The father of Aeneas was named Anquises and was king of the Dárus. This village was a neighbor of Troy and therefore an ally of the Trojans.
The story begins with Jupiter, who angry with his daughter Venus planned to give him a punishment by making him fall in love with a mortal.
Anquises was a very handsome man and caught the attention of the goddess.
When Anquises slept, Venus appeared to him transformed into human and conquered the prince. From that union would be born Aeneas.
Anquises did not know that the beautiful maiden was a goddess, but Venus, before leaving, confessed to her the truth saying, “Anquises, I am not a mortal. I'm the goddess Venus. From our union a beautiful child will be born, and I swear to you, I will protect him forever. But you, Anquises, must promise me that you will never reveal our secret.
Anquises gave her word to the goddess and she disappeared.
But Anquises, who was ultimately a human, could not keep the secret. And, at the first opportunity, he told his friends that he had spent the night with the goddess Venus.
Jupiter did not take long to find out, and he was so angry that he sent a devastating ray to annihilate him.
Venus, who remembered her love affair, stood in the way of lightning, but one of the sparks grazed Anquises' leg and left him limp forever.
Aeneas grew strong and beautiful, and when the Greeks invaded Troy to punish Paris for the abduction of Helena, Aeneas came to defend the city, because as we said, he was an ally of the Trojans.
In Troy Aeneas he married Creussa, daughter of the king priamo. From that union was born a son named Julius Ascanio.
On the day the Greeks entered Troy through the ruse of the wooden horse, Aeneas was startled to hear the heartbreaking cries of pain and the sound of weapons.
When he became aware of what was going on, he set out to fight tirelessly to protect his family.
In the heat of the struggle, she saw Helena hiding in hiding waiting for the end of the battle. Aeneas took his sword with the intention of killing her for being the cause of such a terrible tragedy, but immediately appeared her mother, the goddess Venus who told her: - Aeneas, my son, Helena is not to blame for anything. The gods have wanted it that way. Take your father and your son and go to the sea, for your future is in distant lands. I'll protect you.
Aeneas felt protected by his mother and ran to find his father and son, but could not find his beloved wife Creúsa.
When despair was taking over him, the ghost of his wife, who had died in battle, appeared to him and said, “Aeneas.” Do not be sad, for the gods have arranged things this way. You'll find a new life in the western lands. Take care of our son. - and then he vanished.
Seeing that he could do nothing else, Aeneas took his father and son and set sail with other fugitives.
They sailed across the sea trying to find a suitable place. In Thrace they were badly received. In Crete they began to settle, but a plague ended the lives of many. Until one night, the Trojan gods appeared to him in dreams, announcing that his fate was in Italian lands, ordering him to depart as soon as possible.
With renewed enthusiasm they began the journey again, but as soon as they reached the high seas, a storm dispersed the ships. The survivors reached the land and starved to quench the hunger by sacrificing cows that grazed nearby. When they were preparing to eat, the Harpies appeared. That they stole their food and then attacked them ferociously. They tried to defend themselves, but the terrible monsters didn't give them the chance.
They quickly managed to escape, heading back to the sea, heading northwest of Greece. There they met Andromana, who had been the wife of Hector and then married Helene.
Andromana and Heleno received them with great hospitality.
Heleno had divination qualities and could predict the future. After Helenus offered a sacrifice to Apollo, he told him that Aeneas had a long journey ahead and many difficulties he would have to face on his long journey, but that he would eventually reach his destination.
Before they left, Helene and Andromana provided them with all kinds of supplies and gifts of gold and silver.
With the help of the gods, the Trojans headed towards the Sicilian coast, where they decided to set up their camp. When they were making all the preparations to settle, a strange man appeared who warned them that they should escape quickly because that was the island of the Cyclops, whose king, Polyphemus, had been blinded by Ulysses.
Neither sluggish nor lazy, the Trojans, gathered their belongings and set sail again to get away from that nefarious place. As they moved away they could see the cyclops approaching the shore to throw huge rocks at them, but they did not harm them.
Rowing with all their strength, but somewhat nervous about what happened, they misled the course and fell between the two rocks guarding the den of the two monsters: Scilla and the whirlwind Caribdis. Scilla threw their heads from the top of the rock trying to devour some sailor, and Caribdis, swirled the sea, trying to swallow the ships.
The one who was discharging all his fury against Aeneas was Juno, the wife of Jupiter. Pure and exclusively for being an ally of the Trojans. Juno was very spiteful, and could not forget that Paris, a Trojan had claimed that Venus was more beautiful than her.
Then he persuaded Eolo, the king of the winds, to release all his winds against Aeneas, promising him the most beautiful nymph as his wife.
When they were about to succumb, Neptune, the god of the sea, became angry when he saw that Eolo was intervening in his domain. He rebuked it hard and then calmed the sea.
Aeneas, took advantage of the calm to land near Carthage.
The city of Carthage had a huge port and large buildings. It was a very populous city and there was Queen Dido's domain.
Juno, always attentive to harm Aeneas, made him arrive there in order that Queen Dido would fall in love with him and make him king of Carthage. In this way Juno ensured that Aeneas lost the course that his life had to lead.
Venus, the mother of Aeneas, realized the trap Juno was plotting and went directly to Mount Olympus to beg for help from the god of the gods, Jupiter. This one, shocked by the sincerity and pain of Venus, consented to help her.
Cupid, his son, told him that Aeneas and Dido would love each other deeply, but that passion would only last for a while. In this way Aeneas could fulfill his glorious destiny of being the founder of a new race that would rule the world.
When Aeneas, with a group of friends, ventured to explore the area, they saw a kind hunter who gave them the explanations necessary to reach Carthage without problems and told them that Queen Dido would help them. Aeneas recognized that the hunter was her beautiful mother, the goddess Venus. Before saying goodbye, Venus wrapped them in a cloud of thick fog and accompanied them to the very center of the city. In this way they walked through the doors without attracting attention.
Visitors could appreciate the huge size of the buildings and the commercial power.
In the center of the city they saw that a large temple was being built, dedicated to the goddess Juno with painted scenes depicting the war of Troy, but told impartially.
Aeneas thought that these images showed the kind of people who lived there: sensitive and sympathetic to the feelings of mortals.
Distracted in his thoughts, he did not notice that Queen Dido and all her royal entourage had settled on the throne of the temple and from there dictated laws to fulfill his subjects.
Venus, lifted the veil of fog that covered the men accompanying Aeneas and had to appear before the queen, telling her misadventures. When Dido asked about Aeneas, who was still invisible by the fog, the goddess Venus, released the mist that enveloped him and also presented himself to Dido.
No one knew better than Queen Dido the hardships these visitors suffered.
Dido was a widow. Her husband had been king of Phoenicia, and a usurper of the throne killed him.
She had to flee with a group of followers to save herself from death sailing through the Mediterranean Sea until she reached Carthage, where she was greeted as if it were her own home.
Dido then entertained them with a great feast and made sure that they were not lacking anything.
Aeneas, recounted all the sufferings and soon Dido fell in love with the courage of Aeneas
The next day, Dido organized a hunt in honor of the visitors.Everyone was very entertaining, until Juno, sent a surprise storm. Dido and Aeneas took refuge together in a solitary cave and there passionately committed themselves to love.
Dido felt loved again and Aeneas enjoyed the good life the queen offered her until Dido thought of getting married.
A former suitor of Dido became angry as he had been rejected by the queen on several occasions and asked Jupiter for help.
The supreme god then remembered the promise he had made to Venus and decided to put an end to the affair by sending his messenger, Mercury to rebuke him.
Mercury appeared before Aeneas, saying, “Are you not ashamed of Aeneas?” You are destined by the gods to found a kingdom far from here. Have you forgotten your true destiny?
Listening to Mercury, Aeneas became aware of his error. He had been chosen to found a kingdom in Italy and had been entertained in Carthage with Queen Dido. He quickly sought out his men and ordered them to make the necessary preparations to embark as soon as possible.
When Dido saw that his beloved Aeneas was preparing everything to leave and felt betrayed. “Why are you doing this to me, Aeneas?” Have I not given you my love? What did I do to make you treat me like this?
