his father; but when he would have carried him to the hills, Anchises
would not, being loath to live in some strange country when Troy had
perished. "Nay," said he, "fly ye who are strong and in the flower of your
days. But as for me, if the Gods had willed that I should live, they had
saved this dwelling for me. Enough it is, yea, and more than enough, that
once I have seen this city taken, and lived. Bid me, then, farewell as
though I were dead. Death will I find for myself. And truly I have long
lingered here a useless stock and hated of the Gods, since Jupiter smote
me with the blast of his thunder."
Nor could the old man be moved from his purpose, though his son and his
son's wife, and even the child Ascanius, besought him with many tears that
he should not make yet heavier the doom that was upon them. Then was Æneas
minded to go back to the battle and die. For what hope was left?
"Thoughtest thou, my father," he cried, "that I should flee and leave thee
behind? What evil word is this that has fallen from thy lips? If the Gods
will have it that nought of Troy should be left, and thou be minded that
thou and thine should perish with the city, be it so. The way is easy;
soon will Pyrrhus be here: Pyrrhus, red with Priam's blood; Pyrrhus, who
slays the son before the face of the father, and the father at the altar.
Was it for this, kind Mother Venus, that thou broughtest me safe through
fire and sword, to see the enemy in my home, and my father and my wife and
my son lying slaughtered together? Comrades, give me my arms, and take me
back to the battle. At the least I will die avenged."
But as he girded on his arms and would have departed from the house, his
wife Creusa caught his feet upon the threshold, staying him, and held out
the little Ascanius, saying, "If thou goest to thy death, take wife and
child with thee; but if thou hopest aught from arms, guard first the house
where thou hast father and wife and child."
And lo! as she spake there befell a mighty marvel, for before the face of
father and mother there was seen to shine a light on the head of the boy
Ascanius, and to play upon his waving hair and glitter on his temples. And
when they feared to see this thing, and would have stifled the flame or
quenched it with water, the old man Anchises in great joy raised his eyes
to heaven, and cried aloud, "O Father Jupiter, if prayer move thee at all,
give thine aid and make this omen sure." And even as he spake the thunder
rolled on his left hand, and a star shot through the skies, leaving a long
trail of light behind, and passed over the house-tops till it was hidden
in the woods of Ida. Then the old man lifted himself up and did obeisance
to the star, and said, "I delay no more: whithersoever ye lead I will
follow. Gods of my country, save my house and my grandson. This omen is of
you. And now, my son, I refuse not to go."
Then said Æneas, and as he spake the fire came nearer, and the light was
clearer to see, and the heat more fierce, "Climb, dear father, on my
shoulders; I will bear thee, nor grow weary with the weight. We will be
saved or perish together. The little Ascanius shall go with me, and my
wife follow behind, not over near. And ye, servants of my house, hearken
to me; ye mind how that to one who passes out of the city there is a tomb
and a temple of Ceres in a lonely place, and an ancient cypress-tree hard
by. There will we gather by divers ways. And do thou, my father, take the
holy images in thy hands, for as for me, who have but newly come from
battle, I may not touch them till I have washed me in the running stream."
And as he spake he put a cloak of lion's skin upon his shoulders, and the
old man sat thereon. Ascanius also laid hold of his hand, and Creusa
followed behind. So he went in much dread and trembling. For indeed before
sword and spear of the enemy he had not feared, but now he feared for them
that were with him. But when he was come nigh unto the gates, and the
journey was well-nigh finished, there befell a grievous mischance, for
there was heard a sound as of many feet through the darkness; and the old
man cried to him, "Fly, my son, fly; they are coming. I see the flashing
of shields and swords." But as Æneas hasted to go, Creusa his wife was
severed from him. But whether she wandered from the way or sat down in
weariness, no man may say. Only he saw her no more, nor knew her to be
lost, till all his company being met at the temple of Ceres, she only was
found wanting. Very grievous did the thing seem to him, nor did he cease
to cry out in his wrath against Gods and men. Also he bade his comrades
have a care of his father and his son, and of the household gods, and
girded him again with arms, and so passed into the city. And first he went
to the wall and to the gate by which he had come forth, and then to his
house, if haply she had returned thither. But there indeed the men of
Greece were come, and the fire had well-nigh mastered it. And after that
he went to the citadel and to the palace of King Priam. And lo! in the
porch of Juno's temple, Phoenix and Ulysses were keeping guard over the
spoil, even the treasure of the temples, tables of the Gods, and solid
cups of gold, and raiment, and a long array of them that had been taken
captive, children and women. But not the less did he seek his wife through
all the streets of the city, yea, and called her aloud by name. But lo! as
he called, the image of her whom he sought seemed to stand before him,
only greater than she had been while she was yet alive. And the spirit
spake, saying, "Why art thou vainly troubled? These things have not
befallen us against the pleasure of the Gods. The ruler of Olympus willeth
not that Creusa should bear thee company in thy journey. For thou hast a
long journey to take, and many seas to cross, till thou come to the
Hesperian shore, where Lydian Tiber flows softly through a good land and a
fertile. There shalt thou have great prosperity, and take to thyself a
wife of royal race. Weep not, then, for Creusa, whom thou lovest, nor
think that I shall be carried away to be a bond-slave to some Grecian
woman. Such fate befits not a daughter of Dardanus and daughter-in-law of
Venus. The mighty mother of the Gods keepeth me in this land to serve her.
