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Aeneid Book II: Aeneas Tells Dido

  1. Who is Aeneas?
  1. Which side left the horse on the shore?
  1. Why was the other side mistrustful of the horse?
  1. How big was the horse?
  1. What was the name of the man who was found who could explain the horse?
  1. What soldier from his native country appeared to be malicious towards him?
  1. What is ironic about the fact that this story is told from the city of Carthange to Queen Dido?
  1. How did Sinon convince his opponents that the horse was safe?

“Aeneas Escape From Troy”

  1. Who kills King Priam?
  1. When the hero of this story decides that Troy will not recover from this attack, where does he return to?
  1. Who does he see hiding by an altar in the street on his way home?
  1. Who stops him from killing this person?
  1. What prophecy does this person give to him?
  1. Of these three names, circle the name of our hero’s son…Aeneas, Ascanius, Anchises, Anius.
  1. When he returns home, who doesn’t want to flee the city?
  1. When they do flee the city, describe how the hero leads his family out. (Physically. Who is holding on to whom and who is where.)
  1. When the family finally escapes the city, who from the family is missing?
  1. What does our hero do?
  1. How does he find the missing person?
  1. What message does the missing person give to him?

Bonus: What is Jupiter’s nick name?

What is Janus the god of and what two English words do we get from it?

“Death of Priam”

Answer these questions in as much detail as you possibly can.

  1. How does Virgil describe Priam as a pitiful old man?
  1. What is so scandalous about how Pyrrhus kills Polites?
  1. Describe Priam’s chastisement of Pyrrhus. What does he say? To whom does he compare him?
  1. Describe the scene in vivid detail when Priam tries to kill Pyrrhus.
  1. Describe the scene in vivid detail when Pyrrhus kills Priam.

“AENEAS SEARCHES FOR A HOME”

  1. What was the first island that Aeneas and his group landed on after they departed Troy?
  1. When Aeneas asks the Oracle of Apollo on Delos where to head, what clue does he get?
  1. How does Anchises interpret that clue?
  1. What do they do once they reach Crete?
  1. What happens to Aeneas group on Crete?
  1. Before they can send back to the Oracle of Apollo on Delos for clarification of their destiny, what word does Aeneas receive in a dream on the island of Crete?

“AENEAS AND QUEEN DIDO”

  1. What is the prequel for the Romulus and Remus story?
  1. After Jupiter comforts Venus that all will be well for Aeneas, who does he send to Carthage to prepare the way for Aeneas and crew so that the people will receive him kindly?
  1. When Aeneas and his friend Achates investigated the land of Carthage, how did they get inside the city gates undetected?
  1. What sight did they see in the temple of Juno that brought them to tears?
  1. While they were in the temple, they first saw Queen Dido. What two things about her caused Aeneas to be thoroughly enraptured?
  1. While Aeneas was watching Dido rule, who wandered into the great temple?
  1. Why didn’t Aeneas immediately go forth and greet his long lost friends?
  1. What was Dido’s response to these sailors?
  1. When the “cloud that had encircled them vanished,” what did Aeneas look like and why?
  1. Why did Dido say that Aeneas and his companions could rest beneath her roof?
  1. When Dido was preparing a huge banquet for Aeneas and his companions, why did Aeneas send for Ascanius? What was he to bring along with him as he came to the banquet?
  1. Why would Venus fear that Juno might “somehow turn the queen and her people against the Trojans?”
  1. What was Venus’ plan to keep this from happening?
  1. Does Venus’ plan work?
  1. What advice does Dido’s sister Anna give to her concerning her love for Aeneas?
  1. What changes came over Dido as a result of her love for Aeneas?
  1. What god because aware of the changes in Carthage as a result of Dido’s love for Aeneas? What did he do about it?
  1. Why doesn’t Aeneas tell Dido that he has to move on?
  1. When Dido confronts Aeneas about leaving, what does Aeneas tell her about his need to leave?
  1. What curse does Dido put upon Aeneas at his departure?
  1. Describe Dido’s plan to take her own life.
  1. Why did Dido want to burn all of Aeneas’ things that he had left behind?
  1. How exactly did she die?
  1. What is the foreshadowing at the end of the story?

Bonus: What is the connection between the word jovial and Jove, mercurial and Mercury?

AENEAS VISITS THE UNDERWORLD

  1. When does Anchises die?
  1. Describe Anchises’ funeral?
  1. What does Anchises tell Aeneas in a dream?
  1. Who does Aeneas have to find for directions to the underworld?
  1. Aeneas is told that it is easy to get into the underworld, but not so easy to get out. What does he have to find as a gift for Prosperine, the queen of the dead?
  1. Who helps Aeneas find this gift?
  1. What is the tone of the passage where Aeneas and Sibyl are traveling deeper and deeper into the cave to find the underworld?
  1. How is that tone achieved?
  1. How does the Greek view of what happens to the unburied body differ from the Roman view?
  1. How does the Sibyl quiet the Cerebus?
  1. When Aeneas sees Dido in the underworld, what excuse does he give about why he left her?
  1. What kind of people are in the good part of the underworld?
  1. What does Anchises tell Aeneas when they meet?

14. Describe Anchises body in the underworld.