Virgil’s Aeneid: Book XII

Paul Chrzanowski; Zachary Seprish; Lindsey Bennett

synopsis. It is decided by Latinus and Aeneas that Aeneas and Turnus will have

one final fight to decide who will claim the land of Italy. Going against the fate he knows very well of and the pleas from both King Latinus and Queen Amata, Turnus goes on to have the final fight with Aeneas. King Latinus works out a treaty in regard to Aeneas on what the victor of the fight will earn. The next day both the armies of Aeneas and Turnus gather to watch the final match of their leaders.

At this point, Juno is worried for the fate of Turnus, seeing now that Aeneas has overcome so much and that he possibly can be the victor of this battle. Even when the battle is this far from being over, Juno feels the need to intervene, and keep the Trojans from being victorious. She calls upon Turnus’ god-like sister, Juturna to keep her brother safe in the battle.

Aeneas and Turnus meet outside the gates of the city, both making their final prayers and sacrifices to the gods. Turnus seems uneasy, which is shown in his behaviorism; Aeneas seems unchanged by the fear of death. The men of Turnus’ army see this, which allows Juturna’s intervention to be successful.

synopsis.The river nymph disguises herself as the valiant warrior Camers, and

quickly begins to invoke the Rutulians to go against the pact made by their leader and the leader of the enemy army. Using the method of putting the honor of the men at stake, Juturna is able to rally the men enough for them to break out and charge the enemy lines. The Latin Tolumnius is the first to be inspired by an omen saw within the sky, and taking its meaning to heart he casts his spear which pierces directly into the Trojan lines, taking the life of one solider and breaking the peace between the armies. When the Trojans see this, they want nothing more than to seek vengeance on the broken pact and immediately charge the Latins.

Aeneas is a witness to the blind rage his Trojans are in, and with calming words attempts to pacify the anger his army is wrongly executing. When he pleads to his men, however, an arrow sent from an unknown source grazes his leg, causing him to retreat from the battle. Turnus takes the opportunity to break his sacred treaty with Aeneas at this point, riding into battle and slaying as many Trojans as he can.

While Turnus ransacks the Trojan forces, Aeneas is in the camp, tending to his wound. Even the physician cannot remove the arrow speared into his leader. Venus is feeling pity for her son, and sends down aid to the physician so Aeneas can be healed.

synopsis.Fully healed, Aeneas suits up and returns to the battle field. Many of the

Latins notice this, and begin to scatter to avoid being slain by the great Aeneas. Both the Trojan commander and the Latin Commander bring about the death of many opposing soldiers, shifting the battle back and forth, but it is not until Aeneas realizes that the city gates have been left unguarded that the battle begins to slide in the favor of the Trojans.

Aeneas and a small army of men seize Latinum, which causes Queen Atama to end her life. The people of the city panic, and it is only then that Turnus agrees to end the bloodshed and fight out the battle how it was intended: a single duel between Aeneas and himself. The two meet in the central courtyard of the city, troops circling them. The duel as intended finally begins.

The battle beings with both of the mighty warriors casting their spears at each other, with no successful hits as of yet. When Turnus lunges at Aeneas with his sword, however, the blade breaks, leaving the soldier to call upon his sister for his real blade. She completes the sword with assistance of Juno, which merits the concern of Jupiter.

synopsis.The King of Gods asks his wife why she continues to intervene in the

battle when she knows the fate of both Turnus and Aeneas. After some reconsideration, Juno realizes that there is nothing she can do to prevent or overcome Fate. The Queen of Gods gives in and agrees to forgive her grudge on both Aeneas and all of the Trojans under one condition, which Jupiter gladly agrees to. And with that, Jove sends a Fury in the form of a bird to weaken Turnus enough to be struck by one of Aeneas’ spears. The wounded Latin begs for the mercy of Aeneas, who decides to spare the enemy. However, as Aeneas agrees to spare Turnus, he catches eye of the belt of Pallas, which ignites Aeneas’ fury, causing him to kill Turnus on the spot.

The End.

aeneas vs turnus.

climax of book xii.The most significant event that we see occurring in Book XII is Juno surrendering to Fate and allowing Turnus to be defeated once and for all. This event is most significant due to the catharsis which occurs with the main antagonist to the epic hero of the book. Throughout the entire book it was Juno who brought hardship to Aeneas, and with her willing to give up her attempt to prevent the Fate of the hero from coming true came about the end of the epic.

divine involvement.

..Juno seeks the help of Juturna..

Without Juno alerting Juturna that her brother will die right in front of her to the hands of Aeneas, the Latin army would have never broken the treaty which was set for Turnus and Aeneas to duel.

..Mysterious archer aiming for Aeneas..Although no god or goddess took responsibility for the winged

arrow which struck Aeneas, neither did any of the Latin soldiers who surely would have boasted over such a feat. The result of Aeneas being injured rallied the Latins some, which lead to the slaying of many Trojan soldiers.

..Venus coming to her son’s aid..

Even a physician trained by the god of medicine himself was not able to dislodge the winged arrow from Aeneas’ leg, and without the involvement of Venus the arrow would have never been removed.

divine involvement...Juno realizes even the gods do not have authority over Fate..

When Jupiter asks why it is Juno continues to fight for Turnus when she knows quite well it was Aeneas who was fated to win, she finally realizes she is nothing above the almighty Fate, and once and for all forgives the Trojans of the grudge she held for so long.

..Jove’s final omen..

Agreeing to the terms of Juno that as long as Latin kept its name and language she would forgive the Trojans, Jove sends a Fury in the form of a bird to show it is time that Turnus quits resisting the fate he knows will happen.

character analysis: mortals. Aeneas

We learn in this book that Aeneas is a man of his word, and is willing to keep his word. However, when the tables are turned on him, Aeneas can prove to be a very strong leader and a danger to all enemies who stand in his path. In the very end, rage concurs over Aeneas’ humble personality.

