It was late and the stars shone brightly above Dido’s palace. She handed young Iulus, fast asleep, to his father and ordered her servants to show the Trojan leader to the guest quarters. In the days that followed, Dido thought more and more of her love for Aeneas. Cupid had planted love in her heart, and she wanted to marry Aeneas. Her sister, Anna, pointed out that with the help of the Trojans Carthage could become the greatest city in the world.
Aeneas, also enchanted, found himself thinking less and less of sailing for Italy. His ships began to rot in the harbor as he supervised construction projects in Dido’s city. There was little doubt that the two were in love. One evening when Aeneas and the queen were out hunting in the woods, they became separated from their followers in a fierce thunderstorm sent by Juno. Aeneas lit a fire in a cozy cave and they spent the night there. After they returned to the palace, Dido no longer hid her feelings for the Trojan hero.
None of this escaped Jupiter. He sent Mercury—Hermes to the Greeks—to Carthage to tell Aeneas it was time to set sail for Italy. The messenger god appeared suddenly: “Aeneas, I come from the throne of Jupiter to tell you that no woman is more important than your duty. Get your ship ready to sail to Italy. Your fate lies across the sea on the banks of the Tiber. Go now!”
Aeneas ordered his most trusted lieutenants to prepare the ships—though quietly so that Dido would not know he was leaving. As swift as the flight of a bird, word reached the palace that the Trojans were preparing to leave. Dido called Aeneas to her throne room: “Did you really think you could slip away unnoticed? I shared everything in my kingdom with you, and now you’re going to sneak away in the night?”
Aeneas tried to explain: “Dido, it is the will of the gods that I establish a new home for my people in Italy. I’d love to stay, but I can’t. I thought it would be easier if I just slipped away quietly.”
Dido threw Aeneas out of the palace. After he had gone, she cried for hours. Her sister tried to comfort her, but Dido would have none of it. She prayed to the gods that they curse Aeneas and his city. Let there be everlasting hatred between the two cities, until one destroyed the other.
Dido ordered the servants to gather a great pile of wood and place it on the highest citadel of the city where the departing Trojans and their noble prince could see it like a beacon. She then took all the gifts that Aeneas had given her and carried them to the citadel herself. Finally she ordered her men to light the fire while she knelt on the top and stabbed herself. The flames swept over the queen, betrayed by love. Aeneas saw the great fire and knew in his heart that Dido was gone.
The Trojans sailed north and landed once again at the western tip of Sicily where Aeneas had buried his father, Anchises. Aeneas wanted to hold funeral games at the tomb. The ships pulled ashore, and the men honored the spirit of their late patriarch with sacrifices and athletic contests according to ancient tradition. From Sicily they struck a course for Italy, finding favorable winds and calm seas all the way. But Neptune insists on a price for safe travel. The helmsman, Palinurus, fell into the sea and was lost off the cape that later bore his name.
After losing their comrade, the Trojans saw Mount Vesuvius in the distance and soon arrived at Cumae, home of the Sibyl. Aeneas knew he must consult this oracle, but he was fearful. It was foretold to him that to learn the future, he must journey down to the land of the dead. Still, the captain of men entered the temple of Apollo and greeted the Sibyl, who told him that he would face a bloody war on the banks of the Tiber before he could establish his city. All the tribes of Latium, as the land was known, would be rallied against him by a new Achilles. But help would come to him from where he least expected it.
That was the immediate future, but if he wanted to learn the destiny of his kingdom, he must come with her to the underworld. First he had to visit her sacred grove and seek a tree like no other. “On this tree grows a branch of gold,” said the Sibyl. “Fate has decreed this golden bough can be torn from the tree only by the one chosen by destiny.”
Aeneas did as the Sibyl asked, and the bough slipped easily into his hand. Then he followed the prophetess to a nearby cave where they sacrificed to Hecate, goddess of darkness, along with the other powers there.
The cavern was as black as a moonless night. The ancient gods born at the dawn of the world dwelled there—Death, Strife, Disease, Hunger, War, and Fear. Aeneas heard bloodcurdling shrieks and saw shadows of hideous monsters on the walls as they journeyed deep into the earth.
