Aeneas
Aeneas,character in literature and mythology, son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. In Homer's Iliad he is a prominent Trojan leader (see Troy), belonging to the younger branch of the royal house (13. 460–1, 20. 179–83, 230–41), and has important duels with Diomedes (5. 239 ff.) and Achilles (20. 153 ff.), from both of which he is rescued by divine intervention. His piety towards the gods is stressed (20. 298–9, 347–8), and Poseidon prophesies that he and his children will rule over the Trojans (20. 307–8).
This future beyond the Iliad is reflected in the version in the lost epic Iliu Persis (‘Fall of Troy’) that Aeneas and his family left Troy before its fall to retreat to Mt. Ida, which led later to accusations of his treachery (e.g. Origo gentis Romanae 9. 2–3). The departure of Aeneas from...
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