In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Assaracus was the second son of Tros

Tros

In Greek mythology, Tros was a ruler of Troy and the son of Erichthonius by Astyoche or of Ilus I, from whom he inherited the throne. Tros was the father of three sons: Ilus, Assaracus, and Ganymedes. He is the eponym of Troy, also named Ilion for his son Ilus...

, King of Dardania

Dardania (Asia minor)

Dardania in Greek mythology is the name of a city founded on Mount Ida by Dardanus from which also the region and the people took their name. It lay on the Hellespont, and is the source of the strait's modern name, the Dardanelles....

. He inherited the throne when his elder brother Ilus

Ilus

Ilus is the name of several mythological persons associated directly or indirectly with Troy.-Ilus :Homer's Iliad mentions at several points the tomb of Ilus son of Dardanus in the middle of the Trojan plain...

 preferred to reign instead over his newly founded city of Ilium

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

 (which also became known as Troy

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

). He married Hieromneme

Hieromneme

Hieromneme was a minor naiad of Asia Minor in Greek mythology. She was a daughter of the river-god Simoïs and the wife of Assaracus, by whom she bore Capys. Alternately, she was the daughter-in-law of Assaracus, wife of Capys and mother of Anchises....

, daughter of Simoeis

Simoeis

Simoeis was a river of the Trojan plain and the name of its god. Like other river-gods, Simoeis was the son of Oceanus and Tethys . Simoeis had two daughters who were married into the Trojan royal family. One daughter, Astyoche, was married to Erichthonius, and the other daughter, Hieromneme was...

; others say his wife was Clytodora, daughter of Laomedon

Laomedon

In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...

. Assaracus' son and heir was Capys

Capys

In Greek mythology, Capys was a name attributed to three individuals:*A son of Assaracus and Hieromneme , and father of Anchises and so grandfather of Aeneas...

. He was also a brother of Ganymede

Ganymede (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...

.

Modern appearances

He is mentioned in Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

’s The Sandman as "the unseemly," brother to Mailure.