Aeneid 3.278–293

Games and a winter at Actium

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Aen. 3.278Ergō īnspērātā tandem tellūre potītī,
lūstrāmurque Iovī vōtīsque incendimus ārās,
280Actiaque Īliacīs celebrāmus lītora lūdīs.So, having gained at last a land beyond our hopes, we purify ourselves for Jupiter and kindle the altars with offerings, and throng the Actian shores with Trojan games. Aen. 3.281Exercent patriās oleō lābente palaestrās
nūdātī sociī;My comrades, stripped and slippery with oil, practise the wrestling of our fathers; Aen. 3.282iuvat ēvāsisse tot urbēs
Argolicās, mediōsque fugam tenuisse per hostīs.it is a joy to have escaped so many Argive cities and held our flight through the midst of enemies. Aen. 3.284Intereā magnum sōl circumvolvitur annum,
285et glaciālis hiemps aquilōnibus asperat undās.Meanwhile the sun rolls round the great circle of the year, and icy winter roughens the waves with north winds. Aen. 3.286Aere cavō clipeum.A shield of hollow bronze. Aen. 3.286magnī gestāmen Abantis,
postibus adversīs fīgō, et rem carmine signō:
AENĒĀS HAEC DĒ DANAĪS VICTŌRIBVS ARMA.once borne by great Abas, I fix on the doorposts facing the entrance, and mark the deed with a verse: AENEAS DEDICATES THESE ARMS, TAKEN FROM THE VICTORIOUS DANAANS.

Aen. 3.289Linquere tum portūs iubeō et cōnsīdere trānstrīs:
290certātim sociī feriunt mare et aequora verrunt.Then I order them to leave the harbour and take their places on the benches: my comrades strike the sea in rivalry and sweep the waters. Aen. 3.291Prōtinus āëriās Phaeācum abscondimus arcēs,
lītoraque Ēpīrī legimus portūque subīmus
Chaoniō, et celsam Būthrōtī accēdimus urbem.Straight away we lose sight of the airy towers of the Phaeacians, coast along the shores of Epirus, enter the Chaonian harbour, and go up to the lofty city of Buthrotum.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (77 words)

ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
īnspērātus, -a, -um	unhoped-for, unexpected
tandem, adv.	at length or last, finally
tellūs, -ūris f.	earth, land (poetic)
potior, -īrī, -ītus	become master of, get possession of
lūstrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	purify by sacrifice; review (an army)
que, enclitic conj.	and
vōtum, -ī n.	vow; wish, prayer
incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum	set on fire, burn
āra, -ae, f.	altar
Actius, -a, -um	of Actium in Epirus
Īliacus, -a, -um	of Ilium, Trojan
celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	throng; keep (a festival), celebrate
lītus, lītoris, n.	shore
lūdus, -ī, m.	game, sport
exerceō, -ercēre, -ercuī, -ercitus	exercise
patrius, -a, -um	of one's fathers, ancestral
oleum, -ī n.	olive oil, oil
lābor, lābī, lapsus	slip, glide, fall
palaestra, -ae, f.	wrestling-place, gymnasium
nūdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	strip, leave bare
socius, -ī, m.	companion, comrade, ally
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtum	help
ēvādō, -vādere, -vāsī, -vāsus	go forth, get away, escape
tot (indecl.)	so many
urbs, urbis, f.	city
Argolicus, -a, -um	of Argolis (the district of Greece in which Tiryns was situated), Argolic
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
fuga, -ae, f.	flight
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
intereā, adv.	in the meantime, meanwhile
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
sōl, sōlis, m.	sun
circumvolvō, -ere, -volvī, -volūtus	roll round; (pass.) revolve, run its course
annus, -ī, m.	year
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
glaciālis, -e	icy, frozen
hiems, hiemis f.	winter
aquilō, -ōnis m.	the north wind; the north-east wind
asperō, -āre	make rough; sharpen; make savage
unda, -ae, f.	wave
aes, aeris, n.	copper, bronze
cavus, -a, -um	hollow
clipeus, -ī m. (also clipeum, -ī n.)	round bronze shield
gestāmen, -inis n.	something carried or worn (arms, ornaments)
postis, -is m.	doorpost; door
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
fīgō, fīgere, fīxī, fīxus	fix, fasten, plant firmly
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
carmen, -minis, n.	song, charm
signō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	mark, seal; certify
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
victor, -ōris m.	conqueror, victor
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
linquō, -ere, līquī	leave
tum, adv.	then, at that time
portus, -ūs, m.	harbor, haven, port
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
cōnsīdō, -sīdere, -sēdī, -sessus	sit down
trānstrum, -ī n.	crossbeam, thwart
certātim (adv.)	eagerly, vying with one another
feriō, -īre	strike, hit
mare, maris, n.	sea
aequor, -oris n.	level surface; the sea
verrō, -ere, versus	sweep
prōtinus (adv.)	straight on; at once
āerius, -a, -um	airy; high, lofty
abscondō, -ere, -condī, -conditus	hide, conceal
arx, arcis f.	citadel, stronghold
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
subeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go under; undergo, submit to, sustain, bear, endure
Chaonius, -a, -um	of Chaonia in Epirus; Epirot
celsus, -a, -um	high, lofty
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added

Vergil, Aeneid III. Latin text: J. B. Greenough, The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics of Virgil (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.