Nisus and Euryalus at The Louvre, Paris

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Nisus and Euryalus are a pair of friends serving under Aeneas in the Aeneid, an epic poem by Virgil that tells the story of Augustus Caesar's ancestor. Their daring mission among enemy lines, recounted in Book 9, showcases their stealthy skills and martial prowess, but ends in tragedy: the glistening Rutulian helmet Euryalus acquires sparks attention, leading to a fatal outcome for both friends. Virgil portrays their deaths as a loss of loyalty and valor that is truly admirable. In describing the strong bond between Nisus and Euryalus, Virgil draws on conventions of erotic poetry that have led some scholars to interpret their relationship as romantic, considering the Greek custom of paiderastia. Nisus and Euryalus are among the Trojan refugees who flee under Aeneas's leadership after the fall of Troy. Nisus is known for his hunting skills, which he inherited from his father Hyrtacus, a man who cultivated the huntress-goddess dwelling on Mount Ida. Euryalus, younger and battle-hardened, has spent his entire life in war and displacement, trained by his father Opheltes, who seems to have died at Troy. After wandering the Mediterranean, the Trojans are destined to land on Italy's shores. Some members of their party settle in Sicily before the Italian war, but Euryalus's mother refuses to be separated from her son and continues on with them.