Ascanius

In John Dryden’s translation of the Aeneid the following passage describes what Ascanius will accomplish and details his name changes.

This is his time prefix’d. Ascanius then,
Now call’d Iulus, shall begin his reign.
He thirty rolling years the crown shall wear,
Then from Lavinium shall the seat transfer,
And, with hard labor, Alba Longa build.
The throne with his succession shall be fill’d
Three hundred circuits more: then shall be seen
Ilia the fair, a priestess and a queen,
Who, full of Mars, in time, with kindly throes,
Shall at a birth two goodly boys disclose.

Vergil also decribes the fall of Troy and Aeneas mentions how he is fleeing with his son:

(The following is a translation by John Dryden)

While on my better hand Ascanius hung,
And with unequal paces tripp’d along.
Creusa kept behind; by choice we stray
Thro’ ev’ry dark and ev’ry devious way.
I, who so bold and dauntless, just before,
The Grecian darts and shock of lances bore,
At ev’ry shadow now am seiz’d with fear,
Not for myself, but for the charge I bear;
Till, near the ruin’d gate arriv’d at last,
Secure, and deeming all the danger past,
A frightful noise of trampling feet we hear.

The following is a quote from Ovid’s Heroides translated by Grant Showerman discusses the death of Ascanius’s mother, Creusa and its effect on the boy: “Grant a short space for the cruelty of the sea, and for your own, to subside; your safe voyage will be great reward for waiting. Nor is it you for whom I am anxious; only let the little Iulus³ be spared! For you, enough to have the credit for my death. What has little Ascanius done, or what your Penates, to deserve ill fate? Have they been rescued from fire but to be overwhelmed by the wave? Yet neither are you bearing them with you; the sacred relics which are your pretext never rested on your shoulders, nor did your father. You are false in everything – and I am not he first your tongue has deceived, nor am I the first to feel the blow from you. Do you ask where the mother of pretty Iulus is? – she perished, left behind by her unfeeling lord! This was the story you told me – yes, and it was warning enough for me! Burn me; I deserve it! The punishment will be less than befits my fault.

http://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidHeroides2.html

The following Selection from Livy Book 1 translated by Lewis Styles addresses Ascanius’s maturation and founding of Alba Longa: “Not yet mature for supremacy was Ascanius, Aeneas’ son; nevertheless that supremacy safely waited for him until he reached the age of adulthood: just so long, with a woman as protector—such a great innate quality was in Lavinia—the affairs of the Latins and the kingdom of his grandfather and father stood firm for the boy. I will not dispute—who indeed could affirm a matter so ancient as being certain?—whether this boy was Ascanius or an older boy than he, with Creusa for a mother born while Ilium was unharmed and a comrade then in his father’s flight—that same Iulus whom the Julian clan pronounces to be the originator of their name.

This Ascanius, wherever from and from whatever mother born (certainly that he was a son of Aeneas is agreed upon)…himself founded a new city under the Alban mountain, which from its site, stretched out along a ridge, was called Alba Longa….”

http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/DeptTransls/Livy.html

Ruth E. Coleman comments on theusage of the word “puer” to describe Ascanius: “The phrase puer Ascanius runs through Vergil’s Aeneid like a litttle musical motive of two measure that identifies this boy whom the poet brough to life so beautifully. The phrase contains in miniature everything that Vergil puts into each scene where Ascanius appears. Often the boy is simply called puer. The essential quality of Vergil’s portrait of him is boyishness, a quality that is never overwhelmed by the grandeur of the poem. In the midst of lofty ideas and great themes this brain-child of Vergil’s remains just puer Ascanius a real boy endowed with all the virtues and funny little quirks of all boys.”(142)

http://www.jstor.org/view/00098353/sp050330/05×6106v/0?searchUrl=http%3a//www.jstor.org/search/BasicResults%3fhp%3d25%26si%3d1%26gw%3djtx%26jtxsi%3d1%26jcpsi%3d1%26artsi%3d1%26Query%3dascanius%26wc%3don&frame=noframe&currentResult=00098353%2bsp050330%2b05×6106v%2b0%2c7F&userID=wcps@penncharter.com/01cce4406000501bbd5c2&dpi=3&config=jstor

