Story of Aeneas Part 5

Next day AEneas, accompanied by king Acestes, and a great mult.i.tude of people, proceeded to the grave of Anchises where they erected altars, and according to the custom of the times, poured wine and milk on the ground, as an offering to the G.o.ds. Fresh flowers were then scattered on the tomb. While these ceremonies were being performed all present were startled by the appearance of a huge serpent with scales of golden hue, which suddenly glided from beneath the tomb, trailed among the bowls or goblets containing the wine and milk, tasted slightly of the contents, and then returned into the vault.

Betwixt the rising altars, and around, The sacred monster shot along the ground; With harmless play amidst the bowls he pa.s.sed, And with his lolling tongue a.s.sayed the taste: Thus fed with holy food, the wondrous guest Within the hollow tomb retired to rest.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

AEneas believed that this serpent was an attendant on the shade of Anchises. He supposed, therefore, that his father was now elevated to the dignity of a G.o.d, for most of the G.o.ds had inferior deities a.s.signed to them as ministers or messengers.

Besides the sacrifices and other ceremonies at the tomb, there were games and athletic exercises in honor of Anchises, this also being one of the customs of the ancients in paying tribute to the memory of their dead heroes. The princ.i.p.al event in the games was a ship race in which the most skilful of the Trojan mariners took part. In this contest Mnes'theus with a ship named _Pristis_, and Clo-an'-thus commanding the _Scylla_ performed wonderful feats of seamanship. So equally were they matched and so well did they manage their vessels that both would probably have reached the goal or winning post together, had it not been for the interference of the G.o.ds. The goal was a branch of an oak tree fixed to a small rock in the bay facing the beach on which the spectators were a.s.sembled. As the _Scylla_ was approaching the rock on the home run, the _Pristis_, which had been pressing close behind, shot alongside, and was almost beak to beak with its compet.i.tor. Then Cloanthus stretching forth his arms to heaven, prayed the G.o.ds of the sea to help him at that critical moment, promising that he would offer sacrifices of thanksgiving on their altars, if he should win the race. His prayer was quickly heard.

From their palaces in the deep, the Ne-re'ids, Neptune's band of attendants and a.s.sistants, rushed to his aid, and with his mighty hand Por-tu'nus, the G.o.d of harbors, coming behind the _Scylla_, pushed the vessel along, speeding her forward more swiftly than the wind.

And old Portunus with his breadth of hand, Pushed on and sped the galley to the land, Swift as a shaft, or winged wind, she flies, And darting to the port, obtains the prize.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

Cloanthus was declared victor and received the first prize--a rich mantle embroidered in gold. The second prize was given to Mnestheus, and suitable rewards were also bestowed on the crews. After the ship race AEneas and the vast mult.i.tude of Trojans and Sicilians proceeded to a gra.s.sy plain not far from the sh.o.r.e where the other games were held. The first was a foot race in which a large number took part.

Among them were Eu-ry'a-lus and Ni'sus, Trojan youths famed for their mutual friendship, and Di-o'res, a young prince of Priam's royal line.

Among the Sicilian compet.i.tors were Sa'li-us and Pa'tron, and two young men, El'y-mus and Pan'o-pes, companions of King Acestes.

[Ill.u.s.tration with caption: THE FOOT RACE. (Drawn by Birch)]

The signal having been given, the racers darted off like lightning.

Nisus quickly took the lead springing far away ahead of the rest.

Next, but at a long distance came Salius, and after him Euryalus, followed by Elymus, with Diores close by his side. Nisus would have reached the goal first, but just as he was approaching it, he lost his foothold at a slippery spot on the course, and fell headlong upon the ground. Seeing then that it was not possible for him to win, he thought of his friend Euryalus, and rising from the ground he set himself right in the way of Salius who was rushing forward.

E'en then affection claims its part; Euryalus is in his heart; Uprising from the sodden clay, He casts himself in Salius' way, And Salius tripped and sprawling lay.

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

This gave the victory to Euryalus, but Salius protested against the foul play by which he had been defeated, and claimed that he was ent.i.tled to the first prize. AEneas, however, decided that the prize should go to him who had actually reached the goal first.

Nevertheless, he gave Salius a lion's hide, heavy with s.h.a.ggy fur and gilt claws. Nisus, too, claimed a reward, and AEneas sympathising with his misfortune, presented to him a shield of beautiful workmanship, which had been taken from the pillars of Neptune's temple in the city of Troy.

Games of boxing and archery--shooting with bows and arrows--came next.

