Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Aeneid

Starting point is 00:00:00 Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios and is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and premium members. If you'd like to listen ad-free and access weekly bonus episodes, extra long stories and our entire back catalogue, you can try out premium free for 7 days by following the link in the episode notes. Now, a quick word from our sponsors. Hey friends, it's Tom. Did you know one in every three adults aren't getting adequate sleep these days? But we want to be part of a positive change to that trend, and the same goes for another great podcast I want to tell you about. It's called Sleep Meditation for Women. Every night, my friend Katie guides you into deep relaxation with her soothing voice,

Starting point is 00:00:53 accompanied by calming background music. You'll find every kind of meditation you could need to help relax your body and clear your mind, so you can get the deep rest you deserve. Just search sleep meditation for women on your favorite podcast player to enjoy even more good rest. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. I'm your host Thomas, thanks for listening. Get nice and comfy wherever you are because tonight's story is a long one. The Aeneid is an extraordinary epic poem, the Roman equivalent to the Iliad and Odyssey. It's a story that will take us from the ruins of Troy to the foundation of the Roman Empire. There will be adventure, love, divine interventions,

Starting point is 00:02:11 wars, prophecies, and even a journey to the underworld. You'll also learn about Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, as well as the story's cultural and political significance. I'll be reading it to you, and it was written by our friend the French Whisperer, who has his own YouTube channel with lots of amazing sleepy content just like this. Before we hear our story, I want to tell you about Get Sleepy Premium. It's our supporters subscription where you can enjoy over 700 full-length stories and meditations, including dozens of extra long episodes and series stitches, and everything is completely ad-free. Plus, every single Thursday we release an exclusive bonus

Starting point is 00:03:14 episode for our premium subscribers. Tomorrow, Vanessa will be reading a story about a cat that has so far lived a solitary life with her owner, but that is all about to change. Give Get Sleepy Premium a try. The first seven days are free and you can cancel any time. For more information on all of our plans visit getsleepy. slash support or just follow the link in the show notes. Thank you all so much. Now my friends, make sure you're nicely settled in. in. If you've listened to the show for a fair while, you've probably heard me mention my own struggles with sleep that I've dealt with for most of my life. As tough as it can be to concede to those challenges myself, I do feel that I've gradually learned to deal with it

Starting point is 00:04:26 better and better as time has gone on, and especially quite recently my sleep has improved quite significantly which I'm really grateful for. Of course, I can lean into my experiences and in doing so hopefully help all of you to overcome any sleep troubles of your own. One thing that is for sure is that if you're lying awake at night with a head full of noise and a sense of frustration. I've been there many many times and I know that quite frankly it's awful. So whatever brought you to this show, be it to find an antidote to your sleep struggles or simply for a source of comfort, just know that you are one of many thousands of listeners. Though I'd love it if we could all sleep soundly every night, I do think it's also reassuring to know that we are not alone when we're having a tough time of it.

Starting point is 00:05:55 So with that being said, let's collectively enjoy a few soothing deep breaths. Draw in a calming full breath. Hold at the top and gently release, letting go of worry or tension. Breathe in again, hold and let it go. One more time together, breathe in calmly. Hold and exhale any worries or tension. As you begin to drift into a deeper state of relaxation, allow yourself to be reassured that you are one of many that will be listening along tonight. And now it's time that we turn to our story. So let's go back thousands of years to a city called Troy. This is where our story begins. It all began in Troy at an important moment during the Trojan War. The Trojans thought that they had won their decade-long war against the Greeks, but in

Starting point is 00:08:10 reality they were in danger of losing everything. You may know the Trojan War as it was told in the Iliad and the Odyssey. All the kings and cities from Greece gathered to attack the powerful city of Troy on the other side of the Aegean Sea. But Troy was well protected behind its walls, and it was defended by heroes and even supported by some of the gods like Poseidon, Neptune to the Romans, Aphrodite, also known as Venus, and Apollo. The Trojans resisted. It seemed the city would never fall, as the Greeks could not break its fortifications and the attackers were losing patience. So, after ten years of fruitless attacks on Troy, King Odysseus, or Ulysses, came up with a plan.

