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Tullus Aufidius is a Volscian general who, like Coriolanus, is a warrior of legendary ability. However, in their numerous encounters on the battlefield, Aufidius has never managed to best his Roman foe. This fact has led Aufidius to the point of obsession with Coriolanus, and he spends much of his time oscillating between feelings of envy and respect, always looking forward to their next encounter. Coriolanus has similar feelings about Aufidius, whose rivalry he seems to cherish like a close friendship. The emotional charge between the two men becomes apparent when the exiled Coriolanus tracks Aufidius down in Antium, and they literally and figuratively embrace in collaboration against Rome. The nascent homoeroticism between these warriors becomes especially clear when Aufidius compares his excitement at Coriolanus’s arrival to his own wedding night: “But that I see thee here, / Thou noble thing, more dances my rapt heart / Than when I first my wedded mistress saw / Bestride my threshold” (4.5.128–31). Ultimately, however, Aufidius succumbs to his jealousy of the great Coriolanus and plots his assassination in the streets of the very city he once conquered. He briefly revels in the victory his political canniness has won before mourning the death of a great man—and, with it, the death of a great rivalry.
