Explore the real-world places that appear in The Aeneid by Virgil. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Troy (Hisarlik), Mount Ida, Delos, Strophades Islands, Carthage and 8 more.
Çanakkale Province, Turkey — The burning city
Aeneas narrates the fall of Troy to Dido in Books 2 and 3. The Greeks, led by Odysseus and urged on by the liar Sinon, tricked the Trojans into dragging the wooden horse inside the walls. As the city burned, Hector's ghost warned Aeneas to flee. Aeneas carried his father Anchises on his back, led his son Ascanius by the hand, and lost his wife Creusa in the chaos.
The site of Hisarlik was inhabited for roughly 4,000 years and has nine major layers of settlement. Heinrich Schliemann began excavating it in 1870, and later work identified Troy VIIa as the likely candidate for the Homeric city. It was later a Roman city, Ilium, which Romans honored as their ancestral home.
The archaeological site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with excavated walls, ramps, and a modern wooden horse replica. A nearby Troy Museum displays finds from the excavations.
Visit: Archaeological Site of Troy (historic site)
Kaz Dağları, Turkey — Refuge of the Trojan survivors
After escaping burning Troy, Aeneas gathers the survivors in the foothills of Mount Ida. There they build a fleet of ships over the winter, preparing to follow the fates toward a new homeland. Anchises and the exiles carry the household gods, the Penates, with them.
Mount Ida in the Troad was sacred to Cybele and featured prominently in Greek myth, including the Judgment of Paris. In antiquity it was famous for its forests, which supplied timber for shipbuilding.
The mountain range, known as Kaz Dağları, is a national park with forest trails and hiking routes. It is popular for its natural scenery and clean air.
Visit: Kaz Dağları National Park (park)
Cyclades, Greece — Apollo's sacred island
The Trojans land on Delos, where King Anius, priest of Apollo, welcomes Aeneas. At the god's shrine, Aeneas prays for guidance and the oracle commands the Trojans to seek their ancient mother. Anchises misreads this as Crete, which sends the exiles on a false start.
Delos was the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis and became a major religious center of the Greek world. It later grew into a prosperous trading port under Athenian and then Roman control before declining in the first century BC.
Delos is an uninhabited archaeological island and UNESCO World Heritage Site reached by boat from Mykonos. Visitors see the Terrace of the Lions, house mosaics, and the sanctuary ruins.
Visit: Archaeological Site of Delos (historic site)
Ionian Sea, Greece — Home of the Harpies
On the Strophades the Trojans slaughter cattle and are attacked by the Harpies, foul bird-women. The Harpy Celaeno prophesies that the Trojans will not found their city until hunger forces them to eat their tables. This strange curse haunts the voyage until it is fulfilled in Italy.
The Strophades are small islands in the Ionian Sea off Zakynthos. In the Middle Ages, a fortified Orthodox monastery, the Monastery of Panagia Spoliani, was built on the larger island.
The islands are a protected area and an important stopover for migratory birds. The fortified monastery is occupied by a few monks, and visiting is limited.
Tunis, Tunisia — Queen Dido's city
Shipwrecked by Juno's storm, Aeneas and his men find refuge in Carthage, where Queen Dido is building her new city. Venus and Cupid make Dido fall deeply in love with Aeneas, and a hunting storm drives them into a cave where their union is sealed. Jupiter sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his duty, and when he secretly sails away, Dido curses him and kills herself on a pyre. Her curse foreshadows the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage.
Founded by Phoenician settlers traditionally in 814 BC, Carthage became a Mediterranean superpower and Rome's great rival. Rome destroyed it in 146 BC at the end of the Third Punic War and later refounded it as a major Roman city.
The ruins, including the Antonine Baths and the Tophet, lie in a suburb of Tunis and form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Carthage National Museum on Byrsa Hill displays Punic and Roman artifacts.
Visit: Archaeological Site of Carthage (historic site)
Western Sicily — Tomb of Anchises and the funeral games
Aeneas returns to Sicily on the anniversary of his father's death and hosts funeral games for Anchises, welcomed by King Acestes. The games include a ship race, a footrace, boxing between Dares and Entellus, and archery. Meanwhile, Juno sends Iris to incite the Trojan women to burn the ships, and Aeneas loses several vessels before leaving some settlers behind.
Erice was a sacred site to Elymians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans, who worshipped a goddess of love there, identified with Venus. The Norman Castle of Venus was built over the ancient temple.
Erice is a medieval hilltop town reachable by cable car from Trapani, known for its cobbled lanes and pastries. The Castello di Venere offers sweeping views over the western coast.
Visit: Castello di Venere (historic site)
Campania, Italy — The Sibyl's cave
Aeneas lands at Cumae, where he consults the Sibyl, priestess of Apollo, in her great cave. She tells him that the descent to Hades is easy but the return is hard, and instructs him to find the golden bough. She guides him into the Underworld, where he meets his father. Anchises reveals the future glory of Rome.
