Aeneas

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Aeneas

This article is about the Roman hero. For other uses, see Aeneas (disambiguation)
Aeneas (disambiguation)

Aeneas was a Trojan hero and important figure in Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad.Other people and things called Aeneas include:Ancient...
.

In Greco-Roman mythology

Mythology

The word mythology refers to a body of folklore/myths/legends that a particular culture believes to be true and that often use the supernatural to interpret natural events and to explain the nature of the universe and humanity....
, Aeneas(Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: , Aineías; in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
) was a Trojan

Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
hero, the son of prince Anchises

Anchises

In Greek mythology, Anchises was a son of Capys and Themiste or Hieromneme, a naiad. His major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite ....
and the goddess Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus was a major Roman mythology goddess principally associated with love, beauty and sexual reproduction, the equivalent of the Greek mythology Aphrodite....
. His father was also the second cousin of King Priam

Priam

Discussion

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Encyclopedia

Mythology

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: , Aineías; in English

English language

Troy

Anchises

Venus (mythology)

Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
of Troy. The journey of Aeneas from Troy, (led by Venus, his mother) which led to the founding of the city Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, is recounted in Virgil

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
's Aeneid
Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin Epic poetry written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Rome....
. He is considered an important figure in Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
and Roman

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
legend and history. Aeneas is a character in Homer

Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
's Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
, Quintus Smyrnaeus' Posthomerica
Posthomerica

The Posthomerica is an epic poem by Quintus of Smyrna, probably written in the latter half of the 4th century, and telling the story of the period between the death of Hektor and the fall of Troy....
, and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida

Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. The play is not a conventional tragedy, since its protagonist does not die....
. Also, Aeneas has been known for his skills in combat during the battle of Troy.

Mythology

In the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
, Aeneas is the leader of the Dardan

Dardan

The terms Dardan and Dardanian in classical writings were synonymous with the term Trojan, the Dardans being Troys, an ancient people of the Troad in northwestern Anatolia....
ians (allies of the Trojans), and a principal lieutenant of Hector

Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
, son of the Trojan king Priam

Priam

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
frequently comes to his aid on the battlefield; he is also a favorite of Apollo

Apollo

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
. Venus and Apollo rescue Aeneas from combat with Diomedes

Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, mostly known for his participation in the Trojan War. He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his grandfather, Adrastus....
of Argos

Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
, who nearly kills him, and carry him away to Pergamos for healing. Even Poseidon

Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
, who normally favors the Greeks, comes to Aeneas's rescue when the latter falls under the assault

Assault

Assault is a crime of violence against another human. In some jurisdictions, including Australia and New Zealand, assault refers to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, while in other jurisdictions, such as the United States, assault may refer only to the threat of violence caused by an immediate show of fo...
of Achilles

Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
, noting that Aeneas, though from a junior branch of the royal family, is destined to become king of the Trojan people.

As seen in the first books of the Aeneid

Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin Epic poetry written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Rome....
, Aeneas is one of the few Trojans who were not killed in battle or enslaved when Troy fell. When Troy was sacked

Looting

Looting , to rob, sacking, plundering, despoiling, or pillaging is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting....
by the Greeks, Aeneas, after being commanded by the gods to flee, gathered a group, collectively known as the Aeneads

Aeneads

In Roman mythology, the Aeneads were the friends, family and companions of Aeneas, with whom they fled from Troy after the Trojan War. Virgil also used the word as a synonym of "Trojan", a person from Troy....
, who then traveled to Italy

Italy

Roman Kingdom

The Roman Kingdom was the monarchy government of the city of Rome and its territories. Little is certain about the history of the Roman Kingdom, as no written records from that time survive, and the histories about it were written during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire and are largely based on legend....
. The Aeneads included Aeneas's trumpeter Misenus

Misenus

In Greek mythology, Misenus was a name attributed to two individuals.*Misenus was a friend of Odysseus.*Misenus was a character in Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid....
, his father Anchises

Anchises

Achates

In Roman mythology, Achates was a close friend of Aeneas. He accompanied him throughout his adventures, reaching Carthage with him in disguise when the pair were scouting the area, and leading him to the Sibyl of Cumae....
, Sergestus

Sergestus

In Roman mythology, Sergestus was a friend of Aeneas. He was the ancestor of gens Sergia, a famous Patrician family of which Catilina was a member....
and Acmon

Acmon

There are three characters named Acmon in Greek mythology:*Acmon was one of the Dactyl s, associated with the anvil, or perhaps the Corybantes....
, the healer Lapyx, the steady helmsman Palinurus

Palinurus

Palinurus, in Roman mythology, is the helmsman of a ship of the Trojan hero Aeneas, whose descendants would one day found the city of Rome. As the price for the safe passage of Aeneas and his people after fleeing from Troy to Italy to escape the city's devastation by the Greeks during their victory in the Trojan War, Venus, the mother of Aene...
, and his son Ascanius

Ascanius

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, as the city burned, Aeneas escaped to Latium in Italy, taking his father Anchises and his child Ascanius with him, though Creusa died during the escape....
(also known as Iulus, Julus, or Ascanius Julius.) He carried with him the Lares

Lares

Lares were ancient Roman Empire deity protecting the house and the family, they were a form of household deity.Lares were presumed sons of Mercury and Lara , and deeply venerated by ancient Romans through small statues, usually put in higher places of the house, far from the floor, or even on the roof ....
and Penates, the statues of the household gods of Troy, and transplanted them to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
.

