Myths and Legends of the World

Destination: Arrived In the Kingdom of Latium was a king, named Latinus, who name was eponym of the Latins, the language of the Romans. Latinus was a son of Faunus and Marcia. He was also a legacy of Picus and of Saturn (Cronus). Latinus was married to Queen Amata, and he was a father of Princess Lavinia. Latinus ruled in the city of Laurentum. He was destined to not have any son to rule after him, so it was important to find a suitable husband for his daughter. Lavinia has many suitors, including Turnus, a young king from the city of Ardea. Turnus was most likely to have married Lavinia, because he was the strongest and most handsome of Italic suitors. However, Latinus witnessed several miracles, which his prophet said that he must marry his daughter to no Latin prince; Lavinia must marry a foreign prince who was due to arrive soon; it was a divine decree of the Fates. However, with this stranger, war will break out on his land, because of the dispute over his daughter betwe...

Sailing away from Africa and Dido's drama, they were at sea for days before they reach Sicily again. This time they were guests of Acestes, in Eryx. Acestes' mother was Trojan, so he helped Aeneas prepared a great funeral games for Aeneas' father, Anchises, who had died at Drepănum a year ago. Then they set out again for Italy, hoping to reach Cumae, so he could consult with the Sibyl. Before they had landed in Eryx, Palinurus, the pilot of Aeneas' ship had complained about dark, stormy sky. But before they reached Cumae, the pilot was lulled by the calm weather and sea; he fell asleep at the tiller, then fell overboard and drowned by Somnus, the God of the Sleep. The Trojans reached Cumae, where Aeneas found and met the Sibyl, the oracle and priestess of Apollo and Diana in Diana's Wood. Her name was Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus. Through a trance Sibyl foresaw that Aeneas would find greater danger in Latium than he ever did on the high seas. In Latium, Aeneas...

A fierce storm broke out at sea, with stormy winds driving the Trojan fleet to Carthage. It was no ordinary storm. Juno, Queen of Heaven, had stirred the winds and sea. Since the time of Judgment of Paris, the goddess hatred for the Trojans hasn't lesser since the death of Paris and the sack of mighty Troy. She was supporter of the Greek army, determined to rid of Troy for being slight in a beauty contest, when Paris awarded the apple of discord to Venus. In Carthage, the goddess had hoped that its ruler and its kingdom would turn against these strangers, or at least divert Aeneas from fulfilling his destiny in Italy. But this kingdom was ruled by a great queen named Dido. There are at least two Didos in mythology. Dido was the founder of Carthage hundreds of years before Rome when she fled from Phoenicia after their brother, Pygmalion, had murdered Sychaeus, Dido's husband and uncle. Other Dido is the one who with her sister Anna meet Aeneas.The queen welcomed Aeneas an...

In Virgil's poem, The Aeneid, the ideal Roman hero is depicted in the form of Aeneas. Not only does Aeneas represent the Roman hero, but he also represents what every Roman citizen is called to be. Each Roman citizen must posses two major virtues, he must remain pious, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In the poem, Virgil says that all Romans ought to have two certain virtues: he must remain a pious Roman citizen, and he must remain loyal to the Roman race. In Virgil's poem, he uses Aeneas as a portrayal of not only a roman hero, but also as the ideal Roman citizen. For a man to be pious, he must do what he is called to do by the Fates and follow his destiny. Aeneas is above all pious. He follows the will of the gods, even when it makes him suffer. Aeneas' destiny is to lead the Trojan people to the new land of Rome. Although this is tough for him to do and he runs into difficulties along the way, he keeps on striving towards his final goal. Along the Greek ...