# Aeneas — The Aeneid character guide > Aeneas in The Aeneid by Virgil. **Role:** major **Also known as:** The great Aeneas, good Aeneas, bold Aeneas, Silvius Aeneas **First appearance:** 0000-book-i ## Snapshot A shipwrecked Trojan prince carrying his household gods and his son toward a destiny he never chose, pursued by a goddess who will not let Troy go. ## Who they are Seven years at sea have cost Aeneas his wife, his city, and most of his fleet; what remains is a mission to found a new Troy in Italy, pressed on him by fate and by his mother Venus. He is pious before he is happy — he obeys oracles, carries his father on his shoulders, and buries his grief in duty — yet the poem keeps asking what that piety costs him personally. When a storm scatters his ships onto Dido's coast, his arrival sets in motion the love affair that will define the epic's first half and test whether a man can be both a lover and a founder. ## Relationships ### [Dido](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/dido) _romantic_ Aeneas and Dido are tragic lovers whose passionate affair ends when Aeneas abandons Dido to fulfill his destiny, leading to her suicide. ### [Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/venus) _family_ Venus is Aeneas's divine mother who constantly protects and guides him throughout his journey. ### [Turnus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/turnus) _rivalry_ Aeneas and Turnus are mortal enemies who fight for the right to marry Lavinia and rule Latium, culminating in a duel to the death. ### [Ascanius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/ascanius) _family_ Aeneas is the devoted father of Ascanius, his young son who represents the future of the Trojan race in Italy. ### [Juno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/juno) _rivalry_ Juno is Aeneas's relentless divine antagonist who opposes his mission due to her grudge against Troy. ### [Jove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/jove) _professional_ Jove (Jupiter) is the supreme god who ultimately decrees Aeneas's fate and intervenes to ensure his destiny is fulfilled. ### [Pallas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/pallas) _professional_ Aeneas becomes Pallas's mentor and protector after Evander entrusts his son to him, and later avenges his death. ### [Pallas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/pallas) _professional_ Aeneas becomes Pallas's mentor and protector after Evander entrusts his son to him, and later avenges his death. ### [Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/venus) _family_ Venus is Aeneas's divine mother who constantly protects and guides him throughout his journey. ### [Jove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/jove) _professional_ Jove (Jupiter) is the supreme god who ultimately decrees Aeneas's fate and intervenes to ensure his destiny is fulfilled. ### [Juno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/juno) _rivalry_ Juno is Aeneas's relentless divine antagonist who opposes his mission due to her grudge against Troy. ### [Venus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/venus) _family_ Venus is Aeneas's divine mother who constantly protects and guides him throughout his journey. ## In the story ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-i) The Trojan hero, forced by fate and Juno's hate, endures storms and exile, eventually arriving in Carthage. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-ii) Narrates the fall of Troy and his escape. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-iii) Narrates his journey from Troy, leads the fleet, consults oracles, and buries Polydorus. ### [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-iv) Torn between love and duty, he resists Dido's pleas and obeys Jupiter's command to leave Carthage. ### [Book V: Funeral Games and the Burning of the Ships](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-v) Celebrates funeral games for Anchises, receives advice from Nautes and a vision of his father, and decides to leave the weak in Sicily while continuing to Italy. ### [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-vi) The pious prince seeks the Sibyl's guidance and descends to the underworld to meet his father Anchises. ### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-vii) Arrives in Latium and is welcomed by King Latinus, who promises him Lavinia's hand. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-viii) Troubled by the war, receives a vision from Tiber, seeks alliance with Evander, and receives divine armor from Venus. ### [Book X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-x) Returns to battle, kills Lausus and Mezentius, mourns Pallas. ### [Book XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-xi) Erects a trophy, mourns Pallas, sends his body to Evander, and grants a truce. ### [Book XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-xii) Accepts Turnus's challenge, is wounded by an arrow, healed by Venus, and finally kills Turnus. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/aeneas - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters