Lines 515 - 517 Notes

Question 1

nequiquam (in vain)

Answer 1

We find out in one word that the altar will not protect them - dramatic irony

Question 2

Hecuba and her daughters

Answer 2

They are sticking together (condensae) and vulnerable (huddled at the altar for protection). They show pietas by touching the statue of the gods and trusting their power.

Question 3

Dove simile

Answer 3

The daughters of Priam are innocent and pure, like the symbol of a white dove.We feel a surge of pity for them - they are the collateral damage of war. The black storm is Death and Destruction in the form of the Greek army.