Arrival at the Tiber and Portents in Latium — Virgil, Aeneid Book 7 (lines 1–82), Latin & English

Tu quoque litoribus nostris, Aeneia nutrix,

You too, Caieta, nurse of Aeneas, by your dying

aeternam moriens famam, Caieta, dedisti;

have given eternal fame to our shores;

et nunc servat honos sedem tuus ossaque nomen

and even now your honor preserves your resting place, and in great Hesperia

Hesperia in magna, siqua est ea gloria, signat.¹

your name marks your bones, if that is any glory.

At pius exsequiis Aeneas rite solutis,

But pious Aeneas, when the funeral rites had been duly performed

aggere composito tumuli, postquam alta quierunt

and the mound of the tomb was raised, after the deep waters grew calm,

aequora, tendit iter velis portumque relinquit.

sets his course with sails and leaves the harbor.

Adspirant aurae in noctem nec candida cursus

The breezes blow towards the night, nor does the bright Moon

Luna negat, splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus.

deny their course, the sea shines under her trembling light.

Proxima Circaeae raduntur litora terrae,

Next, the shores of the Circean land are skirted close by,

dives inaccessos ubi Solis filia lucos

where the wealthy daughter of the Sun makes the inaccessible groves

adsiduo resonat cantu tectisque superbis

resound with continuous song, and in her proud palace

urit odoratam nocturna in lumina cedrum,

burns fragrant cedar for lights through the night,

arguto tenuis percurrens pectine telas.

running through her fine webs with a shrill comb.

Hinc exaudiri gemitus iraeque leonum

From here are heard the groans and angers of lions

vincla recusantum et sera sub nocte rudentum,

refusing their chains and roaring late in the night,

saetigerique sues atque in praesaepibus ursi

and bristly boars and bears in their cages

saevire ac formae magnorum ululare² luporum,

raging, and the shapes of great wolves howling;

quos hominum ex facie dea saeva potentibus herbis

whom from the human form, the cruel goddess Circe, with powerful herbs,

induerat Circe in voltus ac terga ferarum.

had clothed in the faces and backs of wild beasts.

Quae ne monstra pii paterentur talia Troes

Lest the pious Trojans should suffer such monstrous fates

delati in portus neu litora dira subirent,

by being carried into the harbor, or enter the dreadful shores,

Neptunus ventis implevit vela secundis

Neptune filled their sails with favorable winds,

atque fugam dedit et praeter vada fervida vexit.

and gave them flight, and carried them past the boiling shallows.

Iamque rubescebat radiis mare et aethere ab alto

And now the sea was growing red with rays, and from the high sky

Aurora in roseis fulgebat lutea bigis:

saffron Aurora was shining in her rosy two-horse chariot:

cum venti posuere omnisque repente resedit

when the winds fell and suddenly every breath of air

flatus et in lento luctantur marmore tonsae.

settled, and the oars struggle in the slow marble of the sea.

Atque hic Aeneas ingentem ex aequore lucum

And here Aeneas descries a vast grove from the sea.

prospicit. Hunc inter fluvio Tiberinus amoeno

Through this, with his pleasant stream, the Tiber,

verticibus rapidis et multa flavus arena

yellow with rapid eddies and much sand,

in mare prorumpit. Variae circumque supraque

bursts forth into the sea. Around and above, various birds

adsuetae ripis volucres et fluminis alveo

accustomed to the banks and the channel of the river

aethera mulcebant cantu lucoque volabant.

were soothing the air with song and flying in the grove.

flectere iter sociis terraeque advertere proras

He orders his companions to turn their course and direct the prows to land,

imperat et laetus fluvio succedit opaco.

and joyfully enters the shaded river.

Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, quae tempora rerum,

Come now, Erato, who were the kings, what was the state of affairs,

quis Latio antiquo fuerit status, advena classem

what was the condition of ancient Latium, when first the foreign host

cum primum Ausoniis exercitus appulit oris,

brought their fleet to the Ausonian shores,

expediam et primae revocabo exordia pugnae.

I will unfold, and recall the first beginnings of the battle.

tu vatem, tu, diva, mone. Dicam horrida bella,

Do you instruct your poet, you, goddess. I will speak of horrific wars,

dicam acies actosque animis in funera reges

I will speak of battle-lines and kings driven by their spirits to death,

Tyrrhenamque manum totamque sub arma coactam

and the Tyrrhenian band, and the whole of Hesperia forced

Hesperiam. Maior rerum mihi nascitur ordo,

under arms. A greater order of things is born for me,

maius opus moveo.Rex arva Latinus et urbes

a greater work I set in motion. King Latinus was ruling the quiet fields and cities,

iam senior longa placidas in pace regebat.

already old, in long-lasting peace.

