Euryalus

Euryalus, in an episode of Virgil's Aeneid was a Trojan warrior devoted to his older friend Nisus. At the time of the episode the main Trojan army was besieged by Rutulian forces, while Aeneas was absent on a mission to seek reinforcements. Nisus, in his desire for glory, proposed to go alone by night through enemy lines to tell Aeneas of the situation, but Euryalus insisted on accompanying him. They killed many of the sleeping besiegers in order to get through, but were surprised by a party of cavalry. They were encumbered by the booty they had taken, and Euryalus, betrayed by the moonlight on a plundered helmet, was surrounded. Nisus attempted to rescue him, but failed and was himself killed. When the mother of Euryalus learned of her son's death, she was overcome with grief. She was one of the few Trojan women to have made the passage from Sicily. One of the themes of the Aeneid is elderly grieving fathers and mothers who have lost their only son.