Starting point is 00:09:42 The Greeks built a large wooden statue of a horse on wheels, and suddenly, overnight, they abandoned the beach under the city's walls. Or so it seemed. Only one man stayed on the beach, as the Greeks pretended to sail away. His mission was to convince the Trojans that the Greeks had abandoned the fight, which meant that the Trojans had won the war. He also wanted them to think that the horse was an offering to Neptune who was the god of the seas and the god of horses.

Starting point is 00:10:40 But this was obviously a trap. The wooden horse was hollow, and inside it was King Ulysses and a group of warriors waiting for the Trojans to drag the horse behind their walls. The Trojans hesitated. The Greeks were nowhere to be seen. And what risk was there of accepting a wooden statue? A gift to one of their gods? The Greek soldier tried to convince the Trojans that accepting the gift would make Neptune look favourably on them, enabling them to conquer Greece. But after ten years of devastating war, the Trojans had their doubts, especially a priest named Leocolon. He saw through the Greek plot and urged his compatriots to destroy the wooden horse immediately. When they ignored his warnings, Leokon took matters into his own hands and threw his spear at the horse. But then, two serpents sent by the gods suddenly emerged from the sea and devoured him.

Starting point is 00:12:31 The Trojans saw this as a punishment for disrespecting the offering to Neptune. But the gods hadn't sent the snakes to help the Trojans. In fact, they had decided that Troy should fall. But of course, the Trojans didn't realize this. Impressed by this divine intervention, they dragged the statue behind their fortified walls, and they began to organize nothing could happen behind their walls. So after nightfall, the armed Greeks emerged from the wooden statue where they had been hiding all day, and they silently opened the city's gates. Outside, the Greek army had returned and now stood ready to enter the defenseless city. As these events were unfolding, one of the Trojan princes and heroes, Aeneas, was sleeping at his house.

Starting point is 00:14:27 Aeneas was of the highest Trojan nobility. His father Ancaeus was a prince of Troy, and his mother was the goddess Venus herself, who always made sure to protect her son. Aeneas had fought bravely throughout the war, protected by his fighting skills and his goddess mother, and he had survived. That night, as the Greeks were starting to invade the city and slaughter the Trojan guards, Ineos was fast asleep. And as he slept, the Trojan hero Hector appeared to died by the hand of Greece's most formidable hero, Achilles. In the dream, Hector's ghost urged Aeneas to immediately flee the city with his family. The gods had made plans, and they had decided that Troy would fall. But in their negotiations, Venus had obtained protection and a future for her son. a future for her son. A future so brilliant and extraordinary that the name of Aeneas would become immortal, and his deeds would be celebrated for centuries. But for his fate to happen, Aeneas needed to escape the destruction of the city.

Starting point is 00:16:30 At first, when Aeneas awoke, he joined the battle and tried to fight the Greek invaders. But then, he saw the reality of the situation. Trojan warriors were falling one after the other, that the war was lost. Then his mother Venus appeared. She led Aeneas back to his house, where his family were anxiously waiting, his son Ascanius, his wife Creusa, and his father Ancaeus. Aeneas's family all accepted the need to escape, and discreetly made their way towards the city's gates through the chaos that Troy had become. When they reached the open gates, Aeneas realized that his wife, Creusa, was no longer with them and he went back to the city to search for her. But instead of finding Creusa, he encountered her ghost. The ghost of Creusa told Aeneas that he should follow his destiny. He should travel west, where he would go through struggles, temptation, and perils.

Starting point is 00:18:42 But ultimately, kingship and a new royal spouse awaited him. After losing his city and his wife, Aeneas was devastated, but his father and son had survived, and with inspiration from his divine mother, Aeneas found the strength to rally a few other survivors and flee from the burning city. The Greeks were now celebrating their triumph, but the survival of Aeneas and his companions were the seeds of a new empire, one that by the will of the gods would surpass anything the Trojans or even the Greeks could have ever imagined. Over many generations, the creation of Rome would be the phoenix rising from the ashes of Troy. After their escape from Troy, the survivors prepared to set sail. They had built a fleet of ships and decided to accompany their new leader, Aeneas, on his travels west. This group of refugees was being closely watched by the gods.

