The Aeneid · Chapter
Book III explained
Aeneas continues his narrative, recounting his voyages from Troy to Carthage.
What happens
Aeneas continues his narrative, recounting his voyages from Troy to Carthage. He describes his ill-fated landing in Thrace, where he discovers the murdered Polydorus; his visit to Delos and the oracle's command to seek the ancestral homeland; a mistaken settlement in Crete corrected by a dream of the household gods; and further travels past the Strophades, Actium, and Epirus, where he meets Helenus and Andromache. He receives prophecies about Italy, narrowly escapes Scylla and Charybdis, lands in Sicily, and finally witnesses the death of his father Anchises.
Themes in this chapter
Exile and Wandering
Aeneas and the Trojans are driven from Troy and wander the seas seeking a new homeland.
Fate and Destiny
The gods' prophecies and omens guide the Trojans' path, despite human suffering and error.
Piety and Duty
Aeneas consistently performs religious rites, consults oracles, and obeys divine commands.
Suffering and Sacrifice
The Trojans endure storms, the loss of comrades, and the death of Anchises in their quest.
Characters to notice
- Aeneas
Narrates his journey from Troy, leads the fleet, consults oracles, and buries Polydorus.
- Anchises
Interprets omens, advises the Trojans, and dies in Sicily.
- Polydorus
Murdered by the Thracian king; his ghost speaks from a myrtle tree.
- Helenus
Trojan prophet who gives Aeneas prophecies and guidance in Epirus.
- Andromache
Widow of Hector, now married to Helenus, mourns her past and welcomes Aeneas.
- Palinurus
The watchful pilot who navigates the fleet through storms and dangers.
- Achates
Faithful companion who first spots the coast of Italy.
- Creüsa
Aeneas's lost wife, mentioned in the context of the fall of Troy.
Key passages
“O sacred hunger of pernicious gold! What bands of faith can impious lucre hold?”
Aeneas laments the destructive power of greed, which led the Thracian king to murder Polydorus for his gold.
Reflects on the moral corruption caused by avarice.
“War, war is threaten'd from this foreign ground, My father cried, where warlike steeds are found.”
Anchises interprets the sight of four white horses as an omen of war, but hopes they may be tamed to signify peace.
Highlights the theme of war and the interpretation of omens.
“Give, O Thymbraeus, give a resting place To the sad relics of the Trojan race; A seat secure, a region of their own, A lasting empire, and a happier town.”
Aeneas prays to Apollo at Delos for a permanent homeland for the exiled Trojans.
Emphasizes the Trojans' longing for a settled future.