Messapus
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There are (at least) two men named Messapus:
- Messapus, the father of Theophrastus
- Messapus, a character in Virgil's Aeneid
The second (of the listed) Messapus appears in Book VII of Virgil's Aeneid . He was a famous tamer of horses and king of Etruria. The fact that he could not be "fell by fire or steel" (Mandelbaum, 1971) may have had something to do with his being the son of Neptune.
Although he was usually accustomed to peace, Messapus joined his forces with Turnus in the battle of his ally versus Aeneas and the Trojans in Book VII.
[edit] References
- Mandelbaum, Allen (translator). The Aeneid of Virgil. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. Page 185, lines 910-914. ISBN 0-553-21041-6.
[edit] Source
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