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{{Image|Virgil 1501 Aldus Manutius.jpg|right|250px|alt=Picture of a manuscript.|The Aeneid has been written and copied extensively since its writing by [[Virgil]]; it has helped teach students throughout history the language of [[Latin (language)|Latin]]; this copy was made in 1501.}}
The '''''Aeneid''''' is the great national [[epic]] [[poetry|poem]] of ancient [[Rome]]. It is an important literary work in [[Western civilization]] which has influenced countless other important books such as [[Dante|Dante's]] ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' or ''Commedia''. It's the story of [[Troy|Trojan]] hero [[Aeneas]], therefore the name ''Aeneid''. It was originally written in [[Latin language|Latin]] in [[dactylic hexameter]] and has been translated widely.

The story did for ancient Rome what the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'' did for [[ancient Greece]]. It built on the famous topic of the [[Trojan War]] and its aftermath but took the story in a new direction by weaving an after-the-fact account of the creation of Rome while expressing the essence of Roman culture to Romans themselves. While it was a deliberately fabricated historical [[myth]] built in a structure often [[parallel]] to the Iliad and Odyssey, it focused on different themes such as [[leadership]], the relation of the individual to the state, the struggle between desire and duty, the power of [[fate]], and the changing power and influence of [[Greek god|gods]], particularly the Roman gods [[Juno]], [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]], and [[Zeus|Jupiter]]. It quickly became a textbook for Roman students to learn about their culture and their language. Furthermore, it reflected a new synthesis of Greek and Latin culture.

==Origins of the Aeneid==
{{Image|Statue-Augustus.jpg|right|200px|alt=Picture of a statue of a man holding up an arm.|[[Augustus|Augustus Caesar]], the effective [[dictator]] of the [[Roman Empire]] who called himself the ''[[Princeps]]'', commissioned Virgil to create the Aeneid, indirectly through [[Maecenas]].}}
[[Virgil]] (70-19 BCE) was a well-educated Roman poet who lived around the time of [[Augustus]] Caesar but he had never written an epic. At the time, the Roman [[Republic]] had dissolved into essentially a military dictatorship led by the so-called "Princeps" or "First Citizen", as the [[Emperor]] preferred to call himself, so that many of the appearances of the Republic remained such as the Senate, but government was increasingly dictatorial. The work was commissioned indirectly by Emperor [[Augustus|Augustus Caesar]] via an intermediary named Maecenas. Ancient sources suggest Virgil began with a prose draft first, and turned it into a poem, although 
{{Image|Dactyl2.jpg|left|200px|alt=diagram of a hand.|The [[dactyl]] is composed of one long syllable followed by two short syllables; it is a prominent part in the type of poetic verse called ''[[dactylic hexameter]]'' which the Aeneid was written in.}}

Virgil built upon the Iliad by expanding a minor comment about a minor character known as [[Aeneas]]. Virgil assumed that his readers knew the basic outline of the Iliad and Odyssey. In the Iliad, Aeneas was a minor character mentioned briefly in book 20 in which the sea-god [[Poseidon]] prophesied that Aeneas would survive the burning of Troy and become the founder of a new city. But the Iliad did not specify which city this would be. Virgil used this ambiguity to determine that the city to be founded by Aeneas would be, in fact, Rome. There is no substantial written historical evidence to assert that Aeneas was, indeed, Rome's founder, although there were some accounts by Greek writers in the fifth century BCE that Aeneas' new city was Rome. According to stories about the Trojan war, some of which have not survived (but they're alluded to), Aeneas was the son of a human named Anchises (who was a Trojan) and the goddess [[Venus (goddess)|Aphrodite]] or called by her Roman name of [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]]. He survived Troy's fall and fled to [[Italy]] where he married the princess Lavinia and founded the city Lavinium; and Aeneas' son Ascanius founded the neighboring Italian city of Alba Longa. This happened in the period from 1184 BC to 753 BC, and allows Virgil to establish Aeneas as a "founder" of Rome, even though there's another myth of the founding of Rome which describes the battling between two brothers, Romulus and Remus. According to legend, Romulus killed Remus around 753 BC, invited others to join him in his new city, and abducted Sabine women as their wives to enable the population growth of the city of Rome. In essence, Virgil doesn't contradict the Romulus and Remus origin story, but finds a way to have both stories co-exist along a timeline of history, and repeats the pattern of the city's founding because of (1) battle between two men (2) intermarriage between men and women from different places.

