Aeneid 1.102–123

Aen. 1.102Tālia iactantī strīdēns Aquilōne procella
vēlum adversa ferit, flūctūsque ad sīdera tollit.

As he cried out these words, a squall shrieking from the north strikes the sail full on and lifts the waves to the stars.

Note. Tālia iactantī: dative, 'to him (as he was) uttering such words'. strīdēns Aquilōne procella: 'a squall shrieking from the north'. adversa: 'full on', facing.

Aen. 1.104Franguntur rēmī;

The oars are broken;

Note. Franguntur rēmī: two words, a sudden blow.

Aen. 1.104tum prōra āvertit, et undīs
105dat latus;

then the prow swings round and exposes the ship's side to the waves;

Note. āvertit: here intransitive, 'turns aside'. undīs dat latus: 'gives its side to the waves', turns broadside on.

Aen. 1.105īnsequitur cumulō praeruptus aquae mōns.

after it comes a steep mountain of water in a heap.

Note. insequitur … mōns: 'there follows a mountain of water'. The line famously ends with the single-syllable word mōns, an unusual ending that makes the wave crash down.

Aen. 1.106Hī summō in flūctū pendent;

Some hang on the crest of a wave;

Note. Hī … hīs: 'some … for others', different crews.

Aen. 1.106hīs unda dēhīscēns
terram inter flūctūs aperit;

for others the gaping sea lays bare the ground between the waves;

Note. dēhīscēns: 'gaping', the trough of the waves lays the sea-bed bare. inter flūctūs: between the waves.

Aen. 1.107furit aestus harēnīs.

the surge rages with sand.

Note. furit aestus harēnīs: 'the surge rages with sand', ablative of means or description.

Aen. 1.108Trīs Notus abreptās in saxa latentia torquet—
saxa vocant Ītalī mediīs quae in flūctibus ārās—
110dorsum immāne marī summō;

Three ships the South wind catches and hurls onto hidden rocks — rocks in mid-sea which the Italians call the Altars, a huge ridge at the surface of the sea;

Note. Trīs = trēs, accusative plural (nāvēs understood). in saxa latentia: 'onto hidden rocks'. The parenthesis gives the rocks' local name, the Altars (Ārās), a reef between Sicily and Africa. dorsum immāne: in apposition, 'a huge ridge'. marī summō: 'at the surface of the sea'.

Aen. 1.110trīs Eurus ab altō
in brevia et Syrtīs urguet, miserābile vīsū,
inlīditque vadīs atque aggere cingit harēnae.

three the East wind drives from the deep into the shallows and the Syrtes, a pitiful sight, dashes them on the shoals and walls them in with a mound of sand.

Note. in brevia et Syrtīs: 'into the shallows and the Syrtes', the dangerous sandbanks off North Africa. miserābile vīsū: supine in -ū, 'pitiful to see'. aggere … harēnae: 'with a rampart of sand'.

Aen. 1.113Ūnam, quae Lyciōs fīdumque vehēbat Orontēn,
ipsīus ante oculōs ingēns ā vertice pontus
115in puppim ferit: excutitur prōnusque magister
volvitur in caput;

One, which carried the Lycians and loyal Orontes, before Aeneas' own eyes a huge sea strikes from above on the stern: the helmsman is flung out and rolled headlong;

Note. Ūnam: object of ferit, placed first. Lyciōs: the Lycians, allies of Troy. Orontēn: Greek accusative. ipsīus: Aeneas himself. ā vertice: 'from above'. pontus: the sea, i.e. a great wave. volvitur in caput: 'is rolled head first'.

Aen. 1.116ast illam ter flūctus ibīdem
torquet agēns circum, et rapidus vorat aequore vortex.

but the ship the wave spins round three times in the same place, and a swift whirlpool swallows it in the sea.

Note. ast illam: but the ship itself. ter … torquet agēns circum: 'spins it, driving it round three times'. vortex = vertex in the sense 'whirlpool'. rapidus: 'greedy, devouring'.

Aen. 1.118Adpārent rārī nantēs in gurgite vāstō,
arma virum, tabulaeque, et Troia gaza per undās.

Here and there swimmers appear in the vast flood, men's weapons, planks, and Trojan treasure across the waves.

Note. rārī nantēs: 'swimmers here and there'. A famous line of wreckage: arma virum (= virōrum), tabulae, Troia gaza. gaza is a Persian word for treasure.

Aen. 1.120Iam validam Īlioneī nāvem, iam fortis Achātī,
et quā vectus Abās, et quā grandaevus Alētēs,
vīcit hiems;

Now the storm has overcome the strong ship of Ilioneus, now that of brave Achates, the one in which Abas sailed and the one carrying old Aletes;

Note. The sentence lists ships by their captains. Īlioneī: genitive of Īlioneus. Achātī: genitive of Achātēs. quā vectus Abās: supply nāvem, 'the ship in which Abas sailed'. vīcit hiems: 'the storm has overcome' all of them; hiems means a storm as well as winter.

Aen. 1.122laxīs laterum compāgibus omnēs
accipiunt inimīcum imbrem, rīmīsque fatīscunt.

with the joints of their sides loosened, they all let in the hostile water and gape open at the seams.

Note. laxīs … compāgibus: ablative absolute, 'with the joints loosened'. inimīcum imbrem: 'the hostile water'. rīmīs fatīscunt: 'gape open with cracks'.