by many allies, Aeneas is
anxious to secure some too, and soon sets out to seek the aid of
Evander, king of Etruria, formerly a Greek. On his way to this realm,
Aeneas perceives on the banks of the Tiber a white sow with thirty
young, which he sacrifices to the gods in gratitude for having pointed
out to him the spot where his future capital will rise. On reaching
the Etruscan's stronghold, Aeneas readily secures the promise of a
large contingent of warriors, who prepare to join him under the
command of Pallas, son of the king. He then assists at a great
Etruscan banquet in honor of one of Hercules' triumphs, and while he
is sleeping there his mother, Venus, induces her blacksmith husband,
Vulcan, to make him a suit of armor.

Dawn having appeared, Evander entertains his guests with tales, while
his son completes his preparations. Aeneas' departure, however, is
hastened by Venus, who warns her son that his camp is in danger when
she delivers to him the armor she has procured. This is adorned by
many scenes in the coming history of Rome, among which special mention
is made of the twins suckled by the traditional wolf, of the
kidnapping of the Sabines, and of the heroic deeds of Cocles, Cloelia,
and Manlius, as well as battles and festivals galore.[6]

_Book IX._ Meantime, obedient to Turnus' orders, the Rutules have
surrounded the Trojan camp and set fire to Aeneas' ships. But, as Fate
has decreed these vessels shall be immortal, they sink beneath the
waves as soon as the flames touch them, only to reappear a moment
later as ocean-nymphs and swim down the Tiber to warn Aeneas of the
danger of his friends. This miracle awes the foe, until Turnus boldly
interprets it in his favor, whereupon the Rutules attack the
foreigners' camp so furiously that the Trojans gladly accept the
proposal made by Nisus and Euryalus to slip out and summon Aeneas to
return.

Stealing out of the Trojan camp by night, these two heroes bravely
thread their way through their sleeping foes, killing sundry famous
warriors as they go, and appropriating choice bits of their spoil.
Leaving death in their wake, the two Trojans pass through the enemy's
ranks and finally enter a forest, where they are pursued by a troop of
the Volscians, who surround and slay Euryalus. But, although Nisus
first manages to escape from their hands, he returns to defend his
comrade and is slain too. The Volscians therefore bear two bloody
heads to the Rutules camp to serv