Farewell to Deiphobus and the Sights of Tartarus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 6 (lines 523–598), Latin & English

523

Egregia interea coniunx arma omnia tectis

Meanwhile, my outstanding wife removes all weapons from the house,

amovet, et fidum capiti subduxerat¹ ensem;

and had withdrawn the faithful sword from my head;

525

intra tecta vocat Menelaum, et limina pandit,

she calls Menelaus inside the house, and opens the doors,

scilicet id magnum sperans fore munus amanti,

doubtless hoping that this would be a great gift to her lover,

et famam exstingui veterum sic posse malorum.

and that thus the reputation of her old evils could be wiped out.

Quid moror? Inrumpunt thalamo; comes additur una

Why do I delay? They burst into the bedchamber; there is added as a companion

hortator scelerum Aeolides. Di, talia Grais

the son of Aeolus, the promoter of crimes. Gods, to the Greeks such things

530

instaurate, pio si poenas ore reposco!

repay, if with a pious mouth I demand punishment!

Sed te qui vivum casus, age, fare vicissim,

But come, speak in turn, what misfortunes have brought you here

attulerint. Pelagine venis erroribus actus,

alive. Do you come driven by wanderings on the sea,

an monitu divom? An quae te Fortuna fatigat,

or by the warning of the gods? Or what Fortune fatigues you,

ut tristes sine sole domos, loca turbida, adires?

that you should approach sad homes without sun, places of confusion?

535

Hac vice sermonum roseïs Aurora quadrigis

In this exchange of talk, Aurora with her rosy chariot

iam medium aetherio cursu traiecerat axem;

had now crossed the middle axis in her ethereal course;

et fors omne datum traherent² per talia tempus;

and perhaps they would have dragged out all the allotted time in such things;

sed comes admonuit, breviterque adfata Sibylla est:

but her companion warned, and briefly the Sibyl spoke:

Nox ruit, Aenea; nos flendo ducimus horas.

”Night rushes on, Aeneas; we drag out the hours with weeping.

540

Hic locus est, partes ubi se via findit in ambas:

Here is the place where the way splits into both parts:

dextera quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit,

the right, which stretches under the walls of great Dis,

hac iter Elysium nobis; at laeva malorum

by this is our journey to Elysium; but the left executes the punishments

exercet poenas, et ad impia Tartara mittit.

of the wicked, and sends them to impious Tartarus.”

Deiphobus contra: Ne saevi, magna sacerdos;

Deiphobus in reply: “Do not be angry, great priestess;

545

discedam, explebo numerum, reddarque tenebris.

I will depart, I will fill up the number, and be restored to the darkness.

I decus, i, nostrum; melioribus utere fatis!

Go, our glory, go; enjoy better fates!”

Tantum effatus, et in verbo vestigia torsit.

Having spoken only this, he turned his steps even on the word.

Respicit Aeneas subito, et sub rupe sinistra

Aeneas suddenly looks back, and under the cliff on the left

moenia lata videt, triplici circumdata muro,

sees wide walls, surrounded by a triple wall,

550

quae rapidus flammis ambit torrentibus amnis,

which a swift river surrounds with burning torrents,

Tartareus Phlegethon, torquetque sonantia saxa.

Tartarean Phlegethon, and whirls resounding rocks.

Porta adversa ingens, solidoque adamante columnae,

A huge gate stands opposite, and columns of solid adamant,

vis ut nulla virum, non ipsi exscindere bello

so that no force of men, not the heaven-dwellers themselves in war

caelicolae valeant; stat ferrea turris ad auras,

are able to destroy it; an iron tower stands into the air,

555

Tisiphoneque sedens, palla succincta cruenta,

and Tisiphone sitting, girt with a bloody cloak,

vestibulum exsomnis servat noctesque diesque.

sleepless guards the vestibule night and day.

Hinc exaudiri gemitus, et saeva sonare

Hence groans are heard, and cruel lashes

verbera; tum stridor ferri, tractaeque catenae.

to resound; then the screech of iron, and dragged chains.

Constitit Aeneas, strepitumque exterritus hausit.

Aeneas stopped, and terrified drank in the din.

560

Quae scelerum facies, O virgo, effare; quibusve

”What forms of crimes are these, O virgin, speak; or with what

urguentur poenis? Quis tantus plangor ad auras?

punishments are they urged? What is this great wailing into the air?”

