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 representa ...

, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of

Latinus Latinus ( la, Latinus; Ancient Greek: Λατῖνος, ''Latînos'', or Λατεῖνος, ''Lateînos'') was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology. He is often associated with the heroes of the Trojan War, namely Odysseus and Aeneas. Al ...

and Amata, and the last wife of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

Creation

It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

's first fiancée.

Story

Lavinia, the only child of the king and "ripe for marriage," had been courted by many men who hoped to become the king of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

. Turnus, ruler of the

Rutuli The Rutuli or Rutulians were an ancient people in Italy. The Rutuli were located in a territory whose capital was the ancient town of Ardea, located about 35 km southeast of Rome. Thought to have been descended from the Umbri and the Pelas ...

, was the most likely of the suitors, having the favor of Queen Amata. In Vergil's account, King Latinus is warned by his father Faunus in a dream oracle that his daughter is not to marry a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

"Propose no Latin alliance for your daughter Son of mine; distrust the bridal chamber
Now prepared. Men from abroad will come
And be your sons by marriage. Blood so mingled
Lifts our name starward. Children of that stock
Will see all earth turned Latin at their feet,
Governed by them, as far as on his rounds The Sun looks down on Ocean, East or West."

Lavinia has what is perhaps her most, or only, memorable moment in Book 7 of the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...

'', lines 69–83: during a sacrifice at the altars of the gods, Lavinia's hair catches fire, an omen promising glorious days to come for Lavinia and war for all Latins:

"While the old king lit fires at the altars With a pure torch, the girl Lavinia with him, It seemed her long hair caught, her head-dress caught In crackling flame, her queenly tresses blazed, Her jeweled crown blazed. Mantled then in smoke And russet light, she scattered divine fire Throughout all the house. No one could hold that sight Anything but hair-raising, marvelous, And it was read by seers to mean the girl Would have renown and glorious days to come, But that she brought a great war on her people."

Not long after the dream oracle and the prophetic moment, Aeneas sends emissaries bearing several gifts for King Latinus. King Latinus recognizes Aeneas as the destined one:

"I have a daughter, whom the oracles Of Father's shrine and warning signs from heaven Keep me from pledging to a native here. Sons from abroad will come, the prophets say-- For this is Latium's destiny-- new blood To immortalize our name. Your king's the man Called for by fate, so I conclude, and so I wish, if there is truth in what I presage."

Aeneas is said to have named the ancient city of

Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva Laurentina'', ...

for her. By some accounts, Aeneas and Lavinia had a son, Silvius, a legendary king of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it wa ...

. According to

Livy 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 ...

, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia; she led the Latins as a power behind the throne since Ascanius was too young to rule. In Livy's account, Silvius is the son of Ascanius.Livy,
Ab Urbe Condita
' 1.3.7.

In other works

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

's 2008 novel '' Lavinia'', Lavinia's character and her relationship with Aeneas is expanded, giving insight into the life of a king's daughter in ancient Italy. Le Guin employs a self-conscious narrative device in having Lavinia as the first-person narrator knowing that she would not have a life without

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, who, being the writer of the ''Aeneid'' several centuries after her time, is thus her creator. Lavinia also appears with her father, King Latinus, in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'', ''Inferno'', Canto IV, lines 125–126. She is documented in '' De Mulieribus Claris'', a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in 136162. A different Lavinia is a character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Titus Andronicus''. She is gifted to Saturninus by her father (the titular Titus Andronicus), but she instead elopes with her intended suitor, Bassianus. She is subsequently raped by Tamora's two sons, her tongue and hands cut off so that she can't identify them. In Act 5 she is killed as an honor killing by her father. The rape and mutilation closely mirror the Greek myth of Philomela.

Notes

References

. ''

''. VII. *

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'' Book 1. {{Authority control Characters in the Aeneid Characters in Roman mythology