An issue addressed by Louis H. Feldman is the issue of the gap between Aeneas and Romulus in the founding of Rome. “Indeed, one of the most puzzling problems facing all the ancient commentators on the early history of Rome consisted in bridging the gap between Aeneas and Romulus. The treatment of Ascaniuswas the key to the answer; for by making him the founder of Alba Longa and by presupposing a long line of kings who ruled there, the historians were able to explain the embarrassingly long lapse of time between the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome.”(304)

http://www.jstor.org/view/00098353/sp050418/05×8219c/1?searchUrl=http%3a//www.jstor.org/search/BasicResults%3fhp%3d25%26si%3d1%26gw%3djtx%26jtxsi%3d1%26jcpsi%3d1%26artsi%3d1%26Query%3dascanius%26wc%3don&frame=noframe&currentResult=00098353%2bsp050418%2b05×8219c%2b0%2cFF07&userID=wcps@penncharter.com/01cce4406000501bbd5c2&dpi=3&config=jstor

So I’ve just got one more journal entry and that will be all the writing I’m going to do. My dad actually assigned me to do only three, and then also he wanted me to track what Virgil and other writers have said about me. He also for some reason is bent on transforming me into more of an extrovert. I wouldn’t say I’m quiet, but certainly not the sort of “life of the party” guy that he was, so he’s requiring me to also writes comments to other people’s blogs. I mean I have friends and I’m sociable and stuff, so I don’t understand. Does he want me to be some gregarious social butterfly? But anyway, so today he dragged me to dinner at my Grandmother’s or Nanna, as I call her. I HATE DINNER AT NANNA’S HOUSE. First of all, kids sometimes joke that somebody’s mother is attractive. But do you have any idea how weird that is when it’s your grandmother. Sure she’s the goddess of love, beauty and fertility, and I’ll admit, she got around, but she does not know how to cook. The wine she has is usually good because she made a deal with Bacchus a while back to provide us with some of his wine supply, (that guy is such a wine aficionado, he knows everything there is to know about every year of every type of wine imaginable). Anyway, so my grandmother Venus, or Nanna, as I call her, tried to deviate from her traditional Italian way of cooking and experimented with some more Mediterranean cuisine. She broke out the Shish Kebob, couscous, berek, hummus, you name it, and it just was not very well prepared. Sometimes she thinks she can get by on her looks but for one thing, nobody cares what you look like when they are hungry and you made food, and secondly, I’m her grandson so I don’t get why she would think that she could use her looks to cover up her mediocre cooking skills. Anyway, so it was my birthday this time and she did not give me much, only a few chickens to trade at the marketplace, Grandma’s are always kind of stiff with the birthday cash. But anyway, it turned out to be ok, we had a birthday cake and all which was nice. Anyway, I have to go, I wrote for the required 20 minutes that my father asked me too, now its time to be a kid!!

Ascanius

Lil Romeo. One of my Idols. I connect with him too. He’s a boy celebrity, like me. I’m the son of the pious Aeneas, and he is the son of the honorable Master P. Make ‘em say UGHHHHH

Here’s Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius

Oh and here’s the picture version of me and my Dad fleeing Troy.

Oh crazy photo…Cupid Dressed up like me. My dad did this to him. Crazy…

Here’s a picture of Me Dido, My Nanna- Venus and my Dad

A while back when Troy fell I was kind of sad. I mean, I was getting kind of attached to the place. Even though my Dad was not always one to stay in the Trojan area, it was still my home and so I guess I got pretty attached to it. So anyway, my dad was like, “c’mon son, follow me to Italy”, but who would want to go to Italy? I certainly didn’t want to go to Italy. My father was all intent on how some city should be founded and all. I guess that’s not such a terrible idea, but I don’t know, I didn’t really want to travel right after my city had been sacked, I was sort of tired. I was just a kid and he expected me to act like a man who could forget the troubles of losing to the bloody Greeks and move forward. I didn’t care about Italy or fulfilling any prophecies. I just wanted to be left alone to play with my Fisher-price Big Boy Chisel with matching abacus.

