Story of Aeneas Part 2

"Now leave me: be your farewell said To this my corpse, and count me dead."

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK II

Nor could all the entreaties of his son and wife move him from his resolution. Then AEneas, in grief and despair, was about to rush back to the battle, which still raged in the city, preferring to die rather than to go and leave his father behind. But at this moment a bright flame as if of fire was seen to play around the head of the boy Iulus, and send forth beams of light. Alarmed as well as surprised at the spectacle, AEneas was about to extinguish the flames by water, when Anchises cried out that it was a sign from heaven that he should accompany his family in their flight from the city.

This pretty story, it is said, was meant by Vergil as a compliment to Augustus, the idea intended to be conveyed being that the seal of sovereign power was thus early set upon the founder of the great house of Julius.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AEneas carrying his father out of Troy. (Drawn by Varian.)]

The G.o.ds seeming thus to ordain the immediate departure of the hero and his family, they all speedily set forth, AEneas carrying his father on his shoulders, while Iulus walked by his side, and Creusa followed at some distance. They had arranged to meet at a ruined temple outside the city, where they were to be joined by their servants, but when they reached the place, it was discovered that Creusa had disappeared. Great was the grief of Aeneas. In agony he hastened back to the city in search of his wife. Coming to his father's palace, he found it already in flames. Then he hurried on through the streets, in his distress calling aloud the name of Creusa.

Suddenly her figure started up before him, larger than when in life, for it was her spirit he saw. Appalled at the sight, Aeneas stood in silence gazing at the apparition while it thus spoke:

"Beloved husband, why do you give way to grief? What has happened is by the decree of heaven. It was not the will of the G.o.ds that I should accompany you. You have a long journey to make, and a wide extent of sea to cross, before you reach the sh.o.r.es of Hes-pe'ri-a, where the Ti'ber flows in gentle course through the rich fields of a warlike race. There prosperity awaits you, and you shall take to yourself a wife of a royal line. Weep not for me. The mother of the G.o.ds keeps me in this land to serve her. And now farewell, and fail not to love and watch over our son."

Then the form of Creusa melted into air, and the sorrowing husband returned to the place where his father and son awaited him. There he found a number of his fellow-citizens prepared to follow him into exile. They first took refuge in the forests of Mount I'da, not far from the ruined city. In this place they spent the winter, and they built a fleet of ships at An-tan'dros, a coast town at the foot of the mountain.

"Near old Antandros, and at Ida's foot, The timber of the sacred groves we cut, And build our fleet-uncertain yet to find What place the G.o.ds for our repose a.s.signed."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

It is remarkable that Vergil does not tell how Creusa came by her death. Apparently we are left to infer that she was killed by the Greeks.

II. AENEAS LEAVES TROY--THE HARPIES--PROPHECY OF HELENUS-THE GIANT POLYPHEMUS.

In the early days of summer--the fleet being ready and all preparations complete--Anchises gave the order for departure, and so they set sail, piously carrying with them the images of their household G.o.ds and of the "great G.o.ds" of their nation. The first land they touched was the coast of Thrace, not far from Troy. AEneas thought he would build a city and make a settlement here, as the country had been, from early times, connected by ties of friendship with his own. To obtain the blessing of heaven on an undertaking of such importance, he set about performing religious services in honor of his mother Venus and the other G.o.ds, sacrificing a snow-white bull as an offering to Jupiter. Close by the place there happened to be a little hill, on the top of which was a grove of myrtle, bristling with thick-cl.u.s.tering, spear-like shoots. Wishing to have some of those plants to decorate his altars, AEneas pulled one up from the ground, whereupon he beheld drops of blood oozing from the torn roots. Though horrified at the sight he plucked another bough, and again blood oozed out as before. Then praying to the G.o.ds to save himself and his people from whatever evil there might be in the omen, he proceeded to tear up a third shoot, when from out the earth at his feet a voice uttered these words:

"O, AEneas! why do you tear an unhappy wretch? Spare me, now that I am in my grave; forbear to pollute your pious hands. It is from no tree- trunk that the blood comes. Quit this barbarous land with all speed.

Know that I am Pol-y-do'rus. Here I was slain by many arrows, which have taken root and grown into a tree."

