The Aeneid: Roman

Epic

Objectives:
Note parallel events in the epics of Homer
List Aeneas actions in columns: Those I
admire/Those I disapprove of

In an Oslo paper

Aeneas Actions I
Admire

Aeneas Actions I
Disapprove

The Aeneid
Author: Virgil
Culture: Roman
Time: 70-19 BC
Genre: epic poetry
Names to Know: Aeneas, Dido, Venus,
Juno, Jupiter
Themes: wandering hero, piety, devotion
to duty, stoicism

Narrative Structure
Books 1-6: The Odyssean part
Aeneas as a wandering hero like Odysseus.
His god-sent mission is to found a new
city. Essentially, once the Greeks sack
Troy, Aeneas and some Trojan ships
escape to found a new Troy.

Books 7-12: The Iliadic part

Aeneas and the Trojans at war with the
Italians and their allies.

The Roman Hero

Aeneas epithet: pious

Roman heroism: is on
behalf of the
community, not the
individual. [self
sacrifice]
Stoicism: Aeneas
subsumes his personal
desires for the good of
the community [unlike
Greek heroes who are
very individualistic].

Book 1: Aeneas in Carthage

In lines 13-49, we learn why Aeneas

suffers - the wrath of Juno.
Two reasons:

Troy (Judgment of Paris,

a past event: Paris didnt
pick Juno/Hera as the loveliest
goddess, he chose Venus)
Carthage (she knew Rome
would conquer this, her
favorite city, a future event)

The Wrath of Juno

Angry, Juno asks

Aeolus [master of
wind] to drive the
Trojan ships off
course, shipwreck
them if possible.
The bribe: she offers
Aeolus the lovely
nymph Deiopeia
Result: one shipwreck
before Neptune calms
the sea.

Arrival in Libya

Aeneas puts into

shore with only 7
ships from his fleet.
He gives a pep talk to
his men, recalling the
horrors they have
already survived
(Scylla, land of the
Cyclopes, etc.)

Venus Appeal and Jupiters

Prophecy

While the Trojans recover

onshore, Aeneas mother
Venus approaches her
father Jupiter on behalf of
her son

Jupiter had promised that

Aeneas would successfully
found a new city [Rome].

Jupiters promise: For

these I set no limits, world
or time, but make the gift
of empire without end . .
Lords of the world, the
toga-wearing Romans

Dido and the Carthaginians

Jupiter sends Mercury

down to make Dido and
her people receptive to the
Trojans.
Meanwhile, Aeneas
encounters his disguised
mother, who tells him
Didos history [Dido has
sworn never to love or
marry since the death of
her husband].
Venus also makes Aeneas
very attractive to Dido.

Aeneas comments on
himself

Book 1.500-505
I am Aeneas, duty-bound (translation of
the Latin pius), and known above high air
of heaven by my fame, carrying with me
in my ships our gods of hearth and home,
saved from the enemy. I look for Italy to
be my fatherland, and my descent is from
all-highest Jove. . . I followed the given
fates.

The Temple of Juno

Hidden in a cloud, Aeneas goes into
Carthage. He sees the temple of Juno, its
walls painted with scenes from the Trojan
War.
We know from this that the Carthaginians
are civilized; the Carthaginians are very
sympathetic to the events his city Troy
suffered.

Dido Assaulted by Eros

While Venus and Cupid infect Dido with eros

for Aeneas, Aeneas tells the Carthaginians
about the Fall of Troy and his wanderings.
Book 2: The Fall of Troy from the Trojan
Point of view.
Book 3: Aeneas wanderings, from Thrace,
Crete, Sicily, to Carthage.

Why write the Aeneid?

The emperor Augustus

told Vergil to write a
national epic as part
of his propaganda
program, to celebrate
the new golden age of
peace that Augustus
reign ushered in.
Background: Romes
many civil wars and
the death of the
Republic.

Two Mythic Traditions

Roman: Romulus

and Remus,
suckled by the shewolf, are the
founders of Rome
in 753 BCE.

Greek: The Trojan War

in 1250 BCE explains
the founding of Rome.