TurnusTurnus has the role of main mortal antagonist to Aeneas. He is competing with the Trojan for both the city of Latium and the love of Lavainia. When Turnus was first introduced, he had a very vain personality, but with the fall of Latinum along with other events we see a catharsis of Turnus when he begs Aeneas to spare him.

JuturnaShe has great love for her brother, and is willing to do anything within her power to keep him safe. When Latium has fallen and Turnus is faced by Aeneas’ blade she breaks down, physically beating herself from an overflow of emotions.

character analysis: mortals. King Latinus

Hasn’t changed much since he was first introduced. His only request to Turnus was that he surrendered to Aeneas, but Turnus’ pride was too strong to do so.

Queen AtamaAlso begged for Turnus to not go into battle, but didn’t make any difference in his choice. She hanged herself when the city of Latium fell to the Trojans.

TomluniusThe soldier who casted a spear into the Trojan Ranks which resulted in the treaty between the Latins and the Trojans to be broken.

character analysis: immortals. Juno

She continues to try and sabotage Aeneas the best she can, but eventually Juno comes to terms with the limits of her powers. She ends up dismissing the grudge she held against the Trojans and Aeneas.

Jupiter

Helps Juno in understanding she is not above Fate, which essentially ends the conflict between Aeneas and Juno.

Venus

Once again, Venus shows up to aid her son and prevent Juno from coming out on top.

significant dialogue. Turnus > Amata

“'For I too, can cast a lance;the steel my right hand uses is not feeble;my father, blood flows from the wounds I deal.The Trojan's goddess-mother will be toofar off to shelter her retreating son,to hide him, as a woman would, withinthe same deceiving cloud that covers her.” This is the answer to the pleas Amata and Latinus have given to Turnus about

staying in the city of Latium and defending its gates rather than fighting Aeneas head-to-head. Turnus is clearly full of himself, but does prove the point that he is a strong warrior and might have the ability to hold his own against Aeneas despite the odds.

Iapyx > Aeneas“This is not the workof mortal hands or skillful art; my crafthas not saved you, Aeneas: here there isa greater one - a god- who sends you backto greater labors.”The physician who was responsible for removing the winged arrow from Aeneas

admits to not having done it on his own in this quote, and makes it evident that it was Aeneas’ goddess mother who did the healing.

significant dialogue. Aeneas > Ascanius

“From me, my son, learn valor and true labor[…]Now my arm will win security for you in battle and lead you toward a great reward: only remember, when your years are ripe, your people’s example; let your father and your uncle-both Hector and Aeneas-urge you on.”

Before returning to battle, Aeneas tells his son to watch and learn from him, for one day it might be of use to him. This quote foreshadows that one day Ascanius will be a leader who needs to have the skills his father can provide him with, but also must learn from other great people of his history.

Turnus > Aeneas “I have indeed deserved this; I do notappeal against it; use your chance. But ifthere is a thought of a dear parent's griefthat now can touch you, then I beg you, pityold Daunus- in Anchises you had sucha father- send me back...”Before Aeneas delivers the final blow which would end Turnus’ life, the Latin

has a final plea which Aeneas can directly to relate to. The theme of honoring family is represented when Turnus speaks of he grief his father would have, and how he wishes not for that to be.

symbolisms. Treaty

The treaty between Latinus and Aeneas shows that the King understands that Aeneas will be the victor of the battle, and will be the one to prevail over Turnus.

Bird-related OmenWhen the Latins catch sight of a golden-bird of Jove taking out a

small bird in the air, they take it as their sign to strike the unguarded Trojan forces.

Pallas’ Belt When Aeneas already agreed to spare Turnus, his decision was

altered when he caught sight of the disrespect Turnus had for his comrade.

Latins

Juno agreed to forgive her grudge on the Trojans under the condition that they kept the name of the city and the language the same. The Latins and their language were a symbol of the Jupiter keeping his promise to Juno.

motifs. Femme Fatal

Both Aeneas and Turnus are fighting for the love of Lavinia who is already destined to be the wife of Aeneas.

Fate

The Fate of Aeneas has already been reviled and is understood by both the gods and the mortals, but some still try to stand in the path of Aeneas from succeeding his sacred mission.

Fall of a City

It is when Latium falls that the Trojans’ are able to come out victorious in war.

figurative quiz.Try to determine the type of figurative language Virgil has used in the

following lines:

"And as a lion on the Punic plains [...]” (2) alliteration, simile

"[...] their light is locked in endless night“ hyperbole

"He brandishes a shaft as huge as a tree“ simile

"[...] such tremendous turmoil“ alliteration

"[...] he presses on against his trembling enemy, [...] as a hunting dog has found a stag [...]“

simile

epic conventions.

Speeches Speeches are present in this book for a few reasons:

Juturna, disguised as Camers, gives a speech to the Latins to rally them for battle.

Aeneas and Turnus both gave prayers to the gods before going into battle with each other.

Deities Intervening Throughout the entire book, Juno and Venus have been back and forth with

hurting/aiding Aeneas, and it no different in this book.

Catalogues Like in other epics that display war, there is a cataloguing of soldiers from both

sides of the army and what they have accomplished in battle.

Epithets Phrygian Tyrant – Aeneas All-Able Father – Jupiter

Lord of Fire – Vulcan Sun and Moon – Apollo and Diane

Saturnia – Juno Two-Faced – Janus

final opinion. Now that you’ve read the Aeneid, what did you think of the

ending? If you could change anything, would you? Explain. Do you think that Aeneas has fulfilled his fate?