After nine days of feasting on the island of Sicily,
Aeneas and his men departed. The south wind blew softly, and the god
of the sea gave them a smooth passage. So they came to the land of Italy,
to Cumae, the dwelling of the Sibyl. The men pushed the ships on to
the beach, making them fast with anchors and ropes.
While they were busy with this, Aeneas went up to the temple.
At the temple, he was met by the Sibyl, who was a prophetess. Aeneas
implored her, "O Lady, I have something
to ask of you. My father, Anchises, has bid me to go down to the place
where he dwells among the dead. Will you, therefore, be my guide to
Hades?"
The Sibyl said, "It is easy to go down to the dwellings of the
dead, but it is hard to come back. Nevertheless, if it is lawful for
you to go, then I will go with you. This is how you will know if it
is lawful. There is, in the very middle of the woods, a tree on which
there grows a branch of gold. If you can find this bough and are able
to pluck it from its place, then you may know that it is lawful for
you to go."
So Aeneas went into the woods. The doves of his mother went before him,
guiding him to the place where the golden bough was growing. When he
saw it, he plucked it and it came off at once. Then he went back to
the Sibyl, and the two went together to the Underworld.
Centaurs stood by the door.
At the dark entrance to the river Styx stood the horrid Hydra,
and Briareus with all his hundred hands. Stepping
past these, the Sibyl and Aeneas climbed aboard Charon's
boat and were led away downstream by the boatman. Aeneas noticed that
the dank musty smell of the
Underworld grew stronger the further downstream they went. On the left
shore Aeneas saw husbands and wives, boys, unmarried maids, and mighty
heroes from the past reaching out their hands toward Aeneas. They moaned
with hollow groans, shrieks and feeble cries as
they crowded the shore. Aeneas watched with curiosity as the boatman
ferried some of the people over to the other
side, but refused others.
"Why are these people moaning?" Aeneas asked the Sibyl. "What
do they want?"
"Those on shore," Sibyl quietly explained, "died without
receiving a proper burial. They must wander on the shore for 100 years.
After that, Charon ferries them over to the other side."
Soon the boatman was
rowing them across the Stygian lake and then left them off at the other
side. Immediately, Aeneas faced Cerberus, the great three-headed dog,
crested with snakes. The beast reared up on his
back legs. His hair bristled as he let out a loud growl. Sibyl threw out
a large piece of bread soaked in honey that she had prepared beforehand.
Cerberus' three greedy, grinning jaws gaped open, and then he lunged at
the bait. A few seconds later he reeled, fell and filled up the entrance
to the spacious cave behind him. Sibyl had soaked the bread not only with
honey, but also with powerful drugs to charm the three-headed guard.They first passed Minos, the strict inquisitor who forgives the just and dooms the guilty souls. Next, they passed the place of punishment where fools repined their wretched state. Beyond the place of punishment Aeneas heard the groans of ghosts, the sounds of lashes and the dragging of chains. At last, they arrived at their desired destination.
Before them lay extended plains of pleasure. Happy souls filled verdant fields. Above them hung a purple sky filled with stars and suns. Some people wrestled on the grass. Others sung heroic songs, while still others recited wondrous poetry. And there, sitting with the poets, sat Aeneas' father.
Aeneas ran to him. Anchises stood and embraced his son. "Welcome, my son," Anchises greeted. "I bless the gods that once more it has been granted me to behold your face!"
Anchises led Aeneas and the Sibyl to a hill. From there Aeneas could see a long procession of people below. Anchises waved his hand toward the throng of people below. "These are people yet to come. They form a procession of your progeny, my son. Notice the first in line."
Aeneas strained forward to see more clearly.
A youth led the group, leaning on a shining spear. "His name is
Silvius," Aeneas' father began. "He will be born of your fair
wife, Lavinia, whom you shall meet in Italy."
It seemed as if they stood on that hill for hours with Anchises pointing
out name after name. Finally he paused, and then pointed once more.
"Ah, see now, Romulus the great. And from his line shall come the
Roman race!"
Aeneas leaned forward again to see more clearly. A tall, handsome youth
in the middle stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Anchises slipped into poetry.
"Two rising crests, his royal head
shall adorn;
born from a god, himself to godhead born!"
Anchises predicted Romulus' birth from the god Mars, and a mortal, Latium
woman. He also predicted that Romulus himself would one day become a
god. "And now, see that group of soldiers dressed in the red and
gold armor?"
Once again, Aeneas strained forward to get a better look.
Below he saw a group of soldiers marching in formation. At their head
stood a muscular looking leader.
"Those men, my son," Anchises continued, "are your Julian
progeny. At the head is the mighty Caesar, impatient
for the day when he will rule the world! Behind him is a form divine;
the great Augustus, born to restore a better age of gold."
The trio stood a while longer on the hill, gazing at the descendants of
Aeneas yet to come. Soon, however, the time came for Aeneas to return
to the land of the living.