In Roman mythology, Evander (from Greek Εὔανδρος Euandros, "good man" or "strong man": a spelling and etymology affected by poets to emphasize the hero's virtue), also spelled Euander, was a deific culture hero from Arcadia, Greece, who brought the Greek pantheon, laws and alphabet to Italy, where he founded the city of Pallantium on the future site of Rome, sixty years before the Trojan War. He instituted the festival of Lupercalia.