Thirty-four centuries ago, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, had a son who was called Aeneas. Aeneas grew up to be a warrior and, after the fall of Troy, traveled to Italy to found Rome. Aeneas's father was a mortal man whose name was Anchises, who, according to Homeric Hymn V, was as comely as the gods. This is the story of Anchises' life in the generation before the Trojan War, as he prepared his son to meet his destiny.