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Romulus and Remus |
The myth
The myth about Aeneas had existed for a long time before Publius
Virgilius wrote it,
Augustus
had asked him to
do so. He wanted a Roman Odissey. It could also "prove" his divine
origin and emphasize the glory of Rome. The work is a combination of
old tales mixed with known history and a lot of divine interference.
Divine love baby
Aeneas was the product of the love between Anchises and the goddess
Venus. She would help and guide him.
Escape from burning Troy
When the city of Troy was destroyed by the Greek, Aeneas escaped
with his father Anchises and his son Iulus, together with a small group
of soldiers and servants.
His wife Creusa got lost and Venus ordered him to leave her, but to
take the Penates of Troy and bring
them to a new to found city.
Much later these Penates would end up in Rome!
Aeneas' Odissey
Like Odysseus, he had to sail half the ancient word before he
reached the goal that Venus had set for him. He would visit Sicily,
where his father Anchises died, Tracia, Dalos , Crete. He had to face
many dangers like Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis.
Queen Dido visited
After a storm he reached Carthago in north Africa. Here he met queen
Dido, the founder of this young city. She fell in love with him, but
Venus had other plans and told him to leave. When he did so, Dido
committed suicide.
(This is a simplistic and
obvious maneuver to explain the hatred of de
Carthaginians for
Rome and to justify the wars. Since Troy, if ever, was destroyed in the 12th century BC and Carthago was founded, traditionally, in 815BC, this is impossible.)
Tour of the underworld
At last he arrived at Cumea, at the Italian coast. Here he met the Sibylle. Again like Odysseus, (or Orpheus)
he entered Hades ,the underworld, where he
met the soul of Dido, who was still full of hatred and would not accept
his excuse that the gods had made him leave her.
Encounter with his deceased father
He also met the soul of his father, who showed him the souls of famous Romans.
Alba Longa
In the end he landed at the mouth of the Tiber and in good Roman tradition
fought himself a place where his son Iulus would found the city Alba
Longa. When ages later Alba Longa was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius,
the (Trojan) Penates were brought to Rome.
(There has never been found a trace of Alba Longa though. The city probably never existed.)