Troy's chieftain, Aeneas, begins to tell Queen
the story of the sack of Troy:
"Your Majesty, the pain you tell me to revive is not something that can easily be spoken of - how the Greeks overthrew the wealth of Troy and its royal family for which we mourn...
Battered by war, and let down by the fates, with now so many years slipping past, the leaders of the Greeks built a mountain-like
, with the help of the goddess
.
They pretended it was an offering for a safe homeward voyage: this was the rumour that was spread. They packed the vast hollow belly with armed troops.
The Greeks sailed to a near-by island,
, and hid on the deserted shore. We assumed they had gone home to
with the wind behind them. And so the gates were opened: we were pleased to visit the Dorian camp and the abandoned
.
Some of us gasped at the deadly gift from the virgin Minerva, and marvelled at the hugeness of the horse. Thymoetes suggested it be brought inside the walls and left standing on the
: was it through treachery, or was Troy's fate already working against us?
But
had a better idea: he ordered us to push this example of the Greeks' treachery into the sea, or light fires underneath to set it ablaze, or drill into the hollow womb and probe for hiding-places. The people, unsure [what to do], were split into opposing factions.
At the head of a large crowd, in plain view of everyone,
, in a blazing temper, came rushing down from the citadel, and from far off started shouting:
"What colossal madness is this, you pitiful people? ... I fear the Greeks - even when they bring
."
So saying, with tremendous force he hurled his massive
at the horse's side.... And, if the will of the gods had not been against us, and our own will had not faltered, Troy would now be standing.
Suddenly a young stranger, hands chained behind his back, was dragged towards the king. He had deliberately surrendered to them as they approached in order to betray Troy to the Achaeans. Relying on his nerve, he was ready for either outcome; to succeed in his deception, or to face certain death.
He lamented his lack of good fortune because both the
and the
hate him.
Our hearts were won over by his misery, and we encouraged
to tell his story...
The convincing lie that Sinon told explained how Minerva had ordered the Greeks to build the wooden horse to make amends for the desecration of her sacred image, the Palladium. The Palladium, so he said, would have protected Troy as long as it remained inside Troy: so Ulysses and Diomedes stole it, but spoiled the whole operation by killing some guards and touching the sacred statue with
still on their hands. They now had to leave the wooden horse and return to
, in order to begin the whole expedition afresh.
The horse had been deliberately made too big to pass through the
into Troy, because if the
damaged it their city would be destroyed: while if it were brought into the city intact, Troy would be strong enough to attack the Greeks in their homeland. (Note that Sinon could hardly have used Minerva's name to back up his lies unless she was in fact supporting him.)
The story was believed, and we were led captive by tricks and crocodile tears.
At this point another horrendous blow was delivered to us, which shocked our unsuspecting minds.
, chosen by lot as priest of
was sacrificing a huge bull at the altar. Suddenly twin
made for the beach, their blazing eyes flecked with blood and fire as they licked their hissing jaws with flickering tongues. First each one enfolded one of his two small
, and devoured them. After this, they seized
himself...
People said that he deserved to have paid for his crime, for damaging the sacred wood with his spear. They clamoured for the horse to be towed to its rightful position, and for the goddess's power to be appeased.
We cut through the walls and exposed the buildings of the city. The horse came to rest menacingly in the centre of the city.
The Trojans, scattered along the fortifications, were quiet and slept. And now the Argive fleet was making for the familiar landing-places. The king's ship displayed a fire-signal, and
released the Danaans. They entered a city buried in
and
. The sentries were cut down, once the gates were open, they welcomed in all their forces, as planned.
In my sleep I was visited by
, ragged and bloody. He told me Troy was doomed, That I should escape taking with me the
gods and the eternal fire of Vesta.
I was roused from my sleep, I ran up on to the highest part of the roof and understood the Greeks' treachery. was revealed. I grabbed up my weapons.
The only safe place for the
is where there is no hope of safety.
An ancient city, for centuries ruler of an empire, fell. Everywhere lay corpses - in the streets, in the houses, in the temples. And it was not only the Trojans who were paying the price with their blood; and it was the turn of the victorious
to fall.
