The Aeneid Lesson Plan

Why is the war paused so that the dead on both sides can be buried?

In answering this custom, it may be helpful for students (or the teacher) to lay bare their assumptions about typical conduct in war. Although there are examples of temporary truces in recent wars (the Christmastime truce in World War I might come readily to mind), such truces are rare—and all the more so in the ancient world, where warfare was common and brutal. For Aeneas to offer to allow the Latins to bury their dead is a show of decency that many other soldiers in many other wars wouldn't have indulged in. Such a gesture, then, affirms Aeneas's virtuousness as a leader.

Why do you think Virgil...