Virgil wrote the Aeneid in dactylic hexameter using rhymes positioned strategically to juxtapose key concepts. But while trying to perfect the last phases of his manuscript, he died on a sea voyage. While dying, he requested that his unpublished manuscript be burned, but [[Augustus]] ordered it preserved. Luckily the manuscript survived. It became popular rapidly in the Roman Empire. But there are indications in the text of inconsistencies and unresolved issues which might have been addressed if Virgil had completed his epic, and places where the hexameters were incomplete.

==The storyline==
::For a chronological account see [[Journey of Aeneas]]
For a chronological look at the travels of Aeneas and the [[Troy|Trojans]] throughout the [[Mediterranean Sea]], see the diagram. But the actual poem begins with Aeneas shipwrecked near [[Carthage]], where he was soon to meet Queen [[Dido]]. During his visit in Carthage, Aeneas relates his story up until his visit to Carthage.
{{Image|Mediterranean Sea3.jpg|right|350px|alt=Map showing the journey.|Aeneas fled [[Troy]] (right) and visited many locations, detouring in [[Carthage]], and finally going to [[Latium]] which later became [[Rome]].}}
===Fleeing Troy===
The poem opens in the middle of the storyline, since Aeneas is 
Aeneas is a Trojan prince, cousin of Hector, and his mother was the goddess [[Venus (goddess)|Venus]] and his father was a human. Key themes are present in the opening book that are elaborated throughout the story, and include the role of [[fate]], the commitment to duty or the Latin word ''pietas''. It is Aeneas' duty to found Rome; he's bound by fate.

But Aeneas has an enemy in the Roman goddess [[Juno]] who is angry at the [[Troy|Trojans]] for numerous reasons: (1) prince Paris chose Aphrodite over Juno in a beauty contest (2) Troy was founded by an illegitimate son of her husband Jupiter (3) Jupiter abducted the Trojan prince Ganymede to be a cupbearer (so Juno hates the Trojan royal family) (4) Juno knows in advance that a Trojan will one day found Rome, and Rome is destined to wreak havoc on her favorite city of Carthage. But Aeneas has supporters too: his mother Venus is a powerful friend and helper who enlists the help of the god Jupiter and helps Aeneas by causing the Carthaginian queen Dido to fall in love with Aeneas; she's an information source too. And it's Jupiter's decree that Aeneas is destined to become the founder of Rome.

Aeneas relates the story of the fall of Troy, with a detailed account of the clever strategem of the famous [[Trojan horse|wooden horse]] as well as the machinations and deceit by the wily [[Odysseus|Ulysses]] used to convince the Trojans to take the horse into the city. While the Greeks burn the city, Aeneas escapes, but he's allowed to get a glimpse of the Greek gods literally knocking down the walls of the city. There are scenes of horrifying destruction and brutality. At one point Aeneas considers killing [[Helen of Troy]] but his mother, Venus, dissuades him. His father wants to stay behind, and Aeneas is about to stay behind with him; but a flame crowns young Iülus which persuades Aeneas's father Anchises to leave Troy, since it's an omen that his descendants will have future kingship. Aeneas departs with his family, including his father [[Anchises]], his wife [[Creusa]] mysteriously walking behind, and his young son [[Iülus]], as well as the household gods known as the [[Penates]] (a Roman construction; according to Greek [[mythology]], there were no such household gods known as the ''Penates''.) But Creusa is lost in the pandemonium, and when Aeneas returns to look for his wife, he sees her ghost who informs him that he will marry a royal bride in his future homeland.
{{Image|BarocciAeneas.jpg|right|350px|alt=Painting.|Aeneas carries his aged father [[Anchises]] while leading his son by the hand while his wife [[Creusa]] walks fatefully behind; later, she gets lost, and Aeneas goes back for her, but she isn't found.}}

