21. Study Questions Copy
- Click on the link to read an article regarding Faunus: https://pantheon.org/articles/f/faunus.html
Faunus was a god of the forest and is the father of Latinus, and it was he that said that Lavinia should be the bride of Aeneas. It might be expected that he would be assisting Aeneas here, but instead does not (as he has been honoured by Turnus, who accuses the Trojans are defiling his rites). This emphasises that although ostensibly a conflict between Italians and foreigners, the situation is far more ambiguous. In essence, it has all the characteristics of a civil war, a reference that would not have escaped the notice of contemporary audiences who would have been mindful of the decades of civil conflict in their own time.
2. Read this article on sacred trees in Virgil, Make appropriate notes to help you understand the context of these lines: http://digitalvirgil.co.uk/pvs/2011/part7.pdf .
To clear a space for the fighting to take place.
His sister Juturna ( a goddess) disguises herself as the charioteer Metiscus and gives him a sword.
She plucks out the javelin for Aeneas to use.
