Aeneid Books 5-7 content questions

Latin IV

Who gets the Trojan women to burn their ships? 

Juno

Who wins the boxing competition?

Entellus

Why does Nisus NOT win the foot race?

He slips on sacrificial blood

Why does Aeneas hold several days of celebrations in Eryx?

To commemorate the anniversary of his father’s death

In Book 5, how does Cloanthus finish first in the boat race?

He prays to Neptune for divine help

What is so special about Acestes and the archery contest?

His arrow defies gravity and soars to the heavens

Whom does Aeneas leave behind in Sicily?

The oldest, weakest, and most unwilling members of his party

Why does Palinurus die on the voyage to Italy?

Neptune demanded a sacrifice

Why does Aeneas believe the sacrifice to his father’s shade/spirit has been well-received?

A snake slides from Anchises’ funeral shrine and tastes all of the offerings

What does the ghost of Anchises tell Aeneas he must do before going to Latium?

Visit the underworld

What prophecy does the Sibyl, Apollo’s priestess, give Aeneas?

new wars, and a new Achilles, await Aeneas in Italy

The Sibyl tells Aeneas that in order to go down to the underworld, he must first

pluck a golden bough, bury his friend Minsenus, and sacrifice black animals

How do the souls of the dead cross the river Styx?

the ferryman Charon takes them across on his boat

Aeneas meets his helmsman Palinurus, who had been knocked overboard, then killed when he came ashore. Palinurus cannot enter Hades because

his corpse has not been buried

In the Fields of Mourning, Aeneas meets Dido. He attempts to placate her, and Dido responds by

fleeing from Aeneas, without a word, to rejoin her husband Sychaeus

Among men famous in war, Aeneas meets Deiphobus, son of Priam. Deiphobus has been

mutilated by Menelaus after being betrayed by Helen

In the underworld, the wicked

are imprisoned in Tartarus and severely punished

In the Blessed Groves, Aeneas meets his father Anchises. Anchises tells Aeneas that the souls of the dead

are reborn after a thousand years have passed

Anchises shows Aeneas

the souls of famous Roman leaders yet to be born

Anchises tells Aeneas that the Romans will

impose the rule of law, spare the conquered, and battle down the proud

Whose temple does Aeneas go to when they reach Italy?

Apollo’s

How does Aeneas find the tree with the golden bough?

A pair of doves lead him to it

Whose souls does Charon refuse to ferry across the river?

people whose bodies were not buried properly

Who does Aeneas see in the Fields of Mourning?

Dido

What future event does Anchises show Aeneas?

the rise of the Roman Empire

Which river do the Trojans reach as they near Latium?

The Tiber

What is the significance of the Trojans’ meal of bread and fruit?

they eat their tables, as the harpy predicted

What does Latinus offer Aeneas in addition to land?

his daughter

Who angers the natives against the Trojans?

Allecto

How does Ascanius inadvertently start the war?

he shoots a favored stag of Latinus’ herdsman

Who is the queen and wife of Latinus? She is the mother of Lavinia. She prefers Turnus rather than Aeneas.

Amata

Who is the daughter of Latinus? Her marriage to Aeneas fulfills the prophecy. Their descendants become the founders of Rome.

Lavinia

Who is Allecto?

A fury commanded by Juno to cause trouble for the Trojans

Earlier in the story, there was a prophecy that Aeneas and his men would not reach their destination until they had first eaten their tables. In what ways does the prophecy come true?

Aeneas and his men eat fruit that was on top of hard loaves of stale bread. Then, still being hungry, they eat the bread, which was formerly used as “tables” for the fruit.

What animal does Ascanius hunt and kill in the woods? This event increases the tension leading to full war with Turnus.

stag/hart/deer

Who is Bellona?

goddess of war

Who is Hecuba?

wife of Priam and Queen of Troy

In this passage, “Venus’ own child is a second Paris” is a reference to whom?

Aeneas

Who is Camilla?

A Volscian female warrior

Who is Bacchus?

Roman god of wine