And now, farewell, and love the young Ascanius, even thy son and mine."
[Illustration: AND AS HE SPAKE HE PUT A CLOAK OF LION'S SKIN UPON HIS
SHOULDERS, AND THE OLD MAN SAT THEREON. ASCANIUS ALSO LAID HOLD OF HIS
HAND, AND CREUSA FOLLOWED BEHIND. SO HE WENT IN MUCH DREAD AND TREMBLING,
FOR INDEED BEFORE SWORD AND SPEAR OF THE ENEMY HE HAD NOT FEARED, BUT NOW
HE FEARED MUCH FOR THEM THAT WERE WITH HIM]
So spake the spirit, and when Æneas wept and would have spoken, vanished
out of his sight. Thrice he would have cast his arms about her neck, and
thrice the image mocked him, being thin as air and fleeting as a dream.
Then, the night being now spent, he sought his comrades, and found with
much joy and wonder that a great company of men and women were gathered
together, and were willing, all of them, to follow him whithersoever he
went. And now the morning star rose over Mount Ida, and Æneas, seeing that
the Greeks held the city, and that there was no longer any hope of succor,
went his way to the mountains, taking with him his father.
ÆNEAS'S ADVENTURE WITH THE HARPIES
By Charles Henry Hanson
[For three days the vessels of Æneas were tossed about by terrible
storm winds.]
At last, on the fourth day, the fury of the storm abated, and they came in
sight of land,--at first lofty mountains, and afterwards, as they drew
nearer, rich grassy plains, on which the wanderers saw herds of cattle and
flocks of goats grazing without a keeper. As soon as the storm-beaten
vessels could be brought to the shore, the Trojans hastened to land, and
slaughtered some of the cattle, preparing a luxurious banquet. But this
they were not destined to enjoy in peace; for scarcely had they stretched
themselves on the couches they had hurriedly prepared beside the food when
there was a sudden rushing of wings, and three ghastly creatures swooped
down upon the feast, devoured a large part of it, and so defiled the rest
with their loathsome touch that very little was eatable. These were the
Harpies, and by their appearance Æneas knew that he and his companions had
arrived at the Strophades, two islands in the Ionian Sea which for many
years had been given up to the monsters. They were fearful of aspect: down
to the breast they resembled women, with scanty black hair and glaring
red-rimmed eyes, and on their faces ever a famine-stricken look; but they
had wings instead of arms, and their bodies and lower limbs were those of
huge birds, foul and uncleanly. These hateful creatures had long before
been sent by the Gods to plague Pheneus the Blind, king of Thrace, who had
cruelly treated his sons. Whenever a meal was spread for the king, the
Harpies used to descend and devour it. At last some brave warriors, who
were passing through Thrace, were persuaded by the promise of rewards from
Pheneus to rid him of the monsters, and drove them to the far Strophades,
where they had ever since dwelt.
Irritated at the loss of their feast, Æneas and his companions prepared
more food, and determined, if necessary, to defend it with their swords.
