Editing Turnus

{{short description|Mythical character King of the Rutuli}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{hatnote|A satirical poet of the time of [[Nero]] and [[Vespasian]] also bears this name.}}
[[File:Aeneas and Turnus.jpg|thumb|325px|''Aeneas defeats Turnus'', [[Luca Giordano]], 1634–1705. The female figure on the left is Venus, Aeneas' mother, who supported him during the battle. The female character on the right is Turnus' sister [[Juturna]], who was forced by a Fury sent by Jupiter (depicted as a black bird) to abandon Turnus.]]

'''Turnus''' ({{langx|grc|Τυρρηνός|Tyrrhênós}}) was the legendary King of the [[Rutuli]] in [[Roman history]], and the chief antagonist of the hero [[Aeneas]] in [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''.

According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph [[Venilia]] and is brother of the nymph [[Juturna]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harrison|first1=Stephen J|title=Oxford Classical Dictionary|date=7 March 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6606 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6606|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

==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 [[Cato the Elder|Marcus Porcius Cato]]'s ''[[Origines]]''. Turnus is also mentioned by [[Livy]] in his ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri|Ab Urbe Condita]]'' and by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] in his {{lang|grc|Ρωμαϊκή Αρχαιολογία}} (''Rômaïkê Archaiologia'', "''Roman Antiquities''"), both of which come later than the ''Aeneid''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Quartarone|first1=Lorina|title=The Origins of Turnus, Vergilian Invention, and Augustan Rome|journal=Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae|date=March 2015|volume=55|issue=1–4|pages=379–392|doi=10.1556/068.2015.55.1-4.26|url=http://real.mtak.hu/44351/1/068.2015.55.1-4.26.pdf}}</ref> Turnus is mentioned in the [[Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)|Pseudo-Jasher]], along with Angeas of Africa. <ref>Jasher, Chapter 60</ref>

In all of these historical sources, Turnus' heritage is unclear. Dionysius calls him ''Tyrrhenus'', which means "[[Etruscans|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 (mythology)|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 of Pallene|Evander]]'s [[Arcadia (ancient region)|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 (son of Evander)|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.<ref name=west>{{cite journal |title=The Deaths of Hector and Turnus |first=David |last=West |journal=Greece & Rome |year=1974 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=21-31 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/642548}}</ref> Aeneas throws his spear, but misses, and it gets stuck in a sacred olive tree.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tree Violation and Ambivalence in Virgil|first=Richard F. |last=Thomas |journal=[[Transactions of the American Philological Association]] |year=1988 |volume=118 |pages=261-273 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/284171}}</ref> Aeneas, in an [[Iliad]]-esque chase sequence (Aeneas pursues Turnus as Achilles chased Hector<ref name=west/>), 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.<ref name=west/> 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]], [[Mezentius]]; and Queen [[Camilla (mythology)|Camilla]] of the [[Volsci]], allies in Turnus' fight against Aeneas, the Trojans, and their allies.

==In later literature==
The ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' connected Turnus with the [[Turoni]], and the city of [[Tours]]: "{{bracket|[[Brutus of Troy]]}} was exiled on account of the death of Turnus, slain by Aeneas. He then went among the [[Tribes of Gaul|Gauls]] and built a city of the Turones, called Turnis [Tours]".<ref>{{cite book | first=Hans | last=Matter | title=Englische Gründungssagen von Geoffrey of Monmouth bis zur Renaissance | lang=de | publisher=Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung | publication-place=Heidelberg | year=1922 | url=https://archive.org/details/englischegrndu00mattuoft/page/80 | page=80 }}</ref> In the [[Middle English]] poem ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'', the [[Pearl Poet|unknown poet]] cites as a parallel to Brutus of Troy's founding of Britain, that of an unidentified "Ticius" to [[Tuscany]]. 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]], '[[Langobard|Langeberde]]', and Brutus".<ref>
{{cite journal|title=Ticius to Tuskan, GGK, Line 11|last=Chapman|first=Coolidge Otis|journal=[[Modern Language Notes]]|volume=63|number=1|date=Jan 1948|pages=59–60|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|location=[[Maryland]]|jstor=2908652|issn=0149-6611|doi=10.2307/2908652}}</ref>
In Book IX of John Milton's ''[[Paradise Lost]]'', 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]]", due to his Greek ancestry and his fierceness.<ref>Virgil, ''The Aeneid'', trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, 2006, p. 422.; OCT 6.89.</ref>  According to [[Barry B. Powell|Barry Powell]], he may also represent [[Mark Antony]] or local peoples who must submit to Rome's empire.<ref name="Powell">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.</ref>  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]].<ref name="Powell"/>

==References==
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==External links==
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