Definition: In Vergil's Aeneid [read it in English: Aeneid], Turnus was the son of King Daunus of the Italic tribe of the Rutuli and the nymph Venilia, who was a sister of the nymph Amata. Both nymphs were descendants of the river god of Argos, Inachus. In the writing of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, where Turnus' name is Tyrrhenus, Turnus has Etruscan, instead of Greek origins.
In the Aeneid, Turnus' aunt Amata's husband, Latinus, awards their daughter, Lavinia, to the newcomer, the Trojan prince Aeneas, instead of the Rutulian prince Turnus, the presumed fiance. In response, Juno dispatches a Fury to put rage into Turnus' head so he will fight Aeneas. Turnus, wearing armor with a chimera and the story of Inachus' daughter Io's metamorphosis, leads Latin forces against Aeneas. In the end, after the death of Aeneas' ally and Evander's son, Pallas, Aeneas kills the Turnus and marries Lavinia.
Also Known As: Tyrrhenus
