Amata

In the Roman literary-foundation cycle preserved by Virgil, Amata is a mortal royal figure: the wife of King Latinus of the Latins and mother of Lavinia. Her narrative role emerges during the period following Aeneas' arrival in Italy, when competing marriage claims over Lavinia—between the Trojan Aeneas and the Latin suitor Turnus—lead Amata to oppose Aeneas and take actions that contribute to civil and interethnic conflict. Dante later reuses her story as a moral exemplum in Purgatorio Canto 17.

Classical and medieval sources cited here recount Amata through actions and social role rather than physical description. Neither Virgil's narrative summary nor Dante's moralizing passage supplies a sustained or detailed physical portrayal of her.

Amata possesses social and political agency as a queen and mother within the narrative: she objects to Aeneas' request for Lavinia's hand because Lavinia was promised to Turnus; she hides Lavinia in the woods; and she mobilizes other Latin women to oppose the foreign claimant—actions that help precipitate the larger conflict between Aeneas and Turnus. Her story concludes with suicide upon (mistakenly) believing Turnus has fallen. Dante interprets these behaviors as expressions of wrath, making her an exemplar of that vice.