Mnestheus is a character from
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
, found in
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
''. He is described by Virgil as the ancestral hero of the
Memmii
The gens Memmia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Memmius Gallus, praetor in 172 BC. From the period of the Jugurthine War to the age of Augustus they contributed numerous tribun ...
and "Of the house of
Assaracus
In Greek mythology, Assaracus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσσάρακος ''Assarakos'') was a king of Dardania.
Family
Assaracus was the second son of Tros, King of Dardania by his wife Callirhoe, daughter of Scamander,Conon, ''Narrations'' 12 ...
". One of a handful of vaguely defined lieutenants under
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
, he appears to be Aeneas's most senior captain, taking charge in Book 9 in his absence. He takes second place in the boat race during the funeral games of
Anchises in Book 5.
See also
*
9023 Mnesthus, Jovian asteroid named after Mnestheus
*
Mnestheus (skipper), a genus of butterflies
References
* Virgil IV, 288; IX, 171, 781.
* ''
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered la ...
'' edited by
William Smith (1870).
External links
*
Characters in the Aeneid
Characters in Roman mythology
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