Section 10 · lines 246–253
Cassandra; night falls · Aeneid II · GCSE Latin · OCR J282/05
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativeAblativePrepositionConjunctionAdverb
Latin
English
246tūnc ĕtĭām fātīs ăpĕrīt Cāssāndră fŭtūris
247ōrā, deī iūssū nōn ūmquām crēdĭtă Teūcrīs.
246Even then Cassandra opens her lips to tell of the fates to come,
247she who, by the god's command, was never believed by the Trojans.
248nōs dēlūbră dĕūm mĭsĕrī, quĭbŭs ūltĭmŭs ēsset
249īllĕ dĭēs, fēstā vēlāmūs frōndĕ pĕr ūrbem.
248We poor wretches, for whom that day was to be the last,
249deck the shrines of the gods with festive garlands throughout the city.
250vērtĭtŭr īntĕrĕā caēlum͜ ēt rŭĭt ōcĕănō nōx,
251īnvōlvēns ūmbrā māgnā tērrāmquĕ pŏlūmque
252Mȳrmĭdŏnūmquĕ dŏlōs; fūsī pēr moēnĭă Teūcri
253cōntĭcŭērĕ, sŏpōr fēssōs cōmplēctĭtŭr ārtus:
250Meanwhile the sky turns and night rushes from the Ocean
251enveloping with its great shadow both the earth and the heavens
252and the deceit of the Myrmidons; sprawled throughout the city
253the Trojans fell silent; sleep embraces their weary limbs.
Style notes this section · 19Word order · 11Repetition and structure · 1Imagery and tone · 2Grammar · 5
246
fatis futurisFraming word order
the coming fates
fatis and futuris frame the line around Cassandra herself, so she is surrounded by the doom she foresees.
246
aperitHistoric present
opens
The present tense makes Cassandra's warning vivid, even though no one listens.
247
non umquamEmphatic negative
never
non umquam ("not ever") is stronger than a simple "never", which stresses the cruelty of her curse.
248
nos miseriHyperbaton
we wretched (Trojans)
nos opens the line and miseri comes later, so Aeneas lingers over the pitiful picture of his people.
248
miseriPathos
wretched
Aeneas calls his people "wretched", looking back with the knowledge of what was to come, so the reader feels his grief.
248
ultimusSuperlative
the last
It was Troy's last day, yet the Trojans celebrate it: a sharp dramatic irony.
249
festa frondeFraming word order
with festive foliage
festa and fronde frame the verb, so the garlands seem to wrap around the whole action.
249
velamusHistoric present
we wreathe
The present tense shows the festive garlands being hung, which makes the irony more painful.
249
per urbemEmphatic position
through the city
The phrase ends the sentence, stressing that the whole city is celebrating its own destruction.
250
vertiturEmphatic position
turns
Opening with "turns" marks a change of time and scene: the day is over.
250
vertiturHistoric present
turns
The present tense makes nightfall feel immediate and threatening.
250
ruitEmphatic position
rushes
The verb comes before its subject, so night seems to rush in suddenly.
250
ruitHistoric present
rushes
The present tense makes the coming of night swift and dramatic.
250
noxEmphatic position
night
nox ends the line with a single heavy syllable, so darkness falls with a thud.
251
involvensEmphatic position
wrapping
The participle opens the line, so we feel the night wrapping everything up before we learn what it covers.
251
caelum, polumVariatio
sky ... heaven
Virgil uses two different words for the sky, which avoids repetition and makes the darkness seem to fill the whole heavens.
252
dolosEmphatic position
the tricks
dolos ends its phrase, so the Greek trickery is the last thing the night covers: it hides the danger along with everything else.
253
conticuereEnjambment
fell silent
The verb is carried over to the final line, which brings the passage to rest. It also echoes conticuere, the first word of Book 2, closing the set text with a ring.
253
fessos artusFraming word order
weary limbs
fessos and artus frame sleep's embrace, so sleep wraps around the Trojans just as the snakes wrapped around Laocoön.
Notes on the text 4
247
dei iussuNote
Apollo granted Cassandra the ability to predict the future to convince her to sleep with him, when she changed her mind, he cursed her to never be believed.
247
TeucrisThe Trojans
by the Trojans
The Teucri are the Trojans, named after Teucer, one of the first kings of Troy.
249
festa velamus frondeFestive garlands
we wreathe with festive foliage
Hanging leafy garlands on temples was what people did at festivals of thanksgiving. The Trojans believe the war is over and are giving thanks to the gods.
252
Myrmidonumque dolosThe Myrmidons
and the tricks of the Myrmidons
The Myrmidons were Achilles' soldiers, led at Troy after his death by his son Neoptolemus. Here they stand for the Greeks in general, hidden in the horse.
Questions to think about · 4
- How does Virgil make the Trojans' celebrations seem tragic in lines 248–249?
- How does the description of nightfall in lines 250–253 build tension?
- Looking back over the whole set text, who or what is most to blame for the fall of Troy: the Greeks, the gods, or the Trojans themselves?
- How does Virgil make us sympathise with the Trojans even as they make terrible mistakes?
What happens next background
The set text ends with Troy asleep. Later that night the Greek fleet sails back from the island of Tenedos, where it had been hiding, and Sinon lets the Greek warriors out of the horse. They kill the guards and open the gates to their army.
The ghost of Hector appears to Aeneas in a dream and tells him to flee and take Troy's gods with him. Aeneas fights at first, but after seeing King Priam killed he escapes, carrying his old father Anchises on his shoulders and leading his young son Ascanius by the hand. His wife Creusa is lost in the confusion, and her ghost tells him of the new home that awaits him in the west.
Vocabulary in this section · 47 wordsVocabulary tester
tunc (adv.) then
etiam (adv.) even, also
fatum, -i (n.) fate
aperio, -ire, aperui, apertum open
Cassandra, -ae (f.) Cassandra
futurus, -a, -um future, about to be
os, oris (n.) mouth, lips
deus, -i (m.) god
iussus, -us (m.) order, command
non (adv.) not
umquam (adv.) ever
credo, -ere, credidi, creditum believe
Teucri, -orum (m. pl.) the Trojans
nos, nostrum we
delubrum, -i (n.) shrine
miser, -era, -erum wretched
qui, quae, quod who
ultimus, -a, -um last
sum, esse, fui be
ille, illa, illud that
dies, -ei (m.) day
festus, -a, -um festive
velo, -are, -avi, -atum cover, wreathe
frons, frondis (f.) foliage, leaves
per (prep. + acc.) through
urbs, urbis (f.) city
verto, -ere, verti, versum turn
interea (adv.) meanwhile
caelum, -i (n.) sky, heaven
et (conj.) and
ruo, -ere, rui, rutum rush
oceanus, -i (m.) Ocean
nox, noctis (f.) night
involvo, -ere, -volvi, -volutum wrap, envelop
umbra, -ae (f.) shadow
magnus, -a, -um great
terra, -ae (f.) + -que earth; both
polus, -i (m.) + -que sky, heaven; and
Myrmidones, -um (m. pl.) + -que the Myrmidons (Achilles' men); and
dolus, -i (m.) trick, deceit
fundo, -ere, fudi, fusum pour, spread out
moenia, -ium (n. pl.) walls, city
conticesco, -ere, conticui fall silent
sopor, -oris (m.) deep sleep
fessus, -a, -um tired, weary
complector, -i, complexus sum embrace
artus, -us (m.) limb