In Virgil’s Aeneid, what is the name of Aeneas’s father?

In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneas’s father is named Anchises.

Anchises is a Trojan nobleman and the son of Capys. In the poem’s account of Troy’s destruction, Aeneas carries his elderly father from the burning city while leading his son Ascanius by the hand. This image became a major symbol of filial duty and Roman pietas.

Anchises later dies in Sicily before the main Italian portion of Aeneas’s journey. Even after death, he remains important: Aeneas meets him in the Underworld during Book 6, where Anchises explains the future greatness of Rome and displays the souls of Rome’s destined leaders.

Anchises is often confused with Ascanius, who is Aeneas’s son, not his father. He is also distinct from Priam, the king of Troy, who belongs to the older generation of Trojan rulers.