Ascanius

Ascanius (/əˈskeɪniəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάνιος)[1] was a legendary king of Alba Longa (1176-1138 BC) and the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam.

Under his additional name Iulus, he was claimed as the particular ancestor of the gens Iulia, the family of Julius Caesar, and therefore a progenitor of the first line of Roman emperors, the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of the Trojan prince Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam.

In the Aeneid, it is Aeneas who kills Lausus after harming Mezentius, who escaped while his son faced the Trojan king.

After killing Numanus, Apollo comes and says to Ascanius: Macte nova virtute, puer: sic itur ad astra, dis genite et geniture deos.

In this verse, Virgil makes a clear reference to the offspring of Iulus, from whom Augustus Caesar claimed descent.

Therefore, in this verse Virgil refers to the Gens Julia, the family of Augustus and Julius Caesar, who was deified after his death.