Aeneas

The Hero Who Carried Rome’s Future

Aeneas was a Trojan hero who became one of the most important figures in Roman legend. He was the son of Venus and the mortal Anchises. When Greek soldiers entered Troy using the famous wooden horse, Aeneas tried to fight, but the ghost of the hero Hector warned him that the city could not be saved. Aeneas escaped carrying his elderly father on his back and leading his young son Ascanius by the hand. He also brought the household gods called the Penates. His wife Creusa was lost during the escape, leaving Aeneas to begin his journey without her.

Aeneas gathered other Trojan survivors and sailed across the Mediterranean searching for the new homeland promised to them. Juno made the journey difficult because she hated the Trojans and feared what their descendants would become. Storms scattered the ships and strange creatures blocked their route. They met Harpies, passed the island of the Cyclopes and eventually reached Carthage, where Queen Dido welcomed them. Dido fell deeply in love with Aeneas, but Jupiter sent Mercury to remind him that his future was in Italy. Aeneas left, and the heartbroken Dido died.

When Aeneas finally reached Italy, his adventures were still not finished. He travelled into the underworld with the Sibyl and met the spirit of Anchises, who showed him a vision of future Roman heroes. Aeneas later became involved in a war because he was supposed to marry Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, while the warrior Turnus believed she should marry him instead. Venus asked Vulcan to make Aeneas magnificent armour for the fighting. Aeneas eventually defeated Turnus. Romans admired Aeneas for pietas, an idea meaning duty towards family, gods and community. He does not always make perfect choices, but he keeps putting his mission before what he personally wants. Roman tradition said his descendants eventually produced Romulus and Remus. My favourite image of Aeneas is not a battle at all. It is him leaving Troy with his father on his shoulders and his son beside him, carrying the past while protecting the future.

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