The Trojans and the Sack of

Troy
GREEKS-all

of the city-

states
Agamemnon and Menelaus
(the Atrides)
Achilles
Ulysses

Book 2
The warning of Laocoon (priest of
Neptune) is ignored by the Trojans
Sinons (a Greek) deceit convinces the
Trojans to bring the horse in
King Priam is killed by Pyrrhus (son of
Achilles; aka Neoptolemus)
- Aeneas (Trojan prince) takes a leading role
in the citys defense
- Aeneas Flight From Troy

Anchises = Venus
l
Aeneas = Creusa
l
Ascanius (aka Iulus)

Aeneas wants to fight

- Creusa convinces Aeneas
- Jupiter convinces Anchises

They flee, planning to meet other refugees

at a sacred shrine to Ceres outside the city
Creusa dies along the way
The rest of the family gather with the other
refugees
Aeneas leads them away from Troy

Characters:
Venus- mother of Aeneas
Ascanius/Iulus - Aeneas' son
Anchises - Aeneas' father
Juno - goddess who hates Aeneas & the
Trojans
Evander - Trojan ally; lives on site of future
Rome
Pallas - young son of Evander
Alecto - fury who instigates war

Characters:
Aeolus - Aeolus king of the winds
Andromache - wife of Hector; then wife of
Helenus
Sibyl prophetess
Etruscans - Italians who ally with Trojans
Dido - queen of Carthage
Cerberus - 3 headed dog
Charon - boatman of the underworld

Characters and Places

River Lethe - river of forgetfulness
River Styx - River Charon boats across
Turnus - Aeneas' opponent in Italy
Lavinia - Aeneas' Italian wife
Pyrrhus - on of Achilles
golden branch - Aeneas' ticket to the
underworld

Aeneas was the heroic subject of the epic

poem Aeneid, written by the Roman poet
Virgil during the reign of Augustus. It was
written to praise the new Roman Empire
and give the people a national hero.
Aeneas goes from being a man to a sort of
demi-god. The plot of the Aeneid tells of
Aeneas' escape during the Trojan War, his
romance with Dido, Queen of Carthage,
and his eventual settling in Italy and
founding of Rome.

Aeneas was the son of the goddess Venus

and Anchises, a member of Trojan royalty.
He was raised by nymphs after his birth on
Mount Ida, and when he was five years old
he was brought to Anchises. Because he
named Venus as the mother of Aeneas,
Anchises was maimed by Zeus. Aeneas
grew to be a great soldier; he was the
commander of the Dardanian troops, which
were under the high command of Hector,
son of Priam and greatest of all Trojans.

 Aeneas

fought bravely in the Trojan

War, and defended Ilium valiantly after
Achilles had driven him from Mount Ida.
Aeneas was seriously wounded, but his
mother and Leto pulled him from the
battlefield, and Artemis healed him.
Apollo urged him to return and
challenge Achilles for domination, but
Poseidon refused to let him return,
saying that destiny would decide the
eventual ruler of Troy.

 When

Aeneas could no longer

defend Troy, Aeneas fled, carrying
his father on his back. He also took
the household gods of the Trojans
(penates) with him. Aeneas' wife,
Cresa, became separated from
him and perished; their son
Ascanius remained with Aeneas.

In the summer, Aeneas sailed away with

twenty shiploads of men. They intended to
sail to Thrace, but the ghost of Polydorus,
the son of Priam, warned them away. They
sailed on to the island of Delos, where the
king Anius, an old friend of Anchises,
advised them to seek their "ancient
mother." Anchises thought that this
referred to the island Crete, so they sailed
there. However, Aeneas met with much
misery and famine on Crete. The penates
told them to sail on to Italy.

 As

Aeneas sailed on, he met with

several misadventures. He and his
ships were plundered by the
Harpies near the Strophades
Islands, and on the island of Sicily
they barely escaped the fate of the
Cyclopes. Anchises, the father of
Aeneas, died on Sicily.

One of Aeneas' greatest and most powerful

enemies was Juno. She resented the fact
that Aeneas was the son of Venus, and
also still held a grudge that Paris, a Trojan,
chose Venus as the most beautiful. She
also knew that Rome, the city Aeneas
would someday found, would destroy
Carthage, her favorite city. No doubt, Juno
wanted Aeneas to die. However, it was
already foretold by the Fates that Aeneas
would eventually found Rome. This did not
stop Juno from trying, however.

She requested that Aeolus, keeper of the

winds, create a tremendous storm that
would sink Aeneas and his men. In return
Juno promised Aeolus the most beautiful
of the nymphs as a bride. Poseidon,
however, did not approve of anyone
messing with his seas, nor of Juno's
meddling, so he quietly allowed Aeneas to
survive the storms. He and his ships
landed at Carthage.

