Classics

The Aeneid

The Aeneid

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  • Create Date：2022-01-20 07:51:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Virgil
  • ISBN：0141996331
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Summary

Virgil's masterpiece and one of the greatest works in all of literature， now in a beautiful clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

Virgil's Aeneid， inspired by Homer and the inspiration for Dante and Milton， is an immortal poem that sits at the heart of Western life and culture。 Virgil took as his hero Aeneas， legendary survivor of the fall of Troy and father of the Roman race。 In telling a story of dispossession and defeat， love and war， he portrayed human life in all its nobility and suffering， in its physicality and its mystery。

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Reviews

Qing ，

I wanted to give it 5 stars to indicate -5 but I don't want it to be misconstrued as me actually liking the book， by accident。 I wanted to give it 5 stars to indicate -5 but I don't want it to be misconstrued as me actually liking the book， by accident。 。。。more

Lavinia ，

Out of the Aeneid， Odyssey and Iliad， the Aeneid is definitely my favourite epic！ Fuelled with action and the desperation of characters who keep getting denied what they want by petty yet ruthless gods， Virgil takes you on a journey vaguely familiar if you've read the Odyssey， but a hundred times more engaging and light-hearted。 Out of the Aeneid， Odyssey and Iliad， the Aeneid is definitely my favourite epic！ Fuelled with action and the desperation of characters who keep getting denied what they want by petty yet ruthless gods， Virgil takes you on a journey vaguely familiar if you've read the Odyssey， but a hundred times more engaging and light-hearted。 。。。more

Lily ，

odyssey>iliad>aeneid。 there， i said it。its ancient C-tier fanfic， what else is there for me to say

Keith ，

Book 12 in 2022Title: The AeneidAuthors: Vergil （poet）， Sarah Ruden （translator）Year: c。 19 BCE （original poem）， 2021 （Revised and Expanded translation）Genre: Fiction - Epic PoetryPage count: 362 pagesDates read: 1/12/22-1/17/22I first read Sarah Ruden's 2008 English translation of The Aeneid back in 2013 and loved it。 When I heard that she had revised and expanded upon her translation， I jumped at the chance to purchase it。 Ruden once again provides a line-for-line translation of the poem in ia Book 12 in 2022Title: The AeneidAuthors: Vergil （poet）， Sarah Ruden （translator）Year: c。 19 BCE （original poem）， 2021 （Revised and Expanded translation）Genre: Fiction - Epic PoetryPage count: 362 pagesDates read: 1/12/22-1/17/22I first read Sarah Ruden's 2008 English translation of The Aeneid back in 2013 and loved it。 When I heard that she had revised and expanded upon her translation， I jumped at the chance to purchase it。 Ruden once again provides a line-for-line translation of the poem in iambic pentameter - creating a great English poem in its own right。 I would argue that this time around， simplifying/stripping down the text to a more vivid essence。 The Aeneid itself is a classic of western literature。 As Susanna Braund writes in the introduction， it is "the greatest poem ever composed in the Latin language。 This epic in twelve books is beautiful， complex， and profound。" It is arguably the most important story of the Roman Empire and thus has had a significant important on western literature。 If you decide to read it， Ruden's recent translation is the way to go。 。。。more

Heather ，

Of the three， the Iliad， the Aeneid and the Odyssey， I think I liked this one the least of them。 Not that it wasn't good， but reading it so close to the Iliad and the Odyssey， it almost felt like someone tried to condense the other two and make one poem of it。 The first half of the Aeneid mirrors a lot of what happened in the Odyssey and same with the second half and the Iliad。 Not to say it wasn't good， just not as good as the others。 Of the three， the Iliad， the Aeneid and the Odyssey， I think I liked this one the least of them。 Not that it wasn't good， but reading it so close to the Iliad and the Odyssey， it almost felt like someone tried to condense the other two and make one poem of it。 The first half of the Aeneid mirrors a lot of what happened in the Odyssey and same with the second half and the Iliad。 Not to say it wasn't good， just not as good as the others。 。。。more

