Turnus is dismayed to find his sword has shattered with his first strike of the duel. How could his father's sword, forged by Vulcan betray him?

Task: before studying this section, you could consider two moments earlier in the book that help explain what happens in this section:

Their charioteers stood around eagerly patting their echoing chests, with the flat of their hands, and combing their flowing manes. Turnus drew a breastplate, stiff with gold and pale bronze, over his shoulders, fitted his sword and shield in position, and the horns with their crimson crest: the god with the power of fire had wrought the sword for his father, Daunus, and dipped it, glowing, in the waters of the Styx. Then Turnus gripped his strong spear firmly, that stood leaning on a great column in the middle of the hall, a spoil won from the Auruncan, Actor, shook it till it quivered and shouted ‘Now, o spear that never failed my call, now the time has come: Actor, the mightiest, carried you, and now the right hand of Turnus: allow me to lay low the body of that Phrygian eunuch, tear off and shatter his breastplate with my powerful hand, and defile his hair with dust, that’s curled with a heated iron, and drowned in myrrh.

He spoke: ‘Now, sister, now fate triumphs: no more delays: where god and cruel fortune calls, let me follow. I’m determined on meeting Aeneas, determined to suffer death, however bitter: you’ll no longer see me ashamed, sister. I beg you let me rage before I am maddened.’ And, leaping swiftly from his chariot to the ground, he ran through enemy spears, deserting his grieving sister, and burst, in his quick passage, through the ranks.

Consider:

i) Which weapon of Turnus is the most special? What does Aeneas have that makes this even more interesting?

ii) What sort of mood is Turnus in when he returns from his chariot (driven by Juturna disguised as Metiscus) and into the battle?

When you have finished translating and discussing this passage, you should be able to answer the following:

1. How do Turnus’ initial actions epitomise his character?

2. Why do you think Virgil uses the tense he does for the initial verbs of this section?

3. What does the phrase fama est (735) introduce and why does Virgil do so?

4. Write down and translate all the words that describe the sword or part of the sword in this passage.