Aeneas << ih NEE uhs >> was a Trojan hero in Greek and Roman mythology. The Romans believed he was an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome. The Roman poet Virgil celebrated the adventures of Aeneas in the Aeneid, Rome’s national epic.
Aeneas was the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (called Venus by the Romans). When Troy fell, Aeneas fled with his father and his son Ascanius from the burning city (see Trojan War). On nearby Mount Ida, Aeneas gathered the few other Trojan survivors and sailed away to found a new home. They stopped at various places and had many adventures. In the city of Carthage in Africa, Aeneas met Queen Dido. She fell in love with him and committed suicide when a sense of duty to his destined role as a founder of a new home for the Trojans compelled him to leave her.
Aeneas finally arrived in Italy. He visited the lower world, where he learned about Rome’s future glory. Aeneas then traveled to the Italian region of Latium, where he became friends with King Latinus. The king offered his daughter Lavinia in marriage. Aeneas married Lavinia and founded the city of Lavinium.
Aeneas later disappeared from this world during a battle with a neighboring people called the Etruscans. According to some versions of the myth, he was taken to heaven and became the god Jupiter Indiges.
