Summary
From Olympus, Jupiter takes notice of the carnage
in Italy. He had expected the Trojans to settle there peacefully,
and he summons a council of all the gods to discuss the matter.
There, Venus blames Juno for the continued suffering of Aeneas and
the Trojans. Juno angrily responds that she did not force Aeneas
to go to Italy. Annoyed at their bickering, Jupiter decrees that
henceforth he will not help either side, so that the merits and
efforts of men will decide their ends.
Meanwhile, the Latins continue their siege of the Trojan
fortress, and Aeneas journeys back toward the battle. By this point,
the army no longer has to march, because another king, Tarchon of
Tuscany, has provided Aeneas with a fleet of ships, along with many
great warriors to augment his forces. Sped on by the sea nymphs
that were born of the Trojan fleet’s transformation, the new fleet
reaches the beach near the battlefield shortly after dawn. Turnus
spots the ships approaching and leads his troops toward the beach
to confront them. The Trojans disembark, and the battle commences.
Aeneas strikes the first blows, cutting down several
of Turnus’s men. The rest of the soldiers on both sides then fall
into the fray, and blood begins to spill. Pallas leads the Arcadians,
fighting fiercely and tipping the scales in favor of the Trojans.
Already a great warrior in spite of his youth, he dispenses death
with every blow, but attracts the attention of Turnus. Turnus swaggers
forth and challenges Pallas alone in the center of the battle. They
each toss their spears. Pallas’s weapon penetrates Turnus’s shield
and armor, but leaves only a flesh wound on Turnus. Turnus’s lance,
on the other hand, tears through Pallas’s corselet and lodges deep
in his chest, killing him. Supremely arrogant after this kill, Turnus
reaches down and rips off Pallas’s belt as a prize.
Word of Pallas’s death reaches Aeneas, who flies into
a rage. He hacks a bloody path through the Latin lines, looking
for Turnus and bent on vengeance. Terrified, some of the Latin soldiers
beg on their knees to be spared, but Aeneas slaughters them mercilessly,
and Turnus’s troops fall into chaos. Up on Olympus, Juno sees that
the battle is lost and asks Jupiter to let her spare Turnus from
death. Jupiter consents, so Juno flies down to the battlefield,
creates a phantom Aeneas, and sends the vision within sight of Turnus. He
chases the phantom onto one of the ships anchored nearby, but as soon as he boards the ship, Juno severs the
moorings and the ship floats out to sea. Powerless to return to
the battlefield, Turnus drifts until the wind carries him ashore
far down the coast.
In Turnus’s absence, the great Latin warrior Mezentius
takes up the fight. He slays many brave Trojans, but loses heart
when Aeneas takes down his son, Lausus. He confronts the Trojan
hero and casts a slew of spears at him, but the shield forged by
Vulcan holds strong. In the end, Aeneas cuts down Mezentius as well,
spelling defeat for the Latin army.
Analysis
Jupiter’s declaration that the rest of the battle will
be waged entirely without divine interference comes as a surprise,
as up to this point, humans have not had control over events. Though
a divine hand does reach down once more before the battle’s end
when Juno persuades Jupiter to let her save Turnus, Jupiter grants
Juno’s request only because Venus herself is already protecting
Aeneas. For the most part, the outcome of the battle is decided
by the valor of the soldiers themselves.
