- This article is about the son of Aphrodite and Prince of Troy. For his grandson or great-grandson that he was named after, see Aeneas Silvius.
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas, also spelt Æneas (Ancient Greek: Αἰνείᾱς, romanized: Aineíās) was a Trojan hero, the son of Anchises, King of Dardania, and Aphrodite. He was a second cousin of Hector and Paris, and also their brother-in-law. He was married to Creusa, daughter of Priam of Troy (the father of Hector and Paris). Aeneas led the Dardanians against the invading Greeks during the Trojan War. After the sack of Troy, he escaped with his father, son and wife. He and his followers eventually settled in Italy, founding Alba Longa and eventually Rome.
He is a minor character in Greek mythology and is mentioned in Homer's Iliad. Aeneas receives full treatment in Roman mythology, most extensively in Virgil's Aeneid, where he is cast as an ancestor of Romulus and Remus. He became the first true hero of Rome.
Snorri Sturluson identifies him with the Norse god Víðarr of the Æsir.
Etymology[]
Aeneas is the Romanization of the hero's original Greek name Αἰνείας (Aineías). Aineías is first introduced in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite when Aphrodite gives him his name from the adjective αὶνóν (ainon, "terrible"), for the "terrible grief" (αὶνóν ἄχος) he has caused her by being born a mortal who will age and die. It is a popular etymology for the name, apparently exploited by Homer in the Iliad. Later in the Medieval period there were writers who held that, because the Aeneid was written by a philosopher, it is meant to be read philosophically. As such, in the "natural order", the meaning of Aeneas' name combines Greek ennos ("dweller") with demas ("body"), which becomes ennaios or "in-dweller"—i.e. as a god inhabiting a mortal body. However, there is no certainty regarding the origin of his name.
Epithets[]
In imitation of the Iliad, Virgil borrows epithets of Homer, including: Anchisiades, magnanimum, magnus, heros, and bonus. Though he borrows many, Virgil gives Aeneas two epithets of his own, in the Aeneid: pater and pius. The epithets applied by Virgil are an example of an attitude different from that of Homer, for whilst Odysseus is poikilios ("wily"), Aeneas is described as pius ("pious"), which conveys a strong moral tone. The purpose of these epithets seems to enforce the notion of Aeneas' divine hand as father and founder of the Roman race, and their use seems circumstantial: when Aeneas is praying he refers to himself as pius, and is referred to as such by the author only when the character is acting on behalf of the gods to fulfill his divine mission. Likewise, Aeneas is called pater when acting in the interest of his men.
Greek myth and epos[]
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite[]
The story of the birth of Aeneas is told in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, one of the major Homeric Hymns. Aphrodite has caused Zeus the king of the Gods to fall in love with mortal women. In retaliation, Zeus decided to put a desire over her heart for the mortal Prince Anchises, who is tending his cattle among the hills near Mount Ida. When Aphrodite saw him, she was immediately smitten. She adorns herself as if for a wedding among the gods and appears before him. He is overcome by her beauty, believing that she is a goddess, but Aphrodite identifies herself as a Phrygian princess. After they make love, Aphrodite reveals her true identity to him and Anchises fears what might happen to him as a result of their liaison. Aphrodite assures him that he will be protected and tells him that she will bear him a son to be called Aeneas. However, she warns him that he must never tell anyone that he has lain with a goddess. When Aeneas is born, Aphrodite takes him to the nymphs of Mount Ida, instructing them to raise the child to age five, then take him to Anchises. According to other sources, Anchises later brags about his encounter with Aphrodite, and as a result is struck in the foot with a thunderbolt by Zeus. Thereafter he is lame in that foot, so that Aeneas has to carry him from the flames of Troy.
Homer's Iliad[]
Aeneas is a minor character in the Iliad, where he is twice saved from death by the gods as if for an as-yet-unknown destiny but is an honorable warrior in his own right. Having held back from the fighting, aggrieved with Priam because in spite of his brave deeds he was not given his due share of honor, he leads an attack against Idomeneus to recover the body of his brother-in-law Alcathous at the urging of Deiphobus. He is the leader of the Trojans' Dardanian allies, as well as a third cousin and principal lieutenant of Hector, son and heir of the Trojan king Priam.
Aeneas's mother Aphrodite frequently comes to his aid on the battlefield, and he is a favorite of Apollo. Aphrodite and Apollo would frequently rescue Aeneas from combat with Diomedes of Argos, who nearly kills him, and carry him away to Pergamos for healing. Even the Sea God Poseidon, who usually favors the Greeks, comes to Aeneas's rescue after he falls under the assault of Achilles, noting that Aeneas, though from a junior branch of the royal family, is destined to become king of the Trojan people.