Aeneas and his family have a seagoing expedition which happens to follow in the pathway of [[Ulysees]] from the [[Odyssey]], often stopping at the same points, but lagging behind only by a few months. They search for a new land but it's unclear where this will be. His wanderings parallel the adventures of the Greek hero from [[Homer]]. The Trojans land at the sacred island of [[Apollo]] named Delos and receive a [[prophecy]] from the [[Greek god|god]] instructing them to seek the land of their ancestors. Anchises thinks this means the island of [[Crete]], so they sail there only to encounter a plague ravaging the city. They land briefly on the island of the [[Harpies]] but are driven off, but they hear a prophecy suggesting that their final destination should be [[Italy]] but that [[hunger]] will cause them, in the future, to eat their tables. In [[Epirus]], they find [[Helenus]] and [[Andromache]] who have built what is described as a ''new Troy'' and hear a prophecy saying that when they see a white sow with thirty piglets, then that's the place where they should build their new [[city]]. Aeneas hears that he must try to appease the [[Greek god|goddess]] [[Juno]] and visit the Cumaean [[Sibyl]]. In [[Sicily]], the land of the [[Cyclops]], they find a Greek warrior abandoned by [[Ulysses]] a few months earlier; they feel sorry for the warrior and adopt him as part of their group. The kindness of the Trojans to the abandoned warrior illustrates the contrast between the Greeks and the Trojans; while the Greeks were so callous to leave behind one of their men, the Trojans (and future Romans), in contrast, are welcoming, forgiving, and good. Anchises, unfortunately, dies in Sicily.

{{Image|Frederick van Valckenborch Landschap met de schipbreuk van Aeneas.jpg|left|240px|alt=Picture of storms at sea.|The sea voyages of Aeneas were difficult, beset by storms, but Aeneas and many ships managed to sail to the coast of [[Africa]] near the growing city of [[Carthage]].}}

===A Carthagininan Queen===
{{Image|Aphrodite Terrakotta Berlin.jpg|right|350px|alt=Picture of a statue of a naked woman.|The goddess [[Venus]] helped her son [[Aeneas]] periodically throughout the epic; she caused [[Dido]] to fall helplessly in love with Aeneas when he visited [[Carthage]].}}
Aeneas, like Ulysses narrating his back-story to the Phaiakian court, narrates his back-story to the Carthaginian court. There is an intense but troubling affair between Aeneas and the [[Dido]]. [[Venus]], with complicity from Juno, caused Dido to fall deeply and passionately in love with Aeneas by sending a visit by [[Cupid]] in Book I of the story, so Dido had no choice in the matter and who is given the label ''infelix'' meaning unhappy, unlucky, cursed by fate. During a storm, Aeneas and Dido retreat to a cave and the liaison begins. She thinks of the relationship as a ''marriage'' and calls it that, but they were never married and there is no formal acknowledgment of their union. Perhaps Dido deludes herself into thinking of it as a marriage to possibly hide her guilt, because earlier, after her first husband had died, she swore an oath never to remarry.

But the city of Carthage is rife with rumors of a romantic encounter between the two. A suitor rejected by Dido earlier, named [[Iarbas]], tattletales about the affair to [[Jupiter]] who sends [[Mercury]] to give a message to Aeneas to call off the affair, and return to his duty to continue on his voyage and found the city of [[Rome]]. It is hypocritical of Jupiter to hold Aeneas to a double standard, since Jupiter had had many amorous out-of-wedlock encounters, and even [[rape|raped]] many women, including goddesses as well as [[mortal|human]] women. It illustrates the gulf between the [[divine]] and the [[human]], since gods and goddesses can get away with illicit behavior while humans must bear the consequences. Mercury reminds Aeneas of his duty; Aeneas understands. It illustrates a Roman virtue of duty to one's task.
{{Image|Dido building Carthage by Turner.jpg|left|240px|alt=Painting of a city being built.|Dido was building [[Carthage]] in this painting by Turner in 1815. Carthage and Rome were destined to be serious rivals for control of the [[Mediterranean Sea]].}}

