book 2 of the aeneid

what is the overall summary of book 2?

aeneas retells the fall of troy

- sinon tricks the trojans into letting the wooden horse in and open the gates to the greeks

- hector appears to aeneas in a dream telling him to leave

- aeneas escapes with his father on his back carrying the household gods and his son at his feet- his wife creusa was lost and her ghost told aeneas to find a new wife

who is achilles?

greek leader of the myrmadons, son of thetis (goddess) and peleas

who is agamemnon?

leader of the Greek army at Troy (king of the greeks

menelaus' brother

who is diomede?

ferocious greek warrior, stabs venus and aries

who is Hector?

son of priam, prince of troy, killed by achilles, leader of the trojan horse

Who is Menelaus?

helen's original husband, king of sparta, loses helen to priam, leads greek army to march on troy which sparks the trojan war

he survives the Trojan War and is granted immortality, living peacefully in the Elysian Fields with Helen.

who is priam?

king of troy, father of paris and hector,

murdered at the alter by achilles son Pyhrrus

who is neoptolemus?

also named Pyhrrus, achille's son

who is ulysses?

odysseus - first person to climb out of the trojan horse

who opens the trojan horse?

odysseus

who inspires the greeks to build the trojan horse?

pallas athene

(other versions claim it was odysseus' idea)

which greek argues against the trojan horse being taken into troy?

Laocoon - thinks i is a weapon or that there may be greeks hiding inside - throws a spear into the side of the horse

who is sinon?

Greek warrior who helped deceive the Trojans

who does sinon claim he is to the trojans?

He pretended to have been abandoned by the Greeks and was left behind to die by Odysseus, his enemy. He claimed that the Trojan Horse was a gift to the gods to ensure their safe return home.

-includes information about agamemnon sacraficing his own daughter for the good of troy to build credibility and pity

what is the trojan palladium?

- a wooden statue of pallas athena which fell from heaven to answer ascanius' prayers to protect troy when it was first created - divine protection which meant the city couldn't fall if the palladium was inside it

how does sinon convince the trojans to allow them to accept the horse within troy's walls?

- claims that after odysseus and diomedes stole the palladium the gods may have sent the horse as a replacement to protect troy from falling and will make them invincible in the future archaean invasion

- tells them that if they destroy the horse ""total destruction shall fall upon the empire of priam and the trojans

what greater sign is sent to the trojans after sinon deceives them?

laocoon and his two sons were killed by 2 giant serpents

-sent by the gods as punishment for throwing a spear at the wooden horse and interfering with fate (he trojans took it as a sign that if they didn't take in the horse then they would be severely punished)

who is laocoon?

Trojan priest who warns against the Trojan horse and gets killed by serpents

what famous quote does laocoon say?

"i am afraid of greeks, even when they bear gifts"

how does hector appear in aeneas' dream?

like he's been killed (odessey reference)

- achilles mutilated him by dragging him around behind his chariot after killing him -> people look in the afterlife the same way they did as they died

what does hector tell aeneas to do?

flee the falling Troy and take with him the sacred gods of the city (penates) to found a new city.

what does aeneas do after hearing troy is falling?

climbs onto the roof, puts his armour on and rushes into battle disguises himself as a greek warrior -> the battle turns against him as he deviates from the "good" roman standards and adopts greek traits similar to odysseus in combat - karmically punished

what does Panthus (trojan priest) tell aeneas?

" the trojans are no more " -> tells him that the greeks are coming in from the horse and the gates are opened and greeks are flooding in

-> aeneas responds by rushing wildly into battle with his friends

how is aeneas described rushing into battle?

" like wolves foraging blindly " -> in a sense of furor, emotion driven, doesn't end well for him

- extended simile of wolves -> animalistic, wild animals with savage, primal, unconcious desires - id

- wolves are sacred to the founding of rome (romulus and remus) - seen to be heroic and a necessary step into achieving true heroism and greatness

who is Coroebus?

trojan soldier who suggests the trojans take the greeks armour and pretend to be greek -> they follow his advice but face setbacks

- means that they can fight the greeks easier but may mean that trojans view them as a threat and attack them

what is geras?

spoils of war that soldiers who have killed someone else have the rights to

what is the symbolism of the trojans wearing greek armour (and the fight being turned against them)

- symbolises straying from roman traditions and adopting greek characteristics is dangerous and may cause divine punishment

- symbolises betrayal

- leaving roman characteristics is foolish and bound to end in disaster and punishment

who is cassandra?

A daughter of Priam whose prophecies always come true but are never believed - foresaw the fall of troy but was not believed

-sought shelter at the temple of minerva but was abducted and raped by ajax the lesser (greek warrior)

why was coroebus so upset at cassandra's abduction?

