Lausus is a minor character from the

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

and the legend of the

founding of Rome The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous o ...

. He is the son of Albe's king

Numitor In Roman mythology, King Numitor () of Alba Longa, was the maternal grandfather of Rome's founder and first king, Romulus, and his twin brother Remus. He was the son of Procas, descendant of Aeneas the Trojan, and father of the twins' mother, R ...

and he was to succeed him, but he was killed by his uncle

Amulius In Roman mythology, Amulius () was king of Alba Longa who ordered the death of his infant, twin grandnephews Romulus, the eventual founder and king of Rome, and Remus. He was deposed and killed by them after they survived and grew to adulthood. ...

who wanted to seize the throne. His history is written in a few words by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

; with

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

, the son of Numitor killed on Amulius' order is Aegestus. This character does not appear in

Tite-Live Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, nor in ''The life of Romulus and Remus'' of

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

. In the story of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Amulius ambushed Aegestus or Lausus while the latter was hunting. He tried to pretend that he was killed by brigands, but many Albani did not believe this story. According to Paul Marius Martin, this character was not one of the ancient versions of the legend of the origins of Rome:For this reason, Plutarch who is based on the version of Diocles of Peperethos, source of

Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gree ...

, first of the Roman historians, does not speak about it. This also explains the hesitation on the name of this son of Numitor. "This character was invented to reinforce the tyrannical color of the reign of Amulius, who moreover had recourse to eliminate his nephew, to the classic hunting cunning."

References

Characters in Roman mythology {{Italy-noble-stub