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Summarizing Virgil's Aeneid- Book 7

 


Book 7 marks the beginning of the second half of the
Aeneid. The second half recounts Aeneas’ arrival in Italy, as well as the way in which he comes to power there. 

Book 7 begins with the fleet arriving in Italy. They sail up river in search of a good place to land. Meanwhile, we are introduced to King Latinus. His only son is dead, so he is left with his only daughter, Lavinia. She is courted by many men, but the best among them is Turnus. Latinus’ wife is especially interested in Turnus and really wants him to be her son-in-law. However, the gods warn otherwise. After some omens appear, the seer reveals that Lavinia must marry a foreign man, and not marry into a Latin family. After this, Lavinia’s hair catches fire, revealing that she will have a bright future, but a great war would come. This foreshadows the remainder of the Aeneid, which is primarily taken up by war.

While this is happening, Aeneas and the Trojans are feasting in the shade of the trees on

the riverbank. They are eating fruit off of flatbread, and when they run out of fruit, start eating the bread. Ascanius jokes that they are so hungry they are eating their tables, which reminds Aeneas of something his father had told him. His father had said that when they reach a land where their hunger compels them to eat their tables, that is where they need to build their new city. So Aeneas begins building. 

Wanting to avoid conflict with the people already living there, Aeneas sends emissaries to Latinus bearing gifts. Latinus asks what brings them to his lands. Ilioneus, spokesman for the Trojans, tells Latinus that they have come from Troy and just want a strip of land to rebuild their great city. They then present gifts. Latinus sits and thinks for a minute. When Ilioneus had mentioned Aeneas, Latinus realized that Aeneas was meant to marry Lavinia. He, full of joy, gives horses to the Trojans and tells them he wants to meet Aeneas personally.

Things finally seem to be going well for the Trojans, but then Juno sees what’s going on. She is still not finished punishing the Trojans. She gets angry and compares Aeneas to Paris, swooping into a foreign land to steal a bride. She is tired of asking for help from the heavens, since it hasn’t been working out in her favor, so she seeks help from the underworld. She knows she can’t change Aeneas’ fate, but she wants to make it difficult for him to accomplish what he must do. She enlists the help of Allecto, one of the furies, to incite war in the land of Italy.

Allecto, always eager to rile people up, first goes to Latinus’ wife, Amata. She influences 

Amata, reminding her of her love of Turnus. Amata is upset that Latinus would so abruptly break things off with Turnus, who she adores. Allecto fuels Amata’s anger and she confronts Latinus, but Latinus refuses to budge. He knows Lavinia must marry Aeneas. Amata disguises herself as Bacchus as goes through different cities, inciting anger in the women dwelling in those cities. 

Next, Allecto visits Turnus. She disguises herself as one of the priestesses of Juno and talks to him about being rejected by Latinus. She urges him to go to war with Latinus. At first, Turnus refuses, but then Allecto turns back into her true form and uses her power to instill in him a strong, burning desire to fight Latinus. He calls upon his men and the gods and they begin preparations to march against Latinus. 

Allecto’s next target is Ascanius. Ascanius is out hunting and aims at a stag. Allecto 

recognizes the stag as belonging to Sylvia, a daughter of Tyrrhus who was the keeper of the king’s herds in the Rutulian lands. The stag was raised by her and was tame enough to return home every day. Allecto steadies Ascanius’ hand and Ascanius shoots the stag. The stag returns home injured, which causes Sylvia distress, her father is angry, and they gather all of their allies and, influenced by Allecto, move against the Trojans. Once this battle is raging, Allecto returns to Juno.

She reports her deeds to Juno. Juno is pleased and tells her to return to the underworld so the heavens don’t get too angry at her for meddling with things above the ground. Juno is content with what Allecto had been able to accomplish and watches the remaining events begin to unfold.

Tyrrhus’ son was killed in the battle and he and the other shepherds carry his body before Turnus and tell Turnus that Latinus needs to be held accountable for what happened. Latinus’ palace is soon besieged and he, realizing there was nothing he could do to change the course of events, shuts himself inside the palace. 

The rest of book 7 is devoted to listing the various groups who are coming together to 

join Turnus in the fight. There are many pages devoted to this list and it is very detailed and expansive. The final scene of book 7 is Turnus at the head of the army, moving toward Latinus’ lands.

Book 7 begins with what seems like victory for the Trojans. They successfully arrive in Latium, establish good relations with their neighbors, and seem well on their way to finally establishing a new city. However, Juno once again intervenes and throws them into the midst of a great battle. If they are victorious, Italy will finally be theirs.

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Continue to Book 8

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