In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was a son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, Ascanius escaped to Latium in Italy with his father and fought in the Italian Wars. Virgil's Aeneid says he had a role in the founding of Rome as the first king of Alba Longa.

Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia

He was also called Iulus or Julus. From this name comes the Gens Julia, the Julian family to which Julius Caesar belonged.

The name Iulus was popularised by Virgil in his work the Aeneid, replacing the Greek name Ascanius with Iulus to link the Julian family of Rome to earlier mythology. The emperor Augustus, who commissioned the work, was a great patron of the arts. As a member of the Julian family, he could claim to have three major Olympian gods in his family tree, so he encouraged his many poets to present material on his direct descent from Aeneas.


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