Unfortunately Dido learns about Aeneas's planned departure before he had a chance to tell her. She is furious. In a tense scene, she confronts him, but Aeneas replies that he has no choice but to leave. His path has been fated, he tells her. Later, she kills herself out of intense passion, but before doing so, makes a curse against Aeneas and all his future Roman descendants. It's explained that this "curse" causes the [[Punic Wars]] between Carthage and Rome. When Virgil wrote the Aeneid, of course, these wars had been fought two hundred years earlier, so in a sense, Virgil had the benefit of hindsight in developing the storyline of the epic poem.

There are numerous scholarly issues about how to judge the characters in this scene. Was Aeneas guilty of leading on Dido? Was Dido guilty of seducing Aeneas? While debate is unlikely to ever be settled, there are arguments to be made for both sides:

* Dido had no choice but to fall passionately in [[romantic love|love]] with Aeneas. Remarrying is not a crime; at most, she broke her own previous vow not to remarry. Her self-punishment of [[suicide]] seems out of proportion to the situation.
{{Image|Death Dido Cayot Louvre MR1780.jpg|right|240px|alt=Sculpture of a woman pointing a dagger to her heart.|Queen Dido, deeply saddened by the abrupt departure of [[Aeneas]], committed suicide; Aeneas saw her later in the [[underworld]], but Dido refused to even look at him as she passed by.}}

* Aeneas told Dido that it was his [[duty|duty-bound]] mission to be the founder of the city of [[Rome]] in [[Italy]]. He never indicated that he planned to [[marriage|marry]] Dido, and he never said he planned to stay in [[Carthage]] permanently. 

===Sicily===
{{Image|Sicily-EO.JPG|left|200px|alt=Map of Sicily.|Aeneas landed on Sicily many times during the Aeneid, sailing around the bottom of Sicily to avoid the dangers of [[Scylla]] and [[Charybdis]].}}
Aeneas sails to [[Sicily]] and participates in the [[funeral]] games marking the one year [[anniversary]] of the death of Aeneas' father [[Anchises]]. He is welcomed by [[King Acestes]]. The games are like the funeral games for [[Patroklos]] in the Iliad. Symbolically, the book marks a transition from a focus on the past (Troy) to the future (Rome). They're ''burying the past'' and preparing for a warrior future by exercising in the so-called ''[[lusus Troiae]]'' or "Trojan games". Incidentally, in then-contemporary Roman society, there were so-called "Trojan games" but there is little likelihood that they were based on games from the classical past; but this didn't matter to Virgil, who used the name "Trojan games" to reconstruct the past ''as if'' the games were named after supposed Trojan ancestors. It was an accepted practice to have athletic contests as a funeral celebration.

But [[Juno]] incites the [[Trojan women]] to burn the ships as a way of ending the dangers of future travel. Juno appears in the guise of an old woman named [[Beroe]] who persuades the Trojan women to set the ships on fire to keep the group permanently settled in [[Sicily]]. Aeneas' son tries to stop them from doing so, but fails; instead, [[Jupiter]] saves the ships with an intense [[rainstorm]]. Aeneas is rattled by this event, and in a dream, he sees a prophet named [[Nautes]] advising him to seek out the [[Cumaean Sibyl]] and visit [[Hades]] to see his deceased father [[Anchises]]. Aeneas allows the women to stay behind if they choose; only one woman joins them on their continued expedition, and some of the men choose to stay behind as well. So now the expeditionary force is mostly men. While en route, the [[god of Sleep]] forces one of the vessel's pilots named [[Palinurus]] to fall asleep and plunge into the water to [[drowning|drown]]. The death results from a promise made by Jupiter to Venus that only one more Trojan will die at this stage, and Aeneas will see Palinurus in the underworld soon thereafter.