Carthage had been founded by a woman

named Dido, and she was still queen at
the time of Aeneas' arrival. She was very
beautiful, and a widow. As Aeneas was a
widower, Juno saw this as a perfect
opportunity to have Dido and Aeneas fall
in love with each other, thereby keeping
Aeneas from ever reaching Italy. However,
Venus intervened first, and had Cupid
shoot an arrow into Dido.

Then Venus disguised herself as a huntress

and told Aeneas and his best friend,
Achates, to go to Carthage to meet the
queen. Venus also clouded them in a mist
so that they could reach the queen without
being harmed or detained. Upon seeing
Aeneas, Dido, known for having a heart of
stone, fell deeply in love.

Dido held a huge feast for Aeneas and his

men. Aeneas told his tale of misery, and of
the fall of Troy. Afterwards, Dido told him
that all she had was his to share. She did all
she could for Aeneas and his men. All she
asked for in return was Aeneas' love. As
time passed, the idea of leaving the
paradise and the arms of a beautiful queen
seemed more and more difficult. Juno was
quite pleased with the events, but Jupiter
had to make sure the Fates were obeyedeven he did not go against their will. Jupiter
had Mercury go to Carthage and speak with
Aeneas.

Mercury asked Aeneas, "How long are you

going to waste time here in idle luxury? The
ruler of heaven himself has sent me to you.
He bids you depart and seek the kingdom
which is your destiny." Aeneas at once felt
invigorated with the task that lay ahead,
but at the same time he did not want to
hurt Dido. So, he told his men to secretly
prepare a ship for immediate departure.
Dido found out, and ran to Aeneas. She
begged him not to leave, saying that she
loved him and was good to him beyond any
other. Aeneas admitted that he, loved her,
but he had not married her and was free to
leave when he chose.

He also said he had been commanded by

Jupiter to depart. She again pleaded with
him; however, her voice broke with tears,
and she fled and hid. With that, Aeneas and
men left very quickly. With a word Dido
could have killed them all, but they escaped
without injury. When he looked back on
Carthage, Aeneas noticed a huge fire. He
then knew it was a funeral pyre, for Dido
had killed herself.

Aeneas and his men made it to Italy with

little trouble, but a huge storm had killed
his pilot, Palinurus. The prophet Helenus
had told Aeneas that when he reached Italy
he would have to seek out Sibyl, who
would tell him what he must do. She said
she must guide him into the Underworld,
where Aeneas' father Anchises would tell
him where to settle. First, Aeneas and
Achates had to find the golden bough,
which would allow Aeneas to enter and
leave the Underworld.

They found the golden bough with the

assistance of Venus, who led them to it with
two of her doves. Sibyl and Aeneas
immediately started on their way to Hades.
Along the way Aeneas encountered almost
every imaginable misery, but he was brave
enough to go on. Charon, the ferryman, did
not want to take Aeneas across, but when
he saw the golden bough he relented. Then
Sibyl threw a drugged honey cake to
Cerberus who ate it hungrily. The cake soon
had its effect, for the monster slumped
forward and slept, allowing them to pass by
safely.

Later, Aeneas and Sibyl came to the Fields

of Mourning, where those driven to suicide
by unrequited love must remain. There
Aeneas saw Dido. This greatly moved
Aeneas, and he shed many tears for his and
her misery. Finally Aeneas and Sibyl came
to the Elysian Fields, the final home of
Anchises. It was a paradise of fields and
trees, where peace and happiness were
everywhere.

On the other side of Lethe, the river of

forgetfulness, Anchises showed Aeneas his
future descendants, the Romans. Anchises
told the deeds of several, men that time
would never forget. Anchises then told
Aeneas how to best forge his way to
establish his city. The two men parted, and
Aeneas returned to Earth.

Back in Italy, things could have gone quite

smoothly if it had not been for Juno, who
was still out to destroy Aeneas. Using her
wiley ways, she made the two most
powerful peoples in Italy, the Latins and
Rutulians, bitter enemies of the Trojans.

