Quiz Guide: Aenead Book 2
- In his tale of the fall of Troy, what are some adjectives Aeneas uses to describe Ulysses (Odysseus)?
- Who says he fears the Greeks, "even when bearing gifts"? What is his eventual punishment?
- When a Greek captive (or apparent captive) named Sinon convinces the Trojans to bring the horse into the city, why do they trust him? What does he say his motivation is for helping them?
- Why does the horse "jar to a halt four times" as it's being brought over the threshold?
- Who does Aeneas dream of while the city burns? What does he learn about his destiny?
- What does the person in Aeneas' dream tell him to "accept...as companions for your days?" What is he supposed to do with these "companions"?
- To what does three things does Aeneas compare the "turmoil" and "din" of the city?
- Why does Coroebus "plunge into the midst to find his death"?
- What does Aeneas compare to a "tortoise shell"?
- What happens to Hecuba and her daughters?
- Describe the deaths of Polites and Priam (the Prince and King of Troy).
- What does Aeneas intend to do when he sees Helen? Who talks him out of it, and why?
- What is compared to a tree gradually being chopped down?
- What two signs convince Anchises to flee from Troy with Aeneas and his famly?
- At what old shrine do Aeneas and his family plan to meet? Speculate about the symbolic significance of that shrine (look up the Roman version of this myth on Theoi if you do not remember the reference).
- Who "alone failed her friends, her chld, her husband"? How?
- What does the "sad wraith" of his wife tell Aeneas? What does he try to do three times?
Essay: A-M: In book 1, we learned that Aeneas's main adjective or epithet is "pious" or devoted. To what people, gods, and/or ideals is Aeneas "devoted" in book 2? In what ways do his values or personality seem different than those of Odysseus? What personal sacrifices reveal the strength of that devotion?
Essay: N-Z: Describe a couple of scenes in book 2 that Virgil relates vividly and graphically. What emotions or ideas do you think Virgil wants to evoke or emphasize with these graphic scenes? Why do you think the author chooses to emphasize the details that he does?