latinus

Latinus is a figure in Roman mythology, described as the king of the Latins in Latium, the region of central Italy, during the era of the Trojan refugees. The name Latinus is the source of the ethnonym Latin and of the Latin adjective, connecting to the people and language of Latium.

In the surviving Latin mythic tradition, most notably Virgil's Aeneid, Latinus hosts Aeneas and the Trojans upon their arrival in Latium. He seeks to forge an alliance between Trojans and Latins by offering his daughter Lavinia in marriage to Aeneas. The arrangement is opposed by Amata, his wife and Lavinia's mother, who supports Turnus, a local prince, and resists the Trojan settlement. This tension helps drive the conflict that unfolds in the story.

Lavinia is traditionally identified as Latinus's daughter. The marriage between Aeneas and Lavinia is seen as a symbolic union of Trojan and Latin lineages, a mythic precursor to the founding of Rome. The ensuing clash between Aeneas and Turnus centers on questions of sovereignty and peace, with Latinus depicted as a monarch whose preference is reconciliation, even as war ultimately erupts.

In later Latin literature, Latinus serves as a symbol of Latial antiquity and royal authority. The figure and his name persist in genealogies, place-names, and literary allusions that trace the legendary roots of Rome to Latium and its ruling line.

See also: Latium, Latins, Aeneid, Lavinia.