Anteias or Antias () was in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

a figure in some versions of Rome's foundation myth. He was one of the three sons of

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

Circe In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...

, and brother to Rhomos and

Ardeas According to the Greek historian Xenagoras, Ardeas or Ardias or Ardeias () was a son of Odysseus and Circe. He was said to have founded Ardea, a city in Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome w ...

, each of whom were said to have founded a major Roman city, much like the

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...

myth. The town of Anteia or

Antium Antium was an Ancient history, ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people unti ...

in Italy was said to have been founded by, and taken its name from, this Anteias. This characterization primarily comes to us from the writings of the historian Xenagoras. Xenagoras was likely writing at a time that Antium was being assimilated into the identity of Rome, Antium having been the capital of the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

people before their defeat in the Roman-Volscian wars of the 4th century BCE, after which the Romans sent colonists to Antium to more fully enculturate the city as "Roman". Modern scholars believe this characterization to indicate that Antium was considered at the time to be a city on equal footing with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and Ardea, the cities represented by the other two brothers.

Notes

Characters in Roman mythology Mythological city founders Origin myths Children of Odysseus Children of Circe {{AncientRome-myth-stub