The Aeneid begins halfway through Aeneas's journey, as he nears the city of Carthage, ruled over by Dido, who built the city after fleeing from her murderous brother. Over dinner one night, he tells Dido and her court about his travels thus far.

Aeneas recounts the story of the fall of Troy, and how he was forced to leave the city of his birth with his father Anchises, his son Ascanius, and his wife Creusa. During the flight, he lost Creusa, whose shade appeared to him, telling him to follow his destiny, which is to build a great city and take a royal bride. Aeneas and the other Trojan refugees set out to sea, where they had a great many adventures before arriving in Carthage: believing that their destined land was in Crete, they founded a city there, only to be struck down by a plague that forced them to leave; they fought against the Harpies and were cursed by their leader, Celeano; they fled the island of the Cyclops to avoid being slaughtered by the one-eyed beasts; Anchises died on the island of Drepanum.

When Aeneas finishes telling Dido his tale, she realizes that she has become inflamed with love for him, and she pursues him relentlessly. Juno manipulates the situation so that the pair spends the night in a cave, where they become lovers. Eventually, however, Aeneas realizes that he has been abandoning his destiny by dallying in Carthage, so he readies his men to leave. Dido has convinced herself that the two are in fact husband and wife, and she is so distraught by her lover's abandonment that she builds a funeral pyre and slays herself on it using Aeneas's sword. As Aeneas and his men sail away from Carthage, they see the city aflame, the residents in a panic, but they do not know that the queen has died. The fleet sails to Drepanum, where they engage in celebrations commemorating the one-year anniversary of Anchises's death, and Aeneas receives a prophecy telling him to travel to the Underworld to meet with his father.

With the sibyl of Cumae, Deiphobe, as his guide, Aeneas travels through the Underworld in search of Anchises. On the journey, Aeneas sees a great many terrible sights, including restless souls who have not received proper burials, the ghosts of dead babies, and the terrifying fortress Tartarus, where the most horrible sinners live in eternal torture. When he finally locates his father in the beautiful Elysium, where only the most heroic souls go to rest, Anchises shows him the shades that, once reincarnated, will become the heroes of the Roman Empire. Aeneas returns to the land of the living, certain of the need to fulfill his destiny, and then sets sail for Laurentum, where he will build his great city.

When Aeneas and his men arrive in Laurentum, they are greeted warmly by King Latinus, who has heard a prophecy that his daughter, Lavinia, should be wed to a foreigner. Juno, however, angered by the treaty, sends one of the Furies to stir up trouble. The Fury Allecto starts a war between the Trojans and the Latins by striking anger into the heart of Turnus, Lavinia's other suitor. She also inspires Latinus's wife, Queen Amata, to do all that she can to prevent the Trojans from building their city in Laurentum. Turnus calls the Latin men to arms against the foreigners, and a terrible, drawn-out battle ensues. Aeneas seeks the aid of King Evander, ruler of a poor neighboring kingdom, and the Etruscans, who wish to avenge the wrong done to them by Mezentius, one of Turnus's supporters. King Evander entrusts his son, Pallas, to fight at the great warrior's side, but Pallas is brutally slain by Turnus - a move that Turnus will come to regret.

Eventually, even the Latins come to realize the inevitability of the Trojan victory, and they call for a one-on-one duel between Turnus and Aeneas. Just as the duel is about to begin, however, Turnus's sister Juturna inflames the Latin troops. A young Trojan is killed, and the battle begins once again. Finally, even Turnus realizes that the only way to end the slaughter is through a duel, so the two meet in a field. Aeneas clearly has the upper hand throughout the battle, even though Turnus is aided by his sister, Juturna, until Jupiter intervenes and declares that the gods may no longer meddle in mortal affairs. Finally, Aeneas strikes Turnus to the ground, and the fallen man pleads for his life, or at least for his corpse to be sent back to his father for burial. Although Aeneas is momentarily moved by his adversary's plea, he sees that Turnus has callously slung Pallas's belt across his shoulders, and Aeneas decides not to be merciful. The epic ends with Aeneas plunging his sword through Turnus's heart and then with Turnus's moaning shade fleeing to the Underworld. Thus Aeneas goes on to rule Abla Longa and eventually produce Romulus and Remus.

The founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. The story begins with the deposition of Numitor, their grandfather and king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa, by his brother Amulius. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius - which meant that she was made a priestess of the goddess Vesta and therefore forbidden to marry. However, the god Mars came to her in her temple and with him she conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus.

As soon as they were born, her husband abandoned them in a remote location. This practice was a form of quasi-infanticide tolerated in many ancient cultures, including the Roman and Greek, when children were unwanted. They were unwanted because Amulius was fearing that the boys would grow up to overthrow him, so he had them placed in a trough and thrown into the River Tiber. At that time the river was flooded and when the waters fell, the trough still containing the two boys, came ashore. They were found by a she-wolf, who instead of killing them, looked after them and fed them with her milk. The she-wolf was helped by a woodpecker who brought them food as well. Interesting enough both these animals were sacred to Mars.

Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own. According to Livy, some said that Loba, wife of Faustulus had suckled them, not a female wolf. Indeed, her name meant wolf which was Lupus in Latin. Upon reaching adulthood, Romulus and Remus killed Amulius and reinstated Numitor, their grandfather, as King of Alba Longa, then they decided to found a town of their own. Romulus and Remus chose the place where the she-wolf had nursed them. Romulus began to build walls on the Palatine Hill, but Remus jeered at them because they were so low. He leaped over them to prove this, and Romulus in anger killed him. Romulus continued the building of the new city, naming it Rome after his own name. The founding of Rome was in 753 BC. It's first citizens were outlaws and fugitives, to whom Romulus gave the settlement on the Capitoline Hill.

There were, however not enough wives for all these men, and so Romulus decided to steal women from the Sabines, an Italian tribe. He proclaimed a festival and invited many Sabines to it. While the attention of the Sabine men was elsewhere Romulus' men rushed in and carried off the women. This was the famous Rape of the Sabine women. The Sabine men were furious and, led by their king Titus Tatius, declared war on Romulus. When the fighting had reached its peak, the Sabine women, who had grown fond of their Roman husbands, rushed between the ranks and begged both sides to make peace. So the battle was stopped, Romulus and Titus Tatius ruled together over the two peoples until Titus Tatius was killed in battle. For the rest of his life Romulus ruled alone, proving himself a great leader in peace and war. He did not die but disappeared one day in a violent storm. He was succeeded by Numa Pompilius.

Alba Longa was destroyed by the Romans roughly 200 years ago. However, the temples (or the ruins thereof) remain in the site of the former city.

There is a temple to Jupiter Latiaris on the top of Mons Albanus, the dominant peak and second highest of the Alban Hills. The Feriae Latinae is held in the temple every April. This festival is a reaffirmation of the alliance of the Latin League; consuls from Rome were required to attend.

There is much that happens in between then and now, but essentially there is alot of strife between those who have money and those who do not. Thus, we time skip to our present day.

After a period of hostilies, Veii has alternately been at war with and an ally of Rome over the last 300 years; their last truce ended around 407 BC, Rome declared war on the Etruscan city of Veii in 406 BC. Rome had last fought Veii in the city of Fidenae, which Rome had captured in 435 BC. It has since stayed under Roman control and Veii appears to have no intention of retaking it. This battle was noteworthy because Romulus himself was said to have assisted in the taking of the city. The Romans are currently
involved in multiple wars, and, until recently, were unwilling to also fight Veii. This attitude was changed both by a recent military victory and the announcement that soldiers were being paid out of the public purse. The Patricians are still very much a privileged upper class; although Plebians can elect Plebian Tribunes and the soldiers can elect Consular Tribunes, only the Consular Tribunes have consular authority, and their elections can be vetoed by the senate. There is also a rumor going around that Gaulic Tribes have been massing at the border in some sort of massive ritual or preparing for an invasion. The date is now 402 BC and Tensions are high because Romulus himself was sighted at the last battle against the Etruscans, and with his sighting a wealth of new demigods and gifted people have started to emerge. It appears that either Rome has pleased the gods and so they have sent aid, or that the gods are arming Rome for a much bigger and more expansive war than the city could ever hope to fight on its own.