In keeping with the style of the epics of Homer, the poem begins with an invocation to the poet’s
Muse, and an explanation of the principal conflict of the early part of plot, which stems from the
resentment held by the goddess Juno against the Trojan people.
The action begins with the Trojan fleet, led by Aeneas, in the eastern Mediterranean, heading
towards Italy on a voyage to find a second home, in accordance with the prophecy that Aeneas
will give rise to a noble and courageous race in Italy, which is destined to become known
throughout the world.
The goddess Juno, however, is still wrathful at being overlooked by the judgment of Paris in
favour of Aeneas’s mother, Venus, and also because her favourite city, Carthage, is destined to
be destroyed by Aeneas’ descendants, and because the Trojan prince Ganymede was chosen
to be the cup-bearer to the gods, replacing Juno’s own daughter, Hebe. For all these reasons,
Juno bribes Aeolus, god of the winds, with the offer of Deiopea (the loveliest of all the sea
nymphs) as a wife, and Aeolus releases the winds to stir up a huge storm, which devastates
Aeneas’ fleet.
Although himself no friend of the Trojans, Neptune is infuriated by Juno’s intrusion into his
domain, and stills the winds and calms the waters, allowing the fleet to take shelter on the coast
of Africa, near Carthage, a city recently founded by Phoenician refugees from Tyre. Aeneas,
after encouragement from his mother, Venus, soon gains the favour of Dido, Queen of
Carthage.
At a banquet in honour of the Trojans, Aeneas recounts the events which led upto their arrival,
beginning shortly after the events described in “The Iliad”. He tells of how the crafty
Ulysses(Odysseus in Greek) devised a plan for Greek warriors to gain entry into Troy by hiding
in a large wooden horse. The Greeks then pretended to sail away, leaving Sinon to tell the
Trojans that the horse was an offering and that if it were taken into the city, the Trojans would
be able to conquer Greece. The Trojan priest, Laocoön, saw through the Greek plot and urged
the horse’s destruction, but he and both his sons were attacked and eaten by two giant sea
snakes in an apparently divine intervention.
The Trojans brought the wooden horse inside the city walls, and after nightfall the armed
Greeks emerged and began to slaughter the city’s inhabitants. Aeneas valiantly tried to fight off
the enemy, but he soon lost his comrades and was was advised by his mother, Venus, to flee
with his family. Although his wife, Creusa, was killed in the melée, Aeneas managed to escape
with his son, Ascanius, and his father, Anchises. Rallying the other Trojan survivors, he built a
fleet of ships, making landfall at various locations in the Mediterranean, notably Aenea in
Thrace, Pergamea in Crete and Buthrotum in Epirus. Twice they attempted to build a new city,
only to be driven away by bad omens and plagues. They were cursed by the Harpies (mythical
creatures that are part woman and part bird), but they also unexpectedly encountered friendly
countrymen.
In Buthrotum, Aeneas met Hector’s widow, Andromache, as well as Hector’s brother, Helenus,
who had the gift of prophecy. Helenus prophesied that Aeneas should seek out the land of Italy
(also known as Ausonia or Hesperia), where his descendants would not only prosper, but in
time would come to rule the entire known world. Helenus also advised him to visit the Sibyl in
Cumae, and Aeneas and his fleet set off towards Italy, making first landfall in Italy at Castrum
Minervae. However, on rounding Sicily and making for the mainland, Juno raised up a storm
which drove the fleet back across the sea to Carthage in North Africa, thus bringing Aeneas’
story up to date.
Through the machinations of Aeneas’ mother Venus, and her son, Cupid, Queen Dido of
Carthage falls madly in love with Aeneas, even though she had previously sworn fidelity to her
late husband, Sychaeus (who had been murdered by her brother Pygmalion). Aeneas is inclined
to return Dido’s love, and they do become lovers for a time. But, when Jupiter sends Mercury to
remind Aeneas of his duty and his destiny, he has no choice but to leave Carthage.
Heart-broken, Dido commits suicide by stabbing herself on a funeral pyre with Aeneas’ own
sword, predicting in her death throes eternal strife between Aeneas’ people and hers. Looking
back from the deck of his ship, Aeneassees the smoke of Dido’s funeral pyre and knows its
meaning only too clearly. However, destiny calls him, and the Trojan fleet sails on towards Italy.
They return to Sicily to hold funeral games in honour of Aeneas’ father, Anchises, who had died
before Juno’s storm blew them off course. Some of the Trojan women, tired of the seemingly
endless voyage, begin to burn the ships, but a downpour puts the fires out. Aeneas is
sympathetic, though, and some of the travel-weary are allowed to stay behind in Sicily.
Eventually, the fleet lands on the mainland of Italy, and Aeneas, with the guidance of the Sibyl
of Cumae, descends into the underworld to speak with the spirit of his father, Anchises. He is
given a prophetic vision of the destiny of Rome, which helps him to better understand the
importance of his mission. On returning to the land of the living, at the end of Book VI, Aeneas
leads the Trojans to settle in the land of Latium, where he is welcomed and begins to court
Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus.
The second half of the poem begins with the break out of war between the Trojans and the
Latins. Although Aeneas has tried to avoid war, Juno had stirred up trouble by convincing
Queen Amata of the Latins that her daughter Lavinia should be married to a local suitor, Turnus,
the king of the Rutuli, and not Aeneas, thus effectively ensuring war. Aeneas goes to seek
military support among the neighbouring tribes who are also enemies of Turnus, and Pallas, son
of King Evander of Arcadia, agrees to lead troops against the other Italians. However, while the
Trojan leader is away, Turnus sees his opportunity to attack, and Aeneas returns to find his
countrymen embroiled in battle. A midnight raid leads to the tragic deaths of Nisus and his
companion Euryalus, in one of the most emotional passages in the book.
In the battle that follows, many heroes are killed, notably Pallas, who is killed by Turnus;
Mezentius (Turnus’ friend, who had inadvertently allowed his son to be killed while he himself
fled), who is killed by Aeneas in single combat; and Camilla, a sort of Amazon character
devoted to the goddess Diana, who fights bravely but is eventually killed, which leads to the
man who killed her being struck dead by Diana’s sentinel, Opis.
A short-lived truce is called and a hand-to-hand duel is proposed between Aeneas and Turnus
in order to spare any further unnecessary carnage. Aeneas would have easily won, but the truce
is broken first and full-scale battle resumes. Aeneas is injured in the thigh during the fighting, but
he returns to the battle shortly afterwards.
When Aeneas makes a daring attack on the city of Latium itself (causing Queen Amata to hang
herself in despair), he forces Turnus into single combat once more. In a dramatic scene, Turnus’
strength deserts him as he tries to hurl a rock, and he is struck by Aeneas’ spear in the leg.
Turnus begs on his knees for his life, and Aeneas is tempted to spare him until he sees that
Turnus is wearing the belt of his friend Pallas as a trophy. The poem ends with Aeneas, now in
a towering rage, killing Turnus.