  In the fighting between the Greeks and Trojans around Troy, Virgil calls both sides by tribal names as well as national names, and sometimes uses patronymics: thus the Greeks are also called Achaeans, Argives, Danaans, Dolopes, Ithacans, Myrmidons, and so on; and the Trojans are called Dardanians, Ilians, Teucrians, Phrygians. I have used these terms much less than Virgil did, and tried, for the sake of avoiding confusion and clutter, to stick to the terms Greek and Trojan, wherever possible. Likewise, in the wars between the Trojans and Latins in Italy, we find the enemies of Aeneas described as Italians, Latins, Rutulians, and Etruscans. But there were also some Etruscans on his side; these were led by Tarchon, the anti-Aeneas faction by Mezentius. His other principal allies were the Arcadians, whose king was Evander. The principal Greek warriors were Agamemnon, Menelaus, Ulysses, Diomedes, and Ajax; the most conspicuous on the Trojan side Aeneas, Hector, and possibly Paris. Of the gods and goddesses, Juno, in the Aeneid, is actively opposed to Aeneas, and Venus equally active on his behalf. Apollo gives the Trojans considerable help with counsel, especially in the course of their wanderings; Vulcan makes armor for Aeneas when he arrives in Italy, and Neptune helps put down a storm that all but wrecked the Trojan fleet. Jupiter maintains neutrality, in so far as the pressure applied by Venus and Juno will permit. A list of the important characters in the narrative follows:— AenÉas, son of Anchises and Venus, leader of the Trojans, hero of the poem. AmÁta, wife of king Latinus, mother of Lavinia; favors Turnus, opposes Aeneas as suitor for her daughter. AnchÍses, son of Capys, father of Aeneas. AndrÓmache, widow of Hector, subsequently wife of Helenus, settler, after the fall of Troy, at Buthrotum in Epirus. Anna, sister of Dido, queen of Carthage. AscÁnius, or IÚlus, son of Aeneas and Creusa. CamÍlla, daughter of Metabus and Casmilla, a Latin warrior-maid, ally of Turnus in the fight against Aeneas in Italy. CreÚsa, daughter of Priam, wife of Aeneas, mother of Ascanius, lost in the confusion following the last night of Troy. DeÍphobe, a Sibyl, priestess of Apollo and guide to Aeneas during his visit to the Lower World. DÍdo, queen of Carthage. Diomede, or DiomÉdes, an important Greek warrior, founder, after the fall of Troy, of Arpi in Italy; declines to help the Latins in their warfare against Aeneas. DrÁnÇes, an eloquent Latin orator, opposed to Turnus. Euryalus, son of Opheltes, a young Trojan athlete and warrior, boon companion of Nisus. EvÁnder, king of Pallanteum, father of Pallas, ally of Aeneas in the fighting in Italy. Helenus, son of Priam, husband of Andromache, ruler of Buthrotum in Epirus, priest and prophet of Apollo. IlionÉus, a Trojan, responsible spokesman for his people on missions to Dido and Latinus. IÚlus, also known as Ascanius, son of Aeneas and Creusa. JutÚrna, a nymph, sister of Turnus. LatÍnus, king of Latium, husband of Amata, father of Lavinia, favors Aeneas as his daughter’s suitor. LaÚsus, a young Etruscan warrior, son of the exiled king Mezentius. LavÍnia, daughter of king Latinus and Amata, sought in marriage by both Turnus and Aeneas. MezÉntius, an Etruscan king, exiled by his people for barbarity, despiser of the gods, ally of Turnus against the Trojans. NeoptÓlemus, or Pyrrhus, a son of Achilles, killer of King Priam, war-lord of Hector’s widow Andromache. NÍsus, a young Trojan athlete and warrior, son of Hyrtacus, boon companion of the younger Euryalus. PalinÚrus, pilot of the fleet of Aeneas. PÁllas, son of king Evander, ally of Aeneas in the Latin wars, slain by Turnus. Sinon, a Greek, principal agent in the scheme to bring the wooden horse inside the walls of Troy. TÁrchon, an Etruscan prince, ally of Aeneas against Turnus and Mezentius. TÚrnus, son of Daunus and the nymph Venilia, prince of the Rutulians, principal enemy of Aeneas in Italy. VÉnulus, an Italian leader, sent by the Latins on a fruitless mission for the help of Diomede. |
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