Bitias was a great Trojan warrior and a companion of Aeneas {see planet  (1172)}. He was the first Trojan to drink a toast to the ill-fated Queen Dido {see planet  (209)}, at the feast when Aeneas narrated his adventures to Dido, and she began to fall in love with him. Later, in Italy, during the Latin war, Bitias made a mistake that cost him and many other Trojans their lives, when he opened the gates of the Trojan’s fortress in an effort to coax Latin warriors inside, where they could be trapped. Instead, the Latin warrior Turnus rushed inside the Trojan fortress and made slaughter, killing Bitias with a whirling pike. (M 22249) _ _.