Starting point is 00:20:40 On their side were the protectors of Troy, like Neptune, Venus, and Apollo. Others were neutral or even hostile, like Juno or Hera to the Greeks. Juno was the queen of the gods and the wife of Jupiter. Under the eyes of the gods, Aeneas and the other survivors began their wanderings across the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. To begin with, they landed in Thrace near Troy, where they found the last remains of another Trojan warrior and hero, Polydorus. Then, they arrived on the island of Delos, a holy sanctuary of Apollo. Delos was welcoming and peaceful. The group was tempted to stay there after the exhausting ordeal they had just gone through

Starting point is 00:22:04 in Troy. But Apollo told them to leave, as this was not the place where the gods intended them to build their city. So, Aeneas's group sailed to Crete, where they thought they had arrived at their destination. They started building a settlement, the future city, but as soon as they began to build, they were struck with disease. Then, Aeneas had a dream where Apollo told him that this was the wrong place and that they should leave Crete. Left with no other choice, they abandoned the settlement and sailed west. On their next stop on an island west of Greece, they encountered a harpy, a monstrous half-bad half-woman. The Harpy ordered them to

Starting point is 00:23:33 leave her island immediately and made a prophecy. Aeneas and the other survivors would reach Italy one day in the future, but they wouldn't find it until they were driven by hunger to eat their own tables. gloomy prophecy, the group resumed their wanderings, this time landing in a pyrus in the north of Greece. Aeneas's group were not the only survivors of Troy. Others had managed to escape and travelled to a pirus. There, the survivors had begun to build a city that replicated Troy, hoping it would give them a second home and cure their homesickness. This group of Trojans included Andromache, Cassandra, and Helenes. He was the son of King Priam of Troy, and he had the gift of prophecy. and he had the gift of prophecy. Hellenus made a new prophecy. He revealed that not only would Aeneas' descendants prosper in Italy, but they would also rule the entire world.

Starting point is 00:25:35 entire world. Opyris was not the promised land for them, and so the group set sail once again. As you may remember, not all the gods who watched Aeneas's expedition were benevolent. Among their enemies was Juno, the wife of Jupiter. Juno was against the Trojans and Venus because she had been humiliated long ago. Before the Trojan War, three goddesses had appeared in front of Prince Paris of Troy and competed for his preference. Paris had to choose which of them should receive a golden apple, and all three goddesses, Juno, strength and glory for Minerva, or the love of the most beautiful woman in the world for Venus. Paris had chosen Venus over the others because the highest reward a man could hope for was eternal and perfect love. He was promised Helen, the Greek queen, even though she already had a husband.

Starting point is 00:27:29 Paris abducted Helen and took her to Troy, prompting the beginning of the war. Venus had sided with the Trojans, whereas Juno and Minerva were on the Greek side. You might think that the death of Paris and the complete destruction of Troy would have have been enough vengeance, but not for Juno, who held grudges for a very long time. She had never been one to forgive, whether it was the judgment of Paris or the infidelities of her husband. the infidelities of her husband. So after all these years Juno was still angry and jealous of Venus and she kept plotting against the Trojans, which brings us back to Aeneas. Because of her anger, Juno was determined to prevent Aeneas and the Trojans from reaching their destination and building a new city. But she also had another motive. The other gods had accepted that Aeneas and his companions would travel westward

Starting point is 00:29:16 and lay the foundations of Rome. And it was said that one day, Rome would be the rival and destroyer of Carthage, Juno's favorite city. For that reason, Juno decided that Aeneas should never reach Italy and never found a new city, and she would get her revenge against Venus, the mother of Aeneas. Her moment to strike was approaching. By this point, Aeneas's expedition had come closer to Italy, but they weren't there yet. to Ulysses in the Odyssey. Near Sicily, their boat travelled through a narrow strait which was a particularly dangerous place. They had to go between the immensely powerful whirlpool of Charybdis and the sea monster Scylla. As a result, they were driven out to sea and away from Italy, only to come ashore at the land of the Cyclops, the one-eyed giants.

