Camilla
A queen of the Volsci, and daughter of Metabus and Casmilla. Her father, who reigned at
Privernum, having by his tyranny rendered himself odious to his subjects, was by them expelled
from his dominions, and forced to take refuge from their fury in the lonely woods. Here he
bred up the infant Camilla, the sole companion of his flight; and, having dedicated her to the
service of Diana, he instructed her in the use of the bow and arrow, and accustomed her to the
practice of martial and sylvan exercises. She was so remarkable for her
swiftness that she is described by the poets as flying over the corn without bending the
stalks, and skimming over the surface of the water without wetting her feet. Attended by a
train of warriors, she led the Volscians to battle against Aeneas. Many brave chiefs fell by
her hand; but she was at length herself killed by a soldier of the name of Aruns, who, from a
place of concealment, aimed a javelin at her. Diana, however, who had foreseen this fatal
event, had commissioned Opis, one of her nymphs, to avenge the death of Camilla, and Aruns was
slain in his flight from the combat by the arrows of the goddess (
Verg. Aen. vii. 803 foll.; xi. 532 foll.).
