Aeneas
Aeneas is a Trojan hero, son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite, called Venus by the Romans. In the most common version, he escapes Troy and leads survivors to Italy, where his descendants will found Rome. His story often sets duty against personal happiness.
Key stories of Aeneas
Escape from Troy
As Troy burns, Aeneas carries his elderly father to safety and leads his young son away. His wife Creusa is lost during their escape.
In The Aeneid, Aeneas returns through the ruined city to search for Creusa. Her ghost tells him that another home and a different future await him.
In The Aeneid by Virgil
Dido and Carthage
Dido, queen of Carthage, welcomes Aeneas, and they become lovers. When the gods remind him of his task in Italy, he leaves, and Dido takes her own life.
In The Aeneid, Mercury brings the command that Aeneas must sail on. Aeneas prepares his fleet despite Dido’s grief and anger.
In The Aeneid by Virgil
The journey to the underworld
Guided by the Sibyl, Aeneas enters the world of the dead to seek his father. Anchises shows him the future people of Rome.
In The Aeneid, Aeneas tries to embrace Anchises, but cannot hold his father’s spirit. Their meeting gives his difficult journey a larger purpose.
In The Aeneid by Virgil
War in Italy
Aeneas reaches Italy, but must fight before his people can settle there. His chief opponent is Turnus, who also hopes to marry Lavinia.
At the end of The Aeneid, Aeneas hesitates over the defeated Turnus. Seeing the belt taken from his slain ally Pallas, he kills Turnus in anger.
In The Aeneid by Virgil
How to recognise Aeneas in stories
- Look for a Trojan exile leading survivors towards Italy.
- Notice the father carried on his shoulders and the son beside him.
- Watch for conflicts between love, family loyalty, and a duty set by the gods.
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Did Aeneas found Rome?
Aeneas did not found Rome himself; he was understood as an ancestor of its founders. In The Aeneid, his task is to establish a future for his people in Italy. Roman tradition connects his family line with Romulus and Remus.
Is Aeneas a Greek or a Roman hero?
Aeneas is a Trojan hero who became central to Rome’s account of its origins. He appears as a warrior defending Troy in The Iliad. Virgil’s The Aeneid follows his later journey and presents him as an ancestor of the Roman people.
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