⚔️ Aeneas

The Founder of Rome

Aeneas was a Trojan hero and the legendary ancestor of the Roman people. Son of the goddess Venus (Aphrodite) and the mortal Anchises, he escaped the fall of Troy and journeyed to Italy, where his descendants would found Rome. His story, immortalized in Virgil's Aeneid, embodies Roman values of duty (pietas), destiny, and sacrifice for the greater good.

The Fall of Troy

During the Trojan War, Aeneas was one of Troy's greatest defenders. When the Greeks finally sacked the city using the Trojan Horse, Aeneas fought valiantly but was commanded by the gods to flee. Carrying his elderly father Anchises on his back, holding his son Ascanius by the hand, and leading his wife Creusa (who tragically became separated and died), he escaped the burning city with a band of Trojan survivors and the sacred Penates (household gods).

The Long Journey

Wanderings

Like Odysseus, Aeneas endured years of wandering across the Mediterranean, seeking the promised land where he would found a new Troy. His journey included:

• Thrace, where he discovered the ghost of Polydorus
• Delos, where Apollo prophesied about his destiny
• Crete, which proved to be a false destination
• The Strophades Islands, where the Harpies cursed his fleet
• Epirus, where he met Andromache, Hector's widow
• Sicily, where his father Anchises died

Carthage and Dido

Storm-tossed by Juno's hatred, Aeneas landed at Carthage, where Queen Dido fell deeply in love with him. He reciprocated her feelings and remained with her, but Mercury reminded him of his destinyto found Rome. Despite Dido's pleas, Aeneas chose duty over love and sailed away. Dido cursed him and committed suicide on a funeral pyre, creating eternal enmity between Rome and Carthage (explaining the Punic Wars).

Descent to the Underworld

At Cumae, Aeneas consulted the Sibyl and descended into the Underworld to meet his father's shade. Anchises showed him a vision of future Roman heroes—the souls waiting to be born—including Romulus, Julius Caesar, and Augustus. This vision reinforced Aeneas's sense of destiny and the greatness Rome would achieve.

Arrival in Italy

War in Latium

Aeneas landed in Latium, where King Latinus welcomed him and offered his daughter Lavinia in marriage, seeing in him the fulfillment of prophecy. However, Lavinia had been promised to Turnus, king of the Rutuli. Juno stirred up war, and Aeneas was forced to fight for his new homeland. He formed alliances with local tribes and, aided by divine armor forged by Vulcan (depicting future Roman glories), defeated Turnus in single combat.

Foundation of Lavinium

Aeneas married Lavinia and founded the city of Lavinium. His son Ascanius (also called Iulus) later founded Alba Longa, from which Romulus and Remus would eventually descend. After his death, Aeneas was deified as Jupiter Indiges, becoming a divine ancestor of the Roman people, especially the Julian family (Julius Caesar's clan claimed descent from him through Iulus/Ascanius).

Roman Values

Aeneas exemplifies pietas—dutiful respect toward gods, country, and family. Unlike Greek heroes driven by personal glory (like Achilles), Aeneas subordinates his desires to destiny and duty. He sacrifices personal happiness (leaving Dido) for Rome's future. This made him the ideal hero for Augustus's Rome, embodying the virtues that built and sustained the empire.

Legacy

Virgil's Aeneid (29-19 BCE) established Aeneas as Rome's founding hero, giving Romans a mythological pedigree equal to Greece's. The epic influenced Western literature for two millennia, from Dante's Divine Comedy to Milton's Paradise Lost. Aeneas represents the tension between individual desire and collective duty, passion and responsibility, making his story eternally relevant.