Bruce Louden presents Aeneas as an archetype: The sole virtuous individual (or family) spared from general destruction, following the mytheme of Utnapishtim, Baucis and Philemon, Noah, and Lot. Pseudo-Apollodorus in his Bibliotheca explains that "... the Greeks [spared] him alone, on account of his piety." Heinrich Schliemann wrote that it seemed "extremely probable that, at the time of Homer's visit [to the Troad], the King of Troy declared that his race was descended in a direct line from Æneas."
Roman myth and literature[]
The history of Aeneas was continued by Roman authors. One influential source was the account of Rome's founding in Cato the Elder's Origines. The Aeneas legend was well known in Virgil's day and appeared in various historical works, including the Roman Antiquities of the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus (relying on Marcus Terentius Varro), Ab Urbe Condita by Livy (probably dependent on Quintus Fabius Pictor, fl. 200 BCE), and Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus (now extant only in an epitome by Justin).
The Roman mythographer Gaius Julius Hyginus (c. 64 BCE – CE 17) in his Fabulae credits Aeneas with killing 28 enemies in the Trojan War. Aeneas also appears in the Trojan narratives attributed to Dares Phrygius and Dictys of Crete.
The rest of Aeneas's biography is gleaned from other ancient sources, including Livy and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Livy, Aeneas was victorious, but Latinus died in the war. Aeneas founded the city of Lavinium, named after his wife. He later welcomed Dido's sister, Anna Perenna, who then committed suicide after learning of Lavinia's jealousy. After Aeneas's death, Venus asked Jupiter to make her son immortal. Jupiter agreed. The river god Numicus cleansed Aeneas of all his mortal parts and Venus anointed him with ambrosia and nectar, making him a god. Aeneas was recognized as the god Jupiter Indiges. It's also been stated that Prince Aeneas is the ancestor to the founders of Rome, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus; the two orphan boys who are seen suckling from a she-wolf.
In the Aeneid[]
Aeneas flees Troy with Ascanius, Anchises and Creusa
Aeneas is the subject of Virgil's Aeneid, which recounts his flight from Troy and settlement in Italy. It is comprised of 12 books.
Venus appears to Aeneas
Journey to Italy[]
Flight from Troy[]
the Aeneid begins with the Trojan fleet sailing towards Italy. Juno (Hera) however, deeply resents the Trojans because Paris awarded the golden apple toVenus (Aphrodite). Juno was also angry with Troy because a former Trojan prince (Ganymede) was chosen as cup-bearer for the gods, thus replacing Juventas (Hebe). Juno apporaches Aeolus, the lord of the winds. Juno attempts to win his cooperation with the promise of a beautiful wife, but Aeolus refuses. He still complies with her orders and sends a storm to devastate Aeneas' fleet.
Aeneas recounts his adventures to Dido
Neptune (Poseidon) however, is furious at Juno's intrusion into his domain and calms the seas. Aeneas' fleet shelters in Africa, where Aeneas is met by his mother (Venus) in disguise. Aeneas then proceeds to the city of Carthage, where he wins the affections of Queen Dido, the founder of the city.
The Sack of Troy[]
At a feast held for him, Aeneas recount the tale of the Trojan War, speaking of Ulysses (Odysseus) devising the Trojan horse trick. He tells the Carthaginians of how Laocoön, the priest of Neptune, opposed bringing the horse into the city, but was killed (alongside his sons) by sea serpents. He then talks of the Greek soldiers hidden in the horse, who opened the gates of Troy, allowing the Greek army to return and sack the city.
Sibyl of Cumae
Hector appeared to Aeneas in a dream and warned him to flee the city with his followers. He witnessed the murder of his uncle, King Priam, by Neoptolemus (son of Achilles). Aeneas was led back to his house by his mother, where he prepares his father, son and wife to leave.
Aeneas speaks of how he led the survivors onto ships and fled to Thrace, the Strophades, (where they encounter Celaeno the harpy), Crete (where they meet Apollo, who tells them to sail westward) and Buthrotum. In Buthrotum, Aeneas meets Andromache, widow of Hector, and Helenus, Hector's brother. they have survived the sack of Troy and became prisoners of Neoptolemus. Helenus, who has the gift of prophecy (which he learnt from Cassandra) tells Aeneas to proceed to Italy and find the Cumaean Sibyl.
Aeneas proceeds to recount fleet sailing westward, towards Sicily, where they escape Charybdis and find Achaemenides, a Greek left by Ulysses in the cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops. Aeneas rescues Achaemenides and escapes the islands with his ships. Anchises soon dies of old age and is buried on Sicily.
Leaving Carthage[]
The suicide of Queen Dido
Venus sends her son Amor (Eros) to pose as Ascanius. Dido falls in love with Aeneas upon realising her motherly love for Ascanius. Aeneas returns Dido's love and they go on a hunting expedition. During a storm, they retreat to a cave, in which it is implied they have sex. Aeneas attempts to stay in Carthage but Jupiter (Zeus) sends Mercury (Hermes) to remind Aeneas of his duty to settle in Italy. Aeneas decides to leave but, before his ships are out of sight of Carthage, he sees Dido's servants build a funeral pyre. the Queen of Carthage commits suicide by impaling herself on Aeneas' sword, cursing him and his descendants with her dying breath:
- Thou Sun, who view'st at once the world below;
- Thou Juno, guardian of the nuptial vow;
- Thou Hecate hearken from thy dark abodes!