Starting point is 00:31:15 There, they narrowly escaped from Polyphemus, a Cyclops that Ulysses had tricked and fled from shortly before on his own trip back to his kingdom. After that, Aeneas's father Ancaeus died of old age, and the fleet was suddenly taken into an unexpected storm. Juno had chosen this moment to finally unleash her wrath. She had no power over the seas and the wind, and so she had approached Ialis, the ruler of the winds, and asked him to stir up a storm. Ialis had no reason to obey her and take sides between the gods, so she had to offer him a bribe. Juno reigned over several lovely sea nymphs and offered the loveliest of them as a wife to Ialis. The ruler of the winds accepted the offer. The ruler of the winds accepted the offer. Soon Aeneas's fleet, which was trying to sail back towards Italy, faced trouble. Black clouds formed above their heads. Winds began to blow chaotically from every direction,

Starting point is 00:33:11 and the storm devastated and scattered to the fleet. The Trojans were saved only by the intervention of Neptune, the god of the seas, who'd been infuriated by Juno's intrusion into his domain. He calmed the waters to save the desperate fleet. fleet. The ships regrouped and took shelter on the coast of Africa, near a recently founded was Carthage and its queen was Dido. Remember the prophecy Carthage would later become a great imperial rival and enemy to Rome. But who could have believed that when Carthage had just been founded by a group of Phoenicians far from their homeland in the east of the Mediterranean, and Rome did not even exist yet? After a while, as the crews were repairing the ships and looking for food, Aeneas decided to venture into the city of Carthage.

Starting point is 00:34:56 He knew that Juno was the patroness of Carthage with a temple here. He hoped he could appease her by showing his devotion. In the temple of Juno, he met the queen of Carthage, the lovely Dido. queen of Carthage, the lovely Dido. Of course, Aeneas was still mourning the loss of his wife, but after seeing Dido's beauty and grace, a flame awakened in him which he thought had disappeared forever. The Queen was also widowed, and she was impressed by the looks and bravery of the Trojan warrior. Venus knew that the Trojans needed respite before continuing the journey, and Carthage was the perfect place. But Venus needed some help. She called her son Cupid, the god who could make humans fall in love. Cupid disguised himself and acted as Aeneas's guide.

Starting point is 00:36:37 He went to Dido with gifts, and she responded with a banquet in honor of her Trojan visitors. During the banquet, Cupid sparked love for Aeneas in the heart of Dido. The threads of a tragedy were coming together. The two were attracted to each other, but separated by prophecies that pitted young Carthage against future Rome. How would the other gods react to this doomed love? Well, we will soon see how events unfolded. But before that, let's take a break from the story for a moment. To fully understand the Aeneid, we need to look at it in context and learn about

Starting point is 00:37:51 its author, Virgil. The Aeneid was written over a period of ten years, about 2,000 years ago between 29 and 19 BCE. At this time, Rome had already begun its impressive expansion as a military, cultural, and political power. Politically, there was also a transition from the Old Republic to an increasingly imperial system. The institutions of the ancient republic officially stayed in place, but supreme power was moving into the hands of hereditary emperors. At the time when the Aeneid was written, the new emperor He was the successor of Julius Caesar, who had defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra and all his other rivals to concentrate his power. After years of civil war, the fall of the republic in all but name, and the devastation this had on society, people were craving stability. Their faith in the greatness of Rome had been And this was a problem because Rome was no stranger to civil wars. The Emperor Augustus was well aware of this.

