Get The Aeneid straight once, then move.

The Aeneid begins with Aeneas and his fleet already at sea, years after the fall of Troy. Juno, who favored the Greeks and despises the Trojans, convinces Aeolus, keeper of the winds, to unleash a storm. The fleet is scattered. Aeneas washes up near Carthage in North Africa, where the goddess Venus, his mother, guides him to the city's queen, Dido, who is herself a refugee building a new kingdom after fleeing her murderous brother.

Dido welcomes the Trojans warmly. At a banquet, Aeneas recounts the fall of Troy in two long books: the Greeks' trick with the wooden horse, the priest Laocoon's futile warning, the city burning at night, the slaughter of King Priam at his own altar, and Aeneas's escape carrying his elderly father Anchises on his back while holding his young son Ascanius by the hand. His wife Creusa is separated from them in the chaos. Her ghost appears to tell him she is gone and that a great destiny awaits him in Italy. These books are the emotional center of the poem.

Venus and Juno conspire, for different reasons, to push Dido and Aeneas together. During a hunt, a storm drives them into a cave, and they become lovers. Aeneas settles into life in Carthage. Jupiter notices and sends Mercury to shake Aeneas loose. Mercury finds Aeneas dressed in Carthaginian clothes, overseeing construction, and delivers the message: Italy is waiting, and this is not where he belongs. Aeneas immediately begins preparing to leave. He tells Dido only after the ships are nearly ready. Dido is devastated and furious. She curses him and his descendants. After he sails, she builds a funeral pyre, lies on it with his belongings around her, and kills herself with his sword. Aeneas, looking back from the sea, sees the smoke and understands what it means.

The Trojans stop in Sicily, where Aeneas holds funeral games in honor of his father Anchises, who died there the previous year. Juno stirs up the Trojan women, exhausted from years of wandering, to burn the ships. Some ships are lost. Aeneas leaves the weary behind and sails on. He reaches Cumae in Italy, where the Sibyl, a prophetess, leads him into the underworld. There he meets the shade of Dido, who refuses to acknowledge him. He meets fallen comrades. He finds his father Anchises, who shows him a parade of souls waiting to be reborn as Rome's future heroes. It is meant to be inspiring, but it also shows Aeneas exactly how much suffering still lies ahead.

In Italy, the Trojans land at the mouth of the Tiber. King Latinus of the Latins welcomes them and offers his daughter Lavinia in marriage, fulfilling a prophecy. But Turnus, a local warrior king who was promised Lavinia, refuses to accept this. Juno drives Lavinia's mother Amata to madness and sends the fury Allecto to inflame Turnus and trigger war. A minor incident — Ascanius accidentally kills a pet stag — gives the Latins the excuse they need. War breaks out.

Aeneas seeks allies. He travels up the Tiber to Pallanteum, where the Greek exile Evander rules. Evander sends his young son Pallas to fight alongside Aeneas. Venus arranges for Vulcan to forge Aeneas a divine shield engraved with scenes of Rome's future history. The war that follows is brutal. Pallas is killed by Turnus, who strips the sword belt from the boy's body and wears it as a trophy. Aeneas, hearing of Pallas's death, goes into a killing fury. Turnus's ally Camilla, a warrior queen, fights brilliantly before she is killed. The war grinds on with losses on both sides.