The other day, years after the war, after my father returned home, I asked my dad today how he became such a legend, and if he could tell me his story, he never used to let me hear the whole story, he said I was too young. “Well,” he said to me, “it’s a long story, but I guess I’ll start… arma virumque cano troiae qui primus ab oris–”

“No Dad,” I said, “Not the entire Aeneid, I already know that stuff, and besides, that story of your epic won’t be written until the Augustan era. I mean your version…”

“Oh,” he replied sounding puzzled “Well it wasn’t that great, I mean us Trojans just had some trade dispute with the Greeks, and they won, but I’m afraid those bedtime stories I told you about Aeolus and all that, that’s sort of made up. Oh and one more little secret: Helen of Troy-not that hot. I mean she was like girl-next- door pretty but I don’t know, she wasn’t “start-a-war-over” pretty by any means.
“Huh, well that is a bummer.”

“Yeah, sorry kid”

“You can still found Alba Longa though and all that stuff, it’ll be fun”

“Yeah I guess, ok, thanks”

“Sure, son”

That’s when I first learned who my father really was. He was still a hero, but not nearly of the proportions that would be related to people for years to come.

A-yo, whats good Diary,

I’m absolutely fed up with my Dad. He puts so much pressure on me. I just can’t be like him. First he names me Ascanius right? Ok, that’s cool and all but then he’s all like “we’ll give him Ilus as his 2^nd name as long as Ilium remains sovereign”. So I got used to that, and then my name gets changed again! Now, it’s Iulus. He’s getting all up in arms about one “u”. I don’t need the “u”, but no, he wants me to compete for royal power, and found Alba Longa. Nobody else’s kids have to found Alba Longa. That’s for slaves having been captured from cities we have plundered. Why can’t he see that my true desire is to become and epic poetry relater… or as men years from the future may call it, rapping. I can spit Homer’s rhymes like fire. But anyway, I could never tell my father that, or anyone else. He’s too involved in our legacy. He even pays that weepy groupie Dido more attention than he pays to what I actually care about. As some of my idols, A Tribe Called Quest will say in over 2000 years “I hate when silly groupies wanna run they yap”. Wow I’m getting inspired by something people have said before they even said it. Hysteron proteron anybody? By the way, diary, in case you were wondering, I know a lot about the future because my Dad is pretty tight with the gods and a few oracles so we have connections. Anyway, my dad’s calling me to dinner, I got to go.

 

Ascanius

Sex: Male

Interested in:Both

Relationship status:single, It’s complicated

Looking for: Friendship, a relationship, random play

Birthday: February 29, 500 BC

Hometown:Troy

State: West Virginia

Country:Asia Minor

Political Views:Very Liberal

CONTACT info:

Sonofasonofagoddess@gmail.com

 

Screennames: lilAeneasIVX, GreeksareforGeeksVII

 

Mobile Phone: I kick it old school

 

Land Phone: (VIII V VI)- VII V I- IV VII V VIII

 

School Mailbox: 3000 West Schoolhouse Lane

East Troy, Troy

11111

Residence: 55503 Via Apia

Cherry Hill, Troy

11112

 

Room: N/A

 

Addresss:

55503 Via Apia

Cherry Hill, Troy

11112

 

Website: www.jovebeforehoes.net

 

Personal Info: Activities: My Favorite activities include, sailing, rapping, laughing crying, changing my name, building the Alba Longa, you name it I’ve done it.

 

Interests:

 

Favorite music: Oh, too much I like everything, from The Who, to DMX, Tribe Called Quest, or anything from that bearded minstrel in the marketplace, Vivaldi, Paganini, and ZZ Top

Favorite Movies: Comedies from the theater, not a big tragedy fan, but I also enjoy Gladiator, Masada, Riding in Cars with Boys,

 

Favorite Books: anything about me- mainly the Aeneid, also Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, A series of Unfortunate Events, Superfudge, and the Phantom Tollbooth

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs, you should never see an escalator temporarily out of order sign, only “Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry For the Convenience. We Apologize for the fact that you can still get up there.”

-Mitch Hedberg

 

I want to make a store called Chasm. It’ll be just like the Gap, but way bigger.

-Demetri Martin

 

“I got some tarter control toothpaste, I still got tarter, but that’s just under control. If the tarter gets out of line I’m like c’mon man you know the deal”

-Mitch Hedberg

 

Favorite websites: www.T-r-o-y-TroyTroyTroy.com

www.asiaminornamechangingagency.gov

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhJVmvl7PuM

 

Educational Info: School : Homeschooled- 482 BC—High school

 

Work Info: Unemployed

 

Courses: Economics, Storytelling, Math- Anything but geometry—Euclid can take his stupid Greek shapes and shove it, Latin, and History.

 

 

 

 

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