AENE'AS, a Trojan prince, the hero of Virgil's epic called _Aeneid._ He was the son of Anchi'ses and Venus. His first wife was Creu'sa (3 _syl_.), by whom he had a son named Asca'nius; his second wife was Lavinia, daughter of Latinus king of Italy, by whom he had a posthumous son called Aene'as Sylvius. He succeeded his father-in-law in the kingdom, and the Romans called him their founder. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth "Brutus," the first king of Britain (from whom the island was called _Britain_), was a descendant of Æneas. AENE'ID, the epic poem of Virgil, in twelve books. When Troy was taken by the Greeks and set on fire, Aene'as, with his father, son, and wife, took flight, with the intention of going to Italy, the original birthplace of the family. The wife was lost, and the old father died on the way; but after numerous perils by sea and land, Æneas and his son Asca'nius reached Italy. Here Latïnus, the reigning king, received the exiles hospitably, and promised his daughter Lavin'ia in marriage to Æneas; but she had been already betrothed by her mother to prince Turnus, son of Daunus, king of Ru'tuli, and Turnus would not forego his claim. Latinus, in this dilemma, said the rivals must settle the dispute by an appeal to arms. Turnus being slain, Æneas married Lavinia, and ere long succeeded his father-in-law on the throne. Book I. The escape from Troy; Æneas and his son, driven by a tempest on the shores of Carthage, are hospitably entertained by queen Dido. II. Æneas tells Dido the tale of the wooden horse, the burning of Troy, and his flight with his father, wife, and son. The wife was lost and died. III. The narrative continued. The perils he met with on the way, and the death of his father. IV. Dido falls in love with Æneas; but he steals away from Carthage, and Dido, on a funeral pyre, puts an end to her life. V. Æneas reaches Sicily, and celebrates there the games in honor of Anchises. This book corresponds to the _Iliad_, xxiii. VI. Æneas visits the infernal regions. This book corresponds to _Odyssey_, xi. VII. Latinus king of Italy entertains Æneas, and promises to him Lavinia (his daughter) in marriage, but prince Turnus had been already betrothed to her by the mother, and raises an army to resist Æneas. VIII. Preparations on both sides for a general war. IX. Turnus, during the absence of Æneas, fires the ships and assaults the camp. The episode of Nisus and Eury'alus. X. The war between Turnus and Æneas. Episode of Mezentius and Lausus. XI. The battle continued. XII. Turnus challenges Æneas to single combat, and is killed. N.B.--1. The story of Sinon and taking of Troy is borrowed from Pisander, as Macrobius informs us. 2. The loves of Dido and Æneas are copied from those of Medea and Jason, in Apollonius. 3. The story of the wooden horse and the burning of Troy are from Arcti'nus of Miletus.