This passage from Virgil's Aeneid comes from Aeneas' tale to Dido, as the Trojan leader describes his city and his companions on the night Sino freed the Greeks from the horse of Troy and opened the gate for the Greek armies on the beach. Aeneas did not observe most of the scene he describes and avoids details he could not have known to gain help from the Carthaginians and captivate his audience, arousing sympathy for the doomed Trojans. The passage contrasts the Trojans' ignorance and trust in the gods with the imminent, unrevealed danger and cruelty of fate, aiding the Greeks in every way possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first event in the passage is the celebration of the Trojan Horse. Sinon, a captured Greek, told them that the creature is a gift from the Greeks, an offering to appease Pallas Athena. He also tells them that the Greeks have sailed home, where, for some reason, they can pray to Athena better. The Trojans, good servants of the gods, transport the feat to the temple of Minerva and adorn the "delubra" with "feast...foliage", symbols of life that provide an ironic contrast to the Horse's burden of death and impiety. The first example of "delubra" in the Aeneid occurs just before this passage, in II.225-6, when "delubra ad summa dracones/effugiunt" to kill Laocon's family, who urged the Trojans not to accept the horse . The repetition of the word gives the passage a sinister tone, highlighting the hostility of the gods towards Troy. This sense of danger is elaborated by Aeneas when he mentions "miseri, quibus ultimus esset/Ille dies". The initial and unnecessary inclusion of “nos” calls attention to Aeneas's views and sympathies (not that they have not been well established elsewhere) as he recounts his own experience as one of these worshipers. The slightly shifted position of "ille dies", after the verb and at the beginning of a line, as well as the use of "ille", underline that this very day of celebration would have marked the end for the Trojans. They allowed the Horse into their city out of pity, and are defeated by the Greeks on a day of worship. The tone of this passage changes abruptly in the following lines, shifting our gaze from the city of Troy to nightfall across the entire world. For the Greeks the scene literally "vertitur", while "interea", like the previous "ille dies", underlines the simultaneity of the event with the Trojan exultation. The phrase "caelum et ruit oceano nox" indicates events on a larger scale, as does the size of the "magna" shadows. The night is indifferent to the Trojans and, if anything, useful to the Greeks. The "caelum", a word often used to indicate the abode of the gods, does not help Troy at all; the "nox", placed emphatically at the end of a verse, "ruit" inexorably forward. (although, in fairness, the phrase "nox ruit" is often used by Virgil) The harsh "t", "c" and "x" sounds throughout the verse ("vertitur interea caelum et ruit oceano nox") emphasize a harshness and threat still unrelated to any sign of danger. The next line, “involvens umbra magna terramque polumque,” ​​continues the foreboding with a series of somber asides, the unhurried pace of which reflects a pleasant, almost relaxed night, contrasted with hidden dangers. Its consonant "m" booms dangerously and contributes to the integrity of the line. Pairs of words with the same ending and number of syllables, as well as the equivalent syntactic function, "umbra magna" and "terramque polumque", follow each other; the consonance resonates in almost every word, and the content is natural, almost pastoral; the line has a beauty completely separate from its context. But we, like the Trojans, are shaken by this calmmeditation at the beginning of the next verse, with the end of the tiny crescendo of the tricolon, "terramque polumque/ Myrmidonumque dolos", in movement takes us from the cosmic scale to the battlefields, ending with the polysyllabic "Myrmidonumque" whose length, position and scale take the reader by surprise. The darkness, in all its beauty, is a help to the Greeks, who make their first appearance in this passage under cover of night. After this jolt, the lines shift their attention back to Troy, where the Trojans lie "fused", still unaware and calm, all under the protection of the "moenia", which, having been opened to the Horse, will not do much good to the Trojans. The interior of the city is silent and momentarily safe; everyone "continue". They are defenseless; "sopor fessos complecitur artus." The next line passes to the Greeks outside the walls, who, unlike the sleeping Trojans, are diligently at work on the war, sailing with the fleet from Tenedos. "Et iam" once again underlines the simultaneity of the rest of the Trojans and the attack of the "Argive phalanx", both Greek words, threatening for Troy. The assonance of "iam Argiva phalanx", "instructis navibus ibat", and the alliterative "Tenedus tacitae", like the favor of the gods, seem sadly bestowed on the warlike Greeks, but with them all is well; they sail in beauty, like the night. The chiasmic "tacitae per amica silentia lunae" indicates the "friend" towards the Greeks of nature itself. The use of both "tacitae" and "silentia" emphasizes stillness, which probably refers to the Greek fleet rather than the night in general; while Virgil leaves no doubt that the night is quiet, there is no reason why this would help the Greeks, since if anything the lack of additional noise would make it easier for the Trojans to hear their approach. "Tacitae" is almost a transferred epithet. The moon is quiet, but quiet moons are hardly noteworthy; his light, not his silence, would help the fleet. The placement of the adjective therefore makes the silent Greeks almost part of the surrounding environment. Indeed, the Greeks are at home on the beach. They look for the shore, "note", not only because they know where it is, but because they have camped there for so long that it has become familiar to them. War and convenience collide, as still happens with the "flammas" seen from the city. For the Trojans the word portends the danger of a city in flames, but for the Greeks it is simply a useful signal. Sinon, who deceived the Trojans with the story of how he had escaped human sacrifice, works "furtim" in the darkness, "fatisque deum defensus iniquis." The often wicked Greeks, favored by Minerva, overwhelm the inhabitants of Troy, exploiting the good-nature of the Trojans and their desperation to gain the goddess's favor. The gods side with Greece, not Troy, and the fates are not fair. As Anchises notes in III.540-3, horses can be a sign of good or evil; the horse itself is a symbol of Neptune, once the beneficent patron god of Troy, who is now tearing down the city walls. Of course, part of the credit for the destruction of Troy goes to the Greeks. The description moves once from the entire Greek fleet, "instructis navibus", to the "tacitae...lunae"; from there the scale concentrates on a particular "regia puppis", expands to include "fatisque deum", and then contracts on Sinone. His betrayal of the Trojans' hospitality is emphasized by the placement of his name at the very end of this long sentence, in a buildup of suspense and shock. With his name begins a long list of invaders, showing the extent and threat of the Greek invasion. In a light zeugma, Sinon "laxat" both the "Danaos" and the "claustra". The last two and a half lines of the sentence, "inclusos utero Danaos et pinea furtim/Laxat claustra Sinon", do not create confusion, but. 1998.