===The Underworld===
{{Image|Wenceslas Hollar - Aeneas in the underworld (State 2).jpg|right|220px|alt=Black and white drawing.|Aeneas visited the [[underworld]] to get advice from his dead father. This painting by Wenzel Hollar was made before 1677 and depicts Aeneas (center).}}
Virgil tells this part of the epic using the [[third person]], and Aeneas' trip there is described by the narrator of the epic. Aeneas buries Misenus first before entering the cave to visit the underworld. Unlike the Odyssey in which Ulysses sees ghosts visit him from the underworld, Aeneas physically travels there accompanied by the Cumaean Sibyl who prophesies future strife, war, and bloodshed which will characterize the struggle to found a city. Aeneas grabs a [[golden bough]] allowing him to enter the cave which is near [[Lake Avernus]] near present-day [[Naples]], and Aeneas is ferried across the [[River Styx]] by [[Charon]], the ferryman. Unfortunately, Aeneas sees Palinurus on the wrong side of the river because, through no fault of his own, Palinurus died without being [[burial|buried]].

Virgil describes the underworld in great detail. The [[Fields of Mourning]] or [[Lugentes Campi]] is a place where suicide victims reside. This includes people who died out of [[lovesickness]]. Aeneas sees Dido but she won't even lift her eyes to look at him, and swalks away, sadly, saying nothing. Another region is where the war spirits reside and Aeneas sees [[Deiphobus]] who, after [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] had died, married [[Helen of Troy]]; but Helen betrayed Deiphobus and was mutilated by the Greeks. Aeneas and the Sibyl pass by [[Tartaros]], where [[criminal|criminals]] are punished and go to [[Elysium]]. These are the blessed groves where they meet Aeneas' father Anchises.

Anchises helps Aeneas see "future" Romans -- that is, souls of Romans who, at that time, weren't yet born, but were destined to be born and to become famous Romans. This section is called the [[Pageant of Heroes]] by some accounts and details the Roman virtues of devotion to [[duty]]. Anchises also talks at length on the subject of [[reincarnation]]. There is also a lament for [[Marcellus]] who was a nephew of [[Augustus]]; Virgil had put the lament in this section, possibly as a way of ingratiating himself with his patron, Augustus. Marcellus had been groomed to take over the role of [[Emperor]] but had died before Augustus. Aeneas leaves the underworld, then, through the [[Gates of Sleep]], although there is scholarly confusion about what exactly this is supposed to have meant.

The rest of the story takes place in Italy and is characterized by [[warfare]] like in the [[Iliad]], and some commentators suggest that the second half of the Aeneid is more similar to the Iliad, while the first half was similar to the Odyssey, thus reversing the order of the original [[Classical Greece|Greek]] epics.

===Italy and war===
{{Image|Wenceslas Hollar - King Latinus in council (State 2).jpg|right|240px|alt=Picture of a king.|Aeneas was received at the council of [[King Latinus]] in [[Italy]].}}
Aeneas is hosted by [[King Latinus]] of [[Latium]] who had a wife, [[Amata|Queen Amata]], and a daughter, [[Princess Lavinia]]. Lavinia is scheduled to [[marriage|marry]] [[Turnus]], a local [[warrior]] [[hero]], but Latinus had been warned earlier in a [[prophecy]] that Lavinia shouldn't marry Turnus, but she should marry a [[stranger]] instead, such as Aeneas. Latinus offers Aeneas the [[hand]] of Lavinia in marriage; but unfortunately this [[action]], along with a minor mishap, causes [[war]] to break out between the Trojans in Italy and the [[Latins (tribe)|Latins]]. Queen Amata sides with Turnus in preferring the earlier marriage arrangement. [[Tiber (river god)|The river god Tiber]] tells Aeneas that he'll be [[successful]] in the long run and that a [[white]] [[sow]] on the river's banks with thirty [[piglet]]s will be a sign that this prophecy is correct. Aeneas is advised to seek help from [[Evander]] and the [[Arcadians]] who live in [[Pallanteum]] which is not far away. Aeneas finds the pigs and [[sacrifice]]s them to [[Juno]] as an act of appeasement, and an attempt to win her over to his way of seeing things. Aeneas travels down the [[river]] to [[Pallanteum]] by ship, and there he meets Evander's son [[Pallas]]. They are welcomed because they're Trojans. Aeneas gets a tour of the city in which he sees [[future]] sites that were destined to become [[fame|famous]] and prominent [[landmarks]]. Evander gives his son Pallas and other [[soldiers]] to be under the guidance of Aeneas, but Evander prays for the safety of his son, and hopes that Aeneas will act prudently to protect Pallas from [[danger]]. Aeneas and Pallas strike up a strong [[friendship]]. Virgil describes the [[shield]] of Aeneas, which had been made by [[Vulcan (god)|Vulcan]], which shows scenes from Roman "history", that is, events which in the story haven't yet happened, but from the perspective of Virgil writing in the time of [[Augustus]], have already happened. Aeneas likes these scenes visible on the shield but doesn't understand what they were supposed to mean; in contrast, Roman readers and [[audience]]s were well aware of what the scenes meant, including the famous [[Battle of Actium]] on the center of the [[shield]].

