Latinus Roman A legendary, perhaps historical, king of the Latini or Latins, an original people of central Italy, and the hero from whom that people got their name.

Latinus Roman A legendary, perhaps historical, king of the Latini or Latins, an original people of central Italy, and the hero from whom that people got their name. Several traditions surround Latinus and the role he played in the history of Rome. In one tradition, he was the son of the god Faunus and the Nymph Marica. In another, he was the grandson of Hercules. Over the centuries, as the influence of Greek mythology over Roman religion grew, the story of Latinus changed and he was seen as the son of the Greek goddess Circe and the hero Odysseus. Scholars believe that Latinus was an actual person, but most of his history is lost within the myths of the founding of Rome. He is prominent in the poet Virgil's story of the Aeneid, which tells of the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. According to different versions of Latinus's story, he had consulted an oracle and learned that his daughter, Lavinia, would marry a foreigner. When Aeneas arrived in Italy, he fell in love with Lavinia, and Latinus and his wife, Amata, agreed to a marriage. In another version, Latinus formed an alliance with Aeneas to defend against the Rutuli people, with whom the Latins were at war. Both stories end with Aeneas going to war with and defeating Turnus, prince of the Rutuli, who claimed Lavinia in marriage, and Aeneas winning the hand of Lavinia and naming the city of Lavinium after her.