At last they found the boatman Charon at the River Styx. The old man told them to go away, but the Sibyl told Aeneas to show him the golden bough. The surly ferryman motioned them aboard, though the boat rode low in the water with the weight of their living bodies. Once on the far shore, Aeneas heard the cries of infants and the moans of those unjustly condemned to die. Nearby were the fields for those who perished because of love. Aeneas wept when he saw the soul of Dido there and tried to speak to her, but she turned her back on him and faded into the darkness.
Among the countless souls Aeneas saw as he went deeper into the land of the dead were the ghosts of men he had fought with and against at Troy. The Sibyl led him on to a place where the path divided in two. She told him the road to the right led to the fields of Elysium, their destination. The trail to the left wound its way down to Tartarus, where the souls of the wicked were punished forever.
Aeneas was pleased to see the souls gathered at the pleasant fields of Elysium. But then the Sibyl pointed out to him one particular soul. He saw it was Anchises, his own father, looking splendid in shining robes. Aeneas tried to embrace him, but the old man laughed and explained that he no longer had a body. Anchises led his son to the crest of a hill and revealed to him all the souls that were waiting to be born, souls that would spring from the kingdom he would establish in Italy.
He showed him Silvius, a boy Aeneas would father in his old age by his beautiful Italian wife, Lavinia. Romulus and Remus, who would someday build the city of Rome, were there. There was also Brutus, who would overthrow a hated foreign king and establish the city as a republic. The great hero Camillus marched by, savior of the city from the dreaded Gauls. The spirit of Fabius Maximus appeared next; he would wear down Hannibal and the mighty elephants he would drive over the Alps. There was Julius Caesar, greatest of Roman generals, who would cross the Rubicon to crush his enemies. Last of all Anchises showed him Augustus, who would return mankind to the age of gold lost so long ago.
The shining spirit looked at his son and said: “Others in this wide world will forge bronze more skillfully and shape marble into human form. Others will speak with more elegant tongues and chart the course of the stars across the skies. But Romans will rule the people of the earth with power and justice. The gift of our people will be to establish peace, to spare the defeated, and to crush all who resist us.”
Anchises then left his son to journey back to the land of the living. Aeneas swiftly climbed, eager to establish such a glorious future.
The Trojan fleet sailed north along the green coast of Italy until it came to the mouth of a river with broad trees along its banks and birds singing overhead. The captain ordered his ships to turn into this river and draw the ships to land. The place was so beautiful that Aeneas, his son Iulus, and all his people took food on shore and ate their meal beneath the boughs of shady trees. The women baked wheat cakes on the banks and heaped them with fruit they had gathered nearby. The men ate not only the fruit but even the cakes on which it was served. Little Iulus laughed and said, “Look, Father, we’re so hungry we’re eating our plates.” It was then that Aeneas remembered the words of Celaeno the Harpy that they would know they had reached their final destination when they ate their plates. He was even more delighted when he saw a white sow nursing thirty piglets by the river, just as Helenus had foretold.
“Make camp,” he shouted. “This is the Tiber River! This is where we are to build our new city. We are home!”
The people rejoiced to hear the long journey was
at an end. While he supervised the building of a fortified camp, Aeneas sent his most trusted companions to find out what king ruled this land and how they might all live in friendship. The messengers soon found the town of King Latinus, a descendant of Saturn, called Cronus by the Greeks. He was a man of peace who had ruled many years, but had only one child, a daughter named Lavinia. His wife was determined to wed her child to Turnus, a powerful local ruler. But Queen Amata could not convince her husband. The king had once received an oracle that he should marry his daughter to a stranger who would come from afar.
The envoys of Aeneas presented Latinus with fine gifts. They said they were Trojans who had sailed west to seek out a new home. They sought a safe haven in which to build their city. If welcomed, they would be staunch friends of the king and allies against his enemies. Latinus agreed to all they asked. Moreover, he requested Aeneas come to him personally as he suspected the man was the one foretold to marry his daughter. The Trojans went back to report the good news to Aeneas.
