Turnus () was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Venilia and is brother of the nymph Juturna.

Historical tradition

While there is limited information in historical sources about Turnus, some key details about Turnus and the Rutuli differ significantly from the account in the Aeneid. The only source predating the Aeneid is Marcus Porcius Cato's ''

Origines (, "Origins") is the title of a lost work on Roman and Italian history by Cato the Elder, composed in the early-2nd centuryBC. Contents According to Cato's biographer Cornelius Nepos, the ''Origins'' consisted of seven books. Book I was th ...

''. Turnus is also mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

in his ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'' and by

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

in his (''Rômaïkê Archaiologia'', "''Roman Antiquities''"), both of which come later than the ''Aeneid''. Turnus is mentioned in the Pseudo-Jasher, along with Angeas of Africa. In all of these historical sources, Turnus' heritage is unclear. Dionysius calls him ''Tyrrhenus'', which means " Etruscan", while other sources suggest a Greek ancestry. In all of these sources, Turnus and his Rutulians are settled in Italy prior to the arrival of the Trojans and are involved in the clash between the Latins and the Trojans, but there is a great deal of discrepancy in details. It appears that Virgil drew on a variety of historical sources for the background of Turnus in the ''Aeneid''.

Virgil's ''Aeneid''

Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, the only daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to Trojan prince. Juno, determined to prolong the suffering of the Trojans, prompts Turnus to demand a war with the new arrivals. King Latinus is greatly displeased with Turnus, but steps down and allows the war to commence. During the War between the Latins and the Trojans (along with several other Trojan allies, including King Evander's Arcadians), Turnus proves himself to be brave but hot-headed. In Book IX, he nearly takes the fortress of the Trojans after defeating many opponents, but soon gets into trouble and is only saved from death by Juno. In Book X, Turnus slays the young prince Pallas, the son of Evander. As he gloats over the killing, he takes as a spoil of war Pallas' sword belt and puts it on. Enraged, Aeneas seeks out Turnus with full intent of killing him. Virgil marks the death of Pallas by mentioning the inevitable downfall of Turnus. To prevent his death at the hands of Aeneas, Juno conjures a ghost apparition of Aeneas, luring Turnus onto a ship and to safety he did not choose himself. Turnus, in despair, questions his worth and even contemplating suicide. In Book XII, Aeneas and Turnus duel to the death. Turnus strikes Aeneas with his sword, but it breaks: in his haste to get to battle, Turnus had grabbed his charioteer's sword, which proved too brittle for Aeneas's new Vulcan-made armor. Aeneas throws his spear, but misses, and it gets stuck in a sacred olive tree. Aeneas, in an

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

-esque chase sequence (Aeneas pursues Turnus as Achilles chased Hector), runs after Turnus until with divine help Turnus gets his sword back (by way of his sister Juturna, who helped by Juno had taken the guise of his charioteer) and Aeneas his spear (helped by Venus). Turnus tries to lift a rock to throw at Aeneas but finds his strength failing. Aenes then throws his spear, wounding Turnus in the thigh. Turnus begs Aeneas either to spare him or give his body back to his people. Aeneas considers but upon seeing the belt of Pallas on Turnus, he is consumed by rage and kills Turnus. The last line of the poem describes Turnus' unhappy passage into the Underworld. Turnus' supporters include: his sister and minor river/fountain deity, Juturna; Latinus's wife, Amata; the deposed king of the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

, Mezentius; and Queen Camilla of the Volsci, allies in Turnus' fight against Aeneas, the Trojans, and their allies.

In later literature

The ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...

'' connected Turnus with the Turoni, and the city of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

: " was exiled on account of the death of Turnus, slain by Aeneas. He then went among the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

and built a city of the Turones, called Turnis ours. In the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

poem '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', the unknown poet cites as a parallel to Brutus of Troy's founding of Britain, that of an unidentified "Ticius" to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. Although some scholars have argued that "Titius" is derived from Titus Tatius, Otis Chapman has proposed that "Ticius" is a scribal error for what the poet intended to read as Turnus. On top of manuscript stylometric evidence, Chapman notes that in a passage in Ranulf Higdon's ''Polychronicon'', Turnus is also named as King of Tuscany. This suggests that legends in the age after Virgil came to identify Turnus "as a legendary figure like Aeneas,

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

, ' Langeberde', and Brutus". In Book IX of John Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'', the story of Turnus and Lavinia is mentioned in relation to God's anger at Adam and Eve.

Interpretation

Turnus can be seen as a "new

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

", due to his Greek ancestry and his fierceness.Virgil, ''The Aeneid'', trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, 2006, p. 422.; OCT 6.89. According to Barry Powell, he may also represent

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

or local peoples who must submit to Rome's empire.Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998, p. 602. Powell adds that in the dispute between Turnus and Aeneas, Turnus may have the moral upper hand, having been arranged to marry Lavinia first. However, Turnus must be stopped since he is running counter to the force of

destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Characters in the Aeneid Kings in Roman mythology Demigods in classical mythology