Turnus
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Turnus(Ancient Greek:Τυρρηνός,romanized:Tyrrhênós) was the legendary King of theRutuliinRoman history,and the chief antagonist of the heroAeneasinVirgil'sAeneid.
According to theAeneid,Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymphVeniliaand is brother of the nymphJuturna.[1]
Historical tradition
[edit]While there is a limited amount of information in historical sources about Turnus, some key details about Turnus and theRutulidiffer significantly from the account in the Aeneid. The only source predating the Aeneid isMarcus Porcius Cato'sOrigines.Turnus is also mentioned byLivyin hisAb Urbe Conditaand byDionysius of Halicarnassusin hisΡωμαϊκή Αρχαιολογία(Rômaïkê Archaiologia,"Roman Antiquities"), both of which come later than theAeneid.[2]Turnus is mentioned in thePseudo-Jasher,along with Angeas of Africa.[3]
In all of these historical sources, Turnus' heritage is unclear. Dionysius calls himTyrrhenus,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 theAeneid.
Virgil'sAeneid
[edit]Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor ofLavinia,the only daughter ofLatinus,King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to the 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 KingEvander'sArcadians), 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 son of Evander, the young princePallas.As he gloats over the killing, he takes as a spoil of war Pallas' sword belt and puts it on. Enraged, Aeneas seeks out the Rutulian King 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 his safety. Turnus takes great offense at this action, questioning his worth and even contemplating suicide.
In Book XII, Aeneas and Turnus duel to the death; Aeneas gains the upper hand amidst a noticeablyIliad-esque chase sequence (Aeneas pursues Turnus ten times round, between the walls of Latium and the lines of men, much as in the duel between Achilles and Hector), 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 finishes him off. 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 theEtruscans,Mezentius;and QueenCamillaof theVolsci,allies in Turnus’ fight against Aeneas, the Trojans, and their allies.
In later literature
[edit]In theMiddle EnglishpoemSir Gawain and the Green Knight,theunknown poetcites as a parallel toBrutus of Troy's founding of Britain, that of an unidentified "Ticius" toTuscany.Although some scholars have tried to argue that "Titius" is derived fromTitus 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 inRanulf Higdon'sPolychronicon,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,"Langeberde",and Brutus".[4] In Book IX of John Milton'sParadise Lost,the story of Turnus and Lavinia is mentioned in relation to God's anger at Adam and Eve.
Interpretation
[edit]Turnus can be seen as a "newAchilles,"due to his Greek ancestry and his fierceness.[5]According toBarry Powell,he may also representMark Antonyor local peoples who must submit to Rome's empire.[6]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 ofdestiny.[6]
References
[edit]- ^Harrison, Stephen J (7 March 2016).Oxford Classical Dictionary.Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6606.ISBN978-0-19-938113-5.Retrieved21 March2018.
- ^Quartarone, Lorina (March 2015)."The Origins of Turnus, Vergilian Invention, and Augustan Rome"(PDF).Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae.55(1–4): 379–392.doi:10.1556/068.2015.55.1-4.26.
- ^Jasher, Chapter 60
- ^ Chapman, Coolidge Otis (Jan 1948). "Ticius to Tuskan, GGK, Line 11".Modern Language Notes.63(1).Maryland:Johns Hopkins University Press:59–60.doi:10.2307/2908652.ISSN0149-6611.JSTOR2908652.
- ^Virgil,The Aeneid,trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, 2006, p. 422.; OCT 6.89.
- ^abPowell, 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.