Venus fell in love with the mortal prince Anchises on Mount Ida. From their union, Aeneas was born — a hero with divine parentage who would found the lineage of Rome.
Capys, prince of the Trojan royal line descended from Dardanus, fathered Anchises, whose union with Venus would produce Aeneas and link Troy's blood to Rome's founders.
The Greek Anchises, Trojan prince beloved of Aphrodite in the Homeric Hymn, was adopted into Roman tradition as the father of Aeneas and the aged patriarch carried from burning Troy on his son's shoulders.
Aeneas found his father Anchises in the fields of Elysium, who revealed to him the souls waiting to be reborn as Rome's future heroes — Romulus, the Scipios, Augustus — laying bare the destiny his suffering would purchase.
At Delos, Apollo's oracle told the Trojans to seek their ancient mother. Anchises interpreted this as Crete, but when plague drove them away, the Penates corrected his reading, revealing Italy as the true destination.
During the flight from Troy, Anchises saw a divine flame appear on young Ascanius's head without burning him. He recognized the portent as Jupiter's sign that the gods willed their escape and finally consented to flee.
Anchises dwells among the blessed in Elysium after his death, reviewing the parade of souls destined to be reborn as Rome's future heroes and revealing their fates to his son Aeneas.
Jupiter struck Anchises with a thunderbolt for boasting that he had lain with Venus, laming the Trojan prince and leaving him unable to walk from burning Troy without his son's shoulders.
⚠ Servius on Aeneid II.35 reports Anchises was lamed; other traditions (Servius on Aeneid II.647) say he was blinded by the bolt.
Anchises carried the Penates from burning Troy, entrusting the household gods to his son's care. The Penates later appeared in a dream to correct Anchises's interpretation of Apollo's oracle, directing the Trojans to Italy.
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