In the latter contest, king Acestes and Mnestheus took part. The other compet.i.tors were Eu-ry'ti-on and Hip-poc'o-on. For a mark to shoot at, they tied a pigeon to the top of a tall mast set firmly in the ground. Hippoc.o.o.n won the first chance in the drawing of lots. His arrow struck the mast with such force that it fixed itself in the wood. The arrow of Mnestheus broke the cord by which the pigeon was attached to the mast, and as she flew off, Eurytion discharged his shaft with so true an aim that it killed the bird. Acestes, who had drawn the last lot, now fired, though there was nothing to shoot at, but his arrow as it winged its way high into the air, presented to the spectators a marvelous sight.

E'en in the mid expanse of skies The arrow kindles as it flies, Behind it draws a fiery glare, Then wasting, vanishes in air.

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

AEneas interpreted this wonderful event as a sign of the will of the G.o.ds that Acestes should receive the honors of victory, and so he presented to him a goblet embossed in gold, which bad belonged to his father Anchises. But prizes were given to Eurytion also and to the other archers. Then followed the last of the games of the day, a grand exhibition of horsemanship, in which a number of the Trojan youth,-- chief amongst them the boy Iulus,--took the leading part.

Thus did AEneas pay honor to his father's memory. Meantime the unrelenting Juno was devising schemes to prevent the hero and his companions from reaching their promised land. With this object she sent her messenger I'ris down to the Trojan women, who sat together on the sh.o.r.e while the men were a.s.sembled at their games, for at these exercises females were not allowed to be spectators. As the women sat on the beach, looking out upon the sea, they thought and talked of the hardships they had endured during their long wanderings, and lamented their wretched lot in having still so much to suffer before they could find permanent homes to settle in.

"Alas! (said one) what oceans yet remain For us to sail! what labors to sustain!"

All take the word, and, with a general groan Implore the G.o.ds for peace, and places of their own.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

Iris joined in these complaints, and they thought she was one of themselves, for she had a.s.sumed the appearance and dress of a Trojan, and pretended to be Ber'o-e, a Trojan woman who was just then on a sick bed in her own chamber. "Unhappy are we," cried the false Beroe; "far better for us would it have been if we had died by the hands of the Greeks before the walls of our native city! What miserable doom does fortune reserve for us? The seventh year since the destruction of Troy has already pa.s.sed, and yet, after having wandered over so many lands and seas, we still pursue an ever-fleeing Italy; and we are tossed on the waves. Why should we not settle here in Sicily? Come then and let us burn those cursed ships. For in my sleep the prophetess Ca.s.sandra seemed to present me with flaming brands and to say, 'Seek here for a new Troy, here is your home.' Therefore let there be no further delay. Now is the time for action."

With these words she seized a brand from a fire on an altar close by, and hurled it towards the ships. But at this point one of the women, Pyr'go by name, who had just then joined the party, discovered that it was not Beroe who had been speaking, for she recognized in the eyes and voice and gait, the resemblance of a G.o.ddess.

"No Beroe, matrons, have you here, See, breathing in her face appear Signs of celestial life; Observe her eyes, how bright they shine; Mien, accent, walk are all divine.

Beroe herself I left but now Sick and outworn, with clouded brow, That she alone should fail to pay Due reverence to Anchises' day."

CONINGTON, _AEneid_, BOOK V

As Pyrgo ceased speaking, Iris, a.s.suming her own form, mounted into the sky. Then the Trojan women, astonished at what they had seen, and excited almost to madness, cried out with a loud voice, and, seizing brands from the altars, they rushed to the ships.

They shriek aloud; they s.n.a.t.c.h with impious hands The food of altars; firs and flaming brands, Green boughs and saplings, mingled in their haste, And smoking torches, on the ships they cast.

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

The ships were now on fire and the alarm quickly reaching the men, they rushed to the sh.o.r.e and endeavored to subdue the flames, while the women already regretting their folly, fled in terror from the scene. But in spite of the efforts of the men the fire rapidly spread, and it seemed as if the entire Trojan fleet was doomed to destruction.

Then the pious AEneas, with upraised hands, prayed to Jupiter for help, and immediately there came a great rain-storm, and the water descended in torrents, until every spark was extinguished. Four of the ships, however, were destroyed.

AEneas was much distressed by this misfortune, and he began to think that it might be better, even in disregard of the fates, and the prophecies, to remain in Sicily, than to make any further attempt to reach the promised Italian land. But one of his people, an old and a very wise man, named Nau'tes, strongly urged that the will of the G.o.ds ought to be obeyed. As to those who were weary of the enterprise--the aged, the feeble, and such of the women as were not willing to undergo further fatigues at sea-he advised that they should be left under the protection of Acestes, who, being himself of Trojan blood, would doubtless grant them a settlement in his kingdom.

