Silvius, king of Alba Longa

In Roman mythology, Silvius, or Sylvius, (Latin: Silvǐus; Greek: Σιλούιος; said to have reigned 1139-1110 BC), or Silvius Postumus, was either the son of Aeneas and Lavinia or the son of Ascanius. He succeeded Ascanius as King of Alba Longa.

According to the former tradition, upon the death of Aeneas, Lavinia is said to have hidden in a forest from the fear that Ascanius would harm the child. He was named after his place of birth, Silva being the Latin word for forest or wood.

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a dispute arose on who should succeed Ascanius, either Silvius (the brother of Ascanius) or Iulus (the son of Ascanius). The dispute was decided in favor of Silvius by the people who believed that it was his right as the grandson of Latinus. Julus was awarded the priesthood. All the kings of Alba following Silvius bore the name as their cognomen.

His son, Aeneas Silvius, was also king of Alba Longa, and (in much later tradition) his other son, Brutus, was the first king of Britain.

Later Tradition

According to Nennius (9th century): "Respecting the period when this island became inhabited subsequently to the flood, I have seen two distinct relations. According to the annals of the Roman history, the Britons deduce their origin both from the Greeks and Romans. On the side of the mother, from Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, king of Italy, and of the race of Silvanus, the son of Inachus, the son of Dardanus; who was the son of Saturn, king of the Greeks, and who, having possessed himself of a part of Asia, built the city of Troy. Dardanus was the father of Troius, who was the father of Priam and Anchises; Anchises was the father of Aeneas, who was the father of Ascanius and Silvius; and this Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, the daughter of the king of Italy." (Nennius 3.10)

Event: was killed by his son in a hunting accident

Sources

• Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 1.70
• Nennius, Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons)
• Livy, Ab Urbe Condita ,3.7
• Vergil, The Aeneid, VI:760-66
• Wikipedia: Silvius (mythology)
• Neil Wright, The Historia regum Britannie by Geoffrey of Monmouth II The First Variant Edition: a critical edition (1988)