Aeneid Terms

Aeneas

Son of Anchises and Venus. Fated to found what would become Rome.

Vergil

Ancient Roman poet. Wrote the Aeneid as a favor for the emperor Augustus. The Aeneid created a new founding story for Rome.

Maecenas

A friend and political advisor to emperor Octavian. He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil.

Alba Longa

The most ancient town in Latium; built by Ascanius

Lavinium

The main center of the Latin league, from which the people of Rome sprang. Founded by Aeneas.

Etruscans

The warriors who are rebelling against Mezentius, their evil king. They fight on the side of the Trojans in their war against the Latins.

Julius Caesar

A famous Roman emperor. Said to have been a descendant of Aeneas, and therefore Venus.

Pompey

A military and political leader of the late Roman Republic.

Marc Antony

A Roman general under Julius Caesar . He was the lover of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and was defeated by Octavian (who would become emperor Augustus).

Augustus

A Roman emperor. Commissioned Vergil to write the Aeneid. Had Vergil draw connections between him and Aeneas to boost his reputation.

plebeians

Member of the general citizenry in ancient Rome as opposed to the privileged patrician class.

Latium

The region where Aeneas is fated to found a new city. Aeneas knows he’s in the right spot when he sees 30 suckling piglets.

Campania

The Romans knew the region as "fertile countryside" or "happy countryside".

Cumae

The first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies.

clementia

Means “mercy”. One of the personal virtues in ancient Roman culture.

imperium

Means “authority, order, command”. One of the personal virtues in ancient Roman culture.

pietas

Can be translated as piety or devotion, refers to someone's dutiful acceptance of the obligations placed on them by fate. One of the personal virtues in ancient Roman culture.

fasces

Bound bundles of sticks or rods into which an axe is inserted or to which an axe is tied. The symbol dates to ancient Rome, whose leaders used it as a symbol of authority and power.

Livius Andronicus

A Greco-Roman dramatist and epic poet of the Old Latin period during the Roman Republic. He began as an educator in the service of a noble family by translating Greek works into Latin, including Homer's Odyssey.

Ennius

A writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. Wrote in hexameters called the Annales.

numina

A Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." One of the personal virtues in ancient Roman culture.

Penates

Household gods. Traveling deities who went with Aeneas and his family on their voyages.

genius

Male generative power. Female counterpart to this was Juno.

Nisus

One a pair of Trojan soldiers and refugees who follow Aeneas in his search for a new home. Hailed as the “most tenacious warrior”. Older than his counterpart.

Euryalus

One a pair of Trojan soldiers and refugees who follow Aeneas in his search for a new home. Hailed as the “most handome”. Younger than his counterpart.

Juno

The queen of the gods, the wife and sister of Jupiter. Hates the Trojans because of the Trojan Paris's judgment against her in a beauty contest. She is also a patron of Carthage and knows that Aeneas's Roman descendants are destined to destroy Carthage.

Anchises

Father of Aeneas. Had Aeneas with the goddess Venus. Saved by Aeneas when fleeing Troy.

Venus

Roman goddess of love. The mother of Aeneas. On the side of the Trojans.

Dido

Queen of Carthage. Falls in love with Aeneas and kills herself when he leaves her.

Sibyl

A guide to the underworld. Aeneas employed her services before his descent to the lower world to visit his dead father Anchises.

Turnus

A prince of the Rutulian tribe and the leader of the Latin forces who oppose the settlement of the Trojans in Latium. He kills Pallas and is, in turn, killed by Aeneas.

Evander

King of Pallanteum and father of Pallas. A sworn enemy of the Latins, and Aeneas befriends him and secures his assistance in the battles against Turnus.

Allecto

One of the three Furies. She is depicted as an instigator and makes Queen Amata lose her mind.

Camilla

A legendary Volscian maiden who became a warrior and was a favourite of the goddess Diana. She is an ally to the Trojans.

Pallas

The son of King Evander. Very close with Aeneas, killed by Turnus in battle.

Latinus

A king of the Latins. The father of Lavinia with his wife, Amata. He hosted Aeneas's army of exiled Trojans and offered them the chance to reorganize their life in Old Latium.

Mezentius

A mythical king of the Etruscans. He is a bloodthirsty and impious tyrant, and is killed by Aeneas.

Lausus

The son of the ousted Etruscan king Mezentius, and fought with him against Aeneas and the Trojans in Italy. Killed by Aeneas.

Punic Wars

A series of wars between 264 and 146 BC fought between Rome and Carthage. There were 3 of them.

Vulcan

He is married to Venus, and his Greek counterpart is Hephaestus. His most important role in the Aeneid is when Venus persuades him to create new armour for Aeneas to help him in battle against the Rutuli/Rutulians.

Ascanius

The son of Aeneas. The founder of Alba Longa.