ANCHISES (Trojan prince and father of Aeneas)

Aphrodite instilled sweet desire into his heart, causing him to be seized by love and overcome upon seeing her shining garments and height. [f: 7, 38, 74]^12,9,8 Anchises requested that Aphrodite grant him eminence and prosperity among the Trojans, praying for strong offspring and a long, happy life reaching old age.¹³ He vowed to build an altar on a high peak and offer rich sacrifices to her at all seasons. [f: 44, 45]¹³ Aphrodite caused him to fall into a soft sleep, and they lay together on a bed covered with skins of bears and lions he had slain in the high mountains. [f: 39, 21, 66, 67, 82]^14,15 Anchises did not clearly know what he was doing during this encounter, as he was a mortal man with an immortal goddess. [f: 42, 11]^15,16 From this union, they became the parents of Aeneas. [f: 3]^3,4

Anchises secretly mated his mares with divine horses without King Laomedon's permission.¹⁷ This union resulted in six foals, of which he kept four in his own stables and gave two to his son Aeneas. [f: 32, 23, 79, 31]¹⁷ He was also the father of Hippodameia, his eldest daughter, and Echepolus. [f: 16, 15]^18,19 Anchises received a graven bowl from Thracian Cisseus as a pledge of friendship, and later gave a quiver of Lycian arrows, a gold-threaded cloak, and golden bridle reins as parting gifts. [f: 24, 68, 25, 26, 27, 70]^20,10

When the fall of Troy approached, Anchises looked upward with joy and raised his voice and hands toward the stars, praying to Zeus for aid. [f: 56, 57, 72, 83]²¹ He claimed that his family had performed services at Zeus's altars.²¹ The Greeks allowed him to escape because of his piety, and Aeneas carried him away from the burning city. [f: 51, 50]²² During their journey, he identified the dangerous reef as Charybdis based on a prior prophecy and commanded the crew to row vigorously to escape the waters. [f: 59, 60]²³ He extended his right hand to offer swift and generous assistance to a distressed stranger, using a prompt token to comfort the frightened exile. [f: 54, 55]²⁴ King Anius greeted him warmly, claiming they were old acquaintances, and invited him to share his roof. [f: 49, 73]²⁵

Anchises served as the sole comfort of Aeneas during his grievous doom. [f: 13]²⁶ After his death, the Trojan women mourned his loss loudly on a lonely shore. [f: 53]²⁷ He appears in the underworld as an aged ghost and a sacred shade descending from heaven. [f: 5, 14, 8]^28,29,1 Mount Anchisia is named after him, and his memory remains dear to the gods. [f: 12, 78]^30,6 He is referred to as the father of Aeneas and is described as noble.^31,5,32