As the Trojan fleet leaves Carthage behind, Aeneas sees flames lighting the city, and although he is unaware that the fire is from Dido's funeral pyre, he fears for his former lover because he knows that thwarted love has made her desperate. Soon thereafter, an immense storm threatens the ships, and Aeneas follows his pilot Palinurus's advice and sails for Sicily, taking refuge at Drepanum. From there, a year earlier, the Trojans had set out for Italy, only to be swept off course to Carthage. Once again, King Acestës receives them hospitably.
The next morning, Aeneas summons his people and announces that he is going to celebrate funeral rites in memory of his father, Anchises, who died on their previous visit to Drepanum and was buried here. Additionally, Aeneas will hold various athletic games in Anchises's honor. He then makes ceremonial sacrifices at his father's tomb, in the course of which a giant serpent appears. The serpent's puzzling presence seems harmless.
There follows a lengthy description of the athletic games: a hectic rowing contest, in which four ships of the fleet compete strenuously with one another; a foot race, in which Nisus, who falls and loses his own chance of winning, unscrupulously trips another competitor in order to ensure that his beloved friend, Euryalus, will win; a bloody prizefight between two muscular boxers, the Trojan Darës and Entellus, a subject of Acestës; and a display of archery skills made memorable by the flight of an arrow, shot by Acestës, which portentously bursts into flame and disappears from sight. The contests are followed by a cavalry display by the young men, including Ascanius, who will become the forefather of the Romans.