Amata turned on her husband: “You old fool! You’re going to give your daughter to some wanderer who washes up on our shore? You think these Trojans will help us defeat our enemies? By the gods, they’re the ones who lost the Trojan War!”
Amata’s anger suited Juno. The wife of Jupiter had not been able to prevent the Trojans from reaching Italy, but she might be able to kill them all yet. She went deep into the earth and found Alecto, most horrible of the Furies, and asked her to stir up trouble among the Latin tribes. Alecto told Turnus that Aeneas would steal his bride-to-be. She flew throughout the land raising the cry against the Trojans. Many tribes came together under Turnus to rise up against Aeneas. King Latinus was too old and weak to stand against them.
Aeneas reluctantly made preparations for war. He knew he could not stand against the tribes of Italy without allies of his own—but where to find them? That night, as he slept beside the river, the spirit of the Tiber spoke to him in a dream: “Fear not, Aeneas, for help is at hand. On my banks lies a city called Pallanteum ruled over by a king named Evander, who will help you. Do not be afraid to seek him out, even though he is a Greek.”
Aeneas could hardly believe what the river god was telling him. Seek help from a Greek, the enemies of the Trojans?
But divine commands are not to be ignored. Aeneas fitted his best ship with troops and began to row up the river. By midday they had come to the city of King Evander beneath seven hills on the banks of the Tiber. The king and his son, Pallas, were making a sacrifice to Hercules when they saw the strangers pull up on the banks of the river. Pallas grabbed a spear and demanded to know whether they were friend or foe. Aeneas assured the brave lad they came in peace. Evander then welcomed them to his town and assured them he had no hatred for the Trojans. Dardanus himself sailed from this land long ago to found the line that gave birth to King Priam and to Aeneas himself. He was most welcome here.
Evander showed Aeneas his city and explained how he had struggled to build a home in a hostile land. He welcomed the Trojans as allies against their neighbors, especially the Etruscan tribe ruled by cruel Mezentius. Evander would stand beside Aeneas against such enemies. He even asked the Trojan leader if, along with troops from his city, he would take Pallas with him so that the boy could learn to fight from the best. Aeneas agreed and sealed a bond of friendship with Evander.
While Aeneas was away, things were not going well at the Trojan camp. The Trojan warriors had built a stockade around their ships on the banks of the Tiber. It was a strong position, but they could not hold out forever against an attack. Turnus taunted the Trojans: “Afraid to face us on the field of battle? Only cowards stay in camp! These are the brave warriors who fought against the Greeks at Troy? Scared to fight without Aeneas by your side?”
The Trojans were under orders from Aeneas not to fight the enemy until he returned. Two young Trojan warriors named Nisus and Euryalus snuck out one night. They killed a number of the enemy but were captured and killed before dawn. Turnus put their heads on poles in front of the Trojan camp. The men still did not leave their ships.
Turnus then launched an attack on the ships. He fought bravely but was forced to jump into the Tiber to escape death.
Soon Aeneas returned to camp with, Evander’s son, Pallas, and the soldiers from Evander’s city. It was then that the great battle began. Trojans and Italians met on the plain to fight and die in such numbers as Italy had never seen. Each side was full of courageous men. Pallas was at the front of his troops cutting down the enemy. Turnus came against him like a raging bull, ramming his oak spear clean through his chest. Turnus then hung the boy’s sword-belt from his shoulder as a trophy.
Aeneas faced cruel Mezentius and his son in combat. He slew them both and turned to other foes. The battle continued for days. Among the bravest of the Italians was Camilla, a warrior-woman. She had grown up a child of the hunt devoted to Diana, whom the Greeks called Artemis. Camilla cut through the Trojan lines dealing death at every turn. At last an ally of Aeneas named Arruns sent a spear ripping through her, but he was soon cut down himself.
The battle raged on. Soon even the gods had enough. Jupiter called Juno before him and told her the killing must end. She agreed, but only if the hated name of Troy was left behind forever and the new city was Italian in title, language, and ways. The ruler of the gods nodded and Juno withdrew her support of Turnus and his men.
