The Aeneid: The Roman Odyssey

After Hector's death at the hands of Achilles, Aeneas was given command of the Trojan armies that had been fighting the Greeks for ten years in front of the Trojan Wall. However, the gods finally appeared to favor the Trojans when the Greeks, having failed to overcome the sacred walls of Troy, set sail from their shores. All they left behind was a massive wooden horse as an offering to the gods. The great horse was carried as a and a major celebration began to commemorate the great Trojan victory over the invading forces, putting a stop to a decade of conflict. In the still of the night, the bravest Achaean heroes emerged from the belly of the wooden horse and, shielded by the shroud of darkness, stormed and surprised the small garrison protecting the Trojan gates. Once the gates were open, thousands of Greek soldiers, who were in hiding, invaded the city and started the takeover and destruction of Troy. The streets of Troy witnessed a bloodbath like never before. Women, children and the elderly were shown no compassion and were slaughtered with swords. Aeneas was sleeping peacefully in his room when the Greeks took the city. In his dreams, however, he was visited by the spirit of the glorious Prince Hector. The magnificent son of Priam told Aeneas to wake up because Troy had been invaded. Hector told him that it was his responsibility to protect the precious Trojan tradition and that he should take the sacred objects of Troy with him and find a new city with sturdy walls to protect them. Aeneas was appalled as the city he had fought for years burned to the ground before his eyes. It was now a doomed place. Aeneas donned his armor and went off to fight the Achaeans who were pillaging the glorious city. He and his men offered strong resistance to the Greeks, preventing them from advancing for a while. But the swarm of invaders was too much for so few men to stop. And realizing that Troy's fate was sealed, Aeneas pulled back, as it was not his fate to die fighting inside the city of Troy. Aeneas rushed to fetch his wife Priusa and his son Ascanius, with whom he ran to save his old father. When he met the old and maimed Anchises, Aeneas tried to convince his father to leave Troy with him and fulfill his destiny of protecting Trojan tradition and culture. But his father had no intention of leaving his beloved country behind and living out his last days in exile. That was when a small flame rose above Ascanius's head, a clear sign from the gods. Anchises understood that it was the role of his family to preserve all the memories of their ancestors. He gave in to his son's pleas and decided to follow him wherever he went. Aeneas had to carry his crippled father on his back. Since he had been struck down by a thunderbolt from Jupiter for his pride, there was chaos in the Trojan streets, and Aeneas attempted to lead his family to the meeting point agreed with the other men who were trying to flee Troy. At that moment, a panicked crowd caused the hero to become separated from his wife. This would be the last time Aeneas would see his wife alive. Aeneas managed to reach one of the secondary gates that would allow him to escape from Troy, but he realized that his wife had not kept up with him, and in despair, he decided to go back to search for her. It was then that the spirit of Creusa appeared and told Aeneas that her fate was not to follow them, for she was already dead. She asked him not to look for her and to continue on his path, where Aeneas would find greatness and glory. Ascanius wept in his father's arms, begging for the return of his mother, but there was nothing that could be done. Now Aeneas had to gather the surviving Trojans and devise a new plan for their future. Gathered at the foot of Mount Ida, Aeneas, his family, and the last remaining Trojans came together. Anchises reminded everyone of the ancient prophecy that said Aeneas would be the heir to the Trojan tradition, and that he was destined to found a new city where the descendants of Troy would multiply and conquer many lands. Aeneas would lead his people toward the unknown, in search of the destiny promised by the gods. This path would be filled with adventures and challenges. The departure of Aeneas and the Trojans in search of a new beginning marks the start of one of the most epic journeys in history. Thus begins the Aeneid, the founding story of a civilization that would leave its mark on history due to the greatness of its people. Following the fall of Troy, Aeneas guided a band of refugees in search of a new land, where a prophecy would be fulfilled that he and his descendants would find a second Troy, which would eclipse its predecessor in glory and splendor. They arrived on the coast of Thrace, and as soon as they stepped ashore, he decided to build an altar to them and to collect offerings and present them to the gods as a sacrifice. When Aeneas picked wildflowers to adorn the altar of the gods, he was surprised to see blood dripping from the stems of the plucked flowers, and was afraid he was violating the garden of a dryad. But the truth was even sadder. The spirit of Polydorus appeared before him, a young Trojan prince who lived in Thrace until he had been captured by Ajax of Salamis and taken to Troy, where he was stoned outside the Trojan gates. His spirit returned to Thrace to rest in the last place where he had been happy. The boy's ghost urged Aeneas to leave that land. As the Thracian king was no longer a Trojan friend, he would only find ruin if they stayed on those parts. Before leaving Thrace, Aeneas held a ritual in honor of the prince whose life had been cut short so early. Facing enemies on almost every side, the Trojan survivors were unsure if there was any land that would welcome them, and so was the goddess Leto, who wandered for a long time in search of a place that would accept her children Phoebus, Apollo, and Diana as their homeland. They headed for the sacred island of Delos. There, Aeneas and his old