Latinus, a great-grandson and King of the

city Latium, had been told by the spirit of
his father Faunus to make sure that his
daughter and only child, Lavinia, should not
marry a man of Italy, but only a foreigner.
The children of Lavinia and the foreign man
would be a race that would rule the world.
Therefore, when Aeneas arrived in Italy,
Latinus thought that he had found his man.
Latinus received Aeneas and his party, and
swore his friendship. He also told Aeneas of
his daughter, forbidden to marry anyone
but a foreigner.

Juno, however, had other designs. She

commanded one of the Furies, Alecto, to
have war waged over the land. Alecto had
a three-pronged plan to do so. First, Alecto
gave Queen Amata, wife of Latinus, the
idea that any marriage between her
daughter Lavinia and Aeneas should be
forbidden.

Alecto then went to Turnus, King of the

Rutulians, and convinced him that any man
that married Lavinia should be a mortal
enemy; at the time, Turnus was a favored
suitor of Lavinia. At once Turnus gathered
an army and marched on Latium to prevent
any treaty between the Trojans and King
Latinus.

The third part of Alecto's was the most

devious and staged. In the fields of the
Latins there lived a tame stag; it was so
gentle and beautiful, and the girl that
tended it was so well loved, that all the
farmers and their families revered it, and it
was famous throughout the lands. Anyone
that killed it would have been punished. A
foreigner would have been killed on sight.
Such a crime would have brought the entire
nation against the perpetrator. Alecto
decided that the perpetrator would be
Aeneas' young son, Ascanius.

One day, when he was out hunting with his

young friends, Ascanius was led by the Fury
to the stag, where Ascanius shot and
wounded the stag. The stag ran to its home,
and died in the arms of its mistress. Alecto
them made sure that news spread quickly,
so that all the farmers of the land wanted
the head of young Ascanius and any other
Trojan they found. This news reached King
Latinus at the same time that he learned of
the stag's death, and the arrival of King
Turnus at his gates. With his wife also
furious at him, Latinus, quite old, decided
that he would retire to his castle and let fate
decide the results.

The entire city was ready for a war, and

Aeneas had no help from any natives.
Fighting against the Trojans were the
Rutulians, the Latins, and a band of warrior
women led by the maidenCamilla. Aeneas'
only hope came in the form of a dream,
where Father Tiber spoke to him. He told
Aeneas to go to a poor little town ruled by a
king named Evander. Evander called his
little territory Arcady, which was the name
of his former land in Greece during the
Golden Age.

Near Arcady lived the Etruscans, who were

once ruled by the king Mezentius, a cruel
warrior and ally of Turnus. So cruel was
Mezentius that the Etruscans threw him out
of power. Before they could kill him,
Mezentius escaped. The Etruscans knew
Mezentius fought with Turnus, so they
might be willing to fight against Turnus and
help Aeneas. Aeneas went from Arcady to
Etruria to enlist their aid. In the meantime,
as the Rutulian army was approaching,
Aeneas told his men not to launch an
offensive.

The Etruscans sent their best soldiers, and

Evander sent his son Pallas to be a
lieutenant under Aeneas. When Aeneas
returns, there was nothing but carnage.
The Trojans and Etruscans managed to kill
all their enemies. At the end, Aeneas and
Turnus had one-on-one combat, and at this
point, Aeneas was no longer human, but
some sort of god. Once Turnus was
vanquished, peace came to Italy, and
Aeneas married Lavinia, and became the
founder of Rome.

Part I - From Troy to Italy

Aeneas was the son of Venus and the Trojan

Anchises. His son is Ascanius; his best
friend is Achates. At the end of the Trojan
war, he leaves Troy with his father and son.
The voyage is similar to that of the Greek
hero Odysseus; Vergil seems to have
wanted to give the Romans a separate but
equal heroic history to that Homer had
outlined for the Greeks in The Iliad and The
Odyssey.

The Romans admired the Greeks immensely

but needed to have their own mythic story
since they were now the rulers of the
known world. Hence, Vergil was creating a
background to demonstrate that the
Romans were every bit as good as the
Greeks, with an equally significant heritage,
with support from equally significant
divinities, with a story of similar adventures
to those Homer had outlined, and with a
prophecy for their becoming rulers of the
world that gave them a divine right to
rule.

His purpose in sailing west was to reach

Italy in Hesperia (the Western country) and
to found a city, for there had been a
prophecy to that effect. To tie this myth in
with the more common one, Vergil said
Aeneass son Ascanius would found the city
of Alba Longa, where Romulus and Remus,
who generally get credit for founding Rome,
would be born. First he and his men land on
Crete. As they leave, they encounter the
Harpies (the Hounds of Zeus). These were
monster winged creatures with an
intolerable odor, whom Zeus sometimes
sent to punish the wicked.

