he wandered at random through the city till suddenly he fancied he saw Creusa.  But it was her ghost, not her living self.  She spoke to her distracted husband and bade him grieve no more.  “Think not,” she said, “that this has befallen without the will of the gods.  The Fates have decided that Creusa shall not follow you to your new home.  There are long and weary wanderings before you, and you must traverse many stormy seas before you come to the western land where the river Tiber pours its gentle stream through the fertile pastures of Italy.  There shall you find a kingdom and a royal bride.  Cease then to mourn for Creusa.”  AEneas tried to clasp her in his arms, but in vain, for he only grasped the empty air.  Then he understood that the gods desired him to go forth into the world alone.

While AEneas was seeking Creusa a group of Trojans who had escaped the enemy and the flames had collected at the temple of Ceres, and he found them ready and willing to join him and follow his fortunes.  The first rays of the sun were touching the peaks of Ida when Aeneas and his comrades turned their backs on the ill-fated city, and went towards the rising sun and the new hope.

For several months AEneas and his little band of followers lived as refugees among the hills of Ida, and their numbers grew as now one, now another, came to join them.  All through the winter they were hard at work cutting down trees and building ships, which were to carry them across the seas.  When spring came the fleet was ready, and the little band set sail.  First they merely crossed the Hellespont to Thrace, for Aeneas hoped to found a city here and revive the name of Troy.  But bad omens came to frighten the Trojans and drive them back to their ships.

They now took a southward course, and sailed on without stopping till they reached Delos, the sacred isle of Apollo.  Here Aeneas entered the temple and offered prayer to the lord of prophecy.  “Grant us a home, Apollo, grant us an abiding city.  Preserve a second Troy for the scanty remnant that escaped the swords of the Greeks and the wrath of cruel Achilles.  Tell us whom to follow, whither to turn, where to found our city.”

His prayer was not offered in vain, for a voice spoke in answer.  “Ye hardy sons of Dardanus, the land that erst sent forth your ancestral race shall welcome you back to its fertile fields.  Go and seek your ancient mother.  There shall the offspring of AEneas rule over all the lands, and their children’s children unto the furthest generations.”

When he had heard this oracle, Anchises said, “In the middle of the sea lies an island called Crete, which is sacred to Jupiter.  There we shall find an older Mount Ida, and beside it the cradle of our race.  Thence, if tradition speaks truth, our great ancestor Teucrus set sail for Asia and there he founded his kingdom, and named our mountain Ida.  Let us steer our course therefore to Crete, and if Jupiter be propitious, the third dawn will bring us to its shores.”