The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped his burning homeland after it was taken by the Greeks in the Trojan War and sailed west, landing eventually in Italy. Aeneas was honored by Romans as their great ancestor. This illustration shows Aeneas fleeing burning Troy, with his father Anchises on his shoulder, the Penates in one hand, and his son Ascanius in the other hand. Behind them is Aeneas' wife Creusa, who does not, in the end, manage to escpae the burning city.