Aeneas flees the ashes of Troy to found the city of Rome and change forever the course of the Western world--as literature as well. Virg...
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Feb 01, 2012
Bird Brian
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I did not read this entire book. I read a chunk of it in college, for a literature course that I was initially excited about, but which became a burden when my other coursework got heavy. I was an Engineering major, so this was a "throwaway humanities elective"; it didn't have priority. I don't endorse that attitude, but it was my mindset back then... grade-driven and focused on my major. Part of me looks down on how small-minded that seems, but given the financial and career pressures
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Jul 10, 2011
Sparrow
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I’m a huge fan of propaganda, but I think I may not be a fan of fan fic. I was going into this with the hope that it would be fun, extreme, Latin propaganda, but The Aeneid is really more Trojan War fan fic, IMO. It’s the Phantom Menace to The Iliad’s Empire Strikes Back. It is seriously lame. I think Akira Kurosawa could have made a pretty decent movie of it because he likes to have people frenzy. There’s a lot of frenzying here. The dudes are all chest pound, blooooood, and the chicks ar
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Jul 08, 2008
Libby
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There are plenty of reviews here telling you why you should or shouldn't read book X. This review of Virgil's "Aeneid," the largely-completed first century BC nationalist epic poem that recounts the Trojan War and Aeneas's role in the eventual founding of Rome, will tell you instead why you should read a copy of "Aeneid" from a university library. Simply put: student annotations.
Nearly every book in a university catalog has been checked out at one time or another More...
Nearly every book in a university catalog has been checked out at one time or another More...
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Dec 30, 2007
Daniel
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A gifted poet's account of playing Mario Brothers to level 7.
Expect a lot of "then Aeneas was told he needed to fetch a golden bough. But he could only obtain the bough if he completed such-and-such. So he did. Then he went to the underground world and gave the bough to the boatman, and the boatman therefore let him cross the river..." but with lyric flourish. It's maybe not Mario, but some side-scrolling platformer, definitely.
If I understand correctly, Virgil wrote More...
Expect a lot of "then Aeneas was told he needed to fetch a golden bough. But he could only obtain the bough if he completed such-and-such. So he did. Then he went to the underground world and gave the bough to the boatman, and the boatman therefore let him cross the river..." but with lyric flourish. It's maybe not Mario, but some side-scrolling platformer, definitely.
If I understand correctly, Virgil wrote More...
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Mar 11, 2008
Trevor
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I’ve been meaning to read the Aeneid for years. The Armorial Bearings of the City of Melbourne have the motto: Vires Acquirit Eundo which is taken from book four of the Aeneid. It translates as, “It gathers strength as it goes”. Melbourne’s first judge gave the young town the motto – but I’ve often wondered if those he gave it to had any idea that the reference is to sexual rumours spreading about Dido and Aeneas. Rumour being the swiftest of the Gods.
Anyway, there is a pop star More...
Anyway, there is a pop star More...
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Nov 18, 2007
Patrick
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Virgil is very challenging to translate. His Latin is impeccably clean, well-phrased, and precise, but it is also sometimes hopelessly ornate to the point of being masturbatory (I'm only writing this review because I wanted to use that word). It's not easy to adapt a Greek meter and a Greek oral genre to a decidedly Roman epic written in the purest of refined literary Latin, but Virgil pulled it off. I think that Fitzgerald captures the ornate and highly descriptive elemants of Virgil's La
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Apr 02, 2009
LeAnn
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Lombardo's translation of Virgil's Aeneid is fabulous. He abridged it,so presumably what was left out is less interesting. What is left is a fast-paced epic that reads like action-and-gore-packed war movie in the final few books. This was a read-aloud drama for a home-schooling history class, and the children (ages 6 to 12) found it absorbing (enough that they put up with all of the names of Trojans, Greeks, Latins, Etruscans, etc. that peppered the tale). After getting bogged down in the much-l
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May 16, 2011
Frank
rated it:
The last time I encountered "The Aeneid" was 42 years ago as a senior in high school. This was our 4th year of Latin and Fr. Markiewicz ( who was fluent in Polish and Latin) said that we could handle the translation (of course). Most of us struggled with the Latin, but we made it to the end. I'm sure he skipped a book or two. The actual story of this Roman epic poem took a back seat. Now it is time to pay attention to the story. Some of my fondest memories of h.s. revolve ar
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Dec 22, 2010
Austin
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How is this for a blurb: I liked this book so much, I named my first-born child after its author.
Virgil is a legend. Just as the Romans 'Hellenized' the world and spread Greek culture to all of us barbarians in the hinterlands, Virgil helped to canonize Homer with his Homeric epic in Latin, The Aeneid. Virgil's poem follows Aeneas after the fall of Troy (just as The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the fall) and Virgil explicitly borrows from and transforms the work of his predecessor More...
Virgil is a legend. Just as the Romans 'Hellenized' the world and spread Greek culture to all of us barbarians in the hinterlands, Virgil helped to canonize Homer with his Homeric epic in Latin, The Aeneid. Virgil's poem follows Aeneas after the fall of Troy (just as The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the fall) and Virgil explicitly borrows from and transforms the work of his predecessor More...
