Likewise, in the wars between the Trojans and Latins in Italy, we find the enemies of Aeneas described as Italians, Latins, Rutulians, and Etruscans. But there were also some Etruscans on his side; these were led by Tarchon, the anti-Aeneas faction by Mezentius. His other principal allies were the Arcadians, whose king was Evander.
The principal Greek warriors were Agamemnon, Menelaus, Ulysses, Diomedes, and Ajax; the most conspicuous on the Trojan side Aeneas, Hector, and possibly Paris.
Of the gods and goddesses, Juno, in the Aeneid, is actively opposed to Aeneas, and Venus equally active on his behalf. Apollo gives the Trojans considerable help with counsel, especially in the course of their wanderings; Vulcan makes armor for Aeneas when he arrives in Italy, and Neptune helps put down a storm that all but wrecked the Trojan fleet. Jupiter maintains neutrality, in so far as the pressure applied by Venus and Juno will permit.
A list of the important characters in the narrative follows:—
Aenéas, son of Anchises and Venus, leader of the Trojans, hero of the poem.
Amáta, wife of king Latinus, mother of Lavinia; favors Turnus, opposes Aeneas as suitor for her daughter.
Anchíses, son of Capys, father of Aeneas.
Andrómache, widow of Hector, subsequently wife of Helenus, settler, after the fall of Troy, at Buthrotum in Epirus.
Anna, sister of Dido, queen of Carthage.
Ascánius, or Iúlus, son of Aeneas and Creusa.