Messapus, (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Μέσσαπος, ''Messapos'') a character in

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...

'', appears in Books VII to XII of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

. He was a son of Neptune, a famous tamer of horses, and king of Etruria, known for being one "whom no one can fell by fire or steel" (Mandelbaum, VII.911-912).

Narrative

Combats entre Ebysus et Corynée, Messape et Aulestès, Alsus et Podalire

Although accustomed to peace, in Book VII Messapus joins forces with

Turnus Turnus ( grc, Τυρρηνός, Tyrrhênós) was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph V ...

in his battle against

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

and the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

. Book VIII lists him as one of Turnus' chief captains, along with

Ufens Ufens is a character in Virgil's ''The Aeneid'' as well as Silius' ''Punica ''Punica'' is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Lythraceae. The better known species is the pomegranat ...

and

Mezentius In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman aud ...

. In Book IX, which recounts the nighttime raid by Nisus and Euryalus on the

Rutuli The Rutuli or Rutulians were an ancient people in Italy. The Rutuli were located in a territory whose capital was the ancient town of Ardea, located about 35 km southeast of Rome. Thought to have been descended from the Umbri and the Pelas ...

an camp, the battle helmet of Messapus is taken by

Euryalus Euryalus (; grc, Εὐρύαλος, Eurýalos, broad) refers to the Euryalus fortress, the main citadel of Ancient Syracuse, and to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature: Classical mythology *Euryalus, name ...

. Light reflected off the stolen helmet, betraying

to his enemies and leading not only to his own death, but also that of Nisus. Messapus fought in battle in Book X, killing Clonius, and Ericetes son of Lycaon. In Book XI, he led a cavalry charge alongside Coras and Camilla. Book XII again lists Messapus as one of the captains of the armies, described as "brilliant in gold and purple". He threw a spear at

, taking the top off his helmet, and enraging him. At the height of the battle, Messapus and Atinas alone held the Rutulian line at the gates of Laurentum. A truce was called for Turnus and Aeneas to fight in single combat, but the Rutulians break the truce. Messapus, eager to stop the duel, charged on horseback towards Etruscan king Aulestes, who tripped and fell onto an altar and pleaded for his life. Messapus stabbed him with his spear, saying "He's had it, this nobler victim given to the mighty gods!"

Inspiration

Virgil adapted a myth from

Greek poetry Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

to create Messapus, namely the

Greek mythological A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...

figure

Cycnus :''The butterfly genus ''Cycnus'' is now synonymized with ''Panthiades. In Greek mythology, multiple characters were known as Cycnus (Ancient Greek: Κύκνος) or Cygnus. The literal meaning of the name is "swan", and accordingly most of them end ...

, who was a son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

. Virgil also "borrowed" the property of

invulnerability Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...

from Cycnus and attributed it to Messapus.

References

Characters in the Aeneid Neptune (mythology) {{AncientRome-myth-stub