- Ye Furies, fiends, and violated gods,
- All pow'rs invok'd with Dido's dying breath,
- Attend her curses and avenge her death!
- If so the Fates ordain, Jove commands,
- Th' ungrateful wretch should find the Latian lands,
- Yet let a race untam'd, and haughty foes,
- His peaceful entrance with dire arms oppose:
- Oppress'd with numbers in th' unequal field,
- His men discourag'd, and himself expell'd,
- Let him for succor sue from place to place,
- Torn from his subjects, and his son's embrace.
- First, let him see his friends in battle slain,
- And their untimely fate lament in vain;
- And when, at length, the cruel war shall cease,
- On hard conditions may he buy his peace:
- Nor let him then enjoy supreme command;
- But fall, untimely, by some hostile hand,
- And lie unburied on the barren sand!
- These are my pray'rs, and this my dying will;
- And you, my Tyrians, ev'ry curse fulfil.
- Perpetual hate and mortal wars proclaim,
- Against the prince, the people, and the name.
- These grateful off'rings on my grave bestow;
- Nor league, nor love, the hostile nations know!
- Now, and from hence, in ev'ry future age,
- When rage excites your arms, and strength supplies the rage
- Rise some avenger of our Libyan blood,
- With fire and sword pursue the perjur'd brood;
- Our arms, our seas, our shores, oppos'd to theirs;
- And the same hate descend on all our heirs!"
- ...
- "Dear pledges of my love, while Heav'n so pleas'd,
- Receive a soul, of mortal anguish eas'd:
- My fatal course is finish'd; and I go,
- A glorious name, among the ghosts below.
- A lofty city by my hands is rais'd,
- Pygmalion punish'd, and my lord appeas'd.
- What could my fortune have afforded more,
- Had the false Trojan never touch'd my shore!"
- Then kiss'd the couch; and, "Must I die," she said,
- "And unreveng'd? 'T is doubly to be dead!
- Yet ev'n this death with pleasure I receive:
- On any terms, 't is better than to live.
- These flames, from far, may the false Trojan view;
- These boding omens his base flight pursue!"
- (Aeneid Book 4)
the "avenger" of Libyan blood is a reference to Hannibal Barca and she foretells Aeneas' struggles with the native Latin inhabitants of Italy.
Sicily[]
The boxing match
Aeneas arrives in Sicily on the anniversary of his father's death. He decides to host a funeral games compirisng of boxing matches, archery competitions, foot races and boat races. Juno disguises herself and incites the Trojan women to burn the ships, however Jupiter intervenes and quenches the fire with torrential rain. Aeneas has a vision of his father, who instructs him to journey to the Underworld.
In Italy[]
After taking counsel with his dead father in the Underworld, Aeneas arrived on the west coast of Italy. Latinus, King of Latium, had been told by his father's spirit that his daughter would wed a foreigner, and bear children of a race that would come to dominate the earth. Because of this prophecy, Latinus received Aeneas with open arms and offered his daughter's hand in marriage.
Ascanius Kills the Stag
All was not well for long. Ascanius, Aeneas' son, was out hunting, and seeing a stag lying in the woods, he shot an arrow and gravely injured it. This stag was not wild, and it ran back to its master's house where it died. This caused much grief, as its family cherished it, and all the the families of the neighboring farms knew it and protected it. the news of the slaying spread quickly, and all the Latins and the Rutulians took up arms against the Trojans. Latinus did not intervene, and instead shut his gates.
the Etruscans
the Trojans struggled against the opposing army, as their enemies were much greater in number and led by Turnus and his vicious lieutenent, Mezentius. Aeneas, hearing of a mighty people called the Etruscans, left to lobby their support. After some time, he returns with an Etruscan army and saves the camp, killing Turnus in single combat. Aeneas goes on to marry Lavinia and founds the Roman race.
Family[]
Aeneas had an extensive family tree. His wet-nurse was Caieta, and he is the father of Ascanius with Creusa, and of Silvius with Lavinia. Ascanius, also known as Iulus (or Julius), founded Alba Longa and was the first in a long series of kings. According to the mythology used by Virgil in the Aeneid, Romulus and Remus were both descendants of Aeneas through their mother Rhea Silvia, making Aeneas the progenitor of the Roman people. Some early sources call him their father or grandfather, but once the dates of the fall of Troy (1184 BCE) and the founding of Rome (753 BCE) became accepted, authors added generations between them. 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 make this claim. The legendary kings of Britain – including King Arthur – trace their family through a grandson of Aeneas, Brutus.
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| Preceded by: Latinus |
King of Alba Longa King of Latium Mythic |
Succeeded by Ascanius |