They accordingly concealed their weapons in the grass, and stationed one
of their number on the watch, to give notice with the sound of a trumpet
when the Harpies were approaching. This was done accordingly, and the
obscene creatures, when they again swooped down to seize on the cooked
meats, which they relished more than any other food, were driven off,
though not without difficulty. But one of them, perching on a high rock,
croaked forth to the astonished mariners this dismal prophecy:--
"Woe to you, Trojans! Do you dare to make war upon us after having slain
our oxen, and to banish the innocent Harpies from the kingdom which is
theirs by right? Fix, then, in your minds these words, which the father of
Gods and men revealed to Phoebus Apollo, and Apollo to me. Italy is the
land you seek, and Italy you shall reach at last, after many perils; but
you shall not build up the walls of your new-founded city until dire
famine and suffering, visiting you because you have injured us, shall
compel you to devour your tables as well as the food that is upon them."
The gloomy prediction terrified most of the wanderers, and they urged
Æneas to endeavor to propitiate the unclean monsters with invocations and
sacrifices. But Anchises, after imploring Jupiter to ward off the
threatened calamities, commanded that the expedition should at once quit
that melancholy shore. After passing the rugged cliffs of Ithaca, and
uttering maledictions on the land that bred Ulysses, the most cunning
enemy of Troy, the exiles arrived in safety at the harbor of Leucadia,
where the ships were anchored, and the travelers landed to rest awhile
after the fatigues of the voyage. Here they celebrated the games of their
country; and Æneas hung on the door-posts of an ancient and famous temple
of Apollo a suit of armor, which he had taken from a Greek warrior slain
before Troy, placing above it an inscription, "These arms Æneas won from
the victorious Greeks."
ÆNEAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS
By Charles Henry Hanson
A day's sail over the blue Mediterranean brought Æneas and his followers
in sight of the southeastern shores of Italy; and as they saw the swelling
hills and grassy plains of the promised land, they broke into cries of
joy. The ships were run into a secure harbor, and sacrifices offered up
for the propitiation of Minerva and of Juno; after which, mindful of the
injunctions of Helenus to avoid those parts of Italy which lay nearest to
Greece, the adventurers resumed their voyage. Keeping near the coast, they
passed the Bay of Tarentum and the lofty promontories of Calabria. Now
came in sight the immense bulk of Etna, lifting its fire-crowned head into
the clouds; and the roaring of the terrible Charybdis could be distinctly
heard. Remembering the warnings of Helenus, they hastily turned to the
left, and avoided the perilous strait, but sought refuge in a place
scarcely less dangerous; for they landed in the country of the Cyclops,
where, only a little while before, Ulysses had been with his comrades, and
had endured great sufferings at the hands of the giant Polyphemus. The
Cyclops, it will be remembered, were a race of savage shepherds, of
immense stature, having each but one eye in the middle of his forehead.
They dwelt in caves, and kept great flocks and herds. Polyphemus was the
largest and fiercest of them all; and when Ulysses and his companions
entered his cave he kept them prisoners, and devoured several of them. The
hero himself and the rest of his followers had escaped him by making him
drunk with wine they had brought on shore from their ships, and then
putting out his eye with a sharpened stake, the point of which they had
hardened in the fire. The knowledge of this adventure came to Æneas and
his Trojans in a strange fashion. On the morning after their arrival in
the country of the Cyclops, they were on the shore, when they were
surprised to see a man emerge from the woods, and approach them with
suppliant gestures. His appearance was wild and emaciated, his beard
overgrown, his garments ragged; but nevertheless it was easy to perceive
that he was a Greek. When he saw that the voyagers wore Trojan dress and
arms, he paused in fear, but the next moment he hurried toward them with
tears and entreaties.
"I conjure you," he cried, "by the stars, by the powers above, by the
light of heaven, ye Trojans, take me hence. Carry me where you will, do
with me what you will, I shall be content. I confess that I was one who
bore arms against Troy; if you deem that a crime, put me to death for it.
At least I shall have the satisfaction of dying by the hands of men."
Æneas and Anchises received the stranger kindly, assured him of his
safety, and asked him who he was, and how he came to be in that desolate
country. He answered that he was an Ithacan, his name Achæmenides, and
that he had been one of the companions of Ulysses in his wanderings. He
related the adventures of the Ithacan hero in the cave of Polyphemus, and
told how he himself, having been by accident left behind when his comrades
escaped, had since led a wretched existence in the woods, living on wild
berries and roots, and continually in dread lest he should be seen by the
Cyclops. He advised Æneas to lose no time in quitting the country, lest
the ferocious shepherds should discover and destroy them. Even as
Achæmenides spoke, Polyphemus was seen accompanying his flock to their
pasture. So tall was he of stature that he carried the trunk of a
pine-tree as a staff to guide his footsteps. Reaching the sea he stepped
into it, and bent down to bathe the wound inflicted by Ulysses. The
Trojans hastened to cut their cables, and rowed out to sea. The giant
heard the sound of their oars, and turned to follow them; but in his
blindness he dared not follow far, and therefore he called on his brethren
with a cry so loud that the very sea was shaken in its depths. Forthwith
the huge Cyclops came trooping to the shore, like a wood of lofty trees
endued with life and motion; but by this time the Trojan vessels had got
beyond their reach.
