After a time, they came to a place where there was a great woods along the shore, and in the midst of the woods, a river called Tiber. Here they brought their ships to land. Aeneas, his son Ascanius, and some of the Trojans got out on to the shore and sat down under one of the trees to have their dinner. They made plates of dough, and on these they put such fruits as they could find. It was but a scanty meal, and when they had eaten all the fruits they were still hungry. Then they began to break up their platters of dough and to eat them. Ascanius began to laugh. "What are we doing? Do we even eat our tables?"

When Aeneas heard these words, he was very glad, and he caught his son in his arms and kissed him, saying, "Now this is a good word that you have said! Long ago that dreadful creature, the Harpy, said that some day we should be so pressed by hunger that we would eat our tables. My father also prophesied that when we did this, we might know that we had indeed come to the land where we were to have a home. And now, this has come to pass. This is our home, and as for the hunger which I feared, lo! We have endured it, and are yet alive!"

The country to which they had come was called Latium, and the name of the king was Latinus. Latinus was the great-grandson of the god, Saturn. Saturn was the king of gods and men until his son, Jupiter, turned him out. Saturn then fled to Italy where he set up a kingdom and reigned in peace and happiness.

King Latinus had no son. He only had a daughter, named Lavinia, who was now of age to be married. Many chiefs of Italy wanted to marry her, but her mother, the queen, liked a certain young man, Turnus, the best. He was a good soldier and also the son of a king. King Latinus almost consented to have Turnus for a son-in-law, but the wise men, the priests and the prophets told Latinus that the gods did not wish for Turnus to marry Lavinia. They predicted that one day strangers would come to his land and that their king would marry his daughter.

Aeneas learned of these predictions when he questioned people of the country upon his arrival. “I will send an embassy to this King Latinus, and beg of him that there be peace between his people and my people. But lest by chance either he or any one of the princes hereabouts should seek to do us harm, I will provide a place of defense.” So he chose a hundred men who should be ambassadors for him, and put crowns of olive on their heads, and sent them with gifts in their hands to the king. When these had set out, he marked out a place for a camp, and he commanded the people to work as hard as they could, making it strong with a mound and a ditch.

The ambassadors, going on their way to the city, came to a great plain where the young men of the place were amusing themselves with contests and games. As soon as the Trojans were seen, one of the horsemen rode as fast as he could to the city, and told the king, “Some men in strange clothes have come, desiring to see you.” Latinus said: “Bring them before me.” And he put on his king’s robes, and sat on his throne.

The king replied, “May the gods grant peace and friendship between us and you. We grant, men of Troy, the things for which you ask – a parcel of ground, and air and water. We also thank your king for his gifts. As for your king, Aeneas, if he wishes to be our friend, let him come and look upon us, face to face. Take also this message to him: ‘I have a daughter, whom the gods forbid me to marry to any prince of this land. For they say that there shall come a stranger from over the sea to be my son-in-law, and that from him shall come a race which shall raise the name of Italy even to the stars of heaven.’”

Then Latinus said to his people, “Bring forth horses for these men.” Now there stood in the king’s stable three hundred horses, the swiftest of their kind: of these the servants brought forth a hundred, one for every Trojan. All of them had trappings of purple and bits of gold. To Aeneas himself the king sent a chariot drawn by two horses, which were of the breed of the horses of the Sun. So the ambassadors went back to the camp with noble gifts and a message of peace.

When Juno saw that the Trojans were come to the land of Italy, and that they were building houses in which to dwell, and that King Latinus was showing them no little kindness, she said to herself, “So this wicked race has vanquished me. The flames of the burning city of Troy did not destroy them, nor did the sea swallow them up. They have come unharmed to the river Tiber, to the very place which they desired. Ah, but there is something I can do. The gods of heaven will not help me, so I shall go to the powers of hell. I shall see that he buys his kingdom at a great price – the blood of Italy and the blood of Troy.”

Juno went down to the lower parts of the earth, and called to her Alecto, one of the Furies, who loved anger and war and treachery, and all evil and hateful things. Juno said to her, “Daughter of Night, I have suffered a wrong and disgrace. A man whom I hate, Aeneas, desires to have a kingdom in Italy. Keep him from it. He wishes to have Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus. See that he does not. Break this peace that the Latins and Trojans are making.”

Alecto went to the palace of Latinus. She found the queen, Amata, in great anger. She did not wish to have Aeneas for her son-in-law. She wanted her daughter to marry Prince Turnus. The Fury thought, “The queen hates Aeneas already. I will turn her hatred into madness.” So she took a snake out of her hair and thrust it upon the queen. The evil beast crept about her so the poison got into her heart, then changed itself into a collar of gold around her neck, poisoning her very breath.

The next thing the Fury did was to visit the city of Turnus. She took the shape of an old woman, the priestess of the Temple of Juno. Standing by Turnus’ bedside, she spoke to him in his sleep. “Turnus,” she whispered, “are you content to lose that which is yours? King Latinus takes from you the wife he promised, and is about to hand over his kingdom to a stranger from over the sea. Juno sent me to tell you to arm your people. Drive these strangers from your land. Burn their ships with fire. It King Latinus will not give you his daughter as he promised, let him learn for himself that Turnus is not one who will suffer wrong.”

Turnus awoke with a start. He did not know whether the things he had seen and heard in his sleep were true, but he felt his heart full of anger. He called for his arms and commanded all the young men to make ready for war. “I will drive these Trojans out of Italy,” he cried, “and if Latinus stands by them, he shall go also.”

Now all that remained was for the Fury to create a quarrel between King Latinus and the Trojans. King Latinus had a man to keep his cattle and this man’s daughter, Silvia, had a tame stag. Silvia was very fond of her tame stag because her brothers had found it when it was a fawn and had brought it to her when she was young. Silvia would put garlands of flowers about its neck, comb its hair, and give it a bath.

As it so happened, Ascanius, with other Trojans, was hunting that day, and his dogs caught the scent of the stag and followed it. When Ascanius saw the stag he shot an arrow and hit it. The Fury made sure the arrow did not miss. The stag, with its dying breath, ran back to Silvia’s house. Silvia cried out for help. The Fury, hiding in the woods, made sure everyone in the area heard Silvia’s cries. Country folk came together, each picking up a weapon with which to fight the Trojans. One carried a firebrand, another a great club. Silvia’s father carried an ax.

On the other hand, the Trojans ran together to help Ascanius, and soon there was a battle. When it was over, the Trojans, being more used to war, drove the Latins back. The Latins cried to the gods and to the king for vengeance. King Latinus said, “foolish Latins, you will pay for this madness with your lives. And Turnus will suffer even worse things than you. When you cry to the gods, they will not help.”

In spite of the king’s warnings, the Latins made ready for war. They polished their shields, and sharpened their swords, spears and battle-axes.