father sought answers from the Oracle of Apollo. They were greeted by the king of Delos, who was also the chief priest of Apollo's temple. Aeneas and his father left Delos after having heard the Oracle, telling them that they would have to make their way to the land of their remote ancestors. Anchises pointed out that they would have to go to the island of Crete, as it was from there that their ancestors had set out to found the city of Troy. Once in Crete, they founded the city Pergamon, and it appeared that they had found the promised land. There they built temples and palaces, but their true destiny was not to live on the island where the great Jupiter had been raised. A terrible drought devastated the crops, and disease began to spread among the Trojans. Many of them died during these harrowing days on the island of Crete. The people appeared to their leaders for an answer, but Aeneas failed to find a solution to their plight. He ordered them to get ready, as they were to return to the island of Delos in search of an answer. However, that same night while he was sleeping, Aeneas was paid a visit by the Trojan gods, among whom was Tucer, his ancestor who had given rise to the Trojan lineage. The visitors told Aeneas that they were not welcome in Jupiter's sacred lands, as the great god knew that his wife Juno loathed the Trojans with all her heart, and that such hatred would bring misfortune to all the peoples who lived in Crete. The deities informed him that the Trojans had come to the lands of the wrong ancestors. Hesperia was where they would find their home. It was from there that the glorious Dardanus, one of the founding fathers of Troy, had set out. The next day, Aeneas instructed everyone to get ready, as he had been visited by the gods and they would change their course. Aeneas was to lead his fleet towards the lands of ancient Hesperia, now known as Italy. Aeneas and the Trojans were on the high seas once again, bound for the land that had been promised to them. But three days of severe storms blanketed the skies, and without the stars to guide them, their helmsman Polynerus seemed clueless as to where they were heading. However, the Trojans managed to find a safe harbor to disembark on the island of Strophes, not knowing that it was home to cursed creatures. Aeneas' men hoped that the land would be welcoming, as they quickly found wild goats to eat. Before they could feast on goat meat, they made a sacrifice to Jupiter, who had brought the hospitable land into their path. But little did he know that the great god was avoiding aiding the Trojans, for fear of the wrath of his wife Juno, who was the Trojans' enemy. That was when one of Aeneas' men raised the alarm, as three hideous winged creatures were rapidly approaching. These were the loathsome harpies, half-woman, half-bird creatures who, since their defeat by the Argonauts, had taken up residence on the island of Strophes. They were filthy things, and their rot contaminated all the food. Again, Aeneas' people had to hunt and cook goat meat. But once more, the harpies came and spoiled the Trojans' meal. Aeneas took it upon himself to stash his weapons in the undergrowth and ambush the harpies. When the harpies returned, Aeneas and his men stood ready to fight them. The struggle was hard fought, and both sides fought bravely. But Aeneas' men were not nearly as mighty and resilient as the heroic children of the gods who accompanied Jason, and so they were no match for the harpies. Before they left, one of the harpies even cursed them for killing their cattle. They told them that they would have to suffer and starve and eat their own tables before they could settle in the land that the gods had promised them. Aeneas' fleet was now in Italian waters, and everything suggested that they were nearing their long-awaited destination. However, a great danger loomed ahead. They met with the perilous Charybdis, a gigantic creature living underwater, who swallowed the seawater and created an enormous whirlpool, engulfing everything close to it. Aeneas' ships squeezed through the rock walls to escape as far as possible from the enormous whirlpool, and fortunately took the side opposite the cave of the monster Scylla, who ambushed the ships nearing its cave. Having succeeded in escaping unharmed from such danger, they headed for the coast of the island of Sicily. They encountered the gigantic Mount Etna, a mighty volcano that spewed fire and lava. According to the myths, Zeus had thrown a huge mountain on the monster Typhon, who was imprisoned under the volcano, and the eruptions showed that the monster was extremely angry. Aeneas and his father landed once again in unknown lands. But bold Anchises was beginning to show signs that the exhausting journey was costing him dearly, and his health was declining day by day. The Trojans were surprised by a visitor during the night, sweating in rags, and they realized that he was a Greek from the way he spoke. He knelt before Aeneas and pleaded for help and forgiveness, as he was one of Odysseus' men, king of Ithaca, having fought against the Trojans in the Trojan War. He told them that he had been left behind on the island of the Cyclops when Odysseus passed by. He had failed to join Odysseus when he escaped from the Cyclops Polyphemus, as he was sick and wounded, and had been hiding from the terrible Cyclops that lived on the island ever since. Then the huge one-eyed monster emerged, but luckily for the Trojans it had been blinded by Odysseus and did not notice the presence of his men. Aeneas and his crew managed to make as little noise as possible, so as not to attract the Cyclops' attention and embarked on their ships, bringing the Greek Achaemenid with them. However, as they set off again, Aeneas noticed that his parent was drawing last breath. The great lord of the Dardanians was leaving the duty of carrying on the legacy of his people in his son's hands, and so died old Anchises, the man once adored even by the goddess of