Aeneas

Greek and Roman Son of Anchises, a prince of Troy, and the goddess Venus; husband of Creusa; father of Ascanius; a hero of Homer's Greek epic the Iliad, and, perhaps more importantly, of the Roman poet Virgil's the Aeneid. In the Iliad and other Greek writings, Aeneas is the leader of the Dardanians, descendants of Dardanus, the founder of Troy. King Priam, for whom they were fighting, was Aeneas' uncle. Aeneas fought many battles against the Greeks who had declared war against Troy in an effort to rescue the beautiful woman Helen. Venus and the god Apollo frequently helped Aeneas in his battles, as did other gods. As the Greeks were about to sack Troy, Venus warned Aeneas and insisted that he leave. Aeneas gathered up his family, carrying his lame father on his back. Aeneas also gathered up the family gods, including the Penates, and his father carried them as his son carried him. Warriors and friends fled the city with Aeneas. Creusa, however, was killed in the crush of people. Aeneas returned for her but found only her ghost, who told him to journey forward, to fulfill his destiny of founding a new city in Italy. Aeneas fled Troy, taking with him shiploads of refugees, including many women and children. Their journey to Italy took years and included many adventures. Though they were beset with turmoil and hardship, the great gods Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, and Mercury watched over them, often intervening on their behalf. Eventually, Aeneas and a small group of the strongest and bravest of his followers landed on the shores of Italy in the kingdom of Latium. (The rest of the group that had fled Troy had stayed on the island of Sicily.) There Aeneas was welcomed by King Latinus, who, fearing the might of the Trojan hero, betrothed his daughter Lavinia to Aeneas. This angered Turnus, the king of the nearby Rutuli people, to whom Lavinia had been betrothed. A war ensued which lasted years. Gods supported both sides and many heroes died in the combat. Eventually, Aeneas killed Turnus in one-onone combat and the war came to an end. Aeneas married Lavinia and founded the city of Lavinium, which he named after her. Years later, Aeneas died, and his mother, Venus, asked Jupiter to make him a god. The Roman people worshiped Aeneas as a founding figure and protector long before Virgil wrote the Aeneid in the first century b.c. Aeneid Roman The epic poem composed by Latin poet Virgil between 30 and 19 b.c. It is divided into 12 books and was considered unfinished by Virgil when he died. Nevertheless, the Aeneid is one of the cornerstones of world literature. It had enormous influence on Roman thought, for it centered on a genuinely Roman myth, glorifying Rome and foretelling its future prosperity. People of all classes knew it by heart and often quoted it. Virgil was greatly admired in his own lifetime, for his contemporaries at once understood his greatness and the relevance of his epic to their own culture.Like the Odyssey, written by Greek poet Homer between the eighth and the ninth centuries b.c., the Aeneid is the tale of a hero who fought in the Trojan War. Aeneas fought on the Trojan side. He fled the burning city carrying his father, Anchises, on his back. Part of his story is told in flashback to Queen Dido of Carthage, who falls in love with him. Ever the favorite of the gods, Aeneas learns from Jupiter (via his messenger, Mercury) that the hero must leave Dido, for his destiny is to establish an empire on the west coast of Italy. When Aeneas deserts her, the lovelorn Dido kills herself with his sword. When Aeneas reaches the kingdom of Latium, at the mouth of the river Tiber, King Latinus gives him the hand of his daughter Lavinia in marriage. However, Lavinia has already been promised The story of Aeneas arriving with his son Ascanius on the shores of Latium is recounted in this marble relief carved in the second century A.D. The marble sculpture is in the British Museum in London. (Photograph by Marie-Lan Nguyen.) Aeneid to Turnus, king of the Rutuli. War is declared between the rivals. Helped by Evander, leader of the Arcadians, and the goddess Venus (who brings Aeneas a shield crafted by Vulcan) Aneas and his troops defeat Turnus. Turnus and Aeneas agree to end the war in single combat. Despite the aid of the warrior maiden Camilla, Turnus is defeated and Aeneas is victorious.