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Leaving Cert Classical Studies: Aeneid: plot & key episodes

How often Aeneid: plot & key episodes comes up on the Classical Studies papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

OL Asked on 3 of the last 3 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Aeneid: plot & key episodes.

(a)Who takes Ascanius' shape to make Dido fall in love with Aeneas?
  1. Mercury
  2. Cupid
  3. Iris
(b)What does Creusa's ghost foretell for Aeneas?
  1. A return to rebuild Troy
  2. His death at the hands of Turnus
  3. A kingdom in Hesperia and a royal bride
(c)In Aeneid 5, who sets fire to the Trojan ships in Sicily?
  1. Trojan women, stirred up by Iris
  2. Sicilian Cyclopes
  3. The Harpies, led by Celaeno
Show the answers

(a) Cupid

(b) A kingdom in Hesperia and a royal bride

(c) Trojan women, stirred up by Iris

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Aeneid: plot & key episodes.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 3 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q1, Q3
2024Q12, Q15
2023Q9, Q10, Q12

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Aeneid: plot & key episodes questions

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 2 marks

Which helmsman falls overboard at the end of Aeneid 5?

  1. Misenus
  2. Achates
  3. Palinurus
Show the answer

Palinurus

The god Sleep throws Palinurus into the sea, the one life Neptune demanded. Aeneas meets his unburied ghost in Book 6. Misenus is the trumpeter buried at Cumae.

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 2 marks

Which god calms the storm that Aeolus unleashes in Aeneid 1?

  1. Apollo
  2. Neptune
  3. Jupiter
Show the answer

Neptune

Neptune is angry that Juno and Aeolus meddled in his sea. Virgil compares him to a respected statesman calming a rioting crowd, an epic simile with a Roman flavour.

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 3 marks

What two signs finally persuade Anchises to leave Troy?

  1. A flame on Ascanius' head, then a shooting star
  2. An eagle and a snake over the altar
  3. A bleeding tree and a voice from the ground
Show the answer

A flame on Ascanius' head, then a shooting star

A harmless flame plays on Ascanius' head; Anchises asks for confirmation and a star falls with thunder. The bleeding tree is Polydorus in Book 3.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 3 of the last 3 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q4
2024Q6, Q7
2023Q8, Q9

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Aeneid: plot & key episodes questions

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 2 marks

How does Aeneas carry his father Anchises out of burning Troy?

  1. In a chariot
  2. On a stretcher
  3. On his shoulders
Show the answer

On his shoulders

Aeneas carries Anchises on his back and leads Ascanius by the hand, while Anchises holds the household gods. The picture sums up his pietas.

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 2 marks

What must Aeneas find before he can enter the Underworld in Book 6?

  1. A silver key
  2. The golden bough
  3. A laurel crown
Show the answer

The golden bough

The Sibyl of Cumae tells him the golden bough is a gift for Proserpina. Doves sent by his mother Venus guide him to the tree.

Aeneid: plot & key episodes, 3 marks

Why does Juno hate the Trojans in the Aeneid?

  1. Rome is fated to destroy her city, Carthage
  2. Aeneas stole her sacred horses
  3. The Trojans refused to worship Jupiter
Show the answer

Rome is fated to destroy her city, Carthage

Juno knows Aeneas' descendants will one day destroy Carthage, and she still resents the Judgement of Paris. So she keeps trying to stop the Trojans reaching Italy.

Other Classical Studies topics

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