The Household Gods, called Penates in Latin, are the guardian gods of Trojan domestic and family life that Aeneas carries all the way to Latium. They embody the Trojans' ancestors and past, and, as Aeneas establishes them in Italy, they align Aeneas's new home with Troy and tradition. (Romans during Virgil's time kept shrines to their own Penates in their homes, which provided an outlet to remember and worship their forefathers.)
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The Household Gods Symbol Timeline in The Aeneid
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Household Gods appears in The Aeneid. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2
...enemy within the city. Troy cannot be saved, Hector says, and Aeneas should take the household gods and find a new home. Aeneas wakes, hearing screaming and sounds of fighting in the...
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Book 3
...unsure where the fates will lead them. In early summer they set off, bringing the household gods . Aeneas directs the fleet to Thrace, a land friendly to Troy. Aeneas lands and...
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...disease. Anchises wants to return to Ortygia to consult Apollo again. But that evening, the household gods appear to Aeneas in a dream, and tell him that their homeland is actually the...
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Book 8
...him not to fear the war—he's finally reached his homeland and the destination of his household gods . The Tiber god tells Aeneas to travel up the river until he sees a...
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