Deep was the horror of AEneas while he listened to this dreadful story, for he knew that Polydorus was one of the younger sons of Priam. Early in the war, his father, fearing that the Trojans might be defeated, had sent him for protection to the court of the king of Thrace. At the same time he sent the greater part of his treasures, including a large sum of money, to be taken care of by the king till the war should be over. But as soon as the Thracian monarch heard of the fall of Troy he treacherously slew the young prince and seized all his father's treasure.

False to divine and human laws, The traitor joins the conqueror's cause, Lays impious hands on Polydore, And grasps by force the golden store.

Fell l.u.s.t of gold! abhorred, accurst!

What will not men to slake such thirst?

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

When AEneas related this story to his father and the other Trojan chiefs, they all agreed to depart forthwith from a land polluted by so black a crime. But first they performed funeral rites on the grave of Polydorus, erecting two altars which they decked with cypress wreaths, the emblem of mourning, and offering sacrifices to the G.o.ds.

Soon afterwards, the winds being favorable, they set sail, and in a few days reached De'los, one of the isles of Greece, where there was a famous temple of Apollo. A'ni-us, the king of the island, and a priest of Apollo, gave them a hospitable reception. In the great temple they made suitable offerings, and AEneas prayed to the G.o.d to tell them in what country they might find a resting place and a home. Scarcely had the prayer been finished when the temple and the earth itself seemed to quake, whereupon the Trojans prostrated themselves in lowly reverence upon the ground, and presently they heard a voice saying: "Brave sons of Dar'da-nus, the land which gave birth to your ancestors shall again receive your race in its fertile bosom. Seek out your ancient mother. There the house of AEneas shall rule over every coast, and his children's children and their descendants."

The answers or oracles of the G.o.ds were often given in mysterious words, as in the present case. AEneas and his companions did not know what land was meant by the "ancient mother," but Anchises, "revolving in his mind the legends of the men of old," remembered having heard that one of his ancestors, Teu'cer, (the father-in-law of Darda.n.u.s), had come from the island of Crete. Believing, therefore, that that was the land referred to in the words of the oracle, they set sail, having first sacrificed to Apollo, to Neptune, G.o.d of the ocean, and to the G.o.d of storms, that their voyage might be favorable.

A bull to Neptune, an oblation due, Another bull to bright Apollo slew; A milk-white ewe, the western winds to please And one coal-black, to calm the stormy seas.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

They arrived safely at Crete (now known as Can'di-a) where they remained a considerable time and built a city which AEneas called Per'ga-mus, the name of the famous citadel or fort of Troy. But here a new misfortune came upon the exiles in the shape of a plague, which threatened destruction to man and beast and the fruits of the field.

Sudden on man's feeble frame From tainted skies a sickness came, On trees and crops a poisonous breath, A year of pestilence and death.

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

Anchises now proposed that they should return to Delos, and again seek the counsel and aid of Apollo, but that night AEneas had a dream in which the household G.o.ds whose images he had carried with him from Troy, appeared to him, and told him that Crete was not the land destined by the G.o.ds for him and his people. They also told him where that Hesperia was, of which he had heard from the shade of Creusa.

"A land there is, Hesperia called of old, (The soil is fruitful, and the natives bold-- The OE-no'tri-ans held it once,) by later fame Now called I-ta'li-a, from the leader's name.

I-a'si-us there, and Darda.n.u.s, were born: From thence we came, and thither must return.

Rise, and thy sire with these glad tidings greet: Search Italy: for Jove denies thee Crete."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

AEneas made haste to tell this dream to his father, whereupon the old man advised that they should at once depart. So they quickly got their ships in order and set sail for Hesperia--the Land of the West. But scarcely had they lost sight of the sh.o.r.e when a terrible storm arose which drove them out of their course, and for three days and nights the light of heaven was shut from their view. Even the great Pal-i-nu'rus, the pilot of the ship of AEneas, "could not distinguish night from day, or remember his true course in the midst of the wave."

On the fourth day, however, the storm ceased and soon the Trojans sighted land in the distance. It was one of the islands of the Ionian sea, called the Stroph'a-des. Here dwelt the Har'pies, monsters having faces like women, and bodies, wings, and claws like vultures. When the Trojans landed they saw herds of oxen and flocks of goats grazing in the fields. They killed some of them and prepared a feast upon the sh.o.r.e, and having first, in accordance with their invariable custom, made offerings to the G.o.ds, they proceeded "to banquet on the rich viands." But they had hardly begun their meal when the Harpies, with noisy flapping of wings and fearful cries, swooped down upon them, s.n.a.t.c.hed off a great portion of the meat, and so spoiled the rest with their unclean touch that it was unfit to eat.

