The Aeneid : Book III

1. The Aeneid: Book III BY: John Butler, Jon Higuita, and Dustin Zeiler

2. Characters • Aeneas- Protagonist, a paradigm warrior of Troy • Anchises- The father of Aeneas • Polydorus- A deceased son of King Priam • Apollo- God of music, healing, light and prophecy. • Helenus- Son of Priam who has been taken as a war prize. • Andromache- Former wife of Hector who was also taken as a war prize. • Scylla- A six-headed sea monster • Achaemenides- A stranded Greek warrior

3. Summary of Book III • Throughout this entire book, Aeneas is recalling his story to Dido from after the Trojan War ended, up until he meets her. • It starts off with Aeneas rallying up a fleet with his father’s guidance at Antander. He realizes that there is blood coming from the branches of the trees and discovers the corpse of Polydorus. He cries out to Aeneas to leave him be, and then Aeneas finds out that Polydorus was murdered by the city of Thrace. • They held a funeral for Polydurus, and then they left for the island of Delos where Apollo had a meeting with Aeneas. There, he is instructed to go to the land of his ancestors, so they take off for Crete which they believe is where they’re supposed to be going. • While at Crete, they commence building the new city. A plague hits and they think of it like an omen from the gods and postpone the construction. The Gods of Troy speak to Aeneas in a dream when they were sent by Apollo telling him that he was supposed to voyage off to Italy, and NOT Crete.

4. Summary of Book III • Aeneas and his men stop at an island which happens to be the island of the Harpies. Without realizing this, they find cattle and slay them for food. The Harpies come out and censure them and then the warriors attempt to fight off the Harpies. One of the Harpies places a curse on the warriors. After this the Trojans go to the island of Leucata. Aeneas’s crew sails to Buthrotum where they meet up with Helenus and Andromache as captives. Andromache tells them to take a longer route because the quicker route is full of dangers. • On their way to Italy they find a lone Greek soldier named Achaemenides. His friends had been killed by the Cyclopes, so they decide to take the Greek with them on their voyage to Italy. The book closes with Aeneas landing in Drepanum, where he discovers the Death of his father, Anchises.

5. Epic Conventions • Epithets- • Father Mars- Mars • Saturnian Juno- Juno • Almighty Father Jove- Jove • Phoebus Apollo-Apollo • The Furies- The Harpies • God of Thymbra- Apollo

6. God/Goddess Interventions • Prophecy of Apollo • Aeneas’s Dream

7. Most Significant Event • Aeneas’s Dream while at Crete

8. Quotation Analysis • “O Dardan people strong to endure, the land that cradled first your race, from whence you sprung…” • Pg. 64 line 134 • "Gods of land and sea! Powers that rule the storms, look kindly upon us, Give us a fair wind, a breath to speed us!" • Pg. 81 line 737

9. Mortal Analysis • Aeneas- On a search for knowledge, and to build a fresh city.

10. God Analysis • Apollo- Looked upon as more of an oracle than a god of music and light.

11. Foreshadowing • Apollo's’ Prophecy- Shows how he is to build a City at the land of his ancestors.

12. Symbolism • The Black Blood Near Polydorus’ Body • Plague • The Harpies

13. Figurative Language • “You know the signs and the stars, the tongues of the birds…” • “His one huge eye sunk deep in his forehead and as big as an Argive Shield or the very sun of Apollo.” • “The Cyclops is so gigantic he towers to the stars!” • “And we heard the melancholy mighty roar of the sea..” • “And then saw the waves leap up and the smothers of sand in the turbid maelstrom.”

14. Class Discussion • What was the importance of the meeting between Aeneas and Apollo?