# Evander — The Aeneid character guide

> Evander in The Aeneid by Virgil.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Evander, poor Evander

**First appearance:** 0007-book-viii

## Snapshot

The Arcadian exile who rules a humble settlement on the future site of Rome, welcomes Aeneas as a guest, and sends his only son to war beside him.

## Who they are

Evander governs a poor Arcadian colony on the Palatine, a king whose modest huts will one day be marble temples, and who recognizes in Aeneas the features of his old friend Anchises. He offers the Trojans alliance and his son Pallas, binding his household's future to theirs in a gesture that costs him everything. His hospitality and his grief make him the poem's most human portrait of what alliance demands from those who offer it.

## Relationships

### [Pallas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/pallas)

_family_

Evander is Pallas's father, a Greek king who allies with Aeneas and entrusts his son to him, grieving deeply when Pallas is killed.

## In the story

### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-viii)

King of Pallanteum, welcomes Aeneas and agrees to provide troops, including his son Pallas.

### [Book XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/chapters/book-xi)

Receives the body of his son Pallas and delivers a lament.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters/evander
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_aeneid_se/characters