Turnus

Turnus is a legendary figure in Roman mythology who appears as the king of the Rutuli in Latium. He is Virgil’s principal antagonist in the Aeneid, an epic poem written in the late 1st century BCE. Turnus leads the Latin resistance against Aeneas’s settlement in Italy and is the rival for the hand of Lavinia, Latinus’s daughter, a central source of the conflict that drives the narrative.

In the Aeneid, Turnus commands the Latin coalition and wages war to prevent Aeneas from founding a new Trojan state in Italy. He demonstrates courage and tactical skill, repeatedly challenging Aeneas and his Italic allies. Notably, in Book 10 he kills Pallas, Evander’s young ward, an act that intensifies Aeneas’s resolve and deepens the personal grievance that fuels the climactic conflict.

The climactic confrontation occurs in Book 12, when Aeneas and Turnus engage in single combat. Turnus fights with valor, but Aeneas ultimately defeats him; Turnus pleads for mercy, and Aeneas kills him. The death of Turnus represents the violent culmination of the struggle between the destined founders of Rome and the existing Italian powers, marking the transition toward the establishment of Aeneas’s new homeland.

Character and legacy wise, Turnus is often seen as a noble yet impetuous adversary, embodying themes of pride, fate, and resistance to Rome’s founding. His portrayal as the chief antagonist provides a counterpoint to Aeneas’s piety and duty, and he remains a central figure in discussions of Roman myth and epic tradition.

See also: Aeneid, Rutuli, Lavinia, Latinus, Aeneas.