Aeneas tried to calm her down by explaining to her: - Dido, I have a mission to fulfill in other lands. Don't make it even harder for me to keep it. Please don't cry anymore, for it is the wish of the gods that it be so.
Dido, he could not understand the reasons and locked himself in the palace to mourn his bitterness.
Silently, Aeneas and his men left as soon as the sun went down. From the sea I could see the city and the flashes of flames.
Dido had cast all the belongings of Aeneas into fire and in a rapture of madness, then threw herself as she begged the gods to avenge her for such treason.
A gentle north wind pushed the ships towards Sicily. There were the ashes of Anquises, his father.
The king received them there with all manner of honors. Among them were played some great sports games in memory of Anquises.
Juno, always alert to annoy Aeneas, filled the hearts of the Trojans with a desire to place themselves in the region and thus forget their mission. Then he said to Iris, his messenger, “Go to Sicily and when the Trojans find themselves entertained with the games, convince the women to set the Trojan ships on fire.
Aeneas, who was always attentive, realized what happened and begged Jupiter for help. And this one, he sent a rain that managed to put out the fire.
Aeneas was very concerned as four of the ships were damaged and were not in a position to sail again.
One night while he was sleeping, Anquises was appreciated in his sleep and said, “Aeneas, Jupiter has sent me to give you the following message: “Choose the bravest men of your crew and take them with you to Lazio. The rest of the men can stay here and the gods will not recriminate your decision.
Aeneas followed the advice of Anquises and during the voyage he only regretted the death of Palinuro, his pilot, who drowned on the high seas.
Anquises could not finish giving all his predictions to Aeneas, so he asked him to visit him in hell where he would give him the rest of the details to help him accomplish his mission successfully.
But it was impossible to accomplish that task alone. To accomplish this I had to seek the Sibila of Cumas, who, as she was a priestess of Apollo, could prophesy and interpret oracles.
When she found her herself, she offered to accompany him because it was a risky undertaking because they had to go through many dangers. Before leaving for the land of the dead, Aeneas had to cut a sprig of gold growing on a fantastic tree to give it to Proserpina, the queen of the world of the dead.
Aeneas went out to look for the famous twig accompanied by his great friend Acates. Two pigeons sent by Venus led them to a dark lagoon, their waters fired a disgusting smell.
The pigeons continued their course until they began to fly over a very rare tree. Suddenly, Aeneas could perceive a light coming from one of the branches. The sign was unmistakable.
In a fuss he came up and cut it off. Immediately another branch emerged from the same place.
When he brought the branch to the Sibyl, it told him that he should now offer a sacrifice to Hecate, the goddess of the night. Aeneas, sacrificed four black oxen, the goddess's favorite color.
When the flames of the altar consumed the oxen, the earth trembled under his feet as if it were an earthquake as they heard chilling howl of dogs.
Then Sibyl said firmly, “This is the time.” Be courage- and hurled into the depths of the earth followed by Aeneas.
Suddenly they found themselves in a dark region populated with horrific monsters: Disease, Desire, Hunger, War and Discord.
Aeneas wanted to fight them by wielding his sword, but the Sibyl explained that this was impossible because they were only shadows. After walking a long time they reached the confluence of two rivers: El Cocito and the Acheronte.
To cross them there was a raft led by Charon, the boatman. Charon, only allowed to cross the souls who brought a coin to pay for the passage to the world of the dead. If they didn't bring money, they'd be wandering like ghosts.
When Charon saw Aeneas and his companions, he became angry and began to scream: “The living cannot enter here! How did you get to this place?
Sibyl tried to calm him down with her soft voice: “You mustn't worry, Charon. This good man is Aeneas and wishes only to speak with his father who is in the abode of the blessed.
When Charon heard these words, Charon calmed down, and when he saw that they brought the golden twig for Proserpina, he crossed them in the boat, grumbling.
As soon as they stepped on the other side, the canine Cerbero pounced, but the Sibyl came prepared with a piece of cake impregnated with a sleeping potion and as soon as he swallowed it fell asleep.
On their long journey, they were able to see Minos, the judge of the dead giving sentences.
