Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes is a Latin phrase from Aeneid (II, 49), written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. It has been paraphrased in English as the aphorism "Beware of Danaans bearing gifts", though its literal meaning, "I fear the Danaans, even those bearing gifts", carries a somewhat different nuance to the usual English representation of the phrase.