Savannah Guel
Professor Ruiz
Seminar
September 10, 2019
The Aeneid Books 3 & 4
Once Aeneas gets to Thrace, he is prepared to give offerings however, when he pulls
roots from a tree, it begins to bleed. The tree then speaks to Aeneas and tells him that he is the
ghost of Polydorus. Ploydorus then explains how his father, Priam, the king, sent him to Thrace
to be safe, however once Troy fell to the Greeks, the Thracian King sided with the greeks and
killed Polydorus. After learning the story of Polydorus’ death, Aeneas then sets sail to Delos
where Apollo tells him to go to the land of his ancestors. Aeneas’ Father thought that the land of
their ancestors was the island crete. Aeneas and his followers sail to the Island of Crete where a
plague hits and affects his people. The gods then told Aeneas that his father, Anchises, was
wrong and that the home of their ancestors is Italy, the original home of Dardanus. The Trojans
then renamed themselves Dardanians. The trojans were then caught in a storm and landed on the
island of Harpies. Harpies were birds that contained feminine faces. The trojans then have a feast
which consisted of the Harpies cattle and resources which provokes an attack from the Harpies.
The Harpies then created a prophecy among the Trojans. The procephy said that they can not
create their city until they experience enough hunger where they would eat their own tables.
Aeneas then goes to the island of Leucata and makes offerings to Apollo. Aeneas then discovers
that one of Priam’s sons is the king of a Greek city. Helenus and Andromache are then
introduced, where they were captured and held as war prizes. Andromache then tells Aeneas how
to get to Sicily. While they were leaving, they run into a stranger who had just escaped a cyclops
who is coming for them. They then landed in Depanum where Aeneas experiences the death of
his father. When Aeneas is done telling Dido his journey, it is made clear that his destiny is to be
in italy, not Carthage. When Aeneas leaves Carthage, Dido kills herself.