Cumae was founded by Greek colonists from Euboea in the 8th century BC and was the earliest Greek settlement in mainland Italy. The Sibyl of Cumae became one of the most celebrated oracles of the ancient world.
The Parco Archeologico di Cuma preserves the acropolis, temple ruins, and the long trapezoidal tunnel known as the Antro della Sibilla. It is among the best-known archaeological sites near Naples.
Visit: Parco Archeologico di Cuma (historic site)
Campi Flegrei, Italy — Entrance to the Underworld
Aeneas and the Sibyl make sacrifices at the dark volcanic lake before descending to the realm of the dead. In the Underworld he sees Dido's shade, who refuses to speak to him, and sees Tartarus and the Elysian Fields. Anchises shows him the line of future Roman heroes, including Romulus and Augustus.
Avernus is a volcanic crater lake that the ancients believed gave off poisonous fumes and was a gateway to Hades. In 37 BC Agrippa connected it to the sea to create a naval harbor for Rome.
The lake is a quiet nature spot near Pozzuoli, ringed by walking paths and remains of Roman structures such as the so-called Temple of Apollo. It lies within the Campi Flegrei volcanic area.
Visit: Lake Avernus (park)
Lazio, Italy — Burial of Aeneas's nurse
After leaving the Underworld, Aeneas buries his nurse Caieta on the coast and the place takes her name. The Trojan fleet then sails past the island of Circe, with its howling beasts, under cover of a favorable wind. They continue north toward the Tiber.
Gaeta was a prominent Roman coastal town with villas of wealthy Romans, and later a strong medieval fortress port. Tradition connects its name directly with Virgil's Caieta.
Gaeta is a seaside resort town with beaches, a medieval old town, and the Sanctuary of Montagna Spaccata. Its Angevin-Aragonese castle overlooks the harbor.
Visit: Castello Angioino-Aragonese di Gaeta (landmark)
Lazio, Italy — Arrival in Latium
The Trojans reach the mouth of the Tiber and picnic on the grass, eating bread platters laid with fruit. Ascanius jokingly remarks that they are eating their tables, fulfilling the Harpy's prophecy and confirming their new homeland. Aeneas then sends envoys to King Latinus.
Ostia was Rome's ancient harbor town, said to have been founded by King Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC. It developed into a bustling port of warehouses, baths, and apartment blocks serving the capital.
Ostia Antica is a remarkably well-preserved archaeological park with a theater, forum, and mosaics. It is easily reached by train from Rome.
Visit: Ostia Antica Archaeological Park (historic site)
Lazio, Italy — Court of King Latinus
King Latinus welcomes the Trojans, recalling a prophecy that his daughter Lavinia must marry a foreigner. This enrages Queen Amata and Turnus, king of the Rutulians, who was Lavinia's suitor. Juno sends the Fury Allecto to stir up war after Ascanius accidentally kills a pet stag, and the conflict between Trojans and Latins begins.
Pratica di Mare near the ancient site of Lavinium was long regarded as a center of Latin religion and a key link to Rome's Trojan origin myth. Excavations have revealed sanctuaries and altars dating to the 6th century BC.
The village of Pratica di Mare retains a medieval castle and a small borgo, while the archaeological area of Lavinium holds the remains of thirteen altars. It is mostly quiet and rural.
Rome, Italy — King Evander's settlement
Aeneas sails up the Tiber and seeks an alliance with the Arcadian king Evander, who rules the modest town of Pallanteum on the site of future Rome. Evander shows him the Capitoline, the Forum, and the cave of Cacus, slain by Hercules. He gives his young son Pallas to fight alongside the Trojans, but Pallas is killed by Turnus.
The Palatine Hill is one of Rome's seven hills and, in tradition, the site where Romulus founded the city in 753 BC. Later it became the residence of emperors, and the word palace derives from its name.
The Palatine is part of the Roman Forum archaeological area, with ruins of imperial palaces, gardens, and the Domus Augusti. It offers views over the Circus Maximus and the Forum.
Visit: Palatine Hill (historic site)
Lazio, Italy — Capital of Turnus and the Rutulians
Ardea is the city of Turnus, the proud Rutulian leader who fights Aeneas for Lavinia and the future of Latium. Turnus rallies allies such as Camilla and Mezentius, and kills Pallas, taking his sword belt. In the final duel, Aeneas wounds him, but at the sight of Pallas's belt he kills Turnus in fury, ending the poem.
Ardea was an ancient Latin city and the capital of the Rutuli, later allied with Rome. In legend, a heron (ardea) rose from its ashes after the city was burned in the war.
Ardea is a modern town south of Rome with a small medieval center, and nearby archaeological remains of ancient walls. It is known locally for the Manzù sculpture museum.
Visit: Museo Giacomo Manzù (museum)
More by Virgil: All Virgil books
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