"Your friend Acestes is of Trojan kind; To him disclose the secrets of your mind; Here you may build a common town for all, And, from Acestes' name, Acesta call."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK V.

While AEneas was still in doubt what course to pursue, his father appeared to him in a dream and bade him do as Nautes had advised.

Acestes willingly consented, and so a Trojan colony was formed in Sicily, and AEneas marked out with a plow the boundaries of the new city, which he called after the king's name. Soon afterwards preparations for departure were made, and AEneas set sail, accompanied by all of his people who were still willing to follow his fortunes, and strong enough to endure further toils and hardships.

They had a safe voyage to Italy, for Venus had entreated Neptune to protect her son and his fleet.

The G.o.d of the ocean was favorable, and he promised to take care that the Trojans should reach their destination in safety. But there was to be one exception. "One life," he said, "shall be given for many." The victim was the famous pilot Palinurus, and the poet tells us that his fate was brought about by the action of Som'nus, the G.o.d of sleep.

This G.o.d taking upon himself the likeness of Phor'bas, one of the sons of Priam, who was killed during the Trojan war, appeared to Palinurus during one of the watches of the night, and tried to persuade him to lie down and sleep, while he himself would stand at the helm and steer the ship. But Palinurus refused to quit his post. Then the treacherous G.o.d waved before his eyes a branch that had been dipped in the Stygian Le'the, the fabled river of forgetfulness, and soon the pilot dropped off into a deep slumber, during which Somnus leaning heavily upon him, plunged him headlong into the waves.

AEneas was deeply grieved at the loss of his faithful pilot. He himself took charge of the ship, and the whole fleet, secure under the protection of Neptune, reached the Italian coast without further mishap.

V. THE SIBYL OF c.u.mAE--THE GOLDEN BOUGH--IN THE REGIONS OF THE DEAD.

AEneas was now in Italy, but not in the part of it where the destined city was to be founded. The prophet, Helenus, as we have seen, had directed him that when he reached the Hesperian land he should visit the Cu-mae'an Sibyl, and learn from her what difficulties he was yet to encounter, and how to overcome them. c.u.mae, where the Sibyl dwelt, was on the coast of Cam-pa'ni-a, and to this place, therefore, AEneas directed his course after leaving Sicily. Having safely landed, the hero lost no time in making his way to the temple of Apollo, for in a cave adjoining this temple and communicating with it by a hundred doors and as many avenues or corridors, the Sibyl gave her answers.

There were many sibyls in ancient times. The most celebrated was the Sibyl of c.u.mae. She had several names, but the one adopted by Vergil is De-iph'o-be. Apollo once fell in love with this Sibyl and he promised to give her whatever she should ask if she would marry him.

Deiphobe asked to live as many years as she had grains of sand in her hand at the time. She forgot, however, to ask for the continuance of health and youth, of which she was then in possession. Apollo granted her request but she refused to perform her part of the bargain, and soon afterwards she became aged and feeble. She had already lived seven hundred years when AEneas came into Italy, and she had three centuries more to live before her years would be as numerous as the grains of sand which she had held in her hand.

As AEneas with several of his companions approached the cave, they were met at the outer entrance by the Sibyl herself. Then the Trojan hero, after a prayer to Apollo, begged the good will of the prophetess that her answers might be favorable to him and his people.

"And thou, O sacred maid, inspired to see The event of things in dark futurity!

Give me, what heaven has promised to my fate, To conquer and command the Latian state; To fix my wandering G.o.ds, and find a place For the long exiles of the Trojan race."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK VI.

Nor did AEneas forget to beg the Sibyl, as Helenus had directed him, to give her revelations by word of mouth, and not on leaves of trees, as was her custom.

"But, oh! commit not thy prophetic mind To flitting leaves, the sport of every wind, Lest they disperse in air our empty fate; Write not, but, what the powers ordain, relate."

DRYDEN, _AEneid_, BOOK VI.

The Sibyl graciously consented, and then the spirit of prophecy having moved her, she told AEneas of the dangers that yet lay before him, dangers far more formidable than any he had hitherto encountered.

"Escaped the dangers of the watery reign, Yet more and greater ills by land remain.

The coast so long desired (nor doubt the event), Thy troops shall reach, but, having reached, repent.

Wars! horrid wars, I view!--a field of blood, And Tiber rolling with a purple flood."