Starting point is 00:39:55 He wanted to consolidate his power and restore pride and traditional Roman values, as well as creating a sense of continuity and political unity. So, when Virgil started writing the Aeneid, it was sponsored by the highest authorities in Rome. highest authorities in Rome. It was not only a work of literature designed to entertain, it also served another purpose. In part, it was propaganda. Even though the premise of the Aeneid is that it tells the story of the founding of Rome, it was never presented as a history book. The Romans knew that it was myth. Besides, Virgil had a good reason for telling the story in this way. By turning a hero with high moral values into the founder of Rome, and even linking him to the ruling

Starting point is 00:41:18 dynasty, the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Virgil hoped to create a remarkable work. He wanted to galvanize his readers, to inject a sense of greatness, of epic, into the mythology of Rome. A well-known, even older story about the founding of Rome is the tale of Romulus and Remus, and Virgil includes this in the Aeneid. He integrates the story into the epic, together with numerous pre-existing characters and tales from the Greek and Roman traditions. Of course, Greek culture was very important to the Romans. First, there was the literature, works like the Iliad and the Odyssey, which the Romans knew very well. Then there was the Greek religion, architecture, language, logic, philosophy, the way of looking at the world. All of this was part of the cultural knowledge of educated Roman citizens. However, they had ambivalent feelings towards Greece.

Starting point is 00:43:09 There was a great deal of admiration and acceptance of this cultural heritage, but also a sense of being different and somewhat more successful as a civilization. It was Rome, not Greece, that had conquered the entire Mediterranean world. And at the end of the first century BCE, most of the ancient Greek world and a large part of the empire of Alexander the Great was already under Roman administration. The Aeneid reflects all of this. It is clearly heavily inspired by the works of Homer and is full of references to Greece. And yet, in the story, the ancestors of the Romans are the Trojans, the enemies of the Greeks, who finally got their revenge many centuries later. This was a characteristic of the Romans. They often glorified their enemies,

Starting point is 00:44:48 glorified their enemies, the kingdoms they conquered, because obviously, the fact theyeneid is more than a work of propaganda. It's also an extraordinary piece of storytelling and poetry, comprising almost 10,000 lines. Today, it is somewhat less famous than the Iliad and the Odyssey. There aren't many movies or TV shows directly inspired by the Aeneid, for example, and the characters are probably less famous. But this wasn't always the case. For a long time, the Aeneid was at the center of scholarly culture and was seen as the masterpiece of antique literature. In the Middle Ages and the early modern times, it was probably the most important original work in Latin. It was to Latin what the Odyssey was to Greek. And the story itself was well known and taught to pupils until the 19th century. A lot of elements from antiquity were reintegrated into Western culture over the centuries,

Starting point is 00:46:49 in novels, plays, or operas. And the Aeneid kept being retold. If we look at operas for instance, one of the most famous pieces by Henry Purcell, the English Baroque composer, is Dido and Aeneas. There's also a 19th century opera by Hector Berlioz called The Trojans, which retells the story of the Aeneid. And of course, each version is a little bit different. Something to keep in mind about this retelling, the one you're listening to now, is that the chronology is not exactly the same as in the original text. Our version is more or less in chronological order, so it's easier to follow. But that's not how Virgil wrote it. Another thing that Virgil took from the Greeks, and from Homer in particular, is the structure.

Starting point is 00:48:32 The Aeneid is not chronological. Instead, it begins in the middle of events, or in medias race in Latin. And then we learn of past events through flashbacks, when characters tell their stories to others, as was the case in The Odyssey, for example. The Odyssey begins near the end when Ulysses' son is looking for information about what happened to his father after he left the siege of Troy years before. Then we learn what happened to Ulysses over the years, and it's only at the end of the Odyssey that we come back to the present. Ulysses returns at last and reconquers his kingdom. This structure makes the story more dynamic, and in antiquity, when it was told rather rather than red, it must have been even more captivating to the audience. In the Aeneid, Virgil starts with an exciting scene. Aeneas and his ships are caught in the storm which was created by Juno. Right away, we're in the middle of

Starting point is 00:50:10 the action. After the storm, the Trojans land for repairs on the coast of Africa, near Carthage. And there, Aeneas meets Dido and tells her everything that has happened to them since their escape from Troy. This is how we learn everything you've heard so far through the story Aeneas tells Dido. Through the story, Aeneas tells Dido. After that, the narrative of the Aeneid becomes linear again. We follow Aeneas from Carthage to Italy as he struggles to lay the foundation of Rome. There are 12 chapters in the Aeneid, and so far, we've only covered three of them. love, and Juno saw an opportunity to strike a deal with Venus.

