Theme Of Pietas In The Aeneid

In the Aeneid, Virgil has the Trojans, especially Aeneas, possess a strong sense of duty towards their fellow Trojans that outranks their own will and the wishes of their families, to show the civil war stricken Romans the importance of a solid community bond and putting the needs of the community above ones self in ensuring the stability and greatness of their society. The duty that exists between the Trojans can be likened to a devoted brotherly love, which is exemplified in the relationship between Nisus and Euryalus, as Nisus charged Euryalus’ killer, only to die himself, due to his deep emotional connection to his fellow Trojan. This event also possess parallels to Aeneas’ final battle, as it is his love for Pallas that spurns his fury.

Pietas is a state of being loyal and devoted to the gods, the state, and one’s ancestry. This loyalty and devotion are often highly religious, hence Pious Aeneas, and invoke an idea of duty towards other Romans. This conception of loyalty and devotion towards fellow members of the state invoke a feeling of brotherly love towards one another. Throughout the Aeneid, this devotion to each other is clearly evident, as there is often a pair of Trojans with a deep emotional bond. This is most evident in Book IX of the Aeneid, during Nisus’ and Euryalus’ version of the Iliad’s nighttime killing spree. Unlike in the Iliad, their plan goes badly, as Euryalus is discovered by the enemy and slaughtered in front of Nisus, who was still unseen to enemy forces. Instead of running away back to base and live another day, however, Nisus is awestruck with grief over Euryalus’ death, which prompts him to suicidally charge the men who killed his friend. In doing this, Nisus is exemplifying Roman pietas, due to his devotion to his partner over what may seem best for himself. This scene can be likened to Turnus’ death, as Aeneas, like Nisus, has such a strong sense of duty towards his compatriots that instead of doing what he desired at first, to spare Turnus, he kills Turnus because of the pure emotional connection that he shares with Pallas. This pure emotional connection with one’s fellow man is pietas, which Aeneas himself embodies. Virgil is attempting to stress the importance of the bond that should exist between all Romans by having Aeneas, the embodiment of religiousness and dutifulness, kill Turnus due his strong relationship with Pallas. As evident by the relationship between Nisus and Euryalus and later Aeneas and Pallas, Virgil is conveying the need for a strong community spirit, where people can get along with one