Aeneas in the Underworld
1."The god, look, the god!"
The prophetess runs frantically
about the cave, as if trying
to expel the great god from
her brain. All the more
he torments her raving head,
dominates her wild mind,
crushing her to his will.
Thus Apollo shakes the reins
till the Sibyl raves, digging
his spurs into her consciousness.
2.He laid whole carcasses of bulls
on the flames and poured olive oil
onto the glowing entrails. But see,
just before the first light of dawn,
the earth roared underfoot,
the ridges covered with forests began
to move, the dogs of Hecate howled
in the shadows as the goddess
approached.
3.Gods, whose empire is of souls:
silent Shades, and Chaos, Burning River,
and broad spaces silent in the night:
allow me to tell you what I have heard,
and, with your assent, reveal these events
sunk in the depths of earth and darkness!
4.Charon the boatman watches over
these terrifying river waters.
His tangled hair falls to his chin;
his eyes are of fire, and from
his shoulders a dirty robe hangs
in a knot. He pushes the boat
with a pole and tends the sail.
The crowd of souls hurries to the bank:
they are like the leaves of the forest,
fallen in the first cold of autumn.
They stand begging to be first
to cross the river, and stretch their
hands, longing for the other shore,
but the rough ferryman takes now
these and now those, forcing the
the others back from the shore.
5.The giant Cerberus howls out of
his three throats in this part
of the kingdom. The monster
lay in his cavern before them.
The priestess, looking with horror
at the snakes on his neck, threw
him a soporific with honey
and drugged food. Rabid with
hunger the dog opened his three
throats and devoured it. When
the guardian was buried in sleep,
Aeneas quickly entered the cave
and passed over the shore and
waters which are not supposed
to be re-crossed.
6.They arrived at the Place of Joy,
the pleasant green fields in
the Fortunate Woods, the Home
of the Blessed.
7.To begin with: the sky, the land,
the fields of water, the bright globe
of the moon and the sun of Titan
are sustained by the spirit resident
within them, and by Mind,
which is blended into the whole
universe and pervades each part
and impels the entire mass.
8.Each of us finds the world
of death fitted to himself.
9.There are twin Gates of Sleep,
one of which is said to be of horn,
giving an easy exit to shades which
are pure. The other is perfectly made
of shining white ivory, but the spirits
send false dreams up to the sky.
After Anchises had spoken of these
things, he went with the Sibyl
and his son, sending them through
the Gate of Ivory. Aeneas followed
a path to the ships and rejoined
his friends. Then he went along
the shore to the port of Caieta.
The anchor was cast from the prow.
Sterns stood toward the beach.