The first Greek to bump into us casually assumed we were friendly troops. We charged, and overwhelmed them with a rush of weapons - we massacred them, and put on Greek armour.
We saw Priam's daughter,
, being dragged by the hair from the actual temple of
.
Guided by the shouting, we made straight for
‘s palace. Here we saw a truly epic battle - in comparison with this the fights elsewhere were nothing.
Now I was the only survivor. Suddenly I see her, standing by the door of Vesta's shrine and hiding quietly in this secret place -
. I turned wildly upon her, but at that moment, clear, before my eyes my loving
came and said:
"Isn't your priority to go back to your own home, where you left your father, old and exhausted, or to find out if your wife,
is alive, and your young son,
.
You must not blame the hated beauty of
, or even Paris. It was the gods who showed no mercy; it is they who are casting Troy down from her splendour and power. Over there stands the goddess
most furious in the van before the Scaean Gates,on the citadel‘s height sits Tritonian Pallas, light glaring from her garment of cloud and the merciless Gorgon-head on her breast and even the Supreme Father gives renewed courage, strength and victory to the Greeks, and inspires the gods themselves to fight against the arms of Troy. Son, make your escape." She finished vanished into the dense shadows of the night.
But when I reached my father‘s home, he, whom l had been dearly hoping to carry high up into the mountains, refused to go on living in exile after Troy had been razed from the earth. We on our side, my wife
, our son,
, and all our household, wept bitterly and told him with entreaties that he, the head of our family, must not dream of dragging all our hopes down. But he still refused.
”Were you," I said, ”my own father, really expecting me to leave the house and desert you here? Could a father‘s lips have expressed so shocking a thought ? ... Let me return to the battle and fight once more. We shall not all die this day unavenged!"
But as I was on the point of leaving the house, there in the doorway was
. She stopped me, and holding out our little son
to his father. ”If," she cried, ”you go forth to die, take us also, quickly, to face with you whatever may happen.... your first care should be the defence of our home here.
Suddenly a miracle occurred. For between their hands as they held him, the light cap worn by the little boy caught fire, and a bright
, harmless to the touch, licked his
, and played about his forehead. We tried to put out the holy fire with water. But my father
raised his eyes to the stars in joy, and said, ”Jupiter Almighty, look down on us this once.... and confirm this sign."
With a sudden crash came
on the left, and a
slid from the sky through the dark and darted downwards in brilliant light.
My
was convinced. ”Ah, there is no reluctance now. I follow, Gods of our Race, and wherever you lead, there shall I be. Save our house; and save my grandson. And, son, for my part, I give way. I consent to go at your side."
”Well then, dear Father, I said, ”come now, you must let them lift you onto my back. Iulus must walk beside me, and my wife shall follow at a safe distance.
Now, my servants, attend to what I say... We shall meet at the deserted shrine of
.
Now you, father, take up the
, our holy symbols. I cannot touch them without sin, for coming as I do straight from the fury of war, I have fresh
still on my hands.
I took up my burden. Young
linked his hand in mine, and followed his father. Behind came my wife.
I was now frightened by every puff of wind: every sound had me holding my breath - scared equally for my companion and my burden. And now I was nearing the gates and seemed to have passed safely along every street, when suddenly I thought I heard the regular sound of marching feet approaching, and
, peering through the blackness, shouted "Son! Run, my son, they're getting closer!"
(The fact that Aeneas obeys his father, rather than worry about his wife and child, is due greatly to the Roman respect for the
)
I ran, I lost direction, and when we came to the meeting place my wife alone was missing. I returned to Troy, to our house, to the palace, I called out her name.
(Aeneas' sudden loss of control and crazy behaviour is due to the emotion, in Latin, of
)
Suddenly her
appeared, told me her death is the gods' will, and foresees my settling in the distant
Land (Hesperia) where I will have happiness and a kingdom... I tried
times to embrace her.
I returned to my comrades, to find many new arrivals, all ready for me to lead them. With the new day there was no hope of rescue. In resignation I lifted my
and moved towards the mountains.