But when Aeneas was away from the Trojan camp, Juno tells Turnus that it's a perfect time to attack. When the Trojans don't come out of their camp, Turnus directs his men to set fire to the Trojan ships. Behind the scenes, the ships are saved because they were built from [[timber] from a [[sacred]] place and were protected by the Greek goddess [[Rhea]], who had [[promise]]d that when the ships were disassembled, that they timbers would be turned into [[sea]] [[creature]]s called [[sea-nymphs]]. Turnus thinks this is a good sign, but he doesn't [[understanding|understand]] the background regarding the [[metamorphosis]] of the ships into sea-nymphs.

{{Image|Nisos Euryalos Louvre LL450 n3.jpg|left|240px|alt=Picture of a statue lying on the ground.|The night raid by Trojan fighters [[Nisus]] and [[Euryalus]] ended with both of them killed.}}
Two Trojans fighters, one young, one old, attack in a night raid on the camp of the enemy, but both [[Nisus]] and [[Euryalus]] are killed, because moonlight glanced off of the helmet, allowing the defenders to spot the younger fighter, who was surrounded, and the older man tried to rescue him but was killed as well. But this encounter illustrates the [[duty]] of each [[man]] to the other in a wartime [[battle]] situation. The mother of [[Euryalus]] is overcome with intense [[grief]] on learning of the [[death] of her son; she was one of the few [[Trojan women]] to have made the passage from Sicily. One of the [[theme]]s of the Aeneid is elderly grieving [[father]]s and [[mother]]s who have lost their only son.

Further fighting happens in which Aeneas' son [[Ascanius]] kills the brother-in-law of [[Turnus]] named [[Numanus]], which inflames the [[ardor]] and [[anger]] of Turnus, who becomes even angrier at Aeneas and his [[family]]. [[Apollo]] visits briefly to tell Ascanius to stop fighting further at that time, and then Apollo flies away, and by flying reveals himself to be a [[Greek god|god]]. The anger of Turnus transforms him into an intense warrior, and this scene in which he demonstrates his wartime prowess is called an [[aristeia]]. There are particularly rough moments and vivid descriptions of [[blood]] and gore at this section of the [[book]]; some warriors are slaughtered. Turnus at one point fights his way inside the Trojan's gates; if he had been [[thinking]] more clearly, Turnus would have opened the gates to allow his [[comrade]]s to enter the camp to kill the Trojans -- that would have ended the war -- and with the war god [[Mars (god)|Mars]] instilling fear in the hearts of the Trojans and courage in the hearts of the [[Rotulians]], then Aeneas would have lost. Instead, anger and [[furor (ancient Rome)|furor]] controlled his mind, and Turnus kept fighting by himself. But later he realized he was [[alone]], and next to the river [[Tiber (river)|Tiber]] and to escape, Turnus jumped into the river and swam to his camp downstream. Virgil, in this passage, illustrates the difference in character between the calmer Aeneas and the [[hot-headed]] Turnus; in wartime, it's necessary to keep thinking clearly -- a Roman [[martial]] [[virtue]] -- and Turnus didn't have this virtue. Aeneas did.

