Caeculus In Roman mythology, a son of Vulcan and the sister of the Frates Delpidii; ally of Turnus in the war against the Trojans. Caeculus’s mother became impregnated by Vulcan when a spark from heaven fell into her bosom. Her son Caeculus, however, became a robber. In time he built the city of Praeneste and wanted to find citizens to inhabit it, but no one would consent to live there. Caeculus then prayed to Vulcan, asking him to show the gathered crowd that the god was his father. A flame suddenly shot up, and the mob, moved by the miracle, consented to become citizens of Praeneste. Vergil’s Aeneid (book 7) says Caeculus was born among herds in the country, exposed by his mother to die, and later found near the hearth at a shrine of Jupiter.
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Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante