Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

346 THE MYTHS OF CREATION: THE GODS
When this had been done and the gift had been given to the goddess, then
at last they came to the happy places, the pleasant green glades of the Woods
of the Fortunate, the home of the blessed. Here air that is more pure and abundant
clothes the plains in soft-colored light and they have their own sun and
their own stars. Some exercise their limbs on the grassy wrestling grounds, vie
in sport, and grapple on the yellow sand. Others dance in a chorus and sing
songs; and the Thracian priest, Orpheus, in his long robe, accompanies their
measures on the seven strings of his lyre, plucking them now with his fingers,
now with an ivory quill. Here is the ancient Trojan line of King Teucer, a most
beautiful race, great-souled heroes born in better years, and Ilus, Assaracus, and
Dardanus, the founder of Troy.
Aeneas marvels at the unreal arms of the heroes and their chariots nearby.
The spears stand fixed in the ground, and horses browse freely everywhere on
the plain. The same pleasure that they had in their chariots and arms and in
tending their sleek horses follows them after they have been laid in the earth.
Behold he sees others feasting to the right and to the left on the grass and singing
a happy paean in a chorus amidst a fragrant grove of laurel, from which the full
stream of the Eridanus River rolls through the woods in the upper world. 18
Here in a group were those who suffered wounds while fighting for their
country, and the priests who remained pure while they lived, and the poets who
were devout in their art and whose words were worthy of their god, Phoebus
Apollo, or those who made life better by their discoveries in the arts and the sciences
and who through merit made others remember them. All of these wore
around their temples a snowy white garland; the Sibyl spoke to them as they
surrounded her, singling out Musaeus especially: "Tell me, happy souls and
you, O illustrious poet, what region, what place does Anchises inhabit? We
crossed the great rivers of Erebus and have come on his account." Musaeus
replied in these few words: "No one has a fixed abode; we inhabit shady groves,
living in meadows fresh with streams along whose banks we recline. But if the
desire in your heart so impels you, cross over this ridge; I shall show you an
easy path." He spoke and walked ahead of them pointing out the shining fields
below; then they made their way down from the height.
Father Anchises was eagerly contemplating and surveying souls that were
secluded in the depths of a green valley and about to enter upon the light of the
upper air. It happened that he was reviewing the whole number of his own dear
descendants; the fate, fortune, character, and exploits of Roman heroes. When
he saw Aeneas coming toward him over the grass, he quickly extended both his
hands and a cry escaped his lips as the tears poured down his cheeks: "At last
you have come, and your long-awaited devotion to your father has overcome
the hard journey. Is it granted to me to see your face, to hear your voice, to speak
to you as of old? I have been pondering your visit, thinking about when it would
be, counting out the time, and my anxiety has not gone unrewarded. I receive
you here after your travels over so many lands and so many seas, harried by so
many dangers! How much I feared that Dido in her African kingdom might do
you some harm!"
Aeneas replied: "The vision of you in your sadness appearing to me again
and again compelled me to pursue my way to this realm. My ships are moored