(From here on, the Greek myths make room for the Roman mythology, so the Roman names of the gods will be used.) After a brief, but fierce storm sent up against the group at Juno

Juno (mythology)

File:Juno sospita pushkin.jpgJuno was an Roman religion, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Juventas, Mars , and Vulcan ....
's request, and several failed attempts to found cities, Aeneas and his fleet made landfall at Carthage

Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
after six years of wanderings. Aeneas had a year long affair with the Carthaginian queen Dido (also known as Elissa), who proposed that the Trojans settle in her land and that she and Aeneas reign jointly over their peoples. Once again, this was in favour of Juno, who was told of the fact that her favorite city would eventually be defeated by the Trojans' descendants. However, the messenger god Mercury

Mercury (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Mercury was a messenger, and a god of trade, profit and commerce, the son of Maia Maiestas, also known as Ops, the Roman version of Cronus, and Jupiter ....
was sent by Jupiter

Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and Venus to remind Aeneas of his journey and his purpose, thus compelling him to leave secretly and continue on his way. When Dido learned of this, she ordered her sister Anna to construct a pyre, she said, to get rid of Aeneas' possessions, left behind by him in his haste to leave. Standing on it, Dido uttered a curse that would forever pit Carthage against Rome. She then committed suicide by stabbing herself with the same sword she gave Aeneas when they first met and then falling on the pyre. Anna reproached the mortally wounded Dido. Meanwhile, Juno

Juno (mythology)

File:Juno sospita pushkin.jpgJuno was an Roman religion, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Juventas, Mars , and Vulcan ....
, looking down on the tragedy and moved by Dido's plight, sent Iris

Iris (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity....
to make Dido's passage to Hades

Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
quicker and less painful. When Aeneas later traveled to Hades

Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
, he called to her ghost but she neither spoke to nor acknowledged him.

The company stopped on the island of Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
during the course of their journey. After the first trip, before the Trojans went to Carthage, Achaemenides

Achaemenides

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Achaemenides was a son of Adamastus of Ithaca, and one of Odysseus' crew. He was marooned on Sicily when Odysseus fled Polyphemus the cyclops, until Aeneas arrived and took him to Italy with his company of refugee Troy....
, one of Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
' crew who had been left behind, traveled with them. After visiting Carthage, the Trojans returned to Sicily where they were welcomed by Acestes

Acestes

Acestes or Egestes was, in Roman mythology, the son of the Sicilian river-god Crinisus by a Dardania n or Troy woman named Egesta or Segesta....
, king of the region and son of the river Crinisus

Crinisus

This is also the name of a river in Sicily, the River Crinisus.Crinisus was a god in Roman mythology. According to Virgil's Aeneid and Gaius Julius Hyginus' Fabulae , Crinisus was the father of Acestes by a Dardania n woman....
by a Dardania

Dardania

Dardania may refer to:* Dardania , the Dardanelles separating Thrace from Anatolia* Dardania , in the Balkans of Southeast Europe...
n woman.

Latinus

Latinus

Latinus or Latinos was a figure in both Greek mythology and Roman mythology mythology....
, king of the Latins

Latins

Latins can refer to several groups of people. Its meaning has changed throughout time, and can still refer to different things even today....
, welcomed Aeneas's army of exiled Trojans

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
and let them reorganize their life in Latium

Latium

Lazio, called Latium in English language, is a Regions of Italy of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo to the east, Campania to the south, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west....
. His daughter Lavinia

Lavinia

In Roman mythology, Lavinia was the daughter of Latinus and Amata.Latinus, the wise king of the Latins, hosted Aeneas' army of exiled Trojan War and let them reorganize their life in Latium....
had been promised to Turnus

Turnus

In Virgil's Aeneid, Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas. Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people....
, king of the Rutuli

Rutuli

The Rutuli or Rutulians were members of a legendary Ancient Italic peoples tribe. Thought to have been descended from the Umbri and the Pelasgians, the Rutuli were located in territory whose capital was the ancient town of Ardea_%28RM%29, located about 20 miles southeast of Rome....
, but Latinus received a prophecy that Lavinia would be betrothed to one from another land — namely, Aeneas. Latinus heeded the prophecy, and Turnus consequently declared war on Aeneas at the urging of Juno