cerys ，

turnus is the best character idc

Jamil ，

Los mitos son aquellas historias que le dan origen a ciertas cosas que en su momento no pudieron ser resueltas de manera lógica， o en este caso a dar orígenes míticos a determinadas sociedades。 Me sorprende que Virgilio tomara los sucesos de la época Ilíada para darle un cierta conexión al origen mítico de Roma。 Supongo que en esa época en la que fue escrita los libros de Homero eran los "Best seller" del momento， incluso en la actualidad。 Y se nota no solo en el contexto y la historia que narra Los mitos son aquellas historias que le dan origen a ciertas cosas que en su momento no pudieron ser resueltas de manera lógica， o en este caso a dar orígenes míticos a determinadas sociedades。 Me sorprende que Virgilio tomara los sucesos de la época Ilíada para darle un cierta conexión al origen mítico de Roma。 Supongo que en esa época en la que fue escrita los libros de Homero eran los "Best seller" del momento， incluso en la actualidad。 Y se nota no solo en el contexto y la historia que narra， sino en como fue escrita， toma en cuenta mucho el estilo de escritura de la Ilíada y la odisea。 Lo cual no me sorprende ya que mucha de la cultura romana es influenciada por la griega y está no es una excepción。 Este libro se puede disfrutar incluso pienso yo si no leíste la iliada y la odisea， pero eso sí debes tener el contexto de los hechos de la guerra de Troya que hasta nuestros días siguen dando de que hablar。 。。。more

Eilidh Fyfe ，

3。5 funny translation， everyone vomits blood and the only ones i remember are dido and camilla xxxxxx

Fabian Newton-Edgar ，

What the text lacks in originality （i。e。 there is pretty much none whatsoever）， it makes up for in effective use of language and storytelling。A shameless ripoff of Homer and a piece of blatant state propaganda， but I enjoyed reading it。

Ben Adams ，

Sarah Ruden's translation of the Aeneid is captivating; her strict adherence to rhythm and economical style of translation create an accessible， driving， and urgent experience that propels the reader through Vergil's tale of the Trojan Aeneas finding a new homeland in Italy。 As an experience on its own， I rate this at 5 stars， and highly recommend it to anyone looking to explore the Aeneid for the first time， especially if they are inexperienced in Latin。 However， I also felt like I may have bee Sarah Ruden's translation of the Aeneid is captivating; her strict adherence to rhythm and economical style of translation create an accessible， driving， and urgent experience that propels the reader through Vergil's tale of the Trojan Aeneas finding a new homeland in Italy。 As an experience on its own， I rate this at 5 stars， and highly recommend it to anyone looking to explore the Aeneid for the first time， especially if they are inexperienced in Latin。 However， I also felt like I may have been missing out on the beauty and detail of Vergil's language by choosing a translation that is limited by its own rhythm。 Other translations can be much more wordy， and so I was worried occasionally that I was not receiving the full picture of certain scenes or descriptions。 As with many ancient books， this can be remedied by consulting multiple translations， but it's still something that should be mentioned。 Overall， however， I was enamored by the Vergil's story and the humanity contained within， and satisfied with Ruden's poetic prowess in bringing it to the English language。 。。。more

Paris That Introvert Reader ，

YEAH SCREW YOU TURNUS also pallas <3

Jo Suter ，

Well translated and very accessible， it's a great adventure narrative and good jumping off point for ancient Roman literature。 Well translated and very accessible， it's a great adventure narrative and good jumping off point for ancient Roman literature。 。。。more

Raquel Cacereño ，

Es una obra perfectamente narrada。 Incluye muchos recursos para la época como el comienzo in media res lo cual ya la hace más interesante。 Es muy poética sobre todo en los momentos de muerte， como es el fallecimiento de Dido o de algunos guerreros en el combate。 Eneas no es un personaje muy profundo y solo lo conocemos como héroe， guerrero y padre e hijo fervoroso， Virgilio le consigue dar una perspectiva un poco "humana y vulnerable" pero siempre parece en realidad， el personaje invencible。 Es una obra perfectamente narrada。 Incluye muchos recursos para la época como el comienzo in media res lo cual ya la hace más interesante。 Es muy poética sobre todo en los momentos de muerte， como es el fallecimiento de Dido o de algunos guerreros en el combate。 Eneas no es un personaje muy profundo y solo lo conocemos como héroe， guerrero y padre e hijo fervoroso， Virgilio le consigue dar una perspectiva un poco "humana y vulnerable" pero siempre parece en realidad， el personaje invencible。 。。。more

caroline scott ，

aeneas deserved better。 change my mind。

Ratbite ，

From the tops of Rome's new world order and under the thumb of its most successful spin doctor， hi Maecenas， Virgil created an aesthetically unparalleled piece of propaganda that expresses what civilisation meant to the common man。 The meaning of this is found in the answer to the following question: Aeneas must found Rome， Aeneas doesn't want to found Rome， Aeneas founds Rome at expense of himself， why？Virgil read the Homeric Epics quite like a modern would， tales of barbarity crushing true vir From the tops of Rome's new world order and under the thumb of its most successful spin doctor， hi Maecenas， Virgil created an aesthetically unparalleled piece of propaganda that expresses what civilisation meant to the common man。 The meaning of this is found in the answer to the following question: Aeneas must found Rome， Aeneas doesn't want to found Rome， Aeneas founds Rome at expense of himself， why？Virgil read the Homeric Epics quite like a modern would， tales of barbarity crushing true virtue under a heel of beautified violence。 While in the Illiad this conflict between Virtue and Violence is split into two character， Hector and Achilles respectively， with the tragic end of the latter crushing the former the character of Aeneas subsumes this contradiction within his personality and actions - as did Rome in Virgil's eyes。 Aeneas， referred to somewhere on this site as a two dimensional character， is every Greek Archetype melded into one but ultimately he is mostly Orestes， he who does the awful， but necessary thing （the necessary thing always being what Fate wants）， and feels terrible about it。 Just as Orestes has to kill his mother for her own murder of Agamemnon just to suffer the taunts of the furies， Aeneas must wander and wage war in sacrifice of his own happiness and inner peace。 To Virgil this is the price of 'civilisation。'While the poem itself is clearly a glorification of Rome， see every digression to 'future' Roman triumphs that Jove gives us， it also appears to be an apology。 I see no subtle criticism of Augustus' regime anywhere in the text， I am not as eager as some to find the Empire's chief poet as somehow anti-imperialist， there is a secondary layer of meaning in Aeneas' very unwillingness。 Until the final six books， when he is full on Imperator having sunken his emotions totally， he is either in constant mourning for the fall of Troy or begging his mother for a hug。 The most famous episode， Book IV where he finds himself married to Dido by Juno's wily means， is genuinely heart wrenching as his attempts to plead to Dido to understand that he must leave unwillingly， that Fate is demanding it not him。 What is often missed here， to emphasise Dido's sorrow and frame Aeneas as a fuckboy， is that Aeneas is the only person here， potentially， authentically in love， Dido was possessed guys， she is manic because a bloody spirit from hell is forcing her to abdicate the chastity that she voluntarily wanted。 Aeneas is the one who is forced to leave the marriage bed he covets and is cursed as a result。 Afterwards he loses his father and there is no sense of any domestic bliss awaiting him with Lavinia。 Each time Aeneas loses confidence， and he does many， many times in the first six books， he must be reconvinced by Divine forces of the importance of his mission， the importance of founding Rome to bring about Peace at last。 He only stops questioning it when he literally goes into the Underworld to find his dead dad who gives him not only a marvellous detailing of pre-Christian theology but the final prediction for the future Aeneas will secure。 Insert Jungian analysis here。The final six books are concerned with violence almost exclusively。 There are quieter moments here and there but these are mostly amongst the Dardanan soldiers themselves， Aeneas soon exits frame only to return not as the man we spent so long observing his anxieties， his longing for some tenderness， but an Achillean force of nature。 When he arrives to the siege of the Trojan camp we are greeted with awesome scenes of conquest。 The note of sadness towards violence is shown only by the poet， Aeneas is silent。 His carnage continues with Aeneas showing no inner conflict until the very end when he briefly considers sparing Turnus。 But this is dashed when his rage at Turnus' killing of King Evander's son。 This note of anger as corruption of conquest is telling to Aeneas' the only possibly subversive note， a curious tone to end on。 But what is the point of this， why must Aeneas abandon all hopes of personal satisfaction， what is this Rome？ Well it's not Rome per se but the Dream of it。 The Dream of Rome is a notion that gets perverted when brought into the public sphere。 Bring it into politics and you will find it is a sentiment invoked to hide wannabe Caesars or crypto-fascists。 But what this Dream meant to the poet， and I believe the common man of that society， was peace。 That in that world， which had to that point never really seen a stable， lasting society beyond occasionally city states that would be dashed away by the likes of Alexander。 That order， one willed by Divine means and therefore unselfish， could allow the return of a Golden Age， one the Romans believed this world had fallen from - see Ovid。 This theme is the perennial one of Virgil's oeuvre as we can see in his fourth eclogue where he believes the stage has been set for a messianic figure to be born。 The Augustan era was seen by him to be the culmination of the Dream of Rome， wherein peace and harmony can finally be brought back。 The other parts of his work are the Pastoral， the image of Arcadia Virgil himself developed， wherein man lives in total harmony with nature。 This vision was the most sacred to Virgil， seeing himself as the Romanisation of Theocritus who worked exclusively in Idylls， and seems to be for him the ultimately goal of civilisation。 It is hard not to read this text with great sadness， to know what we know of what would happen to Rome， how it would never， even in the Pax Romana， achieve this aim and how under the resurrection of its banner such evils would be unleashed upon the world。 The Aeneid somehow works as a literary equivalent of an Emperor's Triumphal arc and a populist tale for the masses to be read livelily in the taverns。 This Dream that Virgil had is the most profound hope that lies within the hearts of all men and women: the Dream of Peace under a righteous society。 Alas， it can only be found in poetry， but what wonderful poetry it is。 。。。more