Hunc Fauno et nympha genitum Laurente Marica

Him we receive as born of Faunus and the Laurentine nymph Marica;

accipimus, Fauno Picus pater isque parentem

Picus was the father of Faunus, and he refers to you, Saturn,

te, Saturne, refert,³ tu sanguinis ultimus auctor.

as his parent, you are the ultimate author of his blood.

filius huic fato divom prolesque virilis

To him, by the fate of the gods, there was no son or male offspring,

nulla fuit primaque oriens erepta iuventa est.

reft away as he arose in his early youth.

Sola domum et tantas servabat filia sedes,

A single daughter was keeping the home and so great an estate,

iam matura viro, iam plenis nubilis annis.

now ripe for a husband, now in her full years for marriage.

Multi illam magno e Latio totaque petebant

Many were seeking her from great Latium and all Ausonia.

Ausonia. Petit ante alios pulcherrimus omnis

Turnus seeks her, the most beautiful before all others,

Turnus, avis atavisque potens, quem regia coniunx

powerful in grandfathers and ancestors, whom the royal consort

adiungi generum miro properabat amore;

was hastening to join as her son-in-law with wonderful love;

sed variis portenta deum terroribus obstant.

but various portents of the gods with terrors stand in the way.

Laurus erat tecti medio in penetralibus altis,

There was a laurel in the middle of the house, in the high inner chambers,

sacra comam⁴ multosque metu servata per annos,

sacred in its foliage and preserved with awe through many years,

quam pater inventam, primas cum conderet arces,

which father Latinus himself, when building his first citadels,

ipse ferebatur Phoebo sacrasse Latinus

was said to have found and consecrated to Phoebus,

Laurentisque ab ea nomen posuisse colonis.

and from it to have given the name of Laurentines to the colonists.

Huius apes summum densae (mirabile dictu),

At the top of this, dense bees (wonderful to relate),

stridore ingenti liquidum trans aethera vectae,

carried through the clear air with a great noise,

obsedere apicem, ex pedibus per mutua nexis

settled on the peak, and with feet linked to one another,

examen subitum ramo frondente pependit.

a sudden swarm hung from the leafy branch.

Continuo vates: Externum cernimus, inquit,

Straightway the prophet says: “We see a foreign man

adventare virum et partis petere agmen easdem

approach, and a band seek the same parts from the same parts,

partibus ex isdem et summa dominarier arce.

and lord it over the highest citadel.”

Praeterea, castis adolet dum altaria taedis

Moreover, while she kindles the altars with holy torches,

et iuxta genitorem adstat Lavinia virgo,

and the maiden Lavinia stands near her father,

visa (nefas) longis comprendere crinibus ignem,

she seemed (horror!) to catch the fire with her long hair,

regalisque accensa comas, accensa coronam

and to burn in her royal locks, to burn in her crown

insignem gemmis, tum fumida lumine fulvo

distinguished with gems, then to be wrapped in smoky, yellow light,

involvi ac totis Volcanum spargere tectis.

and to scatter Vulcan through the whole house.

Id vero horrendum ac visu mirabile ferri:⁵

This indeed was reported as dreadful and wonderful to see:

namque fore inlustrem fama fatisque canebant

for they sang that she herself would be illustrious in fame and fate,

ipsam, sed populo magnum portendere bellum.

but that it portended a great war for the people.

At rex sollicitus monstris oracula Fauni,

But the king, anxious at the portents, goes to the oracle of Faunus,

fatidici genitoris, adit lucosque sub alta

his prophetic father, and to the groves under high...

Syntax notes5 items

7.3nomen ... signat
The subject of the verb "signat" is the noun "nomen" (name), and "ossa" (bones) is its object. It means "her name marks (the place where her) bones (rest)".
7.15exaudiri ... saevire ac ... ululare
Against the passive infinitive "exaudiri" (which acts as a historical infinitive or depends on an implied main verb), "gemitus" and "irae" serve as nominative subjects, while the subsequent infinitives "saevire" and "ululare" are historical infinitives taking "sues", "ursi", and "formae" as their subjects.
7.49te, Saturne, refert
Here "refert" means "refers to" or "claims as an ancestor". "te" (Saturn) is the accusative object, and "parentem" is a predicative accusative, meaning "refers to you as his parent".
7.60sacra comam
"comam" is the accusative of "coma" (foliage, hair of the tree), acting as an accusative of specification (Greek accusative) modifying the adjective "sacra", meaning "sacred in its foliage".
7.78ferri
"ferri" is a passive infinitive meaning "was reported" or "was considered", functioning either as a historical infinitive or depending on an implied verb of saying, describing how the omen was perceived by the people.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:7.1-7.82