Aeneid Essay – What information do the following lines give us about the concepts

of pietas and furor? (book X, 490-500 + 809-832)

Pietas can be defined as dutiful conduct towards the gods, family, and country.
Furor can be translated as frenzy. These two passages illustrate how a state of furor
can bring about pietas, and how dutiful conduct towards the gods, family, and
country can require one to be driven into a frenzy. Both Aeneas and Turnus are
driven on by a furor which is inspired by their pietas. However, while Aeneas is
pious through and through, Turnus's pietas is temperamental. Therefore, these
passages show us that furor is not, in fact, a sign of impietas, and although his
impietas is the downfall of him, Turnus's frenzy is as pious as Aeneas's.

Aeneas's pietas compels him to avenge Pallas's death, having promised Evander to
look after his son. Thus, when Lausus stands in the way of his vengeance, the furor
(servae irae) which drives Aeneas to kill him (exigit ensem per medium...iuvenem) is
a sign of devotion to Pallas and Evander. He is clearly not blood-lust encouraging
Aeneas to kill Lausus, because, immediately following his death, Aeneas mourns
the death of Lausus and acknowledges his pious and worthy deeds (tanta...indole
dignum). Indeed, this acknowledgment and his respect (dextramque tetendit) for the
enemy is in itself a sign of his pietas. Therefore, Aeneas' furor is just another
expression of his dutiful conduct in respects to his ally.

Similarly, Turnus's pietas compels him kill Pallas and oppose the Trojans in general.
He views them as invaders and feels that it is his duty to his country to take up arms
and defend his homeland. Thus, when he kills Pallas in a frenzied state, he is
exhibiting pietas by killing someone he sees as a traitor. However, it is the actions
that follow directly after the murder of Pallas that elucidate Turnus's impietas.
Instead of respecting the enemy for his bravery and skill in combat and
acknowledging his worthiness as an enemy as Aeneas does with Lausus, Turnus,
driven by greed (quo...ovat spolio gaudetque potitus), takes Pallas's sword belt as
spoils of war (rapiens...baltei). This is the main distinction between the pietas of
Aeneas and that of Turnus. Therefore, it is not his furor that makes Turnus less pius
that Aeneas, but his greed.

The natures of pietas and furor are a major themes in the Aeneid and these
passages clearly demonstrate that they are not mutually exclusive. Both Aeneas
and Turnus are driven into a frenzied state out of devotion – Aeneas to his allies,
and Turnus to his country. However, Turnus greedily proceeds to rob his worthy
enemy for spoils while Aeneas mourns the death of a worthy man, and
acknowledges his noble deeds. Thus, it is his greed that surfaces Turnus's impietas.
Therefore, these passages show that furor is in no way a sign of impietas and that
although Turnus displays impietas immediately following, his furor is as pious as
Aeneas's.