Later, they arrived to Campo del Crying y la Agrición, full of lovers who had appealed to suicide as a last resort in the face of their sorrows of love. There Aeneas, he found A Dido. He tried to approach her with sweet words, but she got lost in the shadows without looking at him.
Following their journey they reached a crossroads where the path was divided in two. From the road to the left came howls of pain and noises of chains. Sibyl explained: “That is the place where Radamante punishes the bad guys.
The Sibyl took the twig and placed it on a wall in front of the crossroads and then took the path to the right that led them directly to the Champs-Elisées, a place for the blessed.
In the abode of the righteous, Aeneas found Anquises his father. He wished to embrace him but could not because he was a spirit, and therefore he had no body.
Anquises made known to him the glory that awaited his successors. Among them was Octavian Caesar Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire and Aeneas was proud.
But achieving that goal was not an easy task, and Anquises explained and advised him how to avoid the many dangers he should face.
When Anquises finished giving their advice, they separated again and Aeneas returned with the Sibyl to the World of the Living. But now comforted by the wise words of his father.
As soon as he arrived, he prepared the fleet and ordered his men to sail north. Neptune blew a gentle breeze that pushed the ships to the coast of the Latino village.
There, an oracle had told him that the king, that his daughter, Lavinia, would marry a foreigner.
The suitor of Lavinia was Turno, king of the titles, a neighbouring town. Turn was a very handsome man who had known how to ingratiate himself with Lavinia's mother, Queen Amata.
The king went several times to marry Lavinia to Turn, but every time he was about to make that decision something extraordinary happened that changed his mind.
Two rare events took place: the first was that a swarm of bees built its hive in the garden of the Royal Palace. The augur then told the king that this was a sign that foreigners would soon arrive in this region.
The second was that Lavinia's hair began to burn, forming a halo of fire over her head, but she neither burned nor suffered any damage. The augur said that that meant that Lavinia would be very happy but that before there would be a catastrophic war.
As soon as the Latin king found out that Trojans had arrived in the region, sent a motorcade to receive them and invited them to the palace.
As soon as he saw Aeneas, he became convinced that this brave man would be his future son-in-law.
The goddess Juno, who was always attentive to annoy Aeneas, did not stand still and put all the power available so that fate could not be fulfilled.
First I cloud Queen Amata's mind, to predispose her against Aeneas producing her a kind of madness. He then predisposed the Latinos against the Trojans.
Then he sent a messenger to tell Turno, “You better do something and soon, or Lavinia will marry a foreigner.”
Turn began to arm quickly at the possibility of losing his future wife.
The king, I didn't know what to do. His people did not see the Trojans with good eyes. Queen Amata was blinded against Aeneas, and Turno came with an army looking for explanations.
What did the king do? He washed his hands waiting for the conflict to be resolved by himself.
As the king remained undecided, he was not encouraged to open the doors of the temple dedicated to the god Janus, so the conflict could not begin.
But the goddess Juno, always attentive to annoy Aeneas, ran to open them.
Turn, in addition to his troops had several allies. For starters, the Latinos. Then Mecentius, the king of the Etruscans and the virgin Cornelia, who possessed a large troop.
Aeneas saw a black future and couldn't stick an eye on his nerves. But he received a visit from the god of the Tiber River, who said to him, “First thing tomorrow morning you must go visit King Evander, going up my river upstream.
Aeneas followed the advice and with a group of men he went up the river. I've never done anything like that before.
When they arrived in the land of Evandro, he himself went to greet him with his entourage and gave him a warm welcome. He provided him with plenty of lodging and food, and then his son Palante took him to visit the most interesting places in the region.
While sharing the food Evandro told him about its origins. A place in Greece called Arcadia and Aeneas confessed to him his terrible problem. Evandro, although he could not help him, advised him to visit the Etruscans who would surely help him.
So Aeneas, accompanied by Palante, went to Etruria. The Etruscans received Aeneas very well, they wanted to fight against Mecentius, but they did not decide because an augur had told them that they should not establish any fight until a foreigner took charge of the troops.
The Etruscans recognized Aeneas as chosen for that purpose and set out to fight alongside him.