ÆNEAS AND QUEEN DIDO
By Alfred J. Church
[Æneas was driven by a storm upon the shores of Carthage.]
Now it came to pass on the next day that Æneas, having first hidden his
ships in a bay that was well covered with trees, went forth to spy out the
new land whither he was come, and Achates only went with him. And Æneas
had in each hand a broad-pointed spear. And as he went there met him in
the middle of the wood his mother, but habited as a Spartan virgin, for
she had hung a bow from her shoulders after the fashion of a huntress, and
her hair was loose, and her tunic short to the knees, and her garments
gathered in a knot upon her breast. Then first the false huntress spake:
"If perchance ye have seen one of my sisters wandering hereabouts, make
known to me the place. She is girded with a quiver, and is clothed with
the skin of a spotted lynx, or, maybe, she hunts a wild boar with horn and
hound."
To whom Æneas, "I have not seen nor heard sister of thine, O virgin--for
what shall I call thee? for, of a surety, neither is thy look as of a
mortal woman, nor yet thy voice. A goddess certainly thou art, sister of
Phoebus, or, haply, one of the nymphs. But whosoever thou art, look
favorably upon us and help us. Tell us in what land we be, for the winds
have driven us hither, and we know not aught of place or people."
And Venus said, "Nay, stranger, I am not such as ye think. We virgins of
Tyre are wont to carry a quiver and to wear a buskin of purple. For indeed
it is a Tyrian city that is hard by, though the land be Libya. And of this
city Dido is queen, having come hither from Tyre, flying from the
wrong-doing of her brother. And indeed the story of the thing is long, but
I will recount the chief matter thereof to thee. The husband of this Dido
was one Sichæus, richest among all the men of Phoenicia, and greatly
beloved of his wife, whom he married from a virgin. Now the brother of
this Sichæus was Pygmalion, the king of the country, and he exceeded all
men in wickedness. And when there arose a quarrel between them, the king,
being exceedingly mad after gold, took him unaware, even as he did
sacrifice at the altar, and slew him. And the king hid the matter many
days from Dido, and cheated her with false hopes. But at the last there
came to her in her dreams the likeness of the dead man, baring his wounds
and showing the wickedness which had been done. Also he bade her make
haste and fly from that land, and, that she might do this the more easily,
told her of great treasure, gold and silver, that was hidden in the earth.
And Dido, being much moved by these things, made ready for flight; also
she sought for companions, and there came together to her as many as hated
the king or feared him. Then did they seize ships that chanced to be ready
and laded them with gold, even the treasure of King Pygmalion, and so fled
across the sea. And in all this was a woman the leader. Then came they to
this place, where thou seest the walls and citadel of Carthage, and bought
so much land as they could cover with a bull's hide. And now do ye answer
me this, Whence come ye, and whither do ye go?"
Then answered Æneas, "Should I tell the whole story of our wanderings, and
thou have leisure to hear, evening would come ere I could make an end. We
are men of Troy, who, having journeyed over many seas, have now been
driven by storms to this shore of Libya. And as for me, men call me Prince
Æneas. The land I seek is Italy, and my race is from Jupiter himself. With
twenty ships did I set sail, going in the way whereon the Gods sent me.
And of these scarce seven are left. And now, seeing that Europe and Asia
endure me not, I wander over the desert places of Africa."
But Venus suffered him not to speak more, but said, "Whoever thou art,
stranger, that art come to this Tyrian city, thou art surely beloved by
the Gods. And now go, show thyself to the queen. And as for thy ships and
thy companions, I tell thee that they are safe in the haven, if I have not
learnt augury in vain. See those twenty swans, how joyously they fly! And
now there cometh an eagle swooping down from the sky, putting them to
confusion, but now again they move in due order, and some are settling on
the earth and some are preparing to settle. Even so doth it fare with thy
ships, for either are they already in the haven or enter thereinto with
sails full set."
