Ascanius in the Aeneid: The Story of the Son of Aeneas in the Poem
Ascanius in the Aeneid was the son of the epic hero Aeneas and his wife Creusa, the daughter of King Priam. He fled with his father from Troy as the Greeks besieged the once illustrious city and accompanied him on his journey to Italy.
The Aeneas and Ascanius relationship was a strong one that contributed to establishing the foundations of what later became known as Rome. To know more about the story of Ascanius and his role in Virgil’s Aeneid, continue reading.
Who Is Ascanius in the Aeneid?
Ascanius in the Aeneid was the founder of the city of Alba Longa which later became Castel Gandolfo. He was an instrumental in the founding of the Roman Empire and was the ancestor of Remus and Romulus. He fought in the war against the Italians and killed Numanus.
The Myth of Ascanius in the Aeneid
Ascanius was an important character, as he was the one who started the war between the Latins and the Trojans, he was also the one who the god Apollo motivated. He was even mentioned by the Romans ancestry as Lulus.
Ascanius Starts War Between the Latins and the Trojans
Ascanius was rarely heard of until the latter stages of the Aeneid when he accidentally wounded the deer of Sylvia. According to the story, Juno had assigned the fury, Allecto, to instigate a war between the Trojans and the Latins. To fulfill her assignment, Allecto chose to cause Ascanius, who was a Trojan, to wound the pet stag of Sylvia, a Latin. On a hunt with his dogs in the woods, Allecto pointed Ascania’s dogs to Sylvia’s deer which was drinking from the river.
Following the direction of his dogs, Ascanius threw his spear mortally wounding the royal deer of Sylvia. Around the same time, Allecto had gone to incite Amata, the Queen of the Latins, against Aeneas and the Trojans. Amata approached her husband, King Latinus, and advised him against giving their daughter’s (Lavinia) hand in marriage to Aeneas. Turnus, the leader of the Rutuli, who was betrothed to Lavinia, prepared his army to fight against Aeneas.
Turnus sent his army of shepherds to hunt down Ascanius for killing the pet deer of Sylvia, the daughter of the ranger of King Latinus. When the Trojans saw the Latin shepherds coming for Ascanius, they came to his aid. A brief battle broke out between the Latins and the Trojans with the Latins suffering several casualties.
Ascanius and Apollo
During the battle, Ascanius killed Numanus, who was related to Turnus, by throwing a spear at him. Before hurling the spear at Numanus, the teenage Ascanius prayed to the king of the gods Jupiter, “Omnipotent Jupiter, please favor my audacity”. Once Ascanius killed Numanus, the god of Apollo appeared to him and encouraged him saying, “Go forth with new value, boy; thus is the path to the stars; son of gods that will have gods as sons”.
Here the god Apollo references the descendants of Ascanius which Augustus Caesar claimed to be one of them. Thus, the Gens Julia, an ancient Patrician family of Rome is believed to have descended from Ascanius. After the battle between the Latins and the Trojans ended, Apollo commanded the Trojans to keep Ascanius safe from the horrors of war.
Ascanius succeeded his father, Aeneas, and reigned for 28 years before his death. The Kingdom was succeeded by Ascanius son Silvius.
Ancient Emperors of Rome Trace Their Ancestry
Ascanius other name, Iulus, was used by Virgil in the Aeneid, making the name more popular among the Romans. Thus, the Julian family of Rome linked their ancestry to Iulus with Caesar Augustus instructing his officials to gazette it. Nonetheless, the Julian family lineage included the gods Jupiter, Juno, Venus and Mars. Additionally, the emperor then asked all poets and dramatists to include these gods whenever they wanted to trace his ancestry.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we have been giving a further insight on the myth of Ascanius and the role he played in the Aeneid as well as in founding Rome. Here is a recap of all that we have read so far:
- Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa and was part of the entourage that escaped from Troy as the Greeks besieged the city and burned it to the ground.
- Little was heard of Ascanius until the latter stages of the Aeneid when he accidentally wounded the pet stag of Sylvia, the daughter of Tyrrheus who was the ranger of King Latinus.
- The Latins attacked the Trojans but the Trojans emerged victorious.
- During the skirmish, the teenage Ascanius prayed to Jupiter to help him kill Numanus and it so happened as his spear struck the Latin to the ground.
- Apollo then appeared to the young boy, encouraged him and told him of how gods would emerge from his descendants.
Due to the prophecy of Apollo, the Julia family of Rome traced their ancestry to Ascania. This work was commissioned by Emperor Caesar Augustus who instructed all poets to include gods in his ancestry.