The mortals could sense that something had changed. Turnus realized he now stood without the favor of any god, but his pride would not allow him to surrender. He asked that Aeneas face him in single combat to end the war. Thus both men met on the bloody field between the lines. They fought with great courage, though neither could gain the upper hand. Finally Turnus picked up a rock that twelve men could barely lift, but he buckled under the weight. This gave Aeneas his chance. The Trojan captain sent his spear flying like a whirlwind through the breastplate of the great Italian warrior. Turnus lay in the mud looking up at Aeneas and spoke: “Strike the final blow, for you have conquered me. I do not plead for mercy. And yet, I would be grateful if you would send me back to die in my home with my own father by my side, a man much like your own great sire, Anchises. You have won, Aeneas. Lavinia is your bride. You don’t need to kill me here.”
Aeneas was moved by the courage of his fallen enemy. He started to sheath his sword when suddenly he saw the sword belt of Pallas across the shoulder of Turnus: “You ask a favor, Turnus, but did you give any to Pallas? Did you send him back to his father Evander? You dare to ask for kindness when you wear the sword belt of that dear boy as a trophy?”
Aeneas took his sword and planted it in the heart of Turnus so that it went down deep into the Italian soil beneath him, a foundation for his new kingdom and a message to all that Rome would never yield.
Rome
ROMULUS AND REMUS
Aeneas married lavinia and built a town named Lavinium in her honor. The Trojans and the Italians became one people, and Lavinium became a large and prosperous city. When Aeneas died, not long after founding the town, leadership passed to his son Iulus. In time, Iulus left to establish his own settlement called Alba Longa in the hills south of the Tiber. The descendants of Iulus ruled at Alba Longa for many generations until the time of Proca. Proca had two sons, Numitor and Amulius. He left the kingdom to Numitor, the eldest, when he died.
Amulius took the kingship from his brother, but kept Numitor alive. Numitor’s sons were killed, but his daughter, Rhea Silvia, was spared on the condition she become a Vestal Virgin. These priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, kept the holy flame of the city burning and were not allowed to marry. Amulius wanted to be sure that Rhea Silvia would not have children to threaten his throne.
One day word came to the king that his niece had given birth to twins. Amulius demanded to know who the father was. Rhea Silvia claimed he was the god Mars. Her uncle laughed at her story and threw her into prison. He had his men take her twin sons to the banks of the Tiber to be drowned.
By chance the river was flooding, and the servants could not approach the moving stream. They abandoned the boys on a mud flat beneath seven hills where the city of King Evander once stood. A female wolf heard the cries of the babies and came to investigate. She found the pair and nursed them until they fell asleep. Soon after, a shepherd found them with the she-wolf gently licking their faces. He brought them to his hut and gave them to his wife Larentia to raise.
The twins were named Romulus and Remus. They grew into great hunters and warriors. They were fearless and attacked local robbers, dividing their spoils among the poor shepherds of the region. The brothers gathered a merry band of youths to join in their adventures and became famous for their courage. One group of robbers laid a trap for them during a festival. Romulus drove his attackers away, but Remus was captured and taken to King Amulius. The robbers claimed Remus had stolen goods from Numitor that they themselves had taken. Remus was given to his own grandfather for punishment.
Numitor liked the boy immediately. When he heard Remus’s story, he realized that Remus and Romulus were the sons of Rhea Silvia. Remus sent for Romulus. Together with their followers they slew their great-uncle Amulius and restored their grandfather to the throne. The young men were happy for Numitor, but they wanted to found their own city at the place they had been raised.
The brothers could not agree which of them should be king of the new city. They decided to wait for a sign and so went to two separate hills, the Palatine and the Aventine, to watch for signs from the gods. Remus saw six vultures in the sky, an impressive sign. Then Romulus saw twelve. They argued about who had received the favor of the gods. The quarrel grew into a fight, and Romulus killed his brother. He named the new city Rome, after himself.
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