. Aeneas and his men are about to

overcome them when Iris, goddess of the
rainbow, intervenes and saves them. They
next stop at an island where they meet
Andromache, Hectors wife, who is now
married to the prophet Helenus. Helenus
gives Aeneas some advice about where to
go and who to look for, and how to avoid
such problems as Scylla and Charybdis
(this warning is a significant foreshadowing,
because this is their next adventure).Scylla
was a beautiful young woman whose looks
won her the attention of a merman
Glaucus.

She didnt want his attentions, so he went

to the sorceress Circe (with whom
Odysseus/Ulysses had spent some time in
dalliance, and who had turned his men into
swine) in order to get a love potion. Circe
had fallen for Glaucus herself; hence,
Scyllas spurning of him made Circe very
angry. So she took some poison to the
place where Scylla bathed and poured it
into the water; Scylla dipped into the water
and immediately turned into a monster
with serpents and dogs heads growing
from her body.

. From that time forth, she stood on a rock

in the sea, and her anger caused her to
destroy any sailor who came within reach.
Across from Scylla was Charybdis, a
gigantic whirlpool, where many ships were
lost at sea, pulled down into the maelstrom.
Hence, Scylla and Charybdis are used as a
metaphor for having to pass through major
perils that could spell doom or disaster.
Next, Aeneas and his men land on Sicily,
not knowing it is now occupied by the
Cyclopes. They are warned by one of
Odysseuss/Ulysses men who was left
behind in that earlier adventure that they
must not stay.

Next they encounter a storm brought on by

Juno, who is still mad at the Trojans because
of the Judgment of Paris, and who also fears
the Trojans because Fate had decreed one
would found Rome, which would conquer
Carthage, her favorite city. Aeolus, god of
the winds, calls up a great wind, and in the
storm Anchises dies. Neptune, who isnt
happy about Juno and Aeoluss interference
in his area of influence, calms the sea so the
Trojans can land, but not wanting to make
Juno angry, he doesnt do it before they
have been blown off course to the coast of
Africa, near the city of Carthage.

They land near Carthage, which had been

founded by Queen Dido. Juno wants Aeneas
to fall in love with Dido and settle down in
Carthage, but Venus intervenes first. She
doesnt mind him having a little affair, but
she doesnt want him to forget his duty, so
she goes to Jupiter and asks what the
future has in store. Jupiter says she
shouldnt worry; Aeneas can have his affair,
but when the time comes and he is sent for
by Jupiter, hell break off the relationships
and hence go off to fulfill the prophecy.

So Venus throws herself into the love plot

after all and sends Cupid to make Aeneas
so desirable and Dido so enflamed that
shell give him anything. Before long, Dido
and Aeneas are involved in a passionate
affair. But when the time is right, Jupiter
sends Mercury to tell Aeneas he must leave.
Dido begs him to stay, saying she has
sacrificed everything for him. His answer is
that they arent married, and he has to go.
She weeps, but he is implacable. As he sails
away, he sees a great fire burning in
Carthage. Dido has committed suicide for
love of him, and it is her funeral pyre.

Part II - Descent into the

Underworld (Book VI)

Aeneas is like many others from mythic

literature who have had to go to the
underworld, which can generally be
interpreted as ego death prior to an
expansion in consciousness and power.
Others from Greek and Roman myths who
went to the underworld include Odysseus,
Theseus, Hercules, Orpheus,
Ceres/Demeter, Pollux, and Psyche.

Helenus had told Aeneas to seek the Sibyl

of Cumae as soon as he reached Italy
because she is the wisest woman in the
world and can help him in getting the
information he needs about founding Rome
and fulfilling the prophecy. (The Sibyl, who
is equivalent for the Romans to the Delphic
Oracle of the Greeks, was once beloved of
Apollo, who offered her anything she
desired; she wished for eternal life, which
he granted, but without eternal youth.

