The Goddess Juno, Turnus’s patron and Aeneas’s enemy, has gone to great lengths to avoid a duel between the two to decide the outcome of the conflict between the Trojans and the Latins. Now, however, as the fortunes of war have turned against the Latins, it looks as though it is finally going to happen. At the duelling ground, Aeneas and King Latinus swear to abide by the outcome. Aeneas goes further, and swears that, if he wins, he will not treat the Italians as a conquered people, but will live harmoniously with them in a spirit of justice and equity. As we will see, the actions of others could be seen as freeing him from his oath, but Virgil’s Roman audience would know – or believe – that this was the course that history had indeed taken. In describing how the human conflicts and aspirations that give the Aeneid its theme will be resolved, this is an important part of the poem’s ending.
See the illustrated blog post here.
To follow the story of Aeneas in sequence, use this link to the full Pantheon Poets selection of extracts from the Aeneid; see the next episode here.
To listen, press play: