Julus

The eldest son of Ascanius, who claimed the government of Latium, but was obliged to give it up to his brother Silvius, and received a compensation in the form of a priestly office.1 According to the author of De Origine Gentis Romanae (15), the Latins believed that Ascanius was identical with Julus, and that out of gratitude they not only described him as a son of Jupiter, but also called him Jobus, and afterwards Julus. It is at any rate not impossible that Julus may be a diminutive of Dius. The Roman Julia gens traced their origin to this Julus.

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References

Notes

  1. Dionysius, i, 70; Livy. The History of Rome i, 2.

Source

  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.