love. Aeneas arranged a funeral to honor the great lord of the Dardanelles and Aeneas and his son, Asaneas, were now the only living members of the Trojan royal family, once so powerful and glorious. At last, Aeneas and his men were nearing the land promised to them by the gods, but one deity had made no such gift promises to the Trojans. She was Juno, known to the Greeks as Hera, the wife of the supreme god. She was still extremely hostile towards the Trojans, and not even the utter destruction of their glorious city could appease the goddess' wrath. Aeneas and the Trojans still had many trials ahead of them. Juno commanded the wind gods to strike the Trojan ships and churn up the seas with their blasts. The previously tranquil sea looked as if it had revolted against the Trojans. The heavy winds ripped at the ship's sails, and the enormous waves menaced to capsize the boats and throw their men into the sea. Neptune, the god of the seas, was angered by Juno's meddling in his domains, having tossed the seas into turmoil without checking with the supreme lord of the realm. The mighty god stunned the wind deities with his trident, and the sea waters quieted down, saving Aeneas from a devastating fate. Several ships disappeared in Juno's chaos, but Aeneas and most of his vessels found their way to the North African coast. They were unaware that they had reached the kingdom of Libya, a land governed by immigrants from the Phoenician island of Tyre. Aeneas, making use of his bow and arrow, shot six deer-like animals of the local fauna and managed to provide food for his people who were starving. Venus, the goddess of love and mother of Aeneas, knelt before Jupiter in the dwelling of the gods and asked him what her son had done to deserve such a harsh punishment. The supreme god assured her that she had nothing to worry about. Notwithstanding the fury of his wife Juno, he would guarantee that everything prophesied to Aeneas would come true. In Italy, he would lay the foundations for a nation that would outshine all others. Julius Caesar and Octavius Augustus would emerge from this people, standing out among all the others of their time, with their names reverberating throughout history, much like the great heroes of Hellas. Mercury, the swift messenger god, headed to Carthage at Jupiter's command to notify them of the presence of Aeneas and his people. It was the Carthaginians' duty to greet their visitors warmly. Aeneas, meanwhile, was out on one of his hunts when he stumbled across the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, wearing the garb of a huntress and possessing a divine aura. He greeted her with the utmost respect. Although she was not the goddess of hunting, Diana, as her hair was as black as night, she could only be a goddess. He was right. She was his mother, masquerading as a Libyan huntress. She told him where he was, and about the people who lived there. Most importantly, she told him about Dido, the queen of Libya, who reigned over the land from her throne in Carthage. The gorgeous queen Dido was the daughter of the Phoenician king. But, when her brother took the throne of Tyr and murdered her husband to rob her of all her wealth, Dido fled north. She escaped to North Africa, carrying all of her husband's vast wealth with her to prevent it from being stolen by her ruthless brother. Dido went on to settle these distant lands, and with the blessing of the goddess Juno, grew what had once been a small hamlet into a magnificent city. Juno is said to have planned for Carthage to be the bedrock for the foundation of a universal empire. After the huntress told Aeneas about the queen, she told him that, according to the flight of the birds, one could infer that, when Aeneas got back to his base, he would be in for a good surprise. Several swans were flying back together after being dispersed by an eagle. As the huntress turned to leave, Aeneas could smell a sweet, unmistakable scent from her hair. This was his divine mother's perfume, and thus he knew that she was still watching over him. Upon returning to his people, Aeneas spotted numerous ships on the horizon which had been lost. The gods seemed to be on his side once again. Aeneas would now have to follow his mother's advice, and go to Carthage to meet Queen Dido. Aeneas and some men headed for the city of Carthage, carrying gifts for Queen Dido, who ruled over the whole region. The first time the Trojan leader and the queen saw each other, both were blown away by each other's beauty. Dido was gorgeous, and Aeneas was the son of Venus and the charming Aeschylus, whose build and features were exceptionally alluring. The goddess Venus kept an eye on everything, worrying about her beloved son's fate, as Carthage was patronized by the goddess Juno, and she was a Trojan enemy. She asked her other son Cupid, the god of passion, for help. He was to disguise himself as Asanias, Aeneas' son, making sure that the queen fell in love with his half-brother. Dido and Aeneas had much in common. Both were descendants of powerful royal families, and widows of partners who had been brutally murdered. They, too, ended up in exile, with the mission of founding a great civilization. Carthage was already growing rapidly, but Aeneas' new city was only a far-off dream. Aeneas was extremely proud to present his son Asanias to the queen. Dido expressed her affection for the boy and asked him for a hug. Cupid, in disguise, seized the opportunity to strike the queen of Carthage with one of his golden arrows, sparking in her a passionate desire for Aeneas. Throughout the night, the queen could not stop thinking about the handsome host from distant lands, but she had made a vow not to get involved with any other man following her husband's death. The following day, Dido invited Aeneas to go hunting. While the queen looked delicate, she was an accomplished archer and impressed Aeneas with her accuracy. However, heavy rain led the pair to seek shelter from the storm, and they took refuge in