Aeneas

[ ih-nee-uhs ]

nounClassical Mythology.
  1. a Trojan hero, the reputed ancestor of the Romans: protagonist of the Aeneid.

  • Also Ai·nei·as .

Words Nearby Aeneas

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Aeneas in a sentence

  • He showed Rickie how very quickly he could turn round in his saddle and sit with his face to Aeneas's tail.

    The Longest Journey | E. M. Forster
  • For Dido was a perfect mount, and as indifferent to the motions of Aeneas as if she was strolling in the Elysian fields.

    The Longest Journey | E. M. Forster

British Dictionary definitions for Aeneas

Aeneas

/ (ɪˈniːəs) /


noun
  1. classical myth a Trojan prince, the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, who escaped the sack of Troy and sailed to Italy via Carthage and Sicily. After seven years, he and his followers established themselves near the site of the future Rome

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Aeneas

Aeneas

[ (i-nee-uhs) ]


A famous warrior of classical mythology; a leader in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War) on the Trojan side. After the fall of Troy, Aeneas fled with his father and son and was shipwrecked at Carthage in northern Africa. There Dido, the queen of Carthage, fell in love with him and ultimately committed suicide when she realized that Aeneas could not stay with her forever. After many trials, Aeneas arrived in what is now Italy. The ancient Romans believed that they were descended from the followers of Aeneas.

Notes for Aeneas

Aeneas is the hero of the Aeneid of Virgil.

Notes for Aeneas

Because he carried his elderly father out of the ruined Troy on his back, Aeneas represents filial devotion and duty.

Notes for Aeneas

The doomed love of Aeneas and Dido has been a source for artistic creation since ancient times.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.