Assignment 3- Was Aeneas justified in killing Turnus? C. Brown 7D The critic R.D.

Williams does not directly judge the final actions of Aeneas in his view of the outcome. However Williams does make it clear that he feels the death of Turnus subverts and distorts the overarching themes that build throughout the poem. My view is that while there are many factors building to the final moment between Aeneas and Turnus, in the end he was not justified in killing Turnus. In order to properly understand the ending and the result of it Aeneas journey as a character throughout the poem must be examined. Over its course we watch Aeneas progress from the ideals of the Homeric hero which we see in his hopeless last defence of Troy in book 2 ... it seemed a noble thing to die in arms. Gradually however he becomes more and more dedicated to his people finally giving himself over to the cause entirely when he leaves Dido and Carthage at the end of book 4. From here onwards Aeneas represents a new set of heroic ideals focused more about self-sacrifice and the defence of those who depend on him, very Roman values. Anchises explains more of these values in book 6, they are focused around governing and imposing a peace upon a future empire, ...to pardon the defeated and war down the proud. These new values grow in power and promise right up to the end of the poem where as Williams says we expect a Triumphant climax of these Roman values. But then Aeneas kills Turnus. Suddenly these new values are thrown into doubt, because Aeneas has given in to his own selfish desires of revenge which go directly contrary to Anchises instructions to pardon the defeated. Now with an Aeneas ...burning with wild passion and terrible in his wrath (Book 12) we seem to have regressed right back to the start of his journey when Frenzy and anger (Book 2) drove him on. This failure of ideals at the climactic moment forms the crux of Williams view and as Williams says in another source the killing of Turnus runs counter to Aeneas efforts to overcome the effects of furor in himself and others. This failure of ideals is enhanced by the lack of justification Aeneas has in killing Turnus. The most obvious apparent justification is the death of Pallas at the hands of Turnus and his subsequent treatment of Pallas armour. However Pallas death is not caused by any trickery or deceit. Rather it was the fortunes of war that matched him against a warrior far his superior. Despite this imbalance it was still a battlefield and Turnus cant be expected to do anything but try to win. As for the taking of the armour W.A. Camps rightly points out in his book An introduction to Virgils Aeneid. Earlier in the book Pallas himself sys May Turnus as he dies see me tear the bloodstained armour off his body. All of Turnus actions are commonplace in the Iliad and part of the Homeric value system. While the actions justify revenge in battle as with Achilles and Hector it does not justify Aeneas killing a helpless and defeated Turnus. Aeneas words It is Pallas who exacts the penalty in your guilty blood seem wrong when Turnus killed Pallas in the heat of battle, hardly a crime to be guilty of, while Aeneas on the other hand is about to murder Turnus when he has him completely at his mercy. This leads into another idea about why Aeneas was not justified in killing Turnus, it served no purpose. Aeneas had won the combat in front of hundreds of Trojans and Latins, Turnus would have no more support to continue as a threat. Now we expect Aeneas to heed his fathers instruction ...to pardon the defeated but instead Turnus is killed despite Aeneas achieving all of the goals set by Jupiter in his prophesy on book 1. This action is a bad start to the Roman Empire and the Future worth all the sacrifices and suffering as Williams calls it. Williams view is important here as it shows how the ending should have been a

climax of heroic ideals to build the greatness of Rome upon. Instead Rome starts, perhaps fittingly, on the blood of the defeated. It must also be considered whether Turnus was acting of his own initiative. Before the fury Alecto sets him to a course of war he seems content to wait before making any major decisions regarding the Trojans who have landed. Do not invent these fears for me. He tells the disguised Alecto. This slower and more considered Turnus is a stark contrast with the rage filled man who demands war. This raises the question, if Turnus was compelled to war by the actions of Juno is it right for Aeneas to lay all blame at his feet and so decide to kill him? Of course Aeneas does not know that Turnus had been subverted by Alecto but if he had followed Anchises instructions from book 6 and pardoned the defeated the truth behind his actions would have won out. Instead Aeneas hasty actions condemn Turnus to death showing just as much of a change of character as the change Turnus goes after being twisted by the fury. But why did Aeneas himself decide to do it? Why did he decide to kill Turnus when he was entirely at his mercy? Primarily it seems to be revenge for Pallas in an almost identical way to Achilles avenging Patroclus in the Iliad. It is Pallas Aeneas makes most mention to in the final lines of the poem in his last words to Turnus ...wearing the spoils stripped from the body from the body of those I loved? Bt this wound I now give it is Pallas who makes the sacrifice of you. However it could have been in response to the guilt he felt rather than just pure sorrow for Pallas. Aeneas failed to protect the young warrior despite knowing his inexperience and now feels he must at least honour Evanders wish for Turnus to be killed in turn ...the reason, Aeneas, lies in your right arm. You know it owes the life of Turnus to the son and to the father. So Aeneas delivers it, despite this being against what his own father would have wanted. While it is clear that Aeneas personal justification for killing Turnus was rooted in vengeance for Pallas it is still not enough to make Turnus death right. It is clear that Aeneas actions were unjustified but perhaps Turnus death was not something in Aeneas control, it could have been the inevitable conclusion of the poem. The critic Otis raises an important point about why the thematic build-up of the poem requires Turnus to die. He is a relic of the Homeric type hero, emphasised throughout by constant comparisons with Achilles and Hector, he is part of an outdated social order. Williams expands on this by saying that Turnus death is an inevitable consequence of the progress of history. It could be however that Turnus death must happen due to the overarching idea of fate in the poem, Turnus himself tells his sister Juturna The Fates are too strong before confronting Aeneas for the last time. This destiny foretold by the fates is brought about by the actions of mortals and gods in the poem as well as a fair amount of luck, such as Aeneas happening to catch sight of Pallas baldric at the fatal moment. All of these actions and events come together to make Turnus death truly inevitable. In the end Williams is correct in saying Too often strength and bravery turn to hatred and violence it is certainly the case with both Aeneas and Turnus. While Williams does not directly judge Aeneas actions in his view he makes it clear that he believes Turnus should have lived. Vengeance for Pallas is an excuse rather than justification for Aeneas actions; he died in battle, hardly comparable to the cold execution of Turnus. As well as this Aeneas task was already done, Jupiters prophesy was fulfilled. Turnus death achieved nothing except reversing the steps Aeneas had made away from the frenzy and rage filled Homeric hero. However in the end it may not have been up to Aeneas, fate demanded Turnus must die and to an extent so did Virgil. Turnus represented the old type of hero like Achilles and Odysseus and had no place in the new world that was being formed. For the future Rome to come into the light Turnus had to step into the shade.