Toynbee "Antenora"

The name of this division is derived from the Trojan Antenor, who in the Middle Ages was universally held to have betrayed Troy to the Greeks -- thus in Benoît de Sainte- Maure's Roman de Troie (written c. 1160) he is spoken of as 'Antenor, li coilverz Judas', 'li vieuz Judas', etc. Among other acts of treachery, the theft of the Trojan Palladium ([Inf. xxvi. 63]) and the stratagem of the Trojan Horse were believed to have been devised, encouraged, and facilitated by Antenor -- Aeneas, in some versions, being implicated in these betrayals [Diomede: Palladio]. The Homeric account, that Antenor tried to save his country by advising the surrender of Helen, was apparently lost sight of at that time. There is no hint of his treachery in Virgil. Servius (cent. v) makes mention of it in his note on Aen. i. 242, and refers for confirmation to Livy:

Iam primum omnium satis constat Troia capta in ceteros saevitum esse Troianos: duobus, Aeneae Antenorique, et vetusti iure hospitii et quia pacis reddendaeque Helenae semper auctores fuerunt, omne ius belli Achivos abstinuisse. ({Livy. i. 1.})

The medieval belief was no doubt derived from the histories of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius, which, through the medium of Latin translations, were widely read in the Middle Ages [Achille]. Thus Villani, in his account of the founding of Padua, says:

Antinoro . . . fu uno de' maggiori signori di Troia e fu fratello di Priamo, e figliuolo del re Laomedonte, ii qual fu incolpato molto del tradimento di Troia, e Enea il sentì, secondo che scrive Dario; ma Virgilio al tutto di ciò lo scolpa. ({Villani. i. 17.})

Dictys in his account describes how the Trojans, finding themselves hard pressed, mutiny against Priam and determine to give up Helen and her belongings to the Greeks. Antenor is sent with proposals of peace, and ne takes the opportunity to arrange with the Greek chiefs for the betrayal of the city, his reward being half Priam's possessions and the appointment of one of his sons as king:

. . . Trojani, ubi hostis muris infestus magis magisque saevit, neque jam resistendi moenibus spes ulterius est, aut vires valent, cuncti proceres seditionem adversus Priamum extollunt, atque ejus regulos: denicoue accito Aenea i filiisque Antenoris, decernunt inier se, uti Helena cum his quae ablata erant ad Menelaum duceretur. . . . Ceterum ingressus concilium Priamus, ubi multa ab Aenea contumeliosa ingesta sunt, ad postremum ex concilii sententia jubet ad Graecos cum mandatis belli deponendi ire Antenorem. . . . [After making a long speech to the Greeks, Antenor asks them to appoint representatives with whom he may treat.] . . .Postquam finem loquendi fecit, postulat uti quoniam a senibus legatus pacis missus esset, darent ex suo numero cum quis super tali negotio disceptaret: electique Agamemnon, Idomeneus, Ulysses atque Diomedes, qui secreto ab aliis proditionem componunt. Praeterea placet, uti Aeneae, si permanere in fide vellet, pars praedae et domus universa ejus incolumis maneret. Ipsi autem Antenori dimidium bonorum Priami, regnumque uni filiorum ejus, quem elegisset, concederetur. Ubi satis tractatum visum est, Antenor ad civitatem dimittitur referens ad suos composita inter se longe alia. (De bell. Tr. iv. 22.) [In the sequel the wooden horse is introduced into Troy, and the city is captured and handed over to Aeneas and Antenor. Finally Antenor expels Aeneas and remains in sole possession of the kingdom.]

From this account it is evident that Aeneas was no less guilty than Antenor -- a fact which D. of course had to ignore.

Dares Phrygius gives a more circumstantial account:

. . . conveniunt clam Antenor Polydamas, Ucalegon . . . dicunt se mirari pertinaciam regis [Priami] qui clausus cum patria et comitibus perire mallet, quam pacem facere. Antenor ait se invenisse quid faciendum sit, quod sibi et illis in commune proficiat, dum sibi et illis foret fides. Omnes se in fide astringunt. Antenor, ut vidit se obstrictum, mittit ad Aeneam, dicens, prodendam esse patriam, et sibi suisque cavendum esse: ad Agamemnonem de his aliquem mittendum esse. . . .[A messenger is sent to Agamemnon, and it is arranged that Antenor and Aeneas should open one of the gates of the city at night and admit the Greek army, on the understanding that their own lives and property and those of their wives and relatives should be respected.] . . .Antenor et Aeneas noctu ad portam praesto fuerunt, Neoptolemum susceperunt, exercitui portam reseraverunt, lumen ostenderunt, fugae praesidium sibi et suis omnibus ut esset postulaverunt. Neoptolemus irruptionem facit, Trojanos caedit, persequitur Priamum, quem ante aram Jovis obtruncat. . . .Tota die et nocte Argivi non cessant vastare, praedam asportare. Postquam dies illuxit, Agamemnon . . . exercitum consulit, an placeat Antenori et Aeneae cum his qui una patriam prodiderant, servari, quod iliis clam confirmaverant. Exercitus totus conclamat, placere sibi. . . .[During the sack of the city, Polyxena, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, had been confided by the latter to Aeneas, who concealed her. Neoptolemus demands that she shall be delivered up and slays her at the tomb of his father Achilles, of whose death she had been the cause [Achille]. Agamemnon, angry with Aeneas for concealing Polyxena bids him depart from Troy and hands the kingdom over to Antenor.] (De excid. Tr. xxxix-xliii.)