Starting point is 00:51:40 She would leave Aeneas alone if he could stay with Dido. This way, he would be distracted from his destiny, founding a city in Italy. Rome would never exist, so Juno's beloved city, Carthage, would not be destroyed. Uno's beloved city, Carthage, would not be destroyed. Venus was inclined to accept the deal because she cared about the happiness of her son. He had already suffered so much since the fall of Troy, and she was willing to give him some respite at least. The Trojans enjoyed their stay in Carthage and Dido's hospitality and their Their leader was in no hurry to leave. One day on a hunting trip, a storm drove Aeneas and Dido to seek shelter in a grove where they consummated their relationship for the first time. Both were so happy to have found each other, they desired nothing else

Starting point is 00:53:11 other than to get married and spend the rest of their days together. Venus and Juno observed this with satisfaction, but the other gods were displeased to see Aeneas forgot the destiny they had decided for him. So Jupiter sent his messenger, Mercury, to remind the Trojan prince of his duty, and Aeneas realized the tragic dilemma he was facing. Fulfilling his duty would be at the cost of his happiness and the happiness of the woman he loved. Aeneas hesitated, but he was not one to reject the call, one night he left in secret, his heart broken by the decision. Dido's heart was equally broken when she discovered that Aeneas had gone, and life lost all appeal.

Starting point is 00:54:50 Dido ended her life. She used her last words to predict the eternal strife between Aeneas' people and hers. Aeneas' people and hers. This was the start of another prophecy being fulfilled. Rome and Carthage would forever be arch enemies, and only the destruction of Carthage would end this rivalry. Once again, men would be toys in the hands of the gods. But Aeneas had chosen duty over personal interest and proven himself worthy of his destiny. So, the journey resumed. Aeneas's expedition sailed north and returned to Sicily, not far from where their fleet had been scattered by the storm months earlier. During this time, they commemorated Aeneas's father, and funeral games were organized for of his death. As the men were busy with sport competitions, Juno was still

Starting point is 00:56:31 plotting. Her agreement with Venus had ended when Aeneas left Carthage and Dido. Now, she would do anything she could to stop Aeneas from reaching Italy and founding Rome. Juno sent her messenger, disguised as an old woman to convince the Trojan women to burn the fleet. This would prevent the Trojans from ever reaching Italy. But seeing that his ships were burning, Aeneas fell on his knees and prayed to Jupiter to extinguish the fires. And the King of Gods sent a rainstorm to save the fleet from destruction. but the gods don't do anything for free. Jupiter then demanded the sacrifice of one of Aeneas's men in exchange for safe passage to Italy. Shortly after, the helmsman of Aeneas's ship was put to sleep by the god Somnus and fell overboard. Jupiter had claimed his life. Before this, Aeneas had had a vision of his father, who instructed him to go to the underworld.

Starting point is 00:58:29 There, Aeneas would have a vision of the future. Protected by Jupiter, the fleet finally landed in southern Italy near Ciume. The city was close to Naples, which did not exist yet. In the small city of Ciume lived a powerful prophetess, the Sybil, who presided over the oracle of Apollo. She could see glimpses of the future, knew the ways of the gods, and could travel to the underworld. the underworld. Aeneas asked for guidance in his journey to the underworld, and together, they descended to the land of the dead. First, they passed by crowds of the dead on the banks of the river Acheron. To continue their journey, the dead had to pay Sharon, the ferryman, to access the other side.

Starting point is 01:00:08 The ones who couldn't pay had to wait for thousands of years of loneliness and boredom before he would let them cross. But the Sibyl knew these lands and paid Charon so they could swiftly cross and pass Cerberus, the giant three-headed hound that guarded the underwild. Very few living people ever visited the underwild, and even fewer returned. But Aeneas had this privilege. First, he saw Tartarus, where the wicked suffer for eternity. The Sybil warned Aeneas to always obey the gods if he didn't want to end up there. Aeneas was glad he abandoned Carthage and followed the gods' orders.

