The Aeneid: Book 11 Summary & Analysis

The next morning dawns. Aeneas sets up a display of Mezentius's armor as an offering to Mars. Despite his sadness about Pallas's death, he speaks positively to his men, telling them they have fought well, and now they can bury their dead. Afterward, Aeneas cries over Pallas's body, devastated to have broken his promise to Evander to bring his son back safely. He sends a thousand men to bear Pallas's body back to Evander.

Returning to the camp, Aeneas finds a delegation of Latins carrying olive branches, asking for a temporary truce during which they can bury their dead. Aeneas criticizes them for fighting, explaining that he was fated to come here to make his home, and that they should have been friends. Aeneas says that Turnus should have stayed to fight him, because one of their deaths would have ended the war. Finally, Aeneas agrees to the truce. Drances, a Latin, praises Aeneas's war skills and declares that he (and King Latinus too) would rather be Aeneas's ally than Turnus's. They agree on twelve days of truce.

Pallas's funeral procession reaches Evander. Evander flings himself onto the corpse, sobbing, and gives a tragic speech. He wishes he had died instead of Pallas, but doesn't blame the Trojans, and declares that Pallas will receive a Trojan-style burial. A description of the various funerals follows, showing that both the Latins and the Trojans equally mourn their fallen.

The Latins, urged on by Drances, want to separate themselves from Turnus, who caused all the suffering. In Book 8, a Latin delegation traveled to ask King Diomedes, a Greek now living in Italy, to ally with them against Aeneas. Now that delegation of Latins returns with news that Diomedes doesn't want to ally, because he's fought the Trojans enough and doesn't want more of the misery of war. Hearing this in a council meeting, Latinus declares that the war was against fate anyway. He chooses a piece of land near the Tiber to give the Trojans, so they can be friends. If the Trojans don't want that, the Latins will build the Trojans twenty ships to continue on their way. Latinus calls for a hundred men to bring peace gifts to the Trojans.

Drances, the elderly Latin, isn't satisfied. He still hates Turnus, and with an angry, convincing speech, he tells Latinus to promise Lavinia to Aeneas. Then he speaks directly to Turnus, telling him either to surrender or to go meet Aeneas in single combat.

Turnus responds that Drances is a good talker but doesn't back up his words with fighting. Turnus is particularly offended by the suggestion that he's been beaten. He mentions his many kills, then tells Latinus that he'll renew the battle with allies like Camilla, a ferocious warrior and queen of the Volscians. He declares that he'll fight Aeneas, even though Aeneas wears Vulcan-made armor just as Achilles did in the Trojan war.

A messenger arrives with news that Aeneas's army is on the move. The townspeople are in chaos, and Turnus uses the moment to underscore the need to keep fighting. Turnus orders his captains to gather the allied troops, and Latinus ends the council, sorry that the war must continue. The Latins fortify the city, and Amata, Lavinia and other women pray at the shrine of Minerva for victory.

Turnus eagerly arms himself, resembling a freed horse enjoying himself in the countryside. Camilla arrives, saying that she'll go meet the Trojans at the front while Turnus guards the city. Turnus explains his plan to ambush the Trojans as they walk through a constricted pathway in a gorge.

In the heavens, Diana, the goddess of the hunt, talks to another goddess named Opis. Diana describes her love for Camilla, and recounts Camilla's life story. Camilla's father Metabus, a tyrannical king, had to flee when his people revolted. He took baby Camilla with him, but when he had to cross a dangerous river, he didn't know how he would carry her. So he tied her to a spear and, with a prayer to Diana, threw her across. Camilla landed safely on the other side, where Metabus joined her. He lovingly raised her in the wilderness and she became an incredible hunter.

Since the omens suggest a bad fate for Camilla in this battle, Diana sends Opis down with a bow, to kill the man who will kill Camilla. The battle begins and various men die. In the middle of the scene of carnage, Camilla appears, with one breast bare, a brilliant and untiring fighter, and accompanied by other virgin warriors. Camilla kills multiple men with single arrows, and even slays Butes, the biggest Trojan. She mocks the Tuscans for being afraid of a woman. Tarchon, the Tuscan king, tries and fails to kill her.

Chloreus, a Trojan soldier, begins his attack on Camilla. He is dressed in particularly gorgeous, highly colored armor. Camilla pursues him, wanting his armor for herself, "afire with a woman's lust for loot and plunder," and lets her guard down. Arruns, a Trojan ally, prepares to kill Camilla. He prays to Apollo that if he can kill her he'll stop fighting and return home. Apollo grants half the prayer, and Arruns spears Camilla.

As Camilla dies, she tells her friend Acca that Turnus must come to take her place. Opis follows through on Diana's wishes, locates the fleeing Arruns, and kills him with one shot from her bow.

The Latin army falls apart after Camilla's death. The Trojan side enters the city of Lavinium and kills people right in the gateway. Turnus, who was still in the gorge waiting for the ambush, hears about the unfortunate turn from Acca and returns to the city. Just after Turnus leaves, Aeneas and his men march through the gorge. He sees Turnus from afar, but night is falling, so their reckoning will have to wait until tomorrow.