a nearby cave. Far from everyone's eyes, Queen Dido declared her passion for the Trojan prince. Aeneas eventually surrendered to the seductive power of that beautiful woman. Aeneas and Dido started to foster a stealthy love affair, but this affair did not evade the watchful eye of the goddess Juno. Juno went to Venus and suggested bringing an end to the hostilities between her and the son of the goddess of love. As a way of sealing this pact, she proposed that Dido, her protege, and Aeneas join forces in a powerful alliance. But Venus was suspicious, as Juno was not renowned for being forgiving. Aeneas and Dido began to live as a couple. While Dido reigned, Aeneas assisted her by managing her partner's kingdom. But the contemptible goddess' fame spread rumors about the couple's union throughout Libya. The gossip reached King Earbus, who had been rejected by Dido on the grounds that she would never marry another man again. He had built several temples to Jupiter and knew that the god owed him a debt of gratitude. He called for the supreme god to drive Aeneas from those lands. Mercury, the messenger god, went at Jupiter's behest to deliver the message from the Olympian lord. He ordered Aeneas to abandon Carthage as soon as possible, as his home was not there, but in Italy, the land promised to him by the gods. Aeneas enjoyed living alongside Dido, but he knew it was his duty to establish a new kingdom for his son and people. The Trojan leader commanded his men to make discreet preparations for their departure, so as not to raise suspicions. However, Dido was no fool and spotted the strange goings-on and challenged Aeneas. The queen felt betrayed by him, who planned to run away in hiding after being welcomed by her and acting as if he were her husband. But Aeneas was not swayed by Dido's words, as he had made up his mind to leave for Italy. Aeneas left to help his men finish their preparations, leaving the heartbroken queen behind. Dido ordered a great pyre to be built, as she was about to perform a ritual that would make her get over the love she felt for the treacherous Trojan. Dido proceeded to toss all the belongings she had given to Aeneas into the flames on a platform. To everyone's astonishment, the queen took the sword that had belonged to Aeneas and pointed it at her stomach. She cursed the Trojans and stated that it was the people of Carthage's duty to be eternal enemies of those descended from the Trojans. Having mortally wounded herself with the sword, Dido flung herself into the burning pyre in front of her. The people of Carthage never forgot this harrowing sight. Aeneas and his fleet could even see the great pyre illuminating the night, while hearing the cries of commotion from the Carthaginian people. Aeneas was now heading back to Italy, but he still had to pay a toll in misfortunes for his reckless actions. Having left Carthage behind for a lengthy journey, Aeneas and his people were once again on the island of Sicily, getting closer to their final destination. This time, they would encounter a welcoming village. There reigned Asestes, a king and son of a noble woman. For this reason, the Trojans were warmly received in these lands. Juno, however, noticing that Aeneas was about to fulfill his destiny, dispatched the goddess Iris to poison the minds of the Trojans and the elderly who could no longer stand the suffering they had experienced for so long at sea. Before Aeneas could realize it, the women and the elderly had burned a substantial portion of Aeneas' ships as they wanted to stay there in Asestes' kingdom. The Trojan leader desperately stared at his finest ships burning. But Jupiter would not allow the elders to torch all the ships, threatening them with his lightning and thunder. That night, Aeneas was visited by his father Spectre, the old Anchises, who told his son about Jupiter's orders. He instructed Aeneas to gather the strongest warriors and the youngest and healthiest women, for them to board the remaining ships and finally reach the land the gods had promised them. After rounding up fresh supplies, Aeneas set off with his chosen men, leaving behind the old and sick and the women who did not want to continue. The ones who stayed would find a village named Asista after the king who had welcomed them. Aeneas' trip to Italy was smooth, as Jupiter had had enough of Juno's interference, forcing her to stop disrupting the Trojans' remaining journey. He also asked Neptune to temper the seas, making it easier to sail. Aeneas and his dwindling fleet reached Italy near the mouth of the river Tiber. This region was known as Latium, as the Latins lived there. Once ashore, the Trojans started baking large, flat wheat cakes, and when they used them as a table on which to serve other dishes, the young Asanius said, We are eating our own tables. The Aeneas remembered the harpy's curse, saying that they would suffer until they ate their own tables. Aeneas understood that this was the place where the Trojans would settle, as the gods had intended, and these were the blessed lands from which they would raise a settlement to be the seed of the mightiest empire the world had ever seen. Not far from where Aeneas and his people had set up camp stood the palace of the Italic people who lived in the region. Latinus was reigning there, an old and savvy monarch descended from Faunus and great-grandson of the god Saturn. But King Latinus never had any male heirs. His only offspring was the gorgeous princess Lavinia, courted by all the unmarried nobles of Latium. Turnus stood out among the princess' many suitors. He was a strong, good-looking and powerful warrior, son of the king of the Rotuli. But a prophecy predicted that Lavinia would marry a foreign prince of divine lineage. This outsider and his bloodline would give rise to the greatest empire the world has ever seen and would rule the entire planet. This prophecy meant that Latinus would not permit his daughter to marry, hoping that the husband sent by the gods would