Aeneas Fights With Turnus Essay - 1359 Words

Aeneas Fights With Turnus In the Aeneid, Virgil describes many human qualities, problems and characteristics. Some examples which I wish to illustrate can be found in the end of epic, in the scene of the final duel between Aeneas and Turnus. Virgil also introduces a novel idea in his work. Both sides, the Trojans and the Latins, are portrayed as noble people. Even though Aeneas is fated to win, and he is the hero of the work, the opposing force, Turnus, is not portrayed as evil, but rather like a noble person in a very hard situation. Virgil deals as much with physical and psychological problems Turnus faces, being an honest and noble man, as he does with Aeneas’s problems. By the time the battle begins, Turnus knows that he will†¦show more content†¦She tried to deter Aeneas from his course to Italy while she perfectly knew that the â€Å"decision† of the Fates was otherwise. Virgil makes it clear that humans and gods alike have the same irrational and purely emotional desire to achieve that which they know cannot be achieved. This desire is present in many episodes in the book. I think that Virgil is trying to tell his readers that this desire is a very fundamental part of people. The drive to achieve the impossible is what always drove science and human advancement. Virgil is making a comment on a very integral part of the human psyche. Both Turnus and Aeneas, Venus and Juno have this characteristic. Virgil assigns the same feeling and emotions to the heroes of both sides of the story. During the duel of Aeneas and Turnus, Virgil takes another opportunity to describe the desire to oppose fate. Turnus calls out to Aeneas : â€Å"Your burning words, ferocious Trojan, do not frighten me; it is the gods alone who terrify me, and Jupiter, my enemy† (Book XII, 1189). The challenge Turnus saw coming to him was not from Aeneas, but from the gods themselves. Still, by the next line, Turnus can be observed trying to hurl a stone at Aeneas to continue the luckless fight. How eager Turnus seems to prove his honor, and die for his belief. If Turnus knew that Jupiter was against him, he did not have any doubt as to his own defeat. His death is near, and he is not afraid. A few paragraphs later however,Show MoreRelatedThe Textual Relationship Between Virgil And Lucretius1730 Words   |  7 PagesA lot of research has been done showing the textual relationship between Virgil and Lucretius. Many have noticed the unique use of gliscit by Virgil in 12.9 to describe Turnusâ €™ reaction to seeing the Latins retreat and have subsequently connected it to Lucretius, specifically passage 1.474: â€Å"ignis Alexandri Phrygio sub pectore gliscens clara accendisset saevi certamina belli†. 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