And as she spoke she turned away, and there shone a rosy light from her
neck, also there came from her hair a sweet savor as of ambrosia, and her
garments grew under her feet; and Æneas perceived that she was his mother,
and cried aloud,--
"O my mother, why dost thou mock me so often with false shows, nor
sufferest me to join my hand unto thy hand, and to speak with thee face to
face?"
And he went towards the walls of the city. But Venus covered him and his
companions with a mist, that no man might see them, or hinder them, or
inquire of their business, and then departed to Paphos, where was her
temple and also many altars of incense. Then the men hastened on their
way, and mounting a hill which hung over the city, marveled to behold it,
for indeed it was very great and noble, with mighty gates and streets, and
a multitude that walked therein. For some built the walls and the citadel,
rolling great stones with their hands, and others marked out places for
houses. Also they chose those that should give judgment and bear rule in
the city. Some, too, digged out harbors, and others laid the foundations
of a theatre, and cut out great pillars of stone. Like to bees they were,
when, the summer being newly come, the young swarms go forth, or when they
labor filling the cells with honey, and some receive the burdens of those
that return from the fields, and others keep off the drones from the hive.
Even so labored the men of Tyre. And when Æneas beheld them he cried,
"Happy ye, who even now have a city to dwell in!" And being yet hidden by
the mist, he went in at the gate and mingled with the men, being seen of
none.
Now in the midst of the city was a wood, very thick with trees, and here
the men of Carthage, first come to the land from their voyage, had digged
out of the ground that which Juno had said should be a sign to them, even
a horse's head; for that, finding this, their city would be mighty in war,
and full of riches. Here, then, Dido was building a temple to Juno, very
splendid, with threshold of bronze, and many steps thereunto; of bronze
also were the door-posts and the gates. And here befell a thing which gave
much comfort and courage to Æneas; for as he stood and regarded the place,
waiting also for the queen, he saw set forth in order upon the walls the
battles that had been fought at Troy, the sons of Atreus also, and King
Priam, and fierce Achilles. Then said he, not without tears, "Is there any
land, O Achates, that is not filled with our sorrows? Seest thou Priam?
Yet withal there is a reward for virtue here also, and tears and pity for
the troubles of men. Fear not, therefore. Surely the fame of these things
shall profit us."
Then he looked, satisfying his soul with the paintings on the walls. For
there was the city of Troy. In this part of the field the Greeks fled and
the youth of Troy pursued them, and in that the men of Troy fled, and
Achilles followed hard upon them in his chariot. Also he saw the white
tents of Rhesus, king of Thrace, whom the fierce Diomed slew in his sleep,
when he was newly come to Troy, and drave his horses to the camp before
they ate of the grass of the fields of Troy or drank the waters of
Nanthus. There also Troilus was pictured, ill matched in battle with
Achilles. His horses bare him along; but he lay on his back in the
chariot, yet holding the reins, and his neck and head were dragged upon
the earth, and the spear-point made a trail in the dust. And in another
place the women of Troy went suppliant-wise to the temple of Minerva,
bearing a great and beautiful robe, sad and beating their breasts, and
with hair unbound; but the goddess regarded them not. Also Achilles
dragged the body of Hector three times round the walls of Troy, and was
selling it for gold. And Æneas groaned when he saw the man whom he loved,
and the old man Priam reaching out helpless hands. Also he knew himself,
fighting in the midst of the Grecian chiefs; black Memnon also he knew,
and the hosts of the East; and Penthesilea leading the army of the Amazons
with shields shaped as the moon. Fierce she was to see, with one breast
bared for battle, and a golden girdle beneath it, a damsel daring to fight
with men.
But while Æneas marveled to see these things, lo! there came, with a great
throng of youths behind her, Dido, most beautiful of women, fair as Diana,
when, on the banks of Eurotas or on the hills of Cynthus, she leads the
dance with a thousand nymphs of the mountains about her. On her shoulder
she bears a quiver, and overtops them all, and her mother, even Latona,
silently rejoices to behold her. So fair and seemly to see was Dido as she
bare herself right nobly in the midst, being busy in the work of her
kingdom. Then she sat herself down on a lofty throne in the gate of the
temple, with many armed men about her. And she did justice between man and
man; also she divided the work of the city, sharing it equally or parting
by lot.