Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will understand how Virgil portrays warfare in Books 9 & 10, recognising both the celebration of martial glory and the critique of war's brutality and human cost.
Virgil's Complex Vision of War
Books 9-10 contain the Aeneid's most sustained battle narrative. Virgil inherits Homer's tradition of celebrating warrior excellence, but he complicates it: war is simultaneously glorious and horrific, heroic and futile, necessary and devastating. This ambivalence defines the Aeneid's distinctive voice.
Glory and Horror
Epic Glory
Virgil depicts war with full epic magnificence. Warriors are compared to lions, storms, rivers in flood. Their aristeia (moments of supreme excellence) receive elaborate description. Turnus rampages "like Mars himself"; Aeneas blazes with divine armour. The poetry celebrates their power and courage.
Individual Heroism
Warriors are named and individualized. Nisus and Euryalus receive elaborate characterization; Pallas's youth and promise are emphasized; even minor casualties get brief biographies. This Homeric technique elevates individuals above the mass of nameless deadâthese are heroes, not statistics.
But Also Horror
Yet the same poetry that celebrates also horrifies. The violence is graphic: spears through chests, severed limbs, bodies trampled, blood pooling. Nisus and Euryalus kill sleeping menâdefenseless victims named and humanized. The horror isn't separate from glory; it IS the glory.
Dual Perspective
Virgil forces readers to hold both perspectives simultaneously. Turnus is magnificentâand also cruel, mocking Pallas's corpse. The night raid shows courageâand also depicts slaughter of the helpless. War is glorious exactly because it's terrible; the courage required is real precisely because the danger is mortal.
Consider
Compare Homer's battle scenes to Virgil's. Both describe violence graphically, but Virgil adds more pathosâmothers' grief, fathers' loss, youth destroyed. Does this make Virgil more or less critical of warfare than Homer? Or is he simply more emotionally engaged?
The Violence of War
Graphic Detail
The Aeneid doesn't sanitize violence. Spears pierce shields, corselets, flesh. Bodies are described anatomicallyâwounds to groin, chest, throat specified. Blood flows; dying men gasp; corpses are trampled. This realism prevents romanticizationâwar is physically destructive.
Varieties of Death
Warriors die in multiple ways: in single combat (Pallas vs. Turnus), in mass slaughter (the night raid victims), by divine intervention (protected or doomed by gods), accidentally (wrong place, wrong time). The variety shows war's randomnessâskill matters but so does chance.
Killing the Helpless
Some deaths are particularly disturbing: Nisus and Euryalus kill sleeping, drunk enemies; Aeneas takes prisoners for human sacrifice; wounded men are finished off. These aren't fair fights but brutal realities of warfare. Even heroes commit acts that trouble moral categories.
Emotional Impact
Deaths are accompanied by grief. Euryalus's mother laments; Evander will mourn Pallas; Mezentius dies of sorrow for Lausus. The poem shows not just the moment of death but its aftermathâthe hole left in the world, the grief of survivors. Violence ripples outward.
Futility and Cost
Waste of Youth
Books 9-10 emphasize young warriors dying: Nisus and Euryalus (barely men), Pallas (Evander's only hope), Lausus (protecting an unworthy father), countless named youths. War consumes those with most to live for. Their potential dies with themâmarriages unformed, children never born, futures erased.
Strategic Futility
Individual excellence often achieves nothing strategically. Turnus breaks into the Trojan camp but forgets to open gatesâhis aristeia is militarily pointless. Nisus and Euryalus's raid failsâthey die without reaching Aeneas. Heroism doesn't guarantee success; courage doesn't ensure victory.
Cycles of Revenge
Violence breeds violence: Turnus kills Pallas; Aeneas rages in grief and kills Lausus; Mezentius returns to die avenging his son. The belt Turnus takes from Pallas will seal his own doom in Book 12. War creates endless cycles of killing and counter-killing. Where does it end?
Both Sides Suffer
Virgil's sympathy extends to Trojans and Italians alike. Pallas and Lausus are both young, both devoted, both die protecting others. Their enemies (Turnus, Aeneas) both feel the weight of killing. Neither side has a monopoly on virtue or suffering. War destroys indiscriminately.
Consider
Jupiter declares that the war serves fateâRome must be founded. But does fate justify the cost? Hundreds die so Aeneas can found a city his great-descendants will build. Is this necessary sacrifice or tragic waste? Virgil gives no clear answer.
The Divine Role in War
Gods as Aggressors
The gods don't just observe; they actively intervene. Juno sends Iris to urge Turnus to attack; Allecto had earlier inflamed both sides; Venus advocates for the Trojans. Divine intervention escalates mortal conflictsâwould the war be as destructive without divine meddling?
Jupiter's Neutrality
In Book 10's council, Jupiter declares neutrality: "The Fates will find their way." But is this wisdom or abdication? He refuses to stop Juno and Venus from interfering. His neutrality allows the war to continue. Is fate something even Jupiter cannot control, or is he choosing not to intervene?
Divine Limits
Even gods cannot save their favorites. Hercules weeps for Pallas but cannot interveneâJupiter forbids it. Venus cannot prevent Turnus from killing Pallas. Juno can delay Turnus's death but not prevent it. The gods are powerful but not omnipotent. Fate constrains even them.
Theodicy Problem
If the gods exist and care about mortals, why do they allowâor causeâsuch suffering? Virgil raises this question but doesn't resolve it. The divine order seems arbitrary: some are favored, others doomed, and the reasons aren't always clear. War reveals the gods' limitations and perhaps their indifference.