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Aeneas

The Trojan hero, son of Venus, whom Roman legend made the ancestor of Romulus and the Romans.

Where the months got their names

Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.12–14 (early fifth century CE), in the edition of Franz Eyssenhardt (Leipzig, 1893) · early fifth century CE; the dialogue is set in the 380s

12.8

Secundum mensem nominauit Aprilem, ut quidam putant cum adspiratione quasi Aphrilem, a spuma quam Graeci ἀφρὸν uocant, unde orta Venus creditur, et hanc Romuli asserunt fuisse rationem, ut primum quidem mensem a patre suo Marte, secundum ab Aeneae matre Venere nominaret, et hi potissimum anni principia seruarent, a quibus esset Romani nominis origo, cum hodieque in sacris Martem patrem, Venerem genetricem uocemus.

He named the second month Aprilis. Some think the name was first said with an h, as Aphrilis, from the sea foam that the Greeks call aphros, from which Venus is believed to have been born. They claim that this was Romulus's reasoning. He named the first month after his father, Mars, and the second after Venus, mother of Aeneas. He wanted the gods from whom the Roman people came to hold the start of the year above all. Even today, in our rites, we call Mars "Father" and Venus "Mother."