Aeneas
Aeneas is a character from Greco-Roman mythology, a hero of the Trojan War, who managed to escape after the fall of the city, embarking on a journey to Lazio (the central-western region of Italy) where, after a series of events, he became king and, at the same time, the progenitor of the Roman people. Indeed, his descendants, Romulus and Remus, founded the city of Rome. Aeneas was the son of the Dardanian prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite (Venus in Roman mythology). He married Creusa, one of Priam's daughters, with whom he had a son named Ascanio or Lulo. In his flight from the city accompanied by his entire family, Creúsa died when he was left behind. Already in Italy, Aeneas married Lavinia, daughter of the Latino king, this union being the mythical origin of the Roman people.
His exploits as leader of the Trojan army are recounted in Homer's Iliad, and his journey from Troy (led by Aphrodite) which led to the founding of Rome, was recounted by Virgil in Aeneid.
William Shakespeare included it as one of the characters in his play Troilus and Cressida.
Divine origin of Aeneas
Anchises, his father, belonged to the royal family of Troy, descended from the race of Dardanus. While his herds were grazing on Mount Ida, near Troy, Aphrodite found him and fell in love with him, thanks to a move by Zeus. Disguised as a Phrygian princess, she lay with him and bore him a son; Aeneas. For revealing the name of his son's mother, Anchises was struck by lightning and was paralyzed.
Aeneas was born on Mount Ida. His mother entrusted him to the nymphs who raised him and returned him to his father when he was five years old. Later, Anchises took his son to the house of his brother-in-law Alcatoo, to educate him.It was also said that, like many other heroes, he was instructed by the centaur Chiron in the art of hunting.
Aeneas in the Trojan Cycle
Caused by the kidnapping of Helen, a woman of extraordinary beauty and wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, the Trojan War brought to the fore illustrious Trojan heroes, such as Hector, and Greeks, such as Ajax the Great, Achilles and the famous Odysseus, son of Laertes and king of Ithaca.
Aeneas became the most courageous of the Trojan heroes, after Hector. In the combats that took place during the Trojan War, he found himself helped and favored on several occasions by some gods, according to Homer's narration: he was wounded by Diomedes but his mother Aphrodite saved him. In the subsequent action Aphrodite herself was wounded by Diomedes. Apollo wrapped Aeneas in a cloud and transported him to Pergamum, where he was healed by Artemis and Leto. Later Aeneas was about to be hurt again by Achilles and was again saved by a god, Poseidon.
In two lost poems of the Trojan Cycle, different versions were offered about the fate of Aeneas after the fall of Troy: in the Little Iliad, Aeneas was part of the loot of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles and, after his death in Delphi, Aeneas regained his freedom; however, in Iliupersis, Aeneas managed to escape. This last poem must have been one of the main sources of the Latin tradition about the founding of Rome.
Aeneas in the Latin tradition
The Pilgrimages of Aeneas
In the Roman tradition, the adventures and events after the Trojan War are narrated, among others, by the Roman poet Virgil, who was Augustus's official poet.
When Troy fell to the Achaeans thanks to the famous cunning of Odysseus, Aphrodite told her son to flee the city, not to die like a good Trojan, for Troy no longer existed and another had been reserved for him. future. Aeneas fled with his father Anchises, his wife Creusa (whom he had to abandon by order of the gods or, according to another tradition, because she was lost) and his son Iulus (also called Ascanius).). Among the Trojan companions who fled with him, Acates, Sergeste, Acmon, Miseno the cornet and Iapix the doctor stood out. He also took the Lares, the Penates as well as, according to some traditions, the Palladium.
Aeneas headed with his group of Trojans in 20 ships to Macedonia. After several stopovers, he arrived, with only 7 ships, at Carthage, where Queen Dido fell in love with him. But by order of Jupiter he left Carthage, and for this reason the queen committed suicide. Later, when Aeneas descended into Hell, he tried to talk to Dido, but her ghost refused to forgive him. The imprecations that Dido formulates during the departure of Aeneas are reminiscent of the arrival of Hannibal and the Punic wars.
Then he headed for Sicily. There Aeneas was welcomed by Acestes and picked up one of Odysseus' sailors, Achaemenides.
Near the coast of Lucania, one of Aeneas's men, Palinuro, fell asleep and fell into the water. He managed to swim to the beach, but was killed by the Lucanians. Mount Palinuro owes its name to this character.
Aeneas in Latium. Aeneas apotheosis.
The journey continued until reaching Laurentio, on the Lazio coast, in the Italian peninsula. Then he went up the Álbula river (which would later be called the Tiber) and reached a town called Palanteo that was located in the place that would eventually be known as the Palatine and, today, as Lazio.. The region was governed by Latino, king of the Latinos and son of Fauno. Latinus had a daughter named Lavinia who had been forbidden by the oracles of Latinus and by Faun himself to marry the suitors of the region, since a foreigner was about to arrive who was destined to be her husband and rule over Latium.. The goddess Fama quickly spread the rumor of the prophecy, despite the fact that according to reports, Latino insisted on being reserved.
When Aeneas arrived, Turno, according to versions king of the Rutulians and Lavinia's cousin (as well as her suitor) prepared to make war on him. He sought the alliance of Latino and he was denied or accepted according to the versions. Then he sought the alliance of Mecencio, king of the Etruscans, who did not see well the growing power of the Latin league, he also sought the alliance of Diomedes, former king of Argos, but he refused. Aeneas, for his part, took King Evander as an ally.
The fight is started; among the dead it is worth noting Mecencio (betrayed by his own subjects as a tyrant) and Pallas, son of Evandro. In addition, the Rutulos tried to burn the ships of the Dardanians, but Jupiter, at the request of Ops - or Ops herself, according to versions - metamorphosed them into Water Nymphs. With Turnus dead, Ardea falls, a powerful city while he lived; from the ashes the ardea bird arose. Then Aeneas marries Lavinia and they have a son, Silvio.
Addendums and later versions tell that Aeneas and Lavinia fostered Dido's sister, Anna Perenna, who committed suicide out of Lavinia's jealousy. According to these later versions, Aeneas died in the first combat and was buried on the banks of the Numicio river and from then on received worship under the name of Jupiter Índiges.
Legendary family and descendants
Aeneas has a very extensive family tree. His foster mother was Caieta, who died when the hero arrived in Latium and from whom the name of the city of Gaeta derives. From his unions with Creúsa and Lavinia, Ascanio and Silvio were born, respectively. Ascanio was the founder of Alba Longa and the lineage of kings of this city is attributed to both brothers. According to Virgil's account in the Aeneid , Romulus and Remus are descendants of Aeneas through his mother, Rhea Silvia, making Aeneas the progenitor of the Roman people. Some ancient Roman sources call her his father or his grandfather, but, taking into account the generally accepted dates for the fall of Troy (1184 BC) and the founding of Rome (753 BC), this seems unlikely.
The Julian gens of Rome, and mainly Julius Caesar and Augustus, included Ascanius, called by Virgil Ilo, after Ilium, and Iulo later, within their lineage and, therefore, the goddess Venus. legendary kings of Britain are included in this genealogy through a supposed grandson of Aeneas; Brutus.
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