ASCANIUS

in Roman legend, son of the hero Aeneas and traditional founder of Alba Longa, probably the site of the modern Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. In different versions, Ascanius is placed variously in time. Those set earlier cite the Trojan Creusa as his mother. After the fall of Troy, Ascanius and Aeneas escaped to Italy, where Aeneas subsequently founded Lavinium, the parent city of Alba Longa and Rome. Ascanius became king of Lavinium after his father's death. Thirty years after Lavinium was built, Ascanius founded Alba Longa and ruled it until he died. In the Roman historian Livy's account, however, Ascanius was born after the founding of Lavinium and was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, a daughter of King Latinus. Ascanius was also called Iulus, and through him by that name the gens Julia (including the family of Julius Caesar) traced its descent.