Burial of Misenus and Descent into the Underworld — Virgil, Aeneid Book 6 (lines 224–300), Latin & English

224

aversi¹ tenuere facem. Congesta cremantur

They held the torch, turning their faces away. The heaped-up gifts of incense,

225

turea dona, dapes, fuso crateres olivo.

the sacrificial food, and bowls of poured-out olive oil are burned.

Postquam conlapsi cineres et flamma quievit

After the ashes collapsed and the flame fell quiet,

reliquias vino et bibulam lavere favillam,

they washed the remains and the thirsty ember with wine,

ossaque lecta cado texit Corynaeus aëno.

and Corynaeus covered the gathered bones in a bronze urn.

Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda,²

He also purified his companions, carrying pure water thrice around them,

230

spargens rore levi et ramo felicis olivae,

sprinkling them with a light dew from the branch of a fruitful olive tree,

lustravitque viros, dixitque novissima verba.

and purified the men, and spoke the final words.

At pius Aeneas ingenti mole sepulcrum

But pious Aeneas places a tomb of immense size,

imponit, suaque arma viro, remumque tubamque,

and his own arms for the man, and both oar and trumpet,

monte sub aërio, qui nunc Misenus ab illo

under a towering mountain, which now is called Misenus

235

dicitur, aeternumque tenet per saecula nomen.

after him, and holds an eternal name through the ages.

His actis, propere exsequitur praecepta Sibyllae.

These things being done, he quickly executes the commands of the Sibyl.

Spelunca alta fuit vastoque immanis hiatu,

There was a deep cave, immense with a vast gaping mouth,

scrupea, tuta lacu nigro nemorumque tenebris,

stony, protected by a dark lake and the shadows of groves,

quam super³ haud ullae poterant impune volantes

over which no flying creatures were able to make their way

240

tendere iter pennis—talis sese halitus atris

with wings unharmed—such a breath, pouring itself forth from the black

faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat:

jaws, bore itself to the vault above.

quattuor hic primum nigrantis terga iuvencos

Here first the priestess stationed four bullocks with black backs,

constituit, frontique invergit vina sacerdos;

and poured wine upon their foreheads;

245

et summas carpens media inter cornua saetas

and plucking the topmost hairs between the horns,

ignibus imponit sacris, libamina prima,

she places them on the sacred fires, as the first offerings,

voce vocans Hecaten, Caeloque Ereboque potentem.

calling with her voice upon Hecate, powerful both in Heaven and in Erebus.

Supponunt alii cultros, tepidumque cruorem

Others apply the knives beneath, and catch the warm blood

suscipiunt pateris. Ipse atri velleris agnam

in bowls. Aeneas himself strikes with his sword a lamb of black fleece

250

Aeneas matri Eumenidum magnaeque sorori

for the mother of the Eumenides and her great sister,

ense ferit, sterilemque tibi. Proserpina, vaccam.

and for you, Proserpina, a barren heifer.

Tum Stygio regi nocturnas inchoat aras,

Then he begins the nocturnal altars for the Stygian king,

et solida imponit taurorum viscera flammis,

and places the solid entrails of bulls upon the flames,

pingue superque oleum infundens ardentibus extis.

pouring rich oil over the burning organs.

255

Ecce autem, primi sub lumina solis et ortus,

But behold, just before the light and rising of the first sun,

sub pedibus mugire solum, et iuga coepta moveri

the ground began to bellow under their feet, and the ridges of the forests

silvarum, visaeque canes ululare per umbram,

began to move, and dogs were seen to howl through the shadow

adventante dea.⁴ Procul O procul este, profani,

as the goddess approached. “Keep far, Oh keep far, you uninitiated ones,”

conclamat vates, totoque absistite luco;

cries the prophetess, “and withdraw from the whole grove;

260

tuque invade viam, vaginaque eripe ferrum:

and you, enter upon the path, and snatch your sword from its sheath:

nunc animis opus, Aenea, nunc pectore firmo.

now there is need of courage, Aeneas, now of a firm heart.”

Tantum effata, furens antro se immisit aperto;

Having spoken only this, she madly cast herself into the open cave;

ille ducem haud timidis vadentem passibus aequat.

he equals his guide as she goes with steps not fearful.

Di, quibus imperium est animarum, umbraeque silentes,

O gods, who hold the dominion over souls, and silent shades,

265

et Chaos, et Phlegethon, loca nocte tacentia late,

and Chaos, and Phlegethon, places silent in night far and wide,

sit mihi fas audita loqui; sit numine vestro

let it be lawful for me to speak what I have heard; let it be by your divine power

pandere res alta terra et caligine mersas!

to lay open things submerged in deep earth and darkness!

Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram,

They went obscure through the shadow under the lonely night,

perque domos Ditis vacuas et inania regna:

and through the empty dwellings of Dis and his phantom realms:

270

quale per incertam lunam sub luce maligna

just as is a journey in the woods under an uncertain moon, beneath a spiteful

est iter in silvis, ubi caelum condidit umbra

light, when Jupiter has hidden the sky in shadow,

Iuppiter, et rebus nox abstulit atra colorem.

and black night has stolen color from things.

Vestibulum ante ipsum, primisque in faucibus Orci

Before the vestibule itself, and in the first jaws of Orcus,

Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae;

Grief and avenging Cares have placed their couches;

275

pallentesque habitant Morbi, tristisque Senectus,

and pale Diseases dwell there, and sad Old Age,

et Metus, et malesuada Fames, ac turpis Egestas,

and Fear, and Hunger that persuades to evil, and shameful Poverty,

terribiles visu formae: Letumque, Labosque;

shapes terrible to see: and Death, and Toil;

tum consanguineus Leti Sopor, et mala mentis

then Sleep, the brother of Death, and the evil Joys

Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum,

of the mind, and death-bearing War on the opposite threshold,

280

ferreique Eumenidum thalami, et Discordia demens,

and the iron chambers of the Eumenides, and mad Discord,

vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis.

her viper hair entwined with bloody ribbons.

In medio ramos annosaque brachia pandit

In the midst, a shady, immense elm spreads its branches

ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem Somnia volgo

and aged arms, which seat they say vain Dreams

vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent.

commonly hold, and they cling under all the leaves.

285

Multaque praeterea variarum monstra ferarum:

And besides, many monsters of various beasts:

Centauri in foribus stabulant, Scyllaeque biformes,

Centaurs stable at the gates, and biform Scyllas,

et centumgeminus Briareus, ac belua Lernae

and hundred-fold Briareus, and the beast of Lerna

horrendum stridens, flammisque armata Chimaera,

hissing horribly, and the Chimera armed with flames,

Gorgones Harpyiaeque et forma tricorporis umbrae.

Gorgons and Harpies and the shape of the triple-bodied shade.

290

Corripit hic subita trepidus formidine ferrum

Here Aeneas, trembling with sudden fear, snatches his sword,

Aeneas, strictamque aciem venientibus offert,

and offers the drawn blade to them as they approach,

et, ni docta comes tenues sine corpore vitas

and, unless his wise companion should warn him that thin lives without a body

admoneat volitare cava sub imagine formae,

were flitting under the hollow appearance of a form,

inruat,⁵ et frustra ferro diverberet umbras.

he would rush in and in vain cleave the shades with his iron.

295

Hinc via, Tartarei quae fert Acherontis ad undas.

Hence is the road which leads to the waves of Tartarean Acheron.

Turbidus hic caeno vastaque voragine gurges

Here a whirlpool, turbid with mud and a vast abyss,

aestuat, atque omnem Cocyto eructat harenam.

seethes and belches all its sand into Cocytus.

Portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat

A dreadful ferryman guards these waters and rivers

terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento

in terrible squalor, Charon, on whose chin

300

canities inculta iacet; stant lumina flamma,

a mass of unkempt gray hair lies; his eyes stand with flame,

Syntax notes5 items

6.224aversi
A nominative plural adjective describing the subject of tenuere (the attendants). It indicates the ritual practice of looking away while applying the funeral torch to avoid facing the dead.
6.229socios pura circumtulit unda
The verb circumfero (to carry around) is used in a special ritual sense where the person purified is the direct object (socios) and the purifying element is the ablative of means (pura unda), rather than the literal 'to carry water around his companions'.
6.239quam super
An instance of anastrophe (inversion of word order) where the preposition super is placed after the accusative relative pronoun quam (referring back to Spelunca). It should be read as super quam (above which).
6.258adventante dea
An ablative absolute construction consisting of the present participle adventante and the noun dea (Hecate or her manifestation), expressing temporal circumstance: 'as the goddess approached' or 'with the goddess drawing near'.
6.292ni ... admoneat ..., inruat
A conditional sentence with present subjunctives in both the protasis (ni... admoneat) and the apodosis (inruat). In poetry, this present tense is used instead of the past counterfactual (imperfect/pluperfect subjunctive) to bring vividness and immediacy to the action, making it feel as if it is happening before the reader's eyes.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:6.224-6.300