Aeneid - Book II

Chronologically, it is the first book in the Aeneid.

This is being related by Aeneas himself to Queen Dido of Carthage as an account of the Trojan's suffering and their need to travel and find a new home. In litera ry terms, it is a 'flashback'. This technique is not new to Virgil, Homer used it in the Odyssey.

It starts with an account of the Greeks building the Trojan Horse. They leave it on the shore and pretend to go home. The Trojans are delighted, as they have been at war for 10 years. However, one of their priests rebukes them. He says they are mad to trust the Greeks, even when they bring gifts, and that it's a trap. At this point some Trojans drag along a wandering Greek man called Sinon. He tells the Trojans how badly he's been treated by the Greeks. He explains that the wooden horse is an offering to Athena (Minerva) in atonement of the theft of a statue of her. He tells them that if they take it into the city, the defeat of the Greeks will be assured. However, at that point an omen occurs: two large snakes swim ashore, wrap themselves around the priest's young sons and kill them. The Trojans take this as a sign from the gods to not trust the priest, so they bring the Horse into the city walls. They celebrate and become intoxicated. The Greeks catch them by surprise and kill them. Always drink responsibly.