From the mountain-tops with hideous cry, And clattering wings, the hungry Harpies fly: And s.n.a.t.c.h the meat, defiling all they find, And parting, leave a loathsome stench behind.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

The Trojans got ready another meal and again sat down to eat, but the Harpies again came down upon them as before, and did in like manner.

AEneas and his companions then resolved to fight, so they took their swords and drove the foul monsters off, though they could not kill any of them, for their skins were proof against wounds. One of them, however, remained behind, and perching on a rock, cried out in words of anger against the intruders. "Do you dare, base Trojans," said she, "to make war upon us after killing our oxen? Do you dare to drive the Harpies from the place which is their own? Listen then to what I have to tell you, which the father of the G.o.ds revealed to Phoe'bus Apollo, and Apollo revealed to me. Italy is the land you seek, and Italy you shall reach; but you shall not build the walls of your city until dire famine, visiting you because you have injured us, shall compel you to devour even your tables."

This Harpy was named Ce-lae'no. When the Trojans heard her awful words they prayed to the G.o.ds for protection, and then hastening to their ships, they put to sea. They soon came near Ith'a-ca, the island kingdom of Ulysses, the most skilful in stratagem of all the Greek chiefs at the Trojan war. Cursing the land which gave birth to that cruel enemy of their country, AEneas and his companions sailed past, and they continued their voyage until they reached the rocky island of Leu-ca'di-a on the coast of E-pi'rus, where there was another temple of Apollo. Here they landed, rejoicing that they had steered safely by so many cities of their enemies, for since leaving Crete their route had been mostly along the Grecian coast. They spent the winter in Leucadia, pa.s.sing their leisure in games of wrestling and other athletic exercises, which were the sports of warriors in those ancient times. AEneas fastened to the door of the temple a shield of bronze--a trophy he had carried away from Troy--and upon it he put the inscription:

THIS ARMOR AENEAS WON FROM THE CONQUERING GREEKS.

In spring the wanderers again took to their ships, and sailing northwards, close to the coast, they came to Bu-thro'tum in Epirus, where they were surprised to learn that Hel'e-nus, son of Priam, was king of the country and that his wife was Androm'-a-che, who had formerly been wife of the famous Hector. AEneas having heard this upon landing, proceeded without delay towards the city, impatient to greet his kindred and to know how they had come to be there. It happened that just then Andromache was offering sacrifice on a tomb which she had erected outside the walls to the memory of Hector. Seeing AEneas approach she at once recognized him, but she was so overcome with surprise that for some time she was unable to utter a word. As soon as she recovered strength to speak she told AEneas that she had been carried off from Troy by Pyrrhus, and that Pyrrhus had given her to Helenus, after he himself had married Her-mi'o-ne, the daughter of the famous Helen. She also told that on the death of Pyrrhus who had been slain by O-res'tes, son of Agamemnon, part of his kingdom was given to Helenus.

Meanwhile king Helenus having heard of the arrival of the Trojans came out from the city to meet them, accompanied by a numerous train of attendants. He affectionately greeted AEneas and his companions, and invited them to his palace, where he hospitably entertained them during their stay. Helenus, besides being a king and the son of a king, was a famous soothsayer, so AEneas begged him to exercise his powers of prophecy on behalf of himself and his people. Helenus readily complied with the request. After offering the usual sacrifices to the G.o.ds, he told the Trojan chief that he had yet a long voyage to make before reaching his destination, that the place in which he should found his new kingdom was on the banks of a river, and that he would know it by finding there a white sow, with a litter of thirty young ones.

