The gem image refers to the escape of Aeneas from Troy, who leaves the burning city with his father Anchises on his back and his son Iulus/Ascanius by the hand. This chapter of the story of the Trojan War is part of the founding myth of Rome, which sees Iulus as the progenitor of the Romans. The Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC) describes the flight and wanderings of Aeneas in his epic 'Aeneid', which is based on the Homeric epics 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey', which ends after years in Latium. Here he founded the city of Lavinium, located near today's Torvaianica. (AVS)
Former August Kestner Collection, Rome
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