The Aeneid, Book VI quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does Aeneas want to descend into the underworld?

   • To ask the Sibyl to lift Juno's curse on his fleet
   • Correct answer: To visit the shade of his father, Anchises
   • To rescue Palinurus from the shores of the Styx
   • To learn how Troy might be rebuilt in Italy

   Anchises' ghost has repeatedly appeared in Aeneas' dreams urging his son to seek him below, and Aeneas begs the Sibyl to lead him to his father's sight.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does the Sibyl say Aeneas must carry as a present for Proserpine?

   • Correct answer: A branch of gold torn from a hidden tree
   • A honeyed cake steeped in drugged wine
   • A brazen urn that holds Misenus' ashes
   • A black lamb offered to Hell and Night

   The golden bough must be borne to Proserpine before Aeneas may enter the underworld, and only a man favored by fate can pluck it from the tree.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Which comrade must be buried before the descent can begin?

   • Palinurus, the helmsman lost at sea
   • Leucaspis, leader of the Lycian crew
   • Correct answer: Misenus, the trumpeter drowned by Triton
   • Corynaeus, the priest who tends the pyre

   The Sibyl warns that an unburied friend pollutes the fleet; Aeneas finds Misenus dead on the shore, drowned by Triton for challenging the sea gods with his trumpet.

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4. 4

   Question 4. In the Sibyl's prophecy, what awaits the Trojans once they reach Latium?

   • A peaceful alliance sealed by a royal marriage
   • Correct answer: Wars, with the Tiber foaming with blood
   • A famine that will drive them back to sea
   • Ten more years of wandering along the coasts

   The Sibyl foresees 'Wars, horrid wars... And Tiber rolling with a purple flood,' along with a new Achilles and Juno's continued hatred.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does Dido respond when Aeneas addresses her ghost?

   • She curses him and foretells war between their peoples
   • She forgives him and wishes him well in Italy
   • Correct answer: She turns away in silence to her husband Sichaeus
   • She begs him to remain in the underworld with her

   Dido fixes her eyes on the ground, no more moved by his words 'than the deaf rocks,' then flees to the shade of Sichaeus, who answers all her love.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why has Palinurus been left waiting on the near shore of the Styx?

   • Correct answer: His body lies unburied on the Italian coast
   • He took his own life and must face Minos first
   • He refused to pay Charon the ferryman's fee
   • He deserted his post and is being punished

   Charon ferries only the buried; the unburied must wander a hundred years. The Sibyl consoles Palinurus by promising that the coast will bear his name.

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7. 7

   Question 7. According to Anchises, what happens to most souls after a thousand years of purification?

   • They rise to join the gods among the stars
   • Correct answer: They drink from Lethe and are reborn in new bodies
   • They dissolve back into the world-soul forever
   • They cross into Tartarus for a final judgment

   The god drives the cleansed souls to drink Lethe's 'large forgetful draughts' so that, remembering nothing, they may return to mortal flesh — including the future Romans.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which future Roman does Anchises hail as 'Born to restore a better age of gold'?

   • Romulus
   • Julius Caesar
   • Numa
   • Correct answer: Augustus

   Augustus, 'promis'd oft, and long foretold,' will renew the golden age of Saturn — Virgil's tribute to his own patron placed in Anchises' mouth.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur before Aeneas crosses the Styx?

   • Two doves sent by Venus guide Aeneas to the golden bough.

     Happened

   • The Sibyl writes her prophecy on leaves for Aeneas to keep.

     Didn't happen

   • Aeneas draws his sword against the phantom monsters at hell's entrance.

     Happened

   • Charon at first refuses to carry a living man in his boat.

     Happened

   • Palinurus is granted passage across the Styx alongside Aeneas.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually occur after Aeneas crosses the Styx?

    • The Sibyl drugs Cerberus with a honeyed sop so they can pass.

      Happened

    • Aeneas walks through Tartarus and sees the Titans' torments with his own eyes.

      Didn't happen

    • Aeneas tries three times to embrace Anchises, but the shade slips through his arms.

      Happened

    • Anchises weeps over the young Marcellus, who is fated to die young.

      Happened

    • Dido forgives Aeneas after he swears he left Carthage unwillingly.

      Didn't happen

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'sable' mean as used in: 'th' infernal bounds Cocytus, with his sable waves, surrounds'?

    • Correct answer: Black or darkly colored
    • Slow-moving and sluggish
    • Bitterly cold and icy
    • Poisonous and foul-smelling

    Sable is a poetic word for black; the waves of Cocytus are dark as befits a river of the underworld.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'refulgent' mean as used in: 'When his refulgent arms flash'd thro' the shady plain'?

    • Heavily armored
    • Battle-scarred and dented
    • Correct answer: Brilliantly shining
    • Swiftly moving

    Refulgent means shining radiantly; the gleam of Aeneas' armor in the gloom is what makes the Greek ghosts flee in fear.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'impassive' mean as used in: 'Forms without bodies, and impassive air'?

    • Showing no emotion on the face
    • Correct answer: Without substance; unable to be touched or harmed
    • Blocking all movement like a wall
    • Invisible to every mortal eye

    The Sibyl explains that the monsters at hell's gate are bodiless phantoms — mere air that a sword cannot wound — so Aeneas' weapon is useless against them.

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