In The Aeneid, Virgil depicts war as something more than just men killing each other for a possession. Virgil glorifies the meaning of war by presenting it as more of an art, than just a brutal battle. He describes war as an art form that brings out the courage, and honor that a man has. .
Virgil goes into deep detail about the ways that the characters prepare for war. He makes it sound as if the preparation for battle is very important. The way he sets up the scene before battle makes you believe that war is necessary and is not a bad thing at all.
Virgil writes about war as a way for a man to be bold and courageous. He makes the reader believe as if war is the only way to show your boldness and courage, and actually make a name for yourself. That is the reason why not many men in this poem shy away from battle and keep on fighting. A character that is depicted in the poem as being courageous is Pallas. Eventhough Virgil talked about Pallas as being a good warrior for how young he was; there was no way that he was ready to fight Turnus. The courage that Virgil gives to Pallas is the reason that Pallas wants to fight Turnus. A passage in the book that describes the courage that was given to Pallas after his duel with Turnus shows the recognition that you get when you are courageous as Pallas was. "First let Pallas be sent back to the sad city of Evander: one whose courage was not wanting, whom the black day swept away and plunged in bitter death"(XI, ln.33). This quote shows that Pallas was courageous in fighting Turnus, and got recognition for it even though Pallas did not come out victorious. Now some might think that it is a downfall to be that courageous, however, you would have to think about all the glory that Pallas received after his fatal encounter to Turnus. Pallas got all the attention at that particular point in the poem because of the courageous act that he did.
