek help for our labors; whither to turn our course.

Nox erat, et terris animalia somnus habebat:

It was night, and sleep held all living creatures on earth:

effigies sacrae divom Phrygiique Penates,

the sacred images of the gods and the Phrygian Penates,

quos mecum a Troia mediisque ex ignibus urbis

whom I had carried with me from Troy and from the midst of the burning city,

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extuleram, visi ante oculos adstare iacentis⁵

seemed to stand before my eyes as I lay

in somnis, multo manifesti lumine, qua se

in sleep, clear in the abundant light, where

plena per insertas fundebat luna fenestras;

the full moon poured itself through the inserted windows,

tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis:

then they seemed to speak thus and remove my cares with these words:

Quod tibi delato Ortygiam dicturus Apollo est,

”What Apollo is going to tell you when you have gone back to Ortygia,

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hic canit, et tua nos en ultro ad limina mittit.

he declares here, and behold, he sends us of his own accord to your threshold.

Nos te, Dardania incensa, tuaque arma secuti,

We followed you and your arms when Dardania was burned,

nos tumidum sub te permensi classibus aequor,

we have traversed the swelling sea in fleets under your leadership,

idem venturos tollemus in astra nepotes,

and we, the same, will raise your future descendants to the stars,

Syntax notes5 items

3.81sacra redimitus tempora lauro
The perfect passive participle redimitus takes the Greek accusative of specification (accusative of respect) tempora, functioning in a middle sense: "having bound his own sacred temples."
3.92mugire adytis cortina reclusis
mugire depends on visa (sunt) ('seemed'), coordinated with tremere and moveri. Its subject is cortina (the tripod), and adytis reclusis is an ablative absolute ("the inner shrine having been opened").
3.121Fama volat pulsum regnis cessisse
An indirect discourse (accusative with infinitive) introduced by the main clause Fama volat. Idomenea is the subject accusative of the infinitive cessisse, and the subsequent infinitives vacare and adstare are likewise dependent on Fama.
3.137subito cum tabida membris ... venit ... lues
A construct of "inverted cum" (cum inversum), where a sudden event is introduced by cum with the perfect indicative (venit) in the middle of an ongoing action described by the imperfect (dabam) in the main clause.
3.150visi ante oculos adstare iacentis
visi (sunt) is a personal construction meaning "they seemed," taking the infinitive adstare as its complement. iacentis is the genitive singular of the participle iacens, modifying me (understood): "before the eyes of me as I lay."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:3.81-3.158