It was by lot that the empire of the universe had been divided among the three brothers Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, the kingdom of the ocean falling to Neptune, the heavens to Jupiter and the "lower regions" or regions of the dead to Pluto. Neptune, therefore, had full power within his own dominion, and so the winds had to retire at his command. Then immediately the sea became calm and still, and AEneas with seven ships—all that he could find of his fleet—sailed for the African coast, which was the nearest land, the storm having driven them far out of their course. Soon discovering a suitable harbor, deep in a bay, with high rocks on each side at the entrance, the tempest- tossed Trojans gladly put ashore, and lighting a fire on the beach, they prepared a meal of parched corn, which they ground with stones.
Meanwhile AEneas climbed a rock and looked out over the sea hoping to catch sight of some of the lost vessels. He was accompanied by his armor-bearer A-cha'tes, who was so devoted to his chief that the name is often used to signify a very faithful friend. But they could see none of the missing ships and so they returned to their companions. Then AEneas delivered an address to his people, bidding them be of good cheer, and reminding them of the decree of heaven that they should have a peaceful settlement in La'ti-um—that fair Italian land, to which the gods would surely guide them in due time.
"Comrades and friends! for ours is strength
Has brooked the test of woes;
O worse-scarred hearts! these wounds at length
The gods will heal, like those.
You that have seen grim Scylla rave,
And heard her monsters yell,
You that have looked upon the cave
Where savage Cyclops dwell,
Come, cheer your souls, your fears forget;
This suffering will yield us yet
A pleasant tale to tell.
Through chance, through peril lies our way
To Latium, where the fates display
A mansion of abiding stay;
There Troy her fallen realm shall raise;
Bear up and live for happier days."
CONINGTON, AEneid, BOOK I.
It is not to be supposed that all this time the goddess Venus was forgetful of the sufferings of her son. Even while AEneas was thus speaking to his fellow wanderers she was pleading his cause before the throne of Jupiter himself on the top of Mount Olympus. "What offence, O king of heaven," said she, "has my AEneas committed? How have the Trojans offended? What is to be the end of their sufferings? Are they to be forever persecuted on account of the anger of one goddess?"
To this appeal the king of the gods answered assuring Venus that the promises made to the Trojan exiles should all be fulfilled. AEneas, he said, should make war against fierce tribes in Italy, and conquer them, and rule in La-vin'i-um. After him his son Iulus should reign for thirty years, and build a city to be called Alba Longa, where his descendants would hold sovereign power for three hundred years. Then from the same race should come Rom'u-lus, who would found the city Rome, which would in time conquer Greece and rule the world.
"The people Romans call, the city Rome
To them no bounds of empire I assign,
Nor term of years to their immortal line,
E'en haughty Juno, who, with endless broils,
Earth, seas, and heaven, and Jove himself turmoils,
At length atoned, her friendly power shall join,
To cherish and advance the Trojan line.
An age is ripening in revolving fate,
When Troy shall overturn the Grecian state,
And sweet revenge her conquering sons shall call
To crush the people that conspired her fall,
Then Caesar from the Julian stock shall rise,
Whose empire ocean, and whose fame the skies
Alone shall bound."
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK I.
Thus did the king of heaven prophesy the future greatness and power of the Julian line. Then he sent Mercury, the messenger of the gods, down to earth to bid the queen of Carthage and her people give a hospitable reception to the Trojans, for it was near that city, on the Li'by-an shore, that they had landed after the storm. Venus herself, too, came down from Olympus, and, in the garb of a huntress, appeared to her son and the faithful Achates, as they were exploring the coast to find out what land it was, and by what people possessed. She did not make herself known to them, but inquired if they had seen one of her sisters who had strayed away from her. AEneas answered: "None of your sisters have we seen, O virgin, or shall we call you goddess, for such you seem to be? Whoever you are, graciously relieve our anxiety by informing us what country this is into which unkind fortune has driven us.
"Instruct us 'neath what sky at last,
Upon what shore our lot is cast;
We wander here by tempest blown,
The people and the place unknown."
CONINGTON, AEneid, BOOK I.
To these inquiries Venus, still maintaining her disguise, replied by telling the Trojan heroes the story of Carthage and Queen Dido. This famous woman was the daughter of Be'lus, king of Tyre, a city of Phoe-nic'i-a, in Asia Minor. She married a wealthy Tyrian lord named Si-chae'us. On her father's death, her brother Pyg-ma'li-on became king of Tyre. He was a cruel and avaricious tyrant, and in order to get possession of his brother-in-law's riches, he had him put to death, concealing the crime from his sister by many false tales. But in a dream the ghost of Sichaeus appeared to Dido and told her of the wicked deed of Pygmalion. He at the same time advised her to fly from the country with all speed, and he informed her of the place where he had hidden his treasures—a large sum in gold and silver, which he bade her take to help her in her flight.
Dido therefore got together a number of ships, and put to sea accompanied by a number of her countrymen who hated the cruel tyrant. They sailed to the coast of Africa and landed in Libya, where they purchased from the inhabitants as much ground as could be encompassed by a bull's hide cut into thongs. Then they commenced to build a city which they called Carthage, and even now they were engaged in raising its walls.