Aeneas- Greek HeroHero"Survivor of Troy"

Birth and Lineage

Aeneas was born of the union between Aphrodite and Anchises, a prince of Troy's royal house. Zeus caused Aphrodite to fall in love with the mortal as punishment for making other gods desire mortals. She came to Anchises on Mount Ida disguised as a Phrygian princess, and he, not knowing her true nature, lay with her. When she revealed herself in her full divine radiance, Anchises fell to his knees in terror, begging her not to leave him a broken man. She warned him never to boast of lying with a goddess. When he later let the secret slip, Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt, leaving him lamed.

The Trojan War

Aeneas fought as a champion of Troy. He confronted Diomedes, who wounded him with a crushing spear cast. Aphrodite rushed to protect her son but was herself wounded by Diomedes — a mortal daring to strike a goddess. Apollo then enveloped Aeneas in a cloud and carried him to safety in his temple, where Leto and Artemis healed his wounds.

Later, Aeneas faced Achilles himself. The fight was unequal, and Aeneas would have been killed, but Poseidon — who otherwise favored the Greeks — intervened to snatch him from the battlefield in a mist. He declared that the race of Dardanus must not perish: Aeneas was destined to survive, and his children's children would reign among the Trojans, for the house of Priam had fallen from Zeus's favor.

The Fall of Troy

When Troy fell, Aeneas carried his aged father Anchises on his back and led his young son Ascanius by the hand through the burning city. His wife Creusa, daughter of Priam, was lost in the flight. He carried the Palladium out of Troy, preserving its divine protection for his future people.

Aeneas led a band of Trojan refugees westward across the Mediterranean. Along the way he encountered Helenus and Andromache, who had built a replica of Troy in Epirus. His journey eventually brought him to the Italian peninsula, where his descendants would rule.