Zhuo Chengsheng ，

After reading Iliad and Odyssey， my personal favourite would be The Aeneid。 Though Virgil attempts to imitate and emulate Homer， his combination of Illadic and Odyssean elements into 12 books removes the repetition of endless death and war in the Iliad and nostos in Odyssey。 Homer also writes at a far remove of even his time while Virgil manages to sync mythology with the historical rise of Rome。 Out of the books I loved Book 6 because of his presentation of the different realms of the Underwo After reading Iliad and Odyssey， my personal favourite would be The Aeneid。 Though Virgil attempts to imitate and emulate Homer， his combination of Illadic and Odyssean elements into 12 books removes the repetition of endless death and war in the Iliad and nostos in Odyssey。 Homer also writes at a far remove of even his time while Virgil manages to sync mythology with the historical rise of Rome。 Out of the books I loved Book 6 because of his presentation of the different realms of the Underworld such as Tartarus and Elysium。 He also uses the concept of souls in Elysium waiting to be reincarnated to expound on the history of notable figures in Roman history。 。。。more

Arielle Anderson ，

While the pacing was slower than I'm used to reading since I mainly read more modern literature， I did enjoy this more than the Iliad or the Odyssey so I feel obligated to give it a higher rating。 The prose is gorgeous and there were many more moments in this book where I felt myself genuinely caring about the characters （something that seldom happened while reading the other ancient epics。） This is outside of my usual tastes， but I imagine that regular readers of ancient literature would find a While the pacing was slower than I'm used to reading since I mainly read more modern literature， I did enjoy this more than the Iliad or the Odyssey so I feel obligated to give it a higher rating。 The prose is gorgeous and there were many more moments in this book where I felt myself genuinely caring about the characters （something that seldom happened while reading the other ancient epics。） This is outside of my usual tastes， but I imagine that regular readers of ancient literature would find a true gem in this work。 。。。more

Ephraim Hrabik ，

I thought it was very good。 I definitely feel like Virgil picked up where Homer left off so I am very glad I read them so close together。

ॐ ｔｈｅｒａｖａａｄａ ॐ ，

La sola speranza per i vinti è non sperare in alcuna salvezza。

Pmslax ，

I can't recall if I read this as part of a program or course or if I read it on my own。 As I started reading it for basic program it seemed familiar。 First reaction: I like Dido。Juno: doesn't like Troy or AeneausVenus: Aeneaus' mother。Aeneaus: refugee survivor of Trojan War。Dido: Queen of Carthage。 Very generous to Aeneaus。 Venus tricks her into falling in love。 I can't recall if I read this as part of a program or course or if I read it on my own。 As I started reading it for basic program it seemed familiar。 First reaction: I like Dido。Juno: doesn't like Troy or AeneausVenus: Aeneaus' mother。Aeneaus: refugee survivor of Trojan War。Dido: Queen of Carthage。 Very generous to Aeneaus。 Venus tricks her into falling in love。 。。。more

G。 Carman ，

Reading Mr。Dryden translation is experienced that could never be recreated again， I find his voice proud as Virgil and moving as the original though it would appear he had took liberties。 I find his translation finely tune for the English enthusiast than Latins。

Monica Bond-Lamberty ，

Really a Trojan Odyssey。Nice to hear it rhyme， but definitely a rewriting of history as it were - Roman propaganda， including a reason for the war with Carthage。

Erin Deschene ，

A must read for understanding Western literature and Dante。

Alemiñano ，

només he llegit els sis primers llibres però tinc opinions Dido la millor l'únic que val la pena només he llegit els sis primers llibres però tinc opinions Dido la millor l'únic que val la pena 。。。more

Olivia ，

Reading for my Literature Class

Angela Connor ，

"The bold they kill， th’ unwary they surprise;Who fights finds death， and death finds him who flies。" "The bold they kill， th’ unwary they surprise;Who fights finds death， and death finds him who flies。" 。。。more

Lover of Mythology ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Insieme alle argonautiche， il mio poema epico preferito。 L’Eneide ha come grande vantaggio quello di aver sulle sue spalle una tradizione composta da tre grandi poemi: l’Iliade， l’Odissea e le già citate Τά ‘Αργοναυτικά， per dirle in greco， da cui attinge ispirazione per l’esaltazione di trama e struttura del poema。 La prima parte è Odissea， la seconda Iliade， mentre la stesura， lo stile， la divisione in libri， son tutte da attribuire agli studiosi alessandrini e in primis Apollonio Rodio。 Tutta Insieme alle argonautiche， il mio poema epico preferito。 L’Eneide ha come grande vantaggio quello di aver sulle sue spalle una tradizione composta da tre grandi poemi: l’Iliade， l’Odissea e le già citate Τά ‘Αργοναυτικά， per dirle in greco， da cui attinge ispirazione per l’esaltazione di trama e struttura del poema。 La prima parte è Odissea， la seconda Iliade， mentre la stesura， lo stile， la divisione in libri， son tutte da attribuire agli studiosi alessandrini e in primis Apollonio Rodio。 Tuttavia， la vera， grande originalità dell’Eneide sta nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi: tutti loro con una psicologia complessa， portavoce di idee e ideali， che rappresentano le sfaccettature dell’animo umano， primo tra tutti menzionerei Enea。 Enea è un eroe particolarmente bistrattato e mal visto sia da critica che da lettori: abbandona Didone， uccide il povero Turno da che gli aveva rubato la sposa， è pio… ma la verità è che Enea è l’esempio più lampante quando mi menzionano un uomo nella mitologia。 Una personalità estremamente particolare， districata tra sensibilità （le lacrime per la sua amata e diletta Creusa， nel libro II） e freddezza （il non aver saputo dire a Didone della sua partenza istantanea）; amore per i genitori e per il figlio e per i compagni （come quando lascia Cartagine）。 Enea è l’uomo， colui che si carica Anchise e i troiani sulle spalle， colui che tuttora porta il peso del giudizio in positivo e ahimè soprattutto in negativo。 Attorno a lui le figure più disparate， come Anchise， Acate， Didone – tragica e patetica negli ambedue sensi che si attribuiscono a questo aggettivo – la （mia） dolcissima Creusa， il piccolo-grande Ascanio， la silenziosa e ultima Lavinia， il coraggioso pallante， gli straordinari Eurialo e Niso… nomi impossibili da non ricordare， che restano impressi nella memoria collettiva。 E mi verrebbe dunque da citare lo stesso Virgilio， autore dallo stile sublime e il genio indiscusso， in uno dei passi più toccanti del nono libro:“Tutti e due fortunati！ Se possono qualcosa i miei versi，mai nessun giorno vi sottrarrà alla memoria del tempo， fino a quando la stirpe di Enea abiti l’immobile rupedel Campidoglio， e il padre romano abbia l’impero。” Traduzione di una rattoppatrice goffa （come mi definirebbe François Hedelin d’Aubignac） ovvero me medesima。 。。。more

lucie ，

i wanna write a rly funny review for this so bear w me

Anika ，

good story。 have to translate for latin。 tbh could be more riveting。 fails to make me see the relevancy to my everyday life。 entertaining， i guess？ poor dido she was too good for aeneas。

Jerre ，

Did not quite enjoy this as much as the Iliad and Odyssey but still a good read。 3。75 out of 5。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Aeneid

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Aeneid&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Aeneid&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0