In later literature, the Sibyl had dried and

desiccated until she had to be carried in a
cricket cagebut shes still in good shape
when she meets Aeneas.) When he finds
the Sibyl she tells him he must go to the
underworld where hell learn all he needs to
know from his father Anchises. She sends
him first to find the golden bough that will
allow him admittance to Hades. (According
to Sir James Frazer, the golden bough
figures in the mythic worship of Diana;

the priest of her sacred wood in which the

bough grows must protect the bough;
should anyone come to fight him, he must
fend them off with his life; if he is
overcome, the one who kills him must
become the new priest. The bough may be
mistletoe, which has both healing and
poisonous properties; by sympathetic
magic, the possessor of the bough can
bring in gold, because of the boughs golden
color.)

The doves of Venus lead him to it, and once

he has it in hand, the Sibyl slaughters four
black bullocks as a sacrifice to Hecate (see
above that Hecate is another form of the
moon goddess Diana, but worshipped
principally at the dark of the moon
perhaps this explains her connection in later
times to witchcraft).Once in the underworld
Aeneas and the Sibyl encounter some
abstract ideas that have been
anthropomorphized: Disease, Care (Worry),
Hunger, War, Discord, etc.

(This sounds a little like a prefiguring of the

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from
the Revelation of St. John of
Patmos.)Charon, the ferryman on the two
great rivers of the Underworld, Cocytus and
Acheron, takes them into his boat when he
sees the golden bough. They placate
Cerberus, the dog that guards the way, with
cake that has a sleeping potion in it. Next
they see Minos, one of Europas sons, who
is now judging the dead.

In particular, they encounter the wailing of

dead babies, who have experienced
untimely deaths, and those who have
been falsely accused, and in the Fields of
Mourning, they encounter those unhappy
lovers who have killed themselves. There
Aeneas encounters Dido again and
apologizes to her for leaving her, but she
is very angry and wont speak to him.
Then they come to a fork in the road. To
the left is Rhadamanthus, also a son of
Europa, who punishes the wicked.

To the right are the Elysian Fields where

the blessed dead exist and where Aeneas
will find his father Anchises. First, he must
leave the golden bough at the crossroads
on a wall that faces the fork in the road.*
Anchises takes Aeneas to the River of
Lethe, which has the water of
forgetfulness. Souls who will come into life
must drink before they incarnate. Anchises
shows Aeneas their descendants, who will
be the mighty Romans. Then he gives him
advice on how to establish his home in
Italy and overcome the trials and hardships
ahead.

This passage is important; it shows a belief

in reincarnation, which was in fact a belief
of the early Christian church (the
Pythagoreans believed in reincarnation, as
did some other groups in the ancient world)
and because it again emphasizes the
prophecy Aeneas will fulfill. It suggests that
those who will reincarnate and become
Aeneass descendants are all from the
blessed dead, good men in their past lives
who will become just rulers and citizens of
the future Rome, and hence the most
worthy to be rulers of the world.

Part III - War in Italy

ItalyWhen he returns to the upper world,

Aeneas encounters King Latinus, who wants
Aeneas to marry his daughter Lavinia. Juno
is opposed to this union, so she bids the
Fury Alecto to stir up some trouble. Alecto
first causes Latinuss wife to oppose the
marriage. Then he causes Turnus, king of
the Rutulians, to oppose the Trojans because
he wants to marry Lavinia himself. Then, he
causes Aeneass son Ascanius to shoot a
tame stag belonging to a nearby farmer.

When the farmers find out about the

killing ,they come after Ascanius. Only
when the king opens the city gates can war
be declared, and Latinus isnt planning to
open the gates. But Juno bursts the city
gates herself and causes war to start.
Opposed to Aeneas and his men in battle
are Turnus and the Rutulians, the warrior
maiden Camilla, and Menzentius, former
king of the Etruscans, whose people have
turned against him because of his cruelty.

Father Tiber (the river god) comes to

Aeneas in a dream and tells him to go
upstream to Evander, king of a little town
that someday will become Rome. Saturn
had come there fleeing Jupiter (Jupiter was
Zeus and Saturn was Chronos) and had
ruled well and wisely.Aeneas gets the
Etruscans on his side. When the battle
rages, Aeneas and his men are unbeatable.

Finally he kills Turnus, and we are given to

understand he will marry Lavinia and found
the Roman race, destined to unite and rule
the world. Aeneas gets the Etruscans on his
side. When the battle rages, Aeneas and
his men are unbeatable. Finally he kills
Turnus, and we are given to understand he
will marry Lavinia and found the Roman
race, destined to unite and rule the world.