Aeneid characters

Appears from the start

A Trojan prince and veteran of the fallen city, charged with carrying his people and their household gods to a new home in Italy. He is a capable fighter and commander, but his defining burden is duty: private grief and desire repeatedly yield to the future promised to his descendants.

Appears from the start

Queen and founder of Carthage, building a prosperous city after fleeing violence in Tyre. She welcomes the shipwrecked Trojans generously and listens to Aeneas recount the loss of Troy and his wanderings.

Appears from the start

Queen of the gods and the Trojans' relentless divine enemy. She fears the destiny that will raise Rome above her beloved Carthage and uses storms, rulers, and warfare to delay Aeneas's arrival in Italy.

Appears from the start

Aeneas's divine mother, who protects him through disguise, counsel, and appeals to Jupiter. Her help advances the destiny promised to the Trojans even when the mortal route toward it remains obscure.

Also known as Iulus

Appears from the start

Aeneas's young son and the surviving heir of his household. Also called Iulus, he travels with the refugees and represents the family line from which the promised Roman future will grow.

First appears in chapter 2

Aeneas's aged father, whom his son carries from burning Troy. A guardian of family memory and religious duty, he insists at first that he is too old to flee before divine signs persuade him to join the escape.

First appears in chapter 2

A Greek left behind at Troy who persuades the Trojans that the wooden horse is a sacred offering and that bringing it within their walls will favor them. His convincing story helps complete the Greek deception.

First appears in chapter 5

A Trojan warrior and close companion of Nisus. Young, admired, and eager for distinction, he takes part in the funeral games for Anchises and wins the footrace after his friend intervenes on his behalf.

First appears in chapter 5

A loyal Trojan fighter distinguished by speed and initiative. He competes in the funeral games beside his friend Euryalus and helps the younger runner after losing his own chance at victory.

First appears in chapter 7

The aged king of Latium, husband of Amata and father of Lavinia. Oracles have warned him that his daughter must marry a foreigner, so the arrival of the Trojans appears to fulfill a divine command despite local opposition.

First appears in chapter 7

King Latinus's daughter, whose proposed marriage becomes the political center of the conflict in Italy. She has been expected to marry Turnus, but prophecy identifies a foreign husband and makes her future inseparable from the Trojan settlement.

First appears in chapter 7

Prince of the Rutulians and Lavinia's leading local suitor. Proud, formidable, and supported by Queen Amata, he sees the Trojan marriage claim as both a personal injury and a threat to the established order of Latium.

First appears in chapter 7

A Volscian warrior queen allied with Turnus. Raised as a hunter and devoted to Diana, she commands cavalry and gives the Italian coalition one of its most accomplished battlefield leaders.

First appears in chapter 8

The Arcadian king of Pallanteum, a modest settlement on the future site of Rome. Though too old to campaign himself, he welcomes Aeneas, recognizes a common enemy in the Etruscan tyrant Mezentius, and offers an alliance.

First appears in chapter 8

Evander's young son, entrusted to Aeneas so that he can gain experience in war. Brave and hopeful, he joins the Trojan-led alliance as the personal bond between Aeneas and Evander.