In Vergil's Aeneid , Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas. Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to the Trojan prince. Juno, determined to see Trojan defeat, prompts Turnus to demand a war with the new arrivals. King Latinus is greatly displeased with Turnus, but steps down and allows the war to commence. For other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). ... The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BCE (between 29 and 19 BCE) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. ... The Rutuli were members of a legendary Italian tribe. ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... In Roman mythology, Lavinia was the daughter of Latinus and Amata. ... Latinus or Latinos in Greek mythology, in Hesiods Theogony, was the son of Odysseus and Circe who ruled the Tyrsenoi, that is the Etruscans, with his brothers Agrius and Telegonus. ... Juno can refer to: Space exploration, rockets Juno (spacecraft), NASA mission to Jupiter. ...

During the War between the Latins and the Trojans (along with several other Trojan allies, including King Evanders' Arcadians), Turnus proves himself to be hot-headed but brave. In Book IX, he nearly takes the entire fortress of the Trojans after defeating many opponents, but is saved from death by Juno. Arcadians can be either of: the residents ofArcadia,Greece in the Peloponnesus Arcadians, a [[computer game]yay!!!!] by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron See also Arcadia (disambiguation). ...

In Book X, Turnus slays the son of Evander, the young prince Pallas. Enraged, Aeneas seeks out the Rutulian King with full intent of killing him. The narrator of the Aeneid marks the death of Pallas by mentioning the inevitable downfall of Turnus. To prevent his death at the hands of Aeneas, Juno conjures a ghost apparition of Aeneas, luring Turnus onto a ship and to his safety. Turnus takes great offense at this action, questioning his worth and even contemplating suicide. Pallas Athena. ...

In Book XII, Aeneas and Turnus duel to the death; Aeneas gains the upper hand amidst a noticably Iliad-esque chase sequence (Turnus and Aeneas run around the lines of men several times, similar to the duel of Achilles and Hector). Turnus begs Aeneas to either spare him or give his body back to his people, but Aeneas declines and finishes him. The last line of the poem describes Turnus' unhappy passage into the Underworld.

Turnus' supporters included Latinus's wife, Amata, Mezentius, the deposed king of the Etruscans, and Queen Camilla of the Volsci, who helped him fight Aeneas. In Roman mythology, Amata was the wife of King Latinus of the Latins. ... In Roman folklore, Mezentius was an Etruscan King and father of Lausus. ... The Etruscan civilization existed in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman Republic. ... In Roman folklore, Queen Camilla of the Volsci was the daughter of King Metabus and Casmilla. ... The Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. ...