finally reveal himself. Turnus resented this situation, as he thought that there was no other man but him capable of leading the Latin people after the old king's death. This was when Aeneas' envoys entered the city of the Latins in a bid for hospitality. They were initially regarded with suspicion by the townsfolk, but the king welcomed them with the utmost hospitality, just as Jupiter commanded. Aeneas' entourage presented itself to the king, recounting all their adventures and setbacks until they finally found their way to the Italian peninsula and reached the spot where the gods had intended them to be. As the king listened to the foreigners, he knew for sure that the Trojan leader was the man the oracle of Phoebus had prophesied. Latinus stated that Aeneas and his men were more than welcome in the land, and that their people must unite in marriage, and he would offer his precious daughter to marry Aeneas, forming an unbreakable bond between both peoples and fulfilling the gods' wishes. He presented the Trojans with splendid horses and sent Aeneas a divine horse-drawn chariot as a trothal gift. The Trojans set off to tell their leader the good news. But Juno was enraged when she saw that Aeneas and the Trojans all seemed to have a wonderful destiny ahead of them. But, if this was indeed their fate, they would not achieve it without much hardship. The queen of the gods sent for Alecto, the most vicious among the Furies, ordering her to spread hatred, bitterness, and the lust for war in people's souls throughout the region. The frightening Fury proceeded to the Latin palace and found the queen there sobbing, as she could not accept her husband's decision to give the hand of her beloved daughter to a foreigner. Using this anger to her advantage, Alecto slipped one of the snakes the Fury carried in her hair around the queen's neck. The snake changed into an enthralling golden necklace, and its sway made the queen go out into the streets uttering vile words against the Trojans, and hating outsiders always has a pleasant ring to those dissatisfied with them. Having completed the first stage of mission, Alecto took flight to the residence of the warrior Ternus, who was at rest. Using a flaming torch, the Fury ignited Ternus' heart with war lust. The ruthless prince would not permit Aeneas and the Trojans to succeed to the kingdom he thought ought to be his. Ternus commanded his men to prepare for battle, as they would set out for war, and only rest after the last drop of Trojan blood had fertilized the Latium lands. There was a wonderful deer in the Latium region, more beautiful than any other, and it seemed that it had formed a bond with Sylvia, a young daughter of the nobleman responsible for the region's shepherds. The deer appeared unafraid of her, and happily accepted her petting it. When the Latins caught sight of such a scene, it was their belief that such a sign could only mean that they were blessed by the gods, and the friendship of such an animal was evidence of this. Having seen this, Juno pointed the majestic animal towards Aeneas' son, who was already proving to be an excellent hunter. Aesanius was astonished by the size of the deer, and yearned to have such a trophy. Aesanius shot the animal, wounding it mortally. He and some hunters then followed the deer, as it fled towards his friend Sylvia's house. Aesanius found the deer in agony, with Sylvia crying beside it. She exhorted the shepherds who lived there to avenge the death of the sacred deer. They set out to kill Aesanius and the Trojans, but they had absolutely no idea that they were fighting experienced warriors, hardened by iron and blood on the battlefields of the Trojan War. News of the sacred deer's death and the avenging shepherds spread throughout Latium. Hatred of the Trojan foreigners spread like wildfire among the Latins. A major war was about to break out. When the hideous fury poured her poison into the hearts of the Latin people and spread the lust for bloodshed throughout Latium, Ternus brought all the disgruntled people to the gates of the Latin king's palace and insisted that he declare all-out war on the Trojan foreigners. Latinus hoped to escape from this world in peace, but supported by the queen, Ternus secured the endorsement of all the peoples friendly to the Latins. The king worried that the gods would not allow him to die the peaceful death he so longed for. Camilla, the warrior princess who had learned the arts of war while following the entourage of the goddess Artemis, emerged from the Volscian kingdom. She arrived to help Ternus, who was an ally of her people. The king was ordered to open the glorious gates of the Janus temple, indicating that the Latins were at war, but the ruler opposed the command and retreated to his chambers. No longer willing to be lenient, the goddess Juno himself raced down to earth and opened the temple gates with her own hands, much to the rapture of the combatants, who were thrilled to learn that the goddess was on their side. They were convinced that, just as Juno had helped the Greeks defeat the Trojans in the Ilion lands, she would once again deliver another devastating defeat to them. Standing on the banks of the river Tiber, Aeneas brooded over the impossible ordeal the Trojans would have to undergo. Although they were outstanding warriors, the Trojans were only a few and would not stand a chance against the combined forces of the Latium cities. Then Tiber, the river god, emerged from the waters. He told Aeneas not to despair and that the gods were on his side, except for Juno. He said that Aeneas needed to head to the kingdom of Tuscany, ruled by Evander, a Pelasgian king from Greece. Despite being Greek settlers, they were friends of the Trojans. Aeneas went to King Evander for help. The Tuscans, too, were enemies of the Latins, so persuading them to help the Trojans was not hard. King Evander, already an old man, said he would not be able to fight, but would send his best knights and his son Pallas