The Library
of Alexandria

A character in The Aeneid

Who is Juno?

By the Library of Alexandria · 2 minute read · Updated 23 oct. 2026

In short

  • Juno is the queen of the gods and an opponent of the Trojans in Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid.
  • She resents Troy because of Paris's judgment and fears the threat its descendants pose to her favorite city, Carthage.
  • She uses storms and divine helpers to obstruct Aeneas as he leads his people toward Italy.

Who Juno is

Juno is a goddess whose anger shapes the dangers facing Aeneas and the Trojan survivors. At the poem's opening, she asks Aeolus, keeper of the winds, to unleash a storm against their fleet.

What Juno wants

Juno wants to delay or destroy the Trojans' journey to their promised home in Italy. Her hatred reaches back to the judgment of Paris, the Trojan prince who passed over her beauty. She also fears that Trojan descendants will one day destroy Carthage, the city she favors.

Her opposition brings divine quarrels into the lives of people already struggling with exile. Jupiter knows the future, but Juno keeps resisting the course laid out for Aeneas.

Juno and the others in the story

Juno opposes Aeneas, while his mother Venus protects him and appeals to Jupiter on his behalf. When the Trojans reach Italy, Juno calls on Allecto, one of the Furies, to stir up conflict. Allecto inflames Amata and Turnus, drawing Juno's hostility into disputes over Lavinia's marriage and the Trojans' arrival.

Questions

Who is Juno in The Aeneid?

Juno is the queen of the gods, whose hostility repeatedly threatens Aeneas and his followers.

Why does Juno hate the Trojans?

She resents Paris for passing over her beauty and fears that Troy's descendants will destroy Carthage.

How does Juno try to stop Aeneas?

She persuades Aeolus to send a storm against his fleet and later uses Allecto to provoke conflict in Italy.

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