"In the shady shelter of a wood, And near the margin of a gentle flood, Thou shalt behold a sow upon the ground, With thirty sucking young encompa.s.sed round (The dam and offspring white as falling snow); These on thy city shall their name bestow; And there shall end thy labors and thy woe."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

As to the Harpy's dreadful prophecy that the Trojans would have to eat their tables, Helenus bade AEneas not to be troubled about it, for "the fates would find a way," and Apollo would be present to aid. Then the soothsayer warned his countrymen to shun the strait between Italy and Sicily, where on one side was the frightful monster Scyl'la, with the face of a woman and the tail of a dolphin, and on the other was the dangerous whirlpool Cha-ryb'dis. But more important than all other things, they must offer sacrifices and prayers to Juno, that her anger might be turned away from them, for she it was who had hitherto opposed all their efforts to reach their promised land.

Helenus also told them that on arriving in Italy they must seek out and consult the famous Sib'yl of Cu'mas. This was a prophetess who usually wrote her prophecies on leaves of trees, which she placed at the entrance to her cave. These leaves had to be taken up very carefully and quickly, for if they were scattered about by the wind, it would be impossible to put them in order again, so as to read them or understand their meaning. Helenus, therefore, directed AEneas to request the Sibyl to give her answers by word of mouth. She would do so, he said, and tell him all that was to happen to him and his people in Italy--the wars they would have to encounter, the dangers they were to meet, and how to avoid them.

Thus Helenus prophesied and gave counsel to his kinsmen. Then he made presents to AEneas and Anchises of valuable things in gold and silver, and he sent pilots to the ships, and horses and arms for the men. And Andromache gave embroidered robes to Ascanius and a cloak wrought in gold.

Soon afterwards the wanderers bade farewell to their friends, and set sail. Next day they came in sight of Italy, which they hailed with loud shouts of rejoicing. It was the south-eastern point of the peninsula, and as the Trojans approached it, they saw a harbor into which they ran their ships. Here they went ash.o.r.e and offered sacrifices to Minerva, and also to Juno, remembering the advice of Helenus. But that part of the country being inhabited by Greeks, they made haste to depart, and taking their course southward, they pa.s.sed by the Bay of Ta-ren'tum and down the coast until they came to the entrance of the strait now called Messina. This was a point of danger, for the loud roaring of the sea warned them that they were not far from the terrible Charybdis. Quickly Palinurus turned his ship to the left, and, all the others following, made straight for the Sicilian sh.o.r.e. Here they landed almost at the foot of AEtna, famous then as in our own times as a volcano or burning mountain. Under this mountain, according to an old legend, Jupiter imprisoned En-cel'a-dus, one of the giants who had dared to make war against heaven, and as often as the giant turned his weary sides, all Sicily trembled and the mountain sent forth flames of fire and streams of molten lava.

Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove, With blasted limbs came tumbling from above; And when he fell, the avenging father drew This flaming hill, and on his body threw.

As often as he turns his weary sides, He shakes the solid isle, and smoke, the heavens hides.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III.

But beside the horrors of the "flaming hill" there was another danger to which the Trojans were now exposed. Sicily was the land of the terrible Cy'clops. These were fierce giants of immense size, with one eye, huge and round, in the middle of their foreheads. The morning after their arrival, the Trojans were surprised to see a stranger running forth from the woods, and with arms outstretched imploring their protection. Being asked who he was, he said he was a Greek, and that his name was Ach-e-men'ides. He had been at Troy with Ulysses, and was one of the companions of that famous warrior in his adventures after the siege. In their wanderings they had come to Sicily and had been in the very cave of Pol-y-phe'-mus, the largest and fiercest of the Cyclops, who had killed several of the unfortunate Greeks.

"I myself," said Achemenides, "saw him seize two of our number and break their bodies against a rock. I saw their limbs quivering between his teeth. But Ulysses did not suffer such things to go unpunished, for when the giant lay asleep, gorged with food, and made drunk with wine, (which Ulysses had given him) we, having prayed to the G.o.ds, and arranged by lot what part each should perform, crowded around him and with a sharp weapon bored out his eye, which was as large as the orb of the sun, and so we avenged the death of our comrades."

But in their flight from the cave, after punishing Polyphemus, the Greeks left Achemenides behind, and for three months he lived on berries in the woods. He now warned the Trojans to depart from the island with all speed, for, he said, a hundred other Cyclops, huge and savage, dwelt on those sh.o.r.es, tending their flocks among the hills.

"Such, and so vast as Polypheme appears, A hundred more this hated island bears; Like him, in caves they shut their wooly sheep; Like him their herds on tops of mountains keep; Like him, with mighty strides they stalk from steep to steep."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK III