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In Roman mythology, the Golden Bough was a tree branch with golden leaves that enabled the Trojan hero AeneasTrojan hero who founded Rome; son of Aphrodite (Venus) and the Trojan Anchises to travel through the underworldland of the dead safely. The bough was said to be sacred to Proserpina (Persephone), the queen of the underworld, and was associated with the goddess DianaRoman goddess of hunting and childbirth (Greek goddess Artemis).

The story of Aeneas and the Golden Bough is found in the Aeneid, the epiclong poem about legendary or historical heroes, written in a grand style by the Roman poet Virgil. According to this tale, the spirit of Anchises, Aeneas's dead father,...