{{Image|Venus Demanding Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas.jpg|right|300px|alt=Picture of a painting.|[[Venus (goddess)|Venus]] rallied to the defense of her son Aeneas by asking for help from [[Vulcan]] for weapons for the [[Troy|Trojan]] fighters. Painting by Charles-Joseph Natoire circa 1732.}}
The gods convene at the request of [[Jupiter (Roman god)|Jupiter]]. Then Aeneas returns by ship from his [[mission]], along with more [[ally|allied]] warriors, [[Pallas]] and even some [[Etruscans]]. In a way, Virgil is saluting the contribution of Roman allies, which played a huge role throughout Rome's history in the actual success of its [[conquest]] of the lands surrounding the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. When the [[Rutulians]] see Aeneas and his allies approaching, Aeneas' [[helmet]] glows and appears to have flames shining forth from it. Jupiter reminds [[Hercules]] that each human is fated to [[death|die]] at a certain time, and this appointment with death can not be postponed; but Jupiter says that the fact of [[human]] [[mortal|mortality]] is compensated, somewhat, since humans can achieve [[fame]].

In the ensuing [[battle]], Turnus kills Pallas, with whom Aeneas had developed an [[affection|affectionate]] [[friendship]]. Turnus, in a [[fate]]ful [[decision]], takes the [[sword]] belt from Pallas' [[body]] in an act of [[pride]], and puts it on. When [[news]] of the death of Pallas spreads, Aeneas erupts in a [[horror|horrific]] [[anger]] which is wholly out of [[character]] for him, and it gives way to an intense [[rage]] called ''[[furor (emotion)|furor]]'' and transforms him into a killing [[machine]] who is described as a [[monster]]. He [[sacrifice]]s eight enemy [[youth]]s on a [[funeral pyre]] as a gesture of his anger about the death of Pallas. Aeneas shows no pity or remorse. In this state, Aeneas is invincible as a warrior, and Juno, after consulting with Jupiter, creates a [[phantom]] [[image]] of Aeneas to distract Turnus, to lead him away from the real Aeneas, and has this phantom image board a ship. Turnus follows the phantom image of Aeneas on the ship, and Juno slices the [[cable]], letting it drift out to sea. So, the real Aeneas and Turnus, by action from a [[Greek god|goddess]], are prevented from fighting.

Aeneas [[mourning|mourns]] the loss of Pallas and has an [[honor guard]] to accompany his body. A [[truce]] is established so that both sides can burn the deceased warriors in [[funeral pyres]]. Aeneas says once again that he never wanted this war but that it was fated and he had no choice. A theme of older people mourning the loss of their [[children]] is reflected in [[Evander]] throwing himself on the [[fire]] of his son [[Pallas]] as a form of [[suicide]], but he doesn't blame the Trojans for Pallas's death. Efforts to have a solitary battle between Aeneas and Turnus don't materialize, and the battle flares once again. This time the warrior with the [[aristeia]] is the [[virgin]] warrior [[Camilla]], who is supported by the goddess [[Diana]] who is aware of Camilla's upcoming [[death]]. Camilla fights bravely but is killed by [[Arruns]]. Virgil describes the battling skills of both Aeneas and Turnus, and another effort at a [[truce]] fails.

But Turnus, who wants to marry [[Lavinia]], becomes intent on the possibility of a single combat between himself and Aeneas for her hand in marriage. Turnus's father [[Latinus]] tries to tell his son to marry another woman, since Latinus is willing to have his [[daughter]] Lavinia marry Aeneas; so why battle needlessly? But Turnus is [[obstinate]] and [[resolute]], and won't listen to pleas from [[Amata]], and when Lavinia [[blush]]es, Turnus becomes more determined to battle Aeneas.

At this point, the warriors agree to a single combat, but Juno persuades Turnus's sister [[Juturna]] to inflame the passions of the Latins, and one of their soldiers kills a Trojan by hurling a [[spear]]. The war resumes, once again, although Aeneas tries to cool the fighting spirit of his soldiers by the use of [[reason]]. Aeneas is wounded by an arrow and leaves the [[battle]] temporarily, and Turnus, disregarding the [[solemn]] [[treaty]], fights with [[courage]] and [[vigor]]. Venus cures Aeneas quickly, and Aeneas says goodbye to his son [[Ascanius]]. The tide of battle turns against the Latins who are scared by the [[attack]] by the Trojans against the [[city]] walls. Aeneas calls to Latinus to restore the treaty. Amata thinks Turnus has been killed, and in her [[sadness]], kills herself; as a result, Amata's daughter Lavinia endures intense sadness. And this grieving is one more example of the [[molis]] or cost or burden of founding a great city such as Rome. Juturna tries to [[persuasion|persuade]] Turnus to hold back, but he rushes out to battle with Aeneas.

At this point, finally, there is a single [[combat]] between the two great warriors: [[Aeneas]] for the [[Trojans (Aeneid)|Trojan]] side, and [[Turnus]] for the [[Latins (Aeneid)|Latin]] side. Jupiter puts the fate of the battle in [[scales (measurement)|scales]]. It is fated that Aeneas will win the battle.
{{Image|Aeneas and Turnus.jpg|right|350px|alt=Painting of a battle with swords.|Aeneas and Turnus battling. Painting by Luca Giordano (1634-1705).}}

Aeneas and Turnus battle.

Turnus' [[sword]] breaks at one point, and he runs, being pursued by Aeneas. Jupiter persuades Juno to stop protecting Turnus, and she agrees, provided that the Trojans abandon their own [[language]] and adopt [[Latin (language)|Latin]] as the [[official language]] of the Romans. This reflects what actually happened in [[history]]; when the Romans and Latins battled, Rome won, but the Latin language prevailed.

A [[Fury]] is sent to separate [[Juturna]] and [[Turnus]], and the Fury prevents Turnus from hitting Aeneas with a [[boulder]]. Aeneas wounds Turnus in the leg. At this point, Turnus finally loses his stubbornness, and consents to Aeneas' marriage to Lavinia, and he says to Aeneas "Lavinia is yours", and agrees that Aeneas has won the battle. While Aeneas is about to consent, he sees the [[sword-belt]] of [[Pallas]] on Turnus, and his [[furor]] is restored, and despite the brief [[hesitation]], Aeneas kills Turnus.

==Comparisons with the Iliad and Odyssey==

See [[Comparisons between the Aeneid, Iliad, and Odyssey]]

There are numerous comparisons between these three epics. In many respects, Virgil deliberately copied the form and structure of the previous two epics as a literary salute to his forebears, as well as used the exact same rhyme scheme called [[dactylic hexameter]]. But the Aeneid is much more than a copy of the previous works, but a significant work in its own right. The Aeneid had a similar storyline to the [[Odyssey]] in its first part, and was similar to the [[Iliad]] in its second part. Virgil based the Aeneid on his extensive study of both Greek epic poems, and this reflected the established literary practice of paying homage and respect to previous writers. It wasn't [[plagiarism]] or cheating since Virgil built a new story with new themes from the original material. That is, the Aeneid wasn't merely a "Roman Odyssey" or "Roman Iliad". But the Aeneid follows a pattern of extensive cultural borrowing by Rome of Greek culture and civilization. Romans gave Latin names to the Greek gods, so that "Zeus" (Greek) became "Jupiter" (Latin). Romans copied Greek lyric poetry and history extensively, and Roman literature followed models set by the Greeks. Both the Iliad and Odyssey begin with the Latin words "arma virumque cano" ("I sing of arms and a man"). There are numerous parallels as well as inversions throughout the epic.

==Further information==
See the excellent lectures by scholar [[Elizabeth Vandiver]] from the Teaching Company (audio CD) courses on ''The Aeneid'' (1999).

==References==
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