The Aeneid Book 10 Ramble
Virgil really leans into his Iliad parallels with Book 10, succeeding in some places where he misses in others.
Pallas is obviously a homage to Patroclus. Both were close to the main hero, sent to battle, and then were ultimately killed by their opposing champion—Turnus.
But the payoff doesn't land the same way.
Patroclus was there from the beginning, having a history and bond that helped to build up the emotional catharsis when he died.
And Pallas? He has a boat ride with Aeneas before he's killed off.
However, Virgil isn't trying to replicate that same bond. He shifts it.
Pallas wasn't just a companion. He was entrusted to him by his father Evander.
And for someone who's meant to secure and protect a future for the next generation, the loss isn't just grief. It's failure.
And he must make sure that never happens again.
Because if he doesn't end this war soon, it might be Ascanius is the end of someone's blade.
While Turnus may claim to be the Achilles in this story, it's Aeneas who's being put in that position—but he refuses to become like him.
We see this as such when he kills Lausis who was protecting his father, Mezentheus, and he stops.
He doesn't strip his armor or weapons like Turnus did to Pallas. There's no boasting or glorification.
Just another son dying. And once again, it serves as another reminder of what the war takes: futures.
He was introduced as inhuman—violent, slashing through the battlefield like a boar—but when Lausus dies, he's stripped of that.
He goes back into battle to avenge his son or die trying.
And his one request is to be buried alongside his son.
Nothing feels heroic here.
And while Ascanius is still alive, it doesn't feel comforting.
Because for every second the war rages on, he might meet their fate, as well as that of Astyanax's.