After such a journey, Aeneas set out to rest in a nearby forest. Suddenly, she saw a beautiful maiden putting weapons at the foot of a tree, and then vanishing into the air. Aeneas thought it was his mother, Venus, who again ran to help him by giving him a helmet, Surely forged by Vulcan, and that gave him confidence and made him feel invincible.
As Aeneas continued his campaign for allies, the small group of men who had left camping on the banks of the Tiber tried to fortify themselves in the face of the impending attack.
This small group could contain the first attack, but the enemies outnumbered them and decided to seek volunteers to ask Aeneas for help. To that end, two brave young men were offered, Niso and Euríalo, who had to cross the enemy camp to accomplish their task.
The two young men, with great courage, entered the enemy front, but Euríalo was wearing a glowing helmet, and the first rays of the sun gave away their presence. While they fought hand-to-hand with great courage, they died in the fight.
Turn, he advanced over the palisade and there was a fierce battle, but the Trojans did not allow the enemy advance although they lost many men.
In the days that followed, the fighting intensified. The Roman gods took sides on either side. Jupiter who had plans for Peace became angry, and Venus and Juno blamed each other for the catastrophe, making life at Olympus impossible because of ongoing discussions.
When Turn was ready to strike the final blow to the Trojans, Aeneas arrived with the Etruscans and managed to balance the strife.
When Turno was ready to deal the final blow to the Trojans, Aeneas came with the Etruscans and managed to balance the strife.
Turo lost two of his allies: the virgin Camila and Mecencio. On the other hand, Aeneas had to regret the loss of Palante, the young son of Evandro.
Jupiter, in Olympus, forbade the gods to take part in the matter, leaving men at the mercy of Destiny. The struggle was becoming more cruel and cruel every day.
When the balance leaned in favor of the Trojans, Juno ran to ask Jupiter to save Turno, his protégé. But Jupiter said to him, “If Destiny wants Turn to die, he will die. All I can do is delay your sentence.
Juno, desperate to save Turno, from Aeneas to take him away from battle by drawing him to the sea. Once there Juno vanished into the air, leaving Turno puzzled and wondering, “What will my men think?” That I escaped from the fight? That I couldn't fight Aeneas?
His cavilations led him to attempt suicide three times and three times, Juno prevented him.
When Turn returned to the camp, he found his troops decimated and his men down and sad because most of his leaders had died in combat.
Turo approached the palace of the Latin King and saw that also the Latin people were terribly demoralized, and he was no longer well received.
The king asked him in the name of Peace to renounce the hand of his daughter Lavinia.
When Turno heard the request of the Latin King, he became angry and furious, he went to the Trojan camp to challenge Aeneas to fight once again.
Aeneas accepted the challenge but set conditions: “I will fight with you, Turno, “he said. “And if I win, the titles will join the Latinos in one town. The Latin King will be his governor and Lavinia will be my wife — and he added — if I lose, we will definitely leave Italy without claiming absolutely anything.
Turn accepted the conditions and the two armies formed face-to-face to start the battle.
Juno once again tried to help Turno, his protégé, unleashing the conflict ahead of time. The Trojans, who were not adequately prepared, suffered great losses and even Aeneas was seriously wounded.
His mother, Venus, who had seen what happened, ran to cure him by applying a boil to the wound, and Aeneas soon returned to health.
Aeneas returned to combat and the balance again bowed in favor of the Trojans, who penetrated the Latinos fortress producing a massacre.
Aeneas wanted to meet face to face with Turno.
Suddenly behind a column appeared Turn screaming: - Let the battle cease! - Oh! If you're looking for me, Aeneas, here I am to challenge you to a new melee fight.
Aeneas, who was waiting for him, engaged in a fierce struggle until he was able to turn him over to the ground and about to pierce him with his sword. When Turn with a trembling voice begged, “Don't kill me, Aeneas!” Have pity on me.
Aeneas hesitated for an instant to deal the final blow.
But all of a sudden, he saw that Turno was wearing the belt of Palante, the good son of Evandro, as he wears a trophy.
Aeneas, now he didn't hesitate and shouted — Compassion? Did you pity Palante in killing him, who was just a boy? - And he struck him the fatal blow.
Aeneas married Lavinia and Rome grew and prospered.