Tum vates sic orsa loqui: Dux inclute Teucrum,

Then the prophetess thus began to speak: “Renowned leader of the Teucrians,

nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen;

it is not lawful for any pure person to tread the wicked threshold;

sed me cum lucis Hecate praefecit Avernis,

but when Hecate put me in charge of the Avernan groves,

565

ipsa deum poenas docuit, perque omnia duxit.

she herself taught me the punishments of the gods, and led me through everything.

Gnosius haec Rhadamanthus habet, durissima regna,

Gnosian Rhadamanthus holds these most harsh realms,

castigatque auditque dolos, subigitque fateri,

and chastises and hears the deceits, and compels them to confess

quae³ quis apud superos, furto laetatus inani,

what crimes committed among the living, anyone, rejoicing in vain concealment,

distulit in seram commissa piacula mortem.

deferred to late death, their atonements.

570

Continuo sontes ultrix accincta flagello

Straightway the avenger Tisiphone, armed with a whip,

Tisiphone quatit insultans, torvosque sinistra

leaps upon and scourges the guilty, and in her left hand

intentans angues vocat agmina saeva sororum.

threatening grim snakes, she calls the cruel bands of her sisters.

Tum demum horrisono stridentes cardine sacrae

Then at last, grating on their dread-sounding hinge, the sacred

panduntur portae. Cernis custodia qualis

gates are opened. Do you see what kind of guard

575

vestibulo sedeat, facies quae limina servet?

sits in the vestibule, what form watches the threshold?

Quinquaginta atris immanis hiatibus Hydra

A monstrous Hydra, more fierce with fifty black gaping mouths,

saevior intus habet sedem. Tum Tartarus ipse

has her seat within. Then Tartarus itself

bis patet in praeceps tantum tenditque sub umbras,

opens sheer twice as far, and stretches under the shadows,

quantus ad aetherium caeli suspectus Olympum.

as is the upward look of heaven to ethereal Olympus.

580

Hic genus antiquum Terrae, Titania pubes,

Here the ancient race of Earth, the Titan youth,

fulmine deiecti fundo volvuntur in imo.

cast down by the thunderbolt, roll in the lowest deep.

Hic et Aloidas geminos immania vidi

Here also I saw the twin Aloidae, monstrous

corpora, qui manibus magnum rescindere caelum

bodies, who with their hands attempted to tear open great heaven,

adgressi, superisque Iovem detrudere regnis.

and to thrust down Jove from his celestial realms.

585

Vidi et crudeles dantem Salmonea poenas,

I saw also Salmoneus paying cruel punishments,

dum flammas Iovis et sonitus imitatur Olympi.

while he mimics the flames of Jove and the sounds of Olympus.

Quattuor hic invectus equis et lampada quassans

Borne here by four horses and brandishing a torch,

per Graium populos mediaeque per Elidis urbem

through the peoples of the Greeks and through the midst of the city of Elis

ibat ovans, divomque sibi poscebat honorem,—

he went exulting, and demanded for himself the honor of the gods—

590

demens, qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen

madman, who simulated the storm-clouds and inimitable thunder

aere et cornipedum pulsu simularet⁴ equorum.

with bronze and the beat of his horn-footed horses.

At pater omnipotens densa inter nubila telum

But the almighty father from among the thick clouds twisted his weapon,

contorsit, non ille faces nec fumea taedis

not he torches indeed nor smoky lights from pines,

lumina, praecipitemque immani turbine adegit.

and drove him headlong with a huge whirlwind.

595

Nec non et Tityon, Terrae omniparentis alumnum,

Moreover, there was to be seen Tityos, the foster-son of all-bearing Earth,

cernere erat, per tota novem cui iugera corpus

whose body is stretched over nine whole acres,

porrigitur, rostroque immanis voltur obunco

and a huge vulture with hooked beak,

immortale iecur tondens fecundaque poenis

tearing his immortal liver and his entrails fruitful for punishments,

Syntax notes4 items

6.524subduxerat
The juxtaposition of the historical present amovet and the pluperfect subduxerat. The pluperfect emphasizes that Helen had already completed the removal of the sword before the action of removing other weapons took place, highlighting her calculated treachery.
6.537traherent
The imperfect subjunctive traherent with fors (here functioning as 'perhaps' or implying 'it would be a chance that'). It acts as the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact condition, with the protasis ('if the Sibyl had not intervened') being understood.
6.568quae
A relative pronoun with its antecedent omitted (ea quae...), forming the direct object clause of subigit fateri (compels them to confess). Alternatively, it can be taken as introducing an indirect question.
6.590qui ... simularet
The imperfect subjunctive simularet in the relative clause introduced by qui. This is a relative clause of cause ('since he simulated...'), explaining the reason behind the preceding exclamation demens (madman).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:6.523-6.598