Vergil, Aeneid Book 7

What this is. Book 7 of the Aeneid marks the poem's turning point: the Trojans reach Italy, and a new war begins. This reader covers Book 7's required AP passages (7.45–58, Reading 5.4): the introduction of King Latinus and the problem of his daughter's marriage; and (7.783–792 & 803–817, also 5.4): the arms of Turnus and the entrance of the warrior-maiden Camilla in the catalogue of Italian forces.

What happens here. Aging King Latinus has no son, only a daughter of marriageable age, sought by many suitors across Italy — but divine omens stand in the way of the match everyone expects, her marriage to the handsome, powerful Turnus (7.45–58). Later, as the Italian forces muster for war, Turnus rides out with a helmet crested by a fire-breathing Chimaera and a shield engraved with the myth of Io (7.783–792) — followed by Camilla, a Volscian warrior-maiden so swift she could run across a field of grain without bending a stalk, who draws crowds wherever she rides (7.803–817).

How to read this. Latin poetry is written in dactylic hexameter, and word order is far more flexible than in prose — expect hyperbaton (separated words that agree), interlocked ("synchysis") order, and sentences that run on (enjambment) from one line into the next. This reader focuses on tap-word grammar, sense-unit chunking, and translation; a full metrical scan may be added in a future update.