to lead his men on the king's behalf. Somewhere far away, in the divine forges of Mount Etna, Vulcan, the forging god, was crafting majestic weapons for Aeneas at the request of his wife Venus. These could only be compared to the ones used by Achilles himself. They were given by Venus to her beloved son. She told him that, as long as he wore them, he would be capable of fending off any enemy. The hero sensed that with those weapons and armor he would be almost invincible on the battlefield. But one item struck him more than the rest – his new shield. It contained several high-relief artworks depicting the future of Rome. But all these images were puzzling to him. It featured the twins and the she-wolf, men cradling women in their arms, and many other stories that made absolutely no sense to the Trojan. While Aeneas was out looking for allies, Ternus was paid a divine visit. Iris, the messenger of the gods, brought a note from Juno to the great warrior. It said that, without Aeneas around, the Trojans' camp on the banks of the Tiber was vulnerable. Ternus led his army to it. But the dust stirred up by his army's advance alerted the Trojan watchman, who sounded the alarm. The leader of the Romans dared the Trojans to face them in the open. But Aeneas' warriors were not foolish, and did not give in to Ternus' taunts. They would be waiting for Aeneas to come back before finally standing up to the Latium warriors. Ternus threw his assagai at the Trojan palisade watchman, but the Trojans took cover behind their fences and trenches. With no other choice, Ternus ordered the Trojan camp to be besieged until more men could be assembled for the final assault. But Ternus grew impatient, and paced back and forth, trying to find ways to harm the Trojans. It was then that he gathered his best men and set off, bearing torches, towards the unprotected Trojan ships on the riverbank. Sibyl, the mother of the Olympian gods, would not allow Aeneas' sacred ships to be burned. She turned to her son Jupiter, and pleaded with him not to allow the wooden boats from her sacred grove to be wrecked. The goddess sacrificed her entire woods so that Aeneas could have his fleet. When Ternus and his men hurled their torches at the ships, they expected the boats to burn quickly. Instead, Jupiter brought the ships to life, and they became magnificent sea creatures. Ternus' men were shocked, as this could only be a sign that the gods were on the Trojan side. But Ternus took the sign differently. For him, the vanishing of the Trojan ships meant that this time Juno would not allow them to flee after their defeat, and they would be utterly exterminated. The commander Ternus and the Ratuli hoped to put an end to the Trojan camp, so they bravely advanced against the enemy defenses, protected by their shields, and attempted to storm the Trojans' fortifications. The Trojans were not many at the time, but their men had battled for ten years on the Trojan Wall against the Greek invaders, and were accustomed to repelling assaults by enemy troops. However, Ternus worried the Trojans when he managed to set fire to one of the defense towers, and its collapse was inevitable. Seizing the opportunity of the breach left by the tower, Ternus and his men stormed the Trojan camp. At first, the Trojans' resistance could not hold back the Romans' breakthrough, as their defenses were still blocking more enemies from invading other sections of the wall. Using his sword, Ternus took the lives of several Trojans. He felt powerful, as Achilles himself would have, if he had succeeded in invading Troy. But the young Assanius would not allow his father's men to succumb to the enemy, and he shot Remulus in the head, killing Ternus' brother-in-law and launching the Trojan counterattack. Emboldened, Assanius longed to lunge forward and kill the enemy commander with his spear, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was the god Phoebus Apollo telling him to be content with taking down just one great hero that day, because if he continued fighting on the front line, he would only encounter certain death. Assanius remembered Patroclus, Achilles' fellow soldier who disregarded his friend's advice and met his death head-on at the spear of the glorious Hector. The young prince of the Dardanelles opted to retreat to the rear and let the more experienced warriors deal with the invaders. Ternus was seemingly unstoppable and only slowed his momentum to engage a fearless Trojan named Pandarus. The fight was hotly contested, but Pandarus eventually perished after being struck down by Ternus, who was fighting under Juno's blessing. But Pandarus' demise was not for nothing, as while Ternus focused on fighting the Trojan hero, the remaining Ilion soldiers drove off the rest of the invaders, who ran for their lives. If Ternus had just focused on opening the gates for his army instead of pursuing glory by challenging champions, his victory would surely have come that day. But the Trojans were now surrounding him. Ternus ran frantically to save his own life, while the Trojans hurled arrows and spears at him. As luck would have it, the invisible god Juno deflected the projectiles. Ternus rushed to the rear of the Trojan camp and leapt into the river Tiber, the Trojans believing that such a desperate act would cause him to drown. Fortunately for the warrior, the god inhabiting the river was a friend of the Rotuli, so he would not let the warrior sink under the weight of his armor and shield. In the dwelling place of the gods, Venus complained to Jupiter that Juno was throwing the war out of balance by helping the native peoples, and that this would tear the gods apart, just as it had at Troy. Jupiter then decreed that the deities would no longer meddle decisively in the conflict, and that it would be up to the men themselves to disclose the fate that the Moirai had planned for them. As he emerged from the water after almost drowning, Ternus spotted that, on the other side of the Tiber, Aeneas was