summary

• Aeneas's journey is made difficult by the gods, and in particular by Juno, the queen of the gods. 
• Virgil wonders why Juno hates Aeneas, who is famous for his piety
• He asks the muse, the goddess of the arts, to tell him about the source of her anger.
• Juno wants Carthage to one day rule the world, but she has heard that a race of men descended from Trojans are fated to destroy it.
• Paris, a Trojan prince, was once asked to judge who was the most beautiful goddess, and chose Venus over Juno and Minerva. 
• Aeolus immediately agrees, since Juno is the most powerful goddess, and unleashes the East, West and South-West winds against the Trojans.
• Aeneas thinks that the Trojans who died defending Troy were many times more blessed than he is, who survived only to have no home.
• Meanwhile, his men's ships (eleven are mentioned) crash in the shallows or begin to sink
• He angrily commands the winds to return to Aeolus, and proclaims that he, Neptune, is the lord of the ocean
• The situation is desperate, but then Neptune, the god of the ocean, notices the storm and recognizes it as his sister Juno's work
• Aeneas hikes up a mountain to try to see if any other of his men's ships are out on the water. 
• Instead, he spots a herd of deer - he shoots seven of them.
• Returning with the deer to feed his men, Aeneas gives a stirring pep talk. 
• He recalls their difficulties with Scylla and the Cyclops, but says that someday, they'll enjoy looking back on these events.
• "A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this," says Aeneas
• He says that the Fates have determined that they will manage to reach Italy, so they should cheer up
• Jove and Venus watch the scene from the heavens
• Though Aeneas privately worries and grieves, he fakes a positive attitude to support his men
• Venus asks Jove when there will be an end to Aeneas's suffering
•  Jove tells her not to worry, and foretells more of Aeneas's fate
• Aeneas will then rule for three years, and after his death his son Ascanius will rule for 30 years
• After 300 years, Romulus and Remus, sons of a mortal priestess and Mars, will be born, and Romulus will found Rome, which will endure indefinitely
• Even Juno will change her mind and love Rome
• Eventually, Julius Caesar will bring peace—he will close the gates of war and bind Discord with a hundred knots.
• Aeneas and Achates go into the woods, where they come upon a virgin warrior, who is actually Venus in disguise
• Venus tells them about Dido's past, how her greedy brother Pygmalion, king of Tyre, killed Dido's husband Sychaeus for his wealth
• Venus stops him and tells him the lost ships have arrived safely at the harbor of Carthage
• Venus reveals herself, and then makes Aeneas and Achates invisible by covering them in a dense mist so that they can travel safely into Carthage.
• On the walls of a temple to Juno, Aeneas sees a depiction of the Trojan War of a large temple of Juno, including images of Priam, Achilles, and Hector, and is amazed and comforted that the ordeals of his people are known throughout the world.
• Dido then arrives at the temple, and is not only beautiful but shows herself to be a capable leader
• Aeneas (still invisible) is astonished to see friends whom he thought had drowned standing next to Dido
• Dido generously offers them land and help in finding Aeneas.
• Aeneas praises Dido, and she welcomes him and calls for a grand feast.
• Achates leaves to retrieve gifts for Dido of beautiful clothing and jewels.
• Venus is still concerned about Juno's wrath and mistrustful of Carthaginian hospitality
• she sends Cupid, disguised as Aeneas's son Ascanius, to make Didofall in love with Aeneas
• Cupid brings the gifts to the feast, sits in Dido's lap and enchants her, making her forget her beloved Sychaeus as she falls in love with Aeneas
• The narrator describes love as poison and fire, and says that Dido is "doomed."
• The Trojans and their hosts drink and make merry together and listen to music
• Dido asks Aeneas to tell the whole story of his seven years of wandering.