AENEAS

Mighty warrior Aeneas had a rich lineage: he was thought to be the son of love goddess Aphrodite, the cousin of Priam and second only to Hector in military prowess among the allies of Troy.

According to Homer’s Iliad, when Aeneas faced certain death in battle, the gods interceded to spare his life. As lord of fertile and prosperous Dardania, he fought with honour and dignity, commanding a vast army to overwhelm his enemies on the battlefield.

The gods of Olympus may have had a greater destiny in mind when they chose to favour the Dardanian ruler. In the ‘Aeneid’, Virgil claims that the king and his men fled west after the Trojan War, settling in Italy where they became the progenitors of the Roman people. Aeneas himself was believed to be the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.

Legend says that Aeneas’s father, Anchises, met a beautiful Phrygian princess who might have been the goddess of love, Aphrodite herself, and the son she bore him was raised by the nymphs on Mount Ida.

Having been instructed at a young age in the mystical ways, Aeneas claims to read “Divine Omens” and interpret orders from the gods that he must carry out as missions in their name. By doing so, he will earn the favour of the Olympians.

Unique skills include Stygian Voices – Aeneas can beseech the spirits of dead heroes for advice and receive a variety of effects. By conquering regions holding ancient heroes’ tombs or sending contemporary epic heroes to Hades, you can expand the list of available spirits.

Aeneas, the lord of the Dardanians starts at war with King Merops of the Aeolians, who have recently devastated the nearby region of Arisbe.

To the north, over a passage of water known as the Hellespont, another threat looms in the form of the Chersonessos, who seek to take control of the straits.

At least the south and west are secured by Aeneas’ Trojan cousins – beside the sacred springs of Scamandros, Hector rules wisely in the name of King Priam while his brother Paris holds the Aegean coast in check. In the western isles, another of Troy’s princes, god-touched Troilos, stands guard against hostile incursions to aid all seafarers.

Aeneas must his holdings first, and then aid his cousins against the imminent Achaean storm.

Son of the love-goddess Aphrodite, Aeneas is an ideal hero for those who want to leverage the blessings of the Olympian gods themselves to aid their military prowess and statecraft.