heading back, laden with soldiers from neighboring kingdoms who had allied themselves with the Dardanelles hero to fight against the Rotuli and the Latins. Aeneas was to show his enemies the true price of war, by rousing the fury and bloodlust of Mars, the god of war. Having been separated from his allies for a few days, Aeneas had finally arrived back, bringing with him a large contingent of soldiers from different regions who wanted to take revenge on their Latin and Rotuli rivals. However, at the very start of the fighting, Prince Pallas, son of King Evander, perished at the hands of Ternus. Hera, perceiving that the Trojans and their allies' counterattack would be devastating, pulled Ternus away from the action, knowing that the brave warrior would not shy away from facing his enemies and would surely die. Aeneas led his men on the front line and succeeded in protecting his camp's defenses. On the other side, the noble Etruscan Mezintius organized the lines of his allies and prevented them from being breached by the Trojans. But Mezintius was struck down by an Asagai thrown by Aeneas. Upon seeing his wounded father withdraw to the rear, the young warrior Lossus was overcome with anger. He launched an attack on Aeneas, who deflected his blows and even warned him to back off. If he persisted, he would find no mercy. But the young Lossus wanted to avenge his father more than anything and ended up abbreviating his own life as a result. When he watched his son's body being brought back from the front line, Mezintius mourned his appalling fate. Without his son, he felt his life was meaningless. So he jumped on his horse and charged into the Trojan lines in a suicidal rampage. He searched for Aeneas as his target. But he protected himself from Mezintius's attack by using his divine shield. The Trojan hero hurled a spear that wounded the mount of the valiant Etruscan warrior. The animal's body tumbled over Mezintius, crushing him. While agonizing under the weight of his own mount, he begged Aeneas to return his body to his subjects for a proper funeral. Aeneas agreed to his request and dealt him the The Trojans claimed victory that day, and they paid tribute to the god of war, Mars, who favored them that time. Latin envoys asked for an audience with Aeneas and requested a truce for the bodies of the fallen to be collected and sent to their relatives. Aeneas stated that he did not wish to continue fighting, and that he was only defending himself against the Latins and declined the alliance proposed by the Latin king himself. If they wanted to avoid the pointless deaths of thousands, they would have Ternus face him in a one-off duel to reveal the will of the gods. The armistice was agreed, and the Latin envoys left with the good impression of the Trojan prince, sensing that he was a just man who did not wish to shed blood in vain. Another group of Latin envoys were at the court of the famous Greek king Diomedes, one of the most famous heroes of the Trojan War, now living on the Italian peninsula. The veteran of many battles was called upon to help the Latins against the Trojans, but when he learned that they would be his opponents, he quickly refused. Diomedes said that he had already defeated them in Troy, but this triumph only brought misfortune to the Ilion enemies. Agamemnon had been murdered on his return. Ulysses and Menelaus had been lost at sea as they tried to return home, and the Locrian warrior Ajax had been drowned by the gods, and he himself had lost his throne in Argos. The Argos hero told him that the gifts that had been brought to him in exchange for his loyalty should be handed over to Aeneas as a pledge of peace. After all, the gods favored him, and anyone opposing him would only meet their Upon the arrival of the two bands of envoys, the Latin people's council was convened. Both emissaries shared the outcome of their missions, and, for most of those present, peace between the Latins and Trojans appeared to be the best solution. The Latin king, who had not wanted war from the start, again suggested that the two peoples enter an alliance by marrying Aeneas to the Latin princess Lavinia. The wealthy nobleman Drantes also agreed that he would cede a significant chunk of his land to the Trojans in exchange for peace. However, as the assembly was still discussing the matter, the sentries on the Latin walls shouted that Aeneas was near the gates. The Trojan army gathered in front of the Latin fortress walls, waiting for Ternus to come forward to face Aeneas in a one-off duel that would put an end to the conflict. Ternus, along with the Latin nobles and his army, left the fortress and set off to meet Aeneas, already waiting for him. As the sacrifices to the gods were being made, the difference between the two combatants' stances was striking. Aeneas looked tall and confident, while Ternus appeared pale and sullen. But the nymph Juterna, Ternus' sister, urged on by the goddess Juno, sneaked into the lines of Latin soldiers and told the fighters not to put all the responsibility for the city's fate on Ternus' shoulders and that they were greater in number and could win the battle. Spurred on by the nymph, Ternus' men launched spears and arrows at the Trojans and their Etruscan allies, breaking the armistice. A major battle commenced. Aeneas futilely attempted to stop the hostilities and resumed the duel, but the fighters' blood was bubbling and they could hear nothing but focus on their enemies ahead. It was then that bloodshed began. Aeneas was struck by an arrow fired by an unknown warrior. He was taken to the rear to receive medical attention, while the Etruscan king Tar-Chan took command. The battle was evenly balanced when the Trojans and their allies were outflanked by Queen Camilla and her army. With her personal guard of Amazon warriors, Camilla blasted the Trojans with her bow. Camilla was killing one Trojan after another with her bow given to her by the hunting goddess Diana. It was not her destiny to survive the