# Aeneas — Metamorphoses character guide

> Aeneas in Metamorphoses by Ovid.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** good Aeneas

**First appearance:** 0131-voyage-of-aeneas

## Snapshot

The pious Trojan exile who carries his household gods across the sea to found a new kingdom — and a new war.

## Who they are

Aeneas is the Trojan hero destined to settle in Italy, where King Latinus offers him his daughter Lavinia. But Turnus, her betrothed, refuses to yield, and the promised marriage becomes a brutal war that draws in Etruscans, Rutulians, and neighboring kings. His journey from refugee to founder — and finally to god — gives the poem its Roman horizon, linking Ovid's myths to the empire's own origin story.

## In the story

### [Voyage of Aeneas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/voyage-of-aeneas)

The pious Trojan prince who carries his father and household gods from Troy, leading the voyage.

### [Book XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/book-xiv)

Good Aeneas raises a funeral flame for his nurse, sails to Italy, wins Lavinia and Latinus's throne after war, and is ultimately deified.

### [Voyage of Aeneas Continued](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/voyage-of-aeneas-continued)

The Trojan hero who escapes Charybdis, is hosted by Dido, flees her, and continues his voyage to Italy.

### [Aeneas Descends to Hell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/aeneas-descends-to-hell)

Entreats the Sibyl to guide him to the underworld to see his father Anchises.

### [Story of the Sibyl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-the-sibyl)

The Trojan prince arrives at Cumae and meets the Sibyl.

### [Adventures of Achaemenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/adventures-of-achaemenides)

The hero who rescues Achaemenides; praised for his piety and aid.

### [Aeneas Arrives in Italy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/aeneas-arrives-in-italy)

Arrives in Italy, wins Lavinia's hand, and prepares for war against Turnus.

### [Trojan Ships Transformed to Sea Nymphs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/trojan-ships-transformed-to-sea-nymphs)

The Trojan hero whose fleet is attacked by Turnus and later protected by Cybele; ultimately victorious with Venus's aid.

### [Deification of Aeneas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/deification-of-aeneas)

Aeneas is deified after his mortal parts are cleansed by Numicius and anointed with ambrosia.

### [Book XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/book-xv)

Venus recalls Aeneas's past sufferings and the dangers he faced, drawing a parallel to Caesar's peril.

### [Occasion of Esculapius Being Brought to Rome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/occasion-of-esculapius-being-brought-to-rome)

Aeneas is mentioned in passing as having raised a tomb for his nurse Cajeta.

### [Deification of Julius Caesar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/deification-of-julius-caesar)

Aeneas is referenced as the ancestor of Caesar and Augustus, linking the Julian line to Troy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/aeneas
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters