Achates A companion and friend of Aeneas in his wanderings, and styled by Vergil fidus Achates, so that his fidelity has become proverbial.

Aeneas Son of Aphrodite (Venus) and Anchises, a mortal Trojan prince, and the hero of Virgil's Aeneid. After Troy's fall, he journeyed to Italy, where he founded a dynasty that eventually produced Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.

Allecto One of the Furies called up from the Underworld in the Aeneid.

Amata Queen of Latium and mother of Lavinia, whom Aeneas married.

Anchises Trojan prince, father of the hero Aeneas by Aphrodite. After the fall of Troy, Anchises was carried from the city by his son, Aeneas. Anchises died and was buried in Sicily. Aeneas later visited Hades and saw his father again.

Antenor A Trojan prince related to Priam. He was the husband of Theano , daughter of Cisseus, king of Thrace, and father of nineteen sons, of whom the most known were Polybus, Acamas, Agenor, Polydamas, Helicaon, Archilochus, and Laodocus. He is accused by some of having betrayed his country, not only because he gave a favourable reception to Diomedes, Odysseus, and MenelaŸs, when they came to Troy, as ambassadors from the Greeks, to demand the restitution of Helen, but also because he withheld the fact of his recognizing Odysseus, at the time that hero visited the city under the guise of a mendicant (Od. iv. 335). After the conclusion of the war Antenor , according to some, migrated with a party of followers into Italy, and built Patavium. According to others, he went with a colony of the Heneti, or Veneti, from Paphlagonia to the shores of the Hadriatic, where the new settlers established themselves in the district called by them Venetia ( Liv.i. 1; Plin.iii. 13; Verg. Aen. i. 242; Tac. xvi. 21). Arcadia A mountainous region in the south of Greece, sacred to Pan, Hermes, and Apollo, and associated with shepherds.

Ascanius In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was a son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, Aeneas escaped to Latium in Italy with his father and fought in the Italian Wars. Virgil's Aeneid says he had a role in the founding of Rome as the first king of Alba Longa. He was also called Iulus or Julus. From this name comes the Gens Julia, the Julian family to which Julius Caesar belonged.

Camilla A queen of the Volsci, and daughter of Metabus and Casmilla. Her father, who reigned at Privernum, having by his tyranny rendered himself odious to his subjects, was by them expelled from his dominions, and forced to take refuge from their fury in the lonely woods. Here he bred up the infant Camilla, the sole companion of his flight; and, having dedicated her to the service of Diana, he instructed her in the use of the bow and arrow, and accustomed her to the practice of martial and sylvan exercises. She was so remarkable for her swiftness that she is described by the poets as flying over the corn without bending the stalks, and skimming over the surface of the water without wetting her feet. Attended by a train of warriors, she led the Volscians to battle against Aeneas. Many brave chiefs fell by her hand; but she was at length herself killed by a soldier of the name of Aruns, who, from a place of concealment, aimed a javelin at her. Diana, however, who had foreseen this fatal event, had commissioned Opis, one of her nymphs, to avenge the death of Camilla, and Aruns was slain in his flight from the combat by the arrows of the goddess.

Carthage Powerful colony of Tyre on the north coast of Africa, directly south of Rome. The chief threat to Roman imperialism, it was destroyed by Scipio Aemilianus in 146 B.C.

Creusa Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and wife of Aeneas. When Troy was surprised by the Greeks, she fled in the night with her husband, but they were separated during the confusion, nor was her absence observed until the other fugitives arrived at the spot appointed for assembling. Aeneas a second time entered the burning city in quest of his wife; but while he was seeking for her through every quarter of Troy, Creusa appeared to him as a deified personage, and appeased his alarm by informing him that she had been adopted by Cybele among her own attendant nymphs; and she then urged him to pursue his course to Italy, with an intimation of the good fortune that awaited him in that land ( Verg. Aen. ii. 562 ff.).

Cumaean Sibyl Italian counterpart of the Delphic Oracle, her shrine was located at Cumae, the oldest Greek colony in the Bay of Naples region. In the Aeneid, she acted as Aeneas's guide through the Underworld.

Dido Queen and founder of Carthage, she befriended the shipwrecked Aeneas and was later deserted by him at Jupiter's command.

Elysium or Elysian fields. A posthumous realm of earthly delights reserved for those especially favored by the gods.

Evander A figure in Latin mythology. He was said to be the son of Hermes and an Arcadian nymph (Pausan. viii. 43. 2; Quaest. Rom. 53). Sixty years before the Trojan War he led a Pelasgian colony to Latium from Pallantium in Arcadia, and founded a city, Pallantium, near the Tiber, on the hill which was afterwards named after it the Palatine. Further it was said that he taught the rude inhabitants of the country writing, music, and other arts; and introduced from Arcadia the worship of certain gods, in particular of Pan, whom the Italians called Faunus, with the festival of the Lupercalia, which was held in his honour. Evander was worshipped at Rome among the heroes of the country, and had an altar on the Aventine Hill. In Vergil, Pallas, the son of Evander, marches, at the command of his father, to assist Aeneas, and falls in single combat with Turnus. (See Verg. Aen. viii. 575.) Evander had also two daughters, Romé and Dyna.

Hannibal General of the Carthaginians who led the invasion of Italy in the Second Punic War.

Iris A personification of the rainbow and Hera's special messenger, she was married to Zephyrus, the West Wind.

Juturna The nymph of a fountain in Latium, famous for its healing qualities, whose water was used in many of the sacrifices. A pond in the Forum, between the temples of Castor and Vesta, was called Lacus Iuturnae. The nymph is said to have been beloved by Iupiter, who rewarded her with immortality and dominion over the waters. Vergil calls her the sister of Turnus.

Latinus Son of Faunus and of the nymph Marica (or, according to another story, of Heracles and Fauna, or of Odysseus and Circe). He was king of Latium and father of Lavinia, the wife of Aeneas. He hosted Aeneas' army of exiled Trojans and let them reorganize their life in Latium. His daughter Lavinia had been promised to Turnus, king of the Rutuli, but Latinus preferred to offer her to Aeneas. Turnus consequently declared war on Aeneas (at the urging of Hera). The outcome was that Turnus was killed and his people captured. Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, founded Alba Longa and was the first in a long series of kings.

Latium Region south of the Tiber River in Italy where the Latins lived. Rome was founded near its northern border.

Lausus Son of Mezentius, king of the Etruscans, slain by Aeneas.

Lavinia The daughter of Latinus and Amata, betrothed to Turnus, but married to Aeneas.

Lethe In Hades, the River of Forgetfulness.

Mercury Roman name for Hermes, messenger of the Olympian gods.

Mezentius A king of Caere in Etruria. He aided Turnus of Ardea against Aeneas, but was killed in battle by the latter or by his son Ascanius. Dionysius, however, relates that Mezentius finally concluded a peace with Ascanius and became his ally (Dionys. i. 64). Still another tradition states that Mezentius demanded of the Latini the produce of their vineyards, but that they vowed the firstfruits to Iupiter and thereby won the victory (Quaest. Rom. 45).

Pallas In the Aeneid, a son of Evander whom Turnus kills.

Punic Wars A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage that began in 264 B.C. and ended in 146 B.C. with the total destruction of Carthage, foreshadowed in the Aeneid by Dido's fatal affair with Aeneas.

Tartarus The dark abyss beneath Hades' realm where Zeus chained the fallen Titans and where the wicked suffered torment.

Turnus King Turnus of the Rutuli was an ancient king killed by Aeneas. The son of Daunus and Venilia, brother of Iuturna, king of the Rutulians at Ardea. He was induced by Amata, the sister of his mother, and wife of Latinus, to make war upon Aeneas for his bride Lavinia, who had already been betrothed to himself. He was a close ally of Queen Camilla of the Volsci, who helped him fight Aeneas. After many hard fights he was slain in single combat by his rival. His name is probably connected with Tyrrhenus, and in the legends is associated with that of Mezentius; so that the story is supposed by some to refer to a struggle of the Latins against the Etruscans.

Vulcan Roman name for Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge.