Book 8 Summary

Question 1

What divine message prompts Aeneas to seek new allies?

Answer 1

• The river god Tiberinus advises Aeneas to form an alliance with the Arcadians, who are also at war with the Latins

Question 2

How does Aeneas respond to Tiberinus’s advice?

Answer 2

• He takes two galleys and rows several days up the Tiber to the forest of the Arcadians, where he meets their king, Evander

Question 3

What aid does King Evander provide to Aeneas?

Answer 3

• Evander offers hospitality,
• pledges military support by assigning troops and rallying neighboring kingdoms,
• and later entrusts his son Pallas to Aeneas for training and protection

Question 4

What significant ritual takes place after the Arcadian feast?

Answer 4

• Holy rites are performed in honor of Hercules,
• celebrating his victory over the monster Cacus,
• and Evander recounts how Saturn founded Latium

Question 5

How is the Arcadian way of life depicted?

Answer 5

• The Arcadians are shown to dwell in simplicity—with even King Evander boasting only a small house—yet they extend all possible hospitality and support to Aeneas

Question 6

What action does Venus take to help Aeneas before the battle?

Answer 6

• Concerned about Aeneas’s prospects,
• Venus persuades her husband Vulcan to forge new, superior weapons and armor for him,
• including a remarkable shield

Question 7

What is special about the shield that Vulcan creates for Aeneas?

Answer 7

• The shield is not only beautifully crafted and stronger than human-forged metal,
• but its face is decorated with scenes predicting the future Roman glory—
• including images of Romulus, the defeat of the Gauls, and Augustus’s triumph

Question 8

How do the Arcadian reinforcements affect the Trojan army’s journey?

Answer 8

• The additional thousands of soldiers, gathered from neighboring kingdoms, cause the army to march rather than row, delaying their return to the front

Question 9

What connection does Evander establish with Aeneas regarding Rome’s future?

Answer 9

• Evander, who once knew Anchises, guides Aeneas through the sacred sites of Rome’s future history
• and, in line with the Sibyl’s promise of help from an unlikely source, connects Aeneas with a community of Arcadian exiles at Rome’s site.

Question 10

After forming the alliance with the Arcadians, what is Aeneas’s next step?

Answer 10

• With his new allies and reinforcements,
• Aeneas rides off to Caere to receive fresh armor from Venus
• preparing him further for the forthcoming battles

Question 11

what question emerges in book 8

Answer 11

• How then is Aeneas to deal with armed opposition?
• We see a picture of a rational hero, disturbed at the situation - very much the opposite of the impetuous Turnus.

Question 12

What is the erlevance of Hercules with Evander

Answer 12

• Later, upon arriving at the city of Pallanteum, ruled by Evander, he is told of their closeness to Hercules. Hercules was a patron deity of the Stoic philosophy, furthering the advance of civilisation by the removal of various monsters.
• In a sense Aeneas has to be a new Hercules, a man who for his deeds to improve man’s civilisation was destined for deification.