-he was in love with cassandra and was going to marry her

- he consiquentially rushed blindly into battle in a frenzy, was killed by Peneleus

what is the citadel?

a fortress, typically on high ground, protecting or dominating a city when attacked -> used as a last resort and is usually the last thing that falls

how do aeneas, iphius and pelias enter priams palace to escape?

through a secret passage at the rear

who is pyrrhus?

greek soldier

Son of Achilles (now deceased),

described as a "snake fed on poisonous herbs" - shows he is extremely dangerous

- poisonous herbs could symbolise the greek culture he has adopted has corrupted him

"no bolts or guards could hold him"

what do the remaining members of the trojan royal family do?

-flee their burning palace and go to the altar in hope that the gods may protect them (and the greeks wouldn't want to kill them on the altar in anticipation of the god's anger)

how does Pyrrhus kill king priam and his son polites?

at the alter - kills polites while running to the alter infront of priam and his mother's very eyes - "vomited his life's blood before their eyes"

-then kills Priam by draggin him by the hair "through pools of his son's blood" and stabbed him with a sword and "buried it to the hilt in priam's side"

how does Priam condemn Pyrrhus' actions when being murdered?

- says he is less respectful than his father achilles who gave hector's body back

- condemns him for "defiling a father's face with the murder of his son" -> barbaric, unneccessary

what effect does Priam's death have on aeneas?

reminds him of his family, remembers that he left them behind

- all of his men had been killed in battle of by theirselves

who does aeneas see hiding at the doors of the temple of vesta?

Helen -> initially wants to kill her as he feels she sparked the trojan war and the reason the greeks marched on the trojans was to get her back

-venus appears and claims that divine intervention is to blame for the war, not helen

- decides not to kill her as his mother venus wanted to protect helen and keep her promise to paris

- doesn't want to kill her inside a temple

- doesn't want to intervene with the god's plans for her

what does venus show aeneas?

- persuades him to flee troy and go to his father's house

- shows him a vision of all the gods helping the greeks destroy troy - fated to fall

-jupiter is battling with the greeks, neptune loosening walls with earthquakes, juno destroyed the gates, minerva intimidated trojans with gorgan sheilds

why did anchises (aeneas' father) not want to leave troy?

claims that if the gods had wanted him to live they wouldn't have allowed the war - claims he would rather kill himself to die nobely

what sign is sent from the gods after creusa convinces aeneas with their son not to go back into battle and die avenging troy?

a fire appears from the child's head but does not burn him - anchises starts to celebrate and becomes willing to leave troy

what configuration does aeneas and his family do?

-father on aeneas' back carrying the household gods (aeneas' hands are impure from the blood of battle)

- ascanius walking at their side

- creusa left behind

all 3 sons pietas is rewarded with escape and a hopeful future -> the image of good roman values

what is aeneas' reaction to realising creusa is left behind?

retraces his steps, shouts her name

- in danger of greeks - emotional, impetuous

how does creusa appear before aeneas?

as a ghost -> tells aeneas that she is the ghost of his past and that he will find a new and better wife in the new kingdom he will found

- it is the fault of the gods not aeneas that she died

"three times i tried to put my arms around her neck" - helpless, pityful, links to passage in the oddessey - imagery of regret and not being able to hold loved ones

what is the symbolism behind creusa's death?

ironic - she has to comfort aeneas despite being dead

- as with most women in the aeneid she is simply a pawn in the god's plan for aeneas' destiny, placeholder for aeneas' future wife

- her death represents the fall of troy and the death of aeneas' old life as he moves onto dido and later lavinia

-symbolises fate and how the past must be foresaken in order to progress into and secure a more prosperous future

what is the significance of the fall of troy?

-shows the ruining of a civilisation built from greed and power - the burning symbolised purity and foreshadows new life rising from the ashes -> an essential purge which will help aeneas fulfill his destiny

-the birth of a new city will be from bravery, survival, pietas and the search for the greater good which will grow for centuries and last longer

what is the significance of the fall of troy being told from the loser's perpective?

Virgil writes a characteristically even handed account, so that both losers and winners earn our sympathy and respect - wants to evoke pity and sorrow for the victims - claims even the greeks would feel bad for them

-minimises humiliation for trojans by including genuine reason for accepting the horse and characters who saw through the greek's deceivement

Aeneas emphasizes the irrelevance of mortal concerns in the face of divine will

literary techniques in book 2

Aeneas's personally narrating the Trojans's adventures gives an intimacy to his story that would be lacking if it were told by a third-person narrator -> past tense personal account- feels like a personal memory, shows humane, relatable struggles

-pathos and emotive language