Roman Culture/Images of Aeneas

Aeneas was a hero and a legend in Roman history. Many emperors and leaders in Rome liked to trace their lineage back to Aeneas. Aeneas’s tale begins when he is forced to abandon Troy after the Greeks have sacked it, and then he encounters many rough obstacles on his way to Italy. These two images depict Aeneas saving his father, Anchises, and his son, Ascanius, from Troy after it is sacked by the Greeks. One of the images shows how emperors like Caesar liked to trace themselves back to Aeneas. Aeneas is well known in Roman mythology for having such a large role in the founding of Rome as is mentioned in the beginning of The Aeneid. “In Italy your son will crush a fierce race in a great war. Romulus, will then lead the race and found the walls of Mars for Romans- named for him” (Vergil, The Aeneid p. 9). These words were uttered by Jove in The Aeneid showing how much the gods favor Aeneas as well as mankind.

Images

 * http://universalheretic.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/god-of-the-week-aeneas/
 * http://www.livius.org/a/1/romans/coin_caesar_aeneas.jpg