Juno (mythology)

Mezentius

In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan civilization king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium....
of the Etruscans

Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci....
and Queen Amata

Amata

In Roman mythology, Amata was the wife of King Latinus of the Latins. Although Latinus and she had no sons, together they had one daughter. When her daughter, Lavinia, was given to Aeneas for marriage in spite of her fianc?, Turnus, Amata supported Turnus....
of the Latins

Latins

Latins can refer to several groups of people. Its meaning has changed throughout time, and can still refer to different things even today....
. Aeneas' forces prevailed. Turnus was killed and his people were captured. According to Livy

Livy

Titus Livius , known as Livy in English language, was a Ancient Rome historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, from its founding through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time....
, Aeneas was victorious but Latinus died in the war. Aeneas founded the city of Lavinium

Lavinium

Lavinium was a Latin port city of Latium 30 km south of Rome, already fortified in the seventh century BCE and a flourishing in the sixth. and assimilated by Republican Rome....
, named after his wife. He later welcomed Dido's sister, Anna Perenna

Anna Perenna

Anna Perenna was an old Ancient Rome deity of the circle or "ring" of the year, as the name clearly indicates. Herfestival fell on the Ides of March , which would have marked the first full moon in the year in the old lunar Roman calendar when March was reckoned as the first month of the year, and was held at the grove of the goddess at the...
, who then committed suicide after learning of Lavinia's jealousy.

After his death, his mother, Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus was a major Roman mythology goddess principally associated with love, beauty and sexual reproduction, the equivalent of the Greek mythology Aphrodite....
asked Jupiter

Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
to make her son immortal. Jupiter

Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
agreed and the river god Numicus

Numicus

The Numicus was a river of ancient Latium which flowed into the sea between the towns of Lavinium and Ardea. According to the mythology of Livy, Aeneas lies buried on its banks....
cleansed Aeneas of all his mortal parts and Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus was a major Roman mythology goddess principally associated with love, beauty and sexual reproduction, the equivalent of the Greek mythology Aphrodite....
anointed him with Ambrosia and Nectar, making him a god. Aeneas was recognized as the god Jupiter Indiges. Inspired by the work of James Frazer

James Frazer

Sir James George Frazer , was a Scotland social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion....
, some have posited that Aeneas was originally a life-death-rebirth deity

Life-death-rebirth deity

The category life-death-rebirth deity also known as a "dying-and-rising" or "Resurrection" deity is a convenient means of classifying the many divinities in world mythology or religion who are born, suffer death, an eclipse, or other death-like experience, pass a phase in the underworld among the dead, and are subsequently reborn, in either a...
.

Family and legendary descendants

Aeneas had an extensive family tree. His wet-nurse was Caieta

Caieta

In Roman mythology, Caieta was the wet-nurse of Aeneas.*Virgil, Aeneid 7.1-4.The name is an etymological invention to explain the name of the city and gulf of Gaeta....
, and he is the father of Ascanius

Ascanius

Creusa

In Greek mythology, four people had the name Creusa ; the name means simply "princess"....
, and of Silvius

Silvius (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia. He succeeded Ascanius as King of Alba Longa. Virgil VI, 763. All the kings of Alba following Silvius bore the name as their cognomen....
with Lavinia. The former, also known as Iulus (or Julius), founded Alba Longa

Alba Longa

Alba Longa was an ancient city of Latium in central Italian Peninsula southeast of Ancient Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC....
and was the first in a long series of kings. According to the mythology outlined by Virgil in the Aeneid, Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus are the traditional Founding Fathers of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars ....
were both descendants of Aeneas through their mother Rhea Silvia, making Aeneas progenitor of the Roman people. Some early sources call him their father or grandfather, but considering the commonly accepted dates of the fall of Troy (1184 BC) and the founding of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
(753 BC), this seems unlikely. The Julian family of Rome, most notably Julius Cæsar and Augustus, traced their lineage to Ascanius and Aeneas, thus to the goddess Venus. Through the Julians, the Palemonids also make this claim. The legendary kings of Britain

List of legendary kings of Britain

The following list of legendary kings of Britain derives predominantly from Geoffrey of Monmouth's circa 1136 work Historia Regum Britanniae ....
also trace their family through a grandson of Aeneas, Brutus.

In the recent trilogy of Troy novels written by the now deceased author David Gemmell, Aeneas is known both by this name and also the name Helikaon.

Medieval literature

In the Divine Comedy Dante sees the shade of Aeneas among other Roman worthies in the section of Limbo reserved for "virtuous pagans".

Roman d'Enéas
Roman d'Enéas

Le Roman d'En?as is a Romance of Medieval French literature, dating to ca. 1160, attributed to Beno?t de Sainte-Maure. Its subject matter is the tale of Aeneas....

Aeneas

Mythology

Family and legendary descendants

Medieval literature

Family tree