battle, however. Camilla was knocked down with a javelin thrown by the Etruscan warrior Ahrens, but the goddess Diana would not let the murderer of her faithful friend go unpunished, and the Etruscan was blasted by several arrows from Camilla's warriors, who avenged their lady. In the background, another goddess was shaping the fate of the war. Venus, upon seeing her beloved son in pain from his wound, poured divine ambrosia into the panacea to cure Aeneas' injury. The doctor was astonished when he administered the remedy. The wound quickly stopped bleeding and soon miraculously subsided. Now recovered, Aeneas returned to battle and gathered with his commanders, for he had a plan to change the battle's course. Aeneas split up his men, with one part resisting Turin's forces, while the rest would storm the city of the Latins, which was virtually unprotected. The Trojans easily scaled the walls, facing almost no opposition from the few soldiers left to protect the city. The remaining men were no match for the experienced warriors who had made their name fighting on the Trojan walls. After seizing the ramparts, the Trojans opened the gates for the rest of the army to break into the city. Ternus looked back and noticed that he had been duped by Aeneas' guile, as he saw the smoke columns from the buildings burning behind the walls. When the Latin queen spotted the enemies heading towards her palace, she became desperate and, overwhelmed with guilt for possibly having caused the ruin of her homeland, decided that she no longer deserved to live and endure the pain of her compatriots. The war between the Trojans and the Latins was approaching its tipping point. The Trojans and their allies had breached the Latin wall. The soldiers were desperately attempting to prevent their city from being taken, but everything seemed to indicate that a great massacre, comparable to that at Troy, was about to take place. It was then that Ternus cried out for all hostilities to cease, for he was there to face Aeneas in a one-off bout. Ternus stated that no further shedding of Latin or Trojan blood was needed. The gods would now reveal their will and hand victory to the winner. Ternus grabbed his sword from his chariot driver and set off to face Aeneas. The Italian peninsula's fate was hanging on the shoulders of these two men, bearing the scars of countless conflicts. The Trojan hero Aeneas, son of Venus, bore on his back not only the hopes of his people, but also the weight of a divine prophesied destiny. In front of him, Ternus, the fierce leader of the Rotuli, epitomized the italic resistance, driven by his pride and his deep longing to claim the right to the throne. Aeneas had fought the best Greek warriors in his life, even Achilles, and he felt that the strong and resourceful Ternus was on par with the greatest Achaean warriors. Ternus charged forward with untamed anger, forcing Aeneas to remain on the defensive. It was then that, with a powerful strike, Ternus smashed into Aeneas' chest, protected by the divine armor made by the god Vulcan, so sturdy that it made Ternus' sword shatter. Ternus was helpless and at the mercy of Aeneas' spear. Aeneas hurled it, but Ternus, with remarkable reflexes, deflected the deadly projectile in the nick of time. A Latin warrior attempted to hand Ternus' sword, but was stopped by Aeneas' cold blade threatening his neck. Jiturna, Ternus' nymph sister, once again stepped in, delivering her father's divine sword to her brother, so that he could soak its blade in the foreign invader's blood. Venus snapped when she noticed that yet another divine interference had been made, contradicting the decree of Jupiter himself, who had ordered that the deities would no longer meddle in the fate of the war. With his commanding voice, Jupiter said that, should the gods continue to interfere, the conflict would rage on for eternity, and he was already tired of it all. But Juno was certain that, unless her divine allies came to her aid, Ternus would perish before the Trojan hero. The goddess, who loathed the heir to the Trojan tradition, made one last request of her powerful husband. She urged him not to allow Aeneas to name the place New Troy, and neither to let Trojan culture dictate to Latin customs, a people who had always been so obedient to the gods. Jupiter reassured his wife that the Latin language would not only survive, but would spread throughout the world, as the people emerging from the Trojan and Italic union would be so strong that they would overpower all those who dared to defy them. With no divine intervention, Aeneas' fierce resistance started to tip everything in his favor. Ternus appeared to be losing his grip from exhaustion. Capitalizing on Ternus' weakness, Aeneas hit him with a powerful blow. Ternus was severely wounded and defeated. Aeneas claimed victory, putting his foot on his opponent's chest and getting ready to deliver the coup de grace. When Ternus started begging for his life, Aeneas, having spent most of his life in war, felt a rush of compassion as he was tired of spilling his enemy's blood. However, when he saw that Ternus was wearing Prince Pallas' belt as a trophy, his anger sparked and any sense of mercy melted away, as the Trojan prince took the life of his enemy. After Aeneas' victory over Ternus, the Trojans found a new place to call home in Italy, as promised by the gods. Aeneas married Lavinia, daughter of the Latin king, sealing an unbreakable alliance between both peoples. Aeneas became king of the Latium region, and his kingdom was noted for its wisdom and justice. Prince Asanius would grow up to be a strong and righteous man, just like his father. He would go on to found the city of Alba Longa, the mother city of the future Rome. He became known to his people by the name of Aeulus, originating the Julian dynasty. Notable figures in Roman history would emerge from the Julian lineage, such as Julius Caesar and Emperor Octavian Augustus, leading the Roman people to their immortal glory.