Book VII

Aeneid Book VII - This is not a very important book in the Aeneid. It tells the early part of the story of

Aeneas' landing in Latium, his final destination. A description is provided of the major characters from the

new land who will now influence the action. Aeneas and his men go to great lengths to make friends with

the locals, but the book ends with everyone on the peninsula, both foreigners and locals preparing for war.

Vergil imitated Homer, that's no secret. In the Iliad Homer introduced the catalog to the epic form. Homer's

catalog was of the 1,000 ships that sailed to Troy to retrieve Helen. Book VII has Vergil's catalog, a list and

brief description of all the famous warriors preparing to do battle.

Questions

1. Book VII opens with the funeral of _____________, Aeneas' nurse.

2. ___________ made it possible for Aeneas to miss the island of Circe, the witch who lured in sailors, then

turned them into various kinds of animals.

3. The Muse of Desire that Vergil calls on to help with Book VII is ___________.

4. In Latium, King __________ has a daughter named ___________, who is

engaged to be married to __________, a Rutulian, and this marriage arrangement is enthusiastically

supported by Queen __________.

5. Whose head caught on fire but was not harmed?

6. The Oracle of Faunus, the king's father, said this meant what?

7. Anchises, Aeneas' father, had told him that he would know when they had reached their final destination

when the Trojans ate their tables. This happens in Book VII. What were the tables made out of?

8. Who made the rather innocent sounding comment about them eating their tables?

9. The King of Latium is a descendant of what old god?

10. How does this tie in with the eating of the tables?

11. Arriving in Latium, Italy, means the Trojan race has come full circle. Years before, the father of the

Trojan race, ____________, had been born in Latium and had set out from there to seek his fortune on

distant shores.

12. This explains why the Trojan ambassador Ilioneus tells the king that Aeneas and his men have come

by the gods to _______ _______ _______.

13. When the king pledges undying friendship to the Trojans, Juno became enraged and decided to cause

war and strife among the peoples. To accomplish this Juno selects the Fury, ___________.

14. This Fury was the daughter of __________?

15. Allecto flies to the court of the Queen of Latium. What does Allecto pluck from her head and drop

down the bosom of the queen?

16. What effect does this have on the queen?

17. Allecto next flies to ___________ disguised as ___________, the priestess of Juno.

18. The disguise fails, but Allecto succeeds by hurling what object at his chest?

19. What does he do next?

20. Allecto next flies to the camp of the Trojans and succeeds in starting a war when the Trojan ________

unknowingly kills the pet __________ of Silvia, a Latin.

21. Allecto flies to Juno and brags of her accomplishments. Allecto wants to do more, but Juno sends her

back to __________ where she came from, instead.

22. King __________ remains friendly in spirit to the Trojans, but he must give in to the calls of the people

for war. When he refuses to open the Twin Gates of War, who does it for him?

23. The face of what god is mounted on the Gates of War?

24. In Vergil's Catalog of Warriors that follows, 15 warriors are mentioned. Who is first? Who is last?

25. What is significant about the last warrior?