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Dr. J. Taylor
The Aeneid
Name and Terms Guide
Greek/Roman Humanities
Trojan Survivors:
Aeneas – prince of Troy, son of Venus and Anchises
Ascanius (Iulus) – Aeneas’ son
Anchises - Aeneas’ father
Achates – Trojan friend and companion of Aeneas
Dead Trojans:
Priam – King of Troy, slain by Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus on the altar of his palace
Hector – prince of Troy, slain by Achilles
Paris – Hector’s brother, 2nd husband to Helen
In Carthage – City in North Africa, founded by Dido and the Tyrian exiles, traditional
enemy of Rome
Anna – Dido’s sister
Dido - Queen of Carthage, widow of Sychaeus (Dido’s dead husband, murdered by her
brother for his wealth)
Iarbas – an African king, former suitor of Dido
Names associated with Venus
Cythera – an island off the south of Greece, near where Venus was said to have been born
Cyprus – an island in the Mediterranean associated with Venus
Cyprian, Cytherea – nicknames for Venus
Greek Warriors (Argives, Achaian, Danaans) from Trojan War:
Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus) – Achilles’ son
Ulysses – Roman name for Odysseus
Menelaus – Helen’s first husband
Agamemnon – Leader of the Greek armies
Achilles – Greatest Greek warrior, killed by Paris
In Italy: (the Lavinian shores - Aeneas’ future wife, Lavinia, comes from Italy)
The Sibyl – priestess of Apollo at Cumae, guides Aeneas through the underworld
Rhea Silvia – mother by Mars of Romulus and Remus
Romulus – descendant of Aeneas, son of Rhea Silvia, founder of the city of Rome
Alba Longa – the settlement founded by the Trojans in Italy, predates Rome
Lavinia – future wife of Aeneas, daughter of King Latinus of the Latin tribe
The Underworld: (Orcus)
Acheron, Styx, Lethe – Rivers in the Underworld. Lethe causes people to forget their
past lives
Cerberus – three-headed guard dog
Charon – ferryman, ferries the dead across the river Acheron in the Underworld
Tartarus – where the wicked people are punished
Elysium – The fields of the blessed in the underworld
Roman Gods
Saturn – Cronos
Jupiter or Jove = Zeus
Juno = Hera
Pallas Minerva = Pallas Athena
Diana = Artemis
Phoebus = Apollo
Aeolus – God of the Winds
Uranus = Ouranos
Venus = Aphrodite
Pluto/Dis = Hades
Vesta = Hestia
Neptune = Poseidon
Vulcan = Hephaestos
Mars = Ares
Ceres = Demeter
Mercury = Hermes
Bacchus/Liber = Dionysos
Amor – god of love (Cupid/Eros)
Terms
Pietas – system of duties/responsibilities of a good Roman citizen
1 – Gods, 2 – State, 3 – Family
Furor – Madness of passionate love
Assignment:
Read Books 1, 2, 4, 6
Passages to look for:
Aeneas’ first view of Dido as a wise ruler in Book I
The Fall of Troy story Book II
The cave scene in Book IV
Dido’s Curse in Book IV
The Parade of Roman Heroes in the Underworld Book VI. (Future Roman descendants
of Aeneas-propaganda for Augustus and the Romans)
Anchises’ description of Roman arts when he is speaking to his son Aeneas Book VI.
Notice that for the first time, Aeneas is addressed as a Roman, not a Trojan
Notice whom Aeneas talks to on his journey into the Underworld. There are three main
persons he speaks with, who represent his past, before he reaches his father in Elysium.
Aeneas’ journey into the underworld (the land of death) is symbolic of his own death and
rebirth. Death of the Trojan, Birth of the Roman
Aeneas becomes the first Roman and the founder of the future Roman race, he is
therefore called Father Aeneas.