Meeting Dido's Shade and the Tale of Deiphobus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 6 (lines 449–522), Latin & English

449

rursus et in veterem fato revoluta figuram.

and turned back again by fate into her ancient form.

450

Inter quas Phoenissa recens a volnere Dido

Among whom Phoenician Dido, fresh from her wound,

errabat silva in magna; quam Troius heros

was wandering in a great forest; whom as soon as the Trojan hero

ut primum iuxta stetit adgnovitque per umbras

stood near and recognized through the shadows,

obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense¹

dim—just as one who at the beginning of the month either sees

aut videt, aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam,

or thinks he has seen the moon rising through the clouds—

455

demisit lacrimas, dulcique adfatus amore est:

he shed tears, and addressed her with sweet love:

Infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo

”Unhappy Dido, did a true message then come to me

venerat exstinctam, ferroque extrema secutam?

that you were dead, and had sought the end with the sword?

Funeris heu tibi causa fui? Per sidera iuro,

Alas, was I the cause of death to you? I swear by the stars,

per superos, et si qua fides tellure sub ima est,

by the gods above, and if there is any faith under the deepest earth,

460

invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.

unwilling, queen, did I depart from your shore.

Sed me iussa deum, quae nunc has ire per umbras,

But the commands of the gods, which now compel me to go through these shadows,

per loca senta situ cogunt noctemque profundam,

through places rough with neglect and through deep night,

imperiis egere suis; nec credere quivi

drove me by their authority; nor could I believe

hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.

that I was bringing you this so great pain by my departure.

465

Siste gradum, teque aspectu ne subtrahe nostro.

Stay your step, and do not withdraw yourself from our sight.

Quem fugis? Extremum fato, quod te adloquor, hoc est.

Whom do you flee? This is the last word that fate allows me to speak to you.”

Talibus Aeneas ardentem et torva tuentem

With such words Aeneas was trying to soothe her burning spirit

lenibat dictis animum, lacrimasque ciebat.

and fierce look, and was calling forth tears.

Illa solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat,

She, turned away, kept her eyes fixed on the ground,

470

nec magis incepto voltum sermone movetur,²

nor is her face moved by the begun speech any more

quam si dura silex aut stet Marpesia cautes.

than if she stood as hard flint or Marpesian crag.

tandem corripuit sese, atque inimica refugit

At last she tore herself away, and fled back hostile

in nemus umbriferum, coniunx ubi pristinus illi

into the shady grove, where her former husband

respondet curis aequatque Sychaeus amorem.

Sychaeus responds to her cares and matches her love.

475

Nec minus Aeneas, casu concussus iniquo,

Nonetheless Aeneas, struck by her unjust misfortune,

prosequitur lacrimis longe, et miseratur euntem.

follows her far with tears, and pities her as she goes.

Inde datum molitur iter. Iamque arva tenebant

From there he presses on the given way. And now they held the furthest

ultima, quae bello clari secreta frequentant.

fields, which, apart, those renowned in war frequent.

Hic illi occurrit Tydeus, hic inclutus armis

Here Tydeus meets him, here Parthenopaeus, renowned in arms,

480

Parthenopaeus et Adrasti pallentis imago;

and the phantom of pale Adrastus;

hic multum fleti ad superos belloque caduci

here the Trojans much lamented among the living and fallen in war,

Dardanidae, quos ille omnes longo ordine cernens

all of whom seeing in a long line, he groaned—

ingemuit, Glaucumque Medontaque Thersilochumque,

Glaucus and Medon and Thersilochus,

tris Antenoridas, Cererique sacrum Polyphoeten,

the three sons of Antenor, and Polyphoetes sacred to Ceres,

485

Idaeumque, etiam currus, etiam arma tenentem.

and Idaeus, still holding his chariot, still holding his weapons.

circumstant animae dextra laevaque frequentes;

The souls surround him in crowds on the right and on the left;

nec vidisse semel satis est; iuvat usque morari,

nor is it enough to have seen him once; it pleases them to linger long,

et conferre gradum, et veniendi discere causas.

and to keep pace, and to learn the causes of his coming.

At Danaum proceres Agamemnoniaeque phalanges

But the chieftains of the Danaans and the phalanxes of Agamemnon,

490

ut videre virum fulgentiaque arma per umbras,

as they saw the hero and his glittering arms through the shadows,

ingenti trepidare metu; pars vertere terga,

trembled with huge fear; some turned their backs,

ceu quondam petiere rates; pars tollere vocem

just as once they sought the ships; some raised a tiny

exiguam, inceptus clamor frustratur hiantes.³

voice: the begun shout frustrates them as they gape.

Atque hic Priamiden laniatum corpore toto

And here he sees the son of Priam, mangled in his whole body,

495

Deiphobum videt et lacerum crudeliter ora,

Deiphobus, and cruelly torn in his face—

ora manusque ambas, populataque tempora raptis

his face and both hands, and his temples ravaged by the tearing away of his ears,

auribus, et truncas inhonesto volnere nares.

and his nose cut off by a shameful wound.

Vix adeo adgnovit pavitantem et dira tegentem

Scarcely indeed did he recognize him, trembling and trying to hide his dreadful

supplicia, et notis compellat vocibus ultro:

punishments, and address him first with familiar words:

500

Deiphobe armipotens, genus alto a sanguine Teucri

”Deiphobus, mighty in arms, offspring from the high blood of Teucer,

quis tam crudeles optavit sumere poenas?

who wished to take such cruel vengeance?

Cui tantum de te licuit?⁴ Mihi fama suprema

To whom was so much allowed against you? Fame brought to me on that last

nocte tulit fessum vasta te caede Pelasgum

night that you, tired by the vast slaughter of the Pelasgians,

procubuisse super confusae stragis acervum.

had fallen upon the heap of confused carnage.

505

Tunc egomet tumulum Rhoeteo litore inanem

Then I myself established an empty tomb on the Rhoetean shore,

constitui, et magna Manes ter voce vocavi.

and three times called upon your Shades with a loud voice.

Nomen et arma locum servant; te, amice, nequivi

Your name and arms preserve the place; you, my friend, I could not

conspicere, et patria decedens ponere terra.

behold, and lay in your native soil as I departed.”

Ad quae Priamides: Nihil O tibi amice relictum;

To which the son of Priam: “Nothing, O my friend, was left undone by you;

510

omnia Deiphobo solvisti et funeris umbris.

you have paid all to Deiphobus and to the shades of his corpse.

Sed me fata mea et scelus exitiale Lacaenae

But my own fates and the deadly crime of the Laconian woman

his mersere malis; illa haec monumenta reliquit.

plunged me into these evils; she left these monuments of herself.

Namque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem

For how we spent that last night amid false joys,

egerimus,⁵ nosti; et nimium meminisse necesse est.

you know; and it is necessary to remember it all too well.

515

Cum fatalis equus saltu super ardua venit

When the fateful horse came with a leap over high

Pergama, et armatum peditem gravis attulit alvo,

Pergamus, and brought armed infantry heavy in its womb,

illa, chorum simulans, evantes orgia circum

she, feigning a dance, was leading the Phrygian women around,

ducebat Phrygias; flammam media ipsa tenebat

screaming in Bacchic rites; she herself in their midst was holding a huge

ingentem, et summa Danaos ex arce vocabat.

torch, and was calling the Danaans from the top of the citadel.

520

Tum me, confectum curis somnoque gravatum,

Then me, worn out by cares and weighed down by sleep,

infelix habuit thalamus, pressitque iacentem

my unhappy chamber held, and sweet and deep rest,

dulcis et alta quies placidaeque simillima morti.

most like placid death, pressed upon me as I lay.”

Syntax notes5 items

6.453primo qui surgere mense
The relative pronoun qui has an omitted antecedent (such as is or aliquis) and functions as the subject of videt and putat. The ablative phrase primo mense means 'at the beginning of the month' or 'during the new moon'.
6.470voltum sermone movetur
The noun voltum is an accusative of specification (the so-called Greek accusative), meaning 'with respect to her face/expression'. The ablative sermone (modifying incepto) acts as an ablative of instrument or cause, meaning 'by the speech begun'.
6.493inceptus clamor frustratur hiantes
The word hiantes is the accusative plural of the present participle of hiare (to gape, open the mouth), used substantively to refer to the Greek soldiers. The deponent verb frustratur means 'balks', 'baffles', or 'frustrates'.
6.502Cui tantum de te licuit?
The word cui is the dative of the interrogative pronoun quis. The impersonal verb licuit ('it was permitted') takes the dative (cui) and the prepositional phrase de te ('concerning you' or 'against you'), meaning literally 'to whom was so much permitted against you?'
6.513ut ... egerimus
The adverb ut here means 'how' and introduces an indirect question with the perfect subjunctive egerimus, serving as the direct object of the main verb nosti (= novisti, 'you know').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:6.449-6.522