Aeneas, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, is one of the leading warriors on the Trojan side; leader of the Dardanians, and a member of a younger branch of the Trojan royal family. He is a brave warrior who often seems to get out of his depth, tangling with Diomedes (Book 5) and Achilles (Book 20). Both times he is rescued by divine intervention. Poseidon prophesies his family will rule over Trojans. The story of Aeneas' escape and westward wanderings is later than Homer, but well attested long before Virgil made the legend the centre of the Aeneid.