Starting point is 01:01:21 Then he was brought to the green fields of Elysium, where those who are worthy spend eternity in joy and peace. Aeneas was happy to find the spirit of his father, Ancaeus, in Elysium. And there, he was offered a prophetic vision of the destiny of Rome. Not just a city, not a kingdom, but an empire destined to cover the entire world. After this, Aeneas and the Sybil returned to the world of the living. Aeneas had found inspiration in the Underworld. Now that his expedition had reached Italy, it was time to found this new city that the gods had envisioned. Upon his return, Aeneas led the Trojans to the north, to the region of Latium, where he decided they would settle. But the region was not empty. It was already ruled by the kingdom of the Latins, led by King Latines. led by King Latinas. The king had a daughter, Lavinia. She had been promised to Ternus, the ruler of another native people, the Routuli. But before the Trojans arrived in Latium, King Latinas had received a message

Starting point is 01:03:32 from the gods, announcing the arrival of foreigners and instructing him to marry his daughter to the newcomers, not to Ternus. The gods had made preparations for the settlement of the Trojans, but Juno was still watching, and she was unhappy with how well things were going for the Trojans. Aeneas was now close to peacefully accomplishing his mission. So, Juno summoned the Furies, the deities of vengeance from the Underworld, to stir up a war between the Trojans and the locals. One of the Furies made the Queen of Latium, the wife of Latinas, demand that their daughter Lavinia be married to Ternus of the Routili instead of Aeneas. And not long after, despite Aeneos' hopes of avoiding a war, hostilities broke out between the Rutuli and the Trojans. A long and bloody war that would ravage the land.

Starting point is 01:05:19 There weren't enough Trojan soldiers, so Aeneas searched for allies. In a dream, he was encouraged to seek help from the Etruscans, who were the enemies of the Routili. The Etruscans agreed to fight alongside the Trojans, and so did a group of Greeks, the Arcadians, whom Aeneas met at the location where Rome would one day be. But at the time, there was no city, just seven hills that dominated the landscape. The Rutuli also had allies of their own, including Amazon warriors, fearless women devoted to the goddess Diana who excelled at warfare. Meanwhile, Venus was looking out for her son. She asked her husband Vulcan, the god of craftsmen, to create weapons for Aeneas.

Starting point is 01:06:48 Once again, Juno got involved. She informed Turnus, the enemy king, that Aeneas was away from his camp. This was the moment to attack the Trojans. Tarnas led an expedition to the camp, but while he managed to breach the gates, the Trojans fought back, forcing Tarnas and his men to retreat. However, this was only a skirmish. The real battle was still to come. Meanwhile, in the realm of the gods, Juno and Venus pleaded to Jupiter passionately for the right to intervene or have the gods settle the war in favor of their preferred side. Jupiter ruled that Aeneas and the Trojans had to once again prove their worth, and the goddesses had to watch without further intervention.

Starting point is 01:08:19 Aeneas returned to his camp with the Truscan and Arcadian allies, and a lengthy battle ensued. Prominent warriors fell on both sides. But it was inconclusive, and a temporary armistice was agreed upon for each side to bury and honor their dead. Afterwards, the battle dragged on. Then, Tannis came up with an idea to end the bloodshed, a single combat duel with Aeneas. But Aeneas was so superior to Ternus that the Rutali knew their king wouldn't stand a chance. knew their king wouldn't stand a chance. Finally, Aeneas forced Tarnas into single combat, and the king of the Rutely lost the fight. And this is the end, because the Aeneid was left unfinished. Some of the last lines are incomplete and there is no proper conclusion. However, it was probably close to the conclusion Virgil intended, with Aeneas winning his duel

Starting point is 01:10:08 with Ternus. Aeneas wins victory for the Trojans and their allies, so now they can found their city, the city of Rome. On these foundations, the Roman kingdom, republic, and empire will flourish. Their descendants will include Romulus and Remus, and over the centuries will result in the patrician families of ancient Rome, including the family of Julius Caesar and his adoptive son Augustus. The merging of the Italic people with the Trojans will create the Romans, the people who will inhabit and rule from the most extraordinary city ever built. city ever built. And that's the end of tonight's story, the end of a hero's epic adventure. Good night and sweet dreams. You You You You You You You You You You You The You You You You You The You You You You you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Aeneid

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