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Dec 13, 2009
Steven
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Virgil’s “Aeneid” is one of the great classical poems. In this translation, the esteemed team of Robert Fagles (translator) and Bernard Knox (author of the Introduction) reprise their partnership in Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”
This epic work begins with the destruction of Troy. Aeneas, one of the Trojans, escapes with many of his fellows and their families. The poem by the Roman poet Virgil outlines the founding of Rome by Aeneas. One interesting feature, as Know puts it, is th More...
This epic work begins with the destruction of Troy. Aeneas, one of the Trojans, escapes with many of his fellows and their families. The poem by the Roman poet Virgil outlines the founding of Rome by Aeneas. One interesting feature, as Know puts it, is th More...
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May 03, 2009
Punning
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The epic song of wars and men. If blood, guts and epic poetry are you thing, this book is for you. Given the introductory words of the story, it is shocking how Aneas is pushed along by the Fates and the Gods, never does he have much free will or freedom of action. Rome, we are told, was founded out of Destiny-- not desire.
This may sound like a complaint to modern readers, but it is, in fact, the opposite. The passive voice is used masterfully and to great effect. It lays out th More...
This may sound like a complaint to modern readers, but it is, in fact, the opposite. The passive voice is used masterfully and to great effect. It lays out th More...
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Sep 16, 2008
Jenell
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Jun 08, 2008
Nicole
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The thing that makes this translation so great for me personally is that Fagles didn't try to adhere to the blank verse of every other translation I've read, and I think that's why it was so engaging (for some reason reading this particular epic in blank verse has failed to hold my interest in the past) - I've never felt so gripped by The Aeneid, and Fagles's methods really give it a certain oratory quality, like it's an epic bedtime story. That being said, every so often a certain modern phras
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Feb 11, 2012
Andrew
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The Odyssey is a story about becoming a man- living by your wits, having love and suffering for it, staying true in the course of adversity. The Iliad, meanwhile, is about the collective lives we lead. How it makes sense for us to board one of a thousand ships to fight an outraged honor against a love that doesn't exist anymore- that being a small part of a large thing is a noble endeavor. That groups reflect their leaders.
The Aeneid is different. It's a story about loss. The tragedy f More...
The Aeneid is different. It's a story about loss. The tragedy f More...
Feb 01, 2012
Stefan
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The Aeneid is basically a sequel to the Iliad by Homer but told with a slant to Roman ideology and history. What Virgil has done with the Aeneid is to take Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and combine them into one work that takes the best out of the two originals and makes them valid and relevant to Roman sensibilities. (Just as Homer himself took the old legends and mythology of the Greeks and used them to create his two epic poems.)
Virgil does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged More...
Virgil does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged More...
Jan 09, 2012
Collin
rated it:
OK so here's how it goes with translated texts (or at least the way I look at it): you can either read the original, or find a translation. For most of the English speaking world the second option is more frequently ventured. I feel like, though modern translations like Fitzgerald attempt a lack of translator presence, the shadow of the translator is never absent from the work. So, you might as well make mistakes into glories with a famous translation. For hundreds of years Dryden was the standa
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Jan 07, 2012
Hilson
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I read the Mandelbaum translation. I read the Odyssey and parts of the Illiad throughout my academic career. I am quite familiar with the tales themselves, though I must admit quite a bit of googling was done to keep the Greek/Roman god names in check.
My favorite book is book 5, I reckon. I loved the action, the heroics of sport that Virgil celebrates and the break in pace that it allows, a well set prelude to the darkness of the world comes shortly when Aeneas heads down with Anchises to r More...
My favorite book is book 5, I reckon. I loved the action, the heroics of sport that Virgil celebrates and the break in pace that it allows, a well set prelude to the darkness of the world comes shortly when Aeneas heads down with Anchises to r More...
Oct 29, 2011
Chad
rated it:
As a fan of Greco-Roman mythology, I thought I’d like this story. Maybe it was just the particular translation, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as The Iliad and The Odyssey. It takes place after the Trojan War, recounting the story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travels to Italy and becomes the ancestor of the Romans. Later, he leads the Trojans against the Latins. The story is full of violent, bloody fights, and you get a real sense of the chaos of ancient battles.
It includes many theme More...
It includes many theme More...
Oct 01, 2011
Mary
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Virgil, The Aeneid Trans. Robert Fitzgerald
Like many high school children, I was given the opportunity to translate sections of the Aeneid, probably mostly in the first Six Books, and while memory does not serve, I cannot imagine some of the more erotic passages between Dido and Aeneas being on the syllabus. Other than the thrilling opening of the poem where the muse is invoked and Aeneas displays his decisive courage in evacuating his father, son, and wife (his wife was lost nonethe More...
Like many high school children, I was given the opportunity to translate sections of the Aeneid, probably mostly in the first Six Books, and while memory does not serve, I cannot imagine some of the more erotic passages between Dido and Aeneas being on the syllabus. Other than the thrilling opening of the poem where the muse is invoked and Aeneas displays his decisive courage in evacuating his father, son, and wife (his wife was lost nonethe More...
Jun 21, 2011
David
rated it:
David West renders this classical work accessible with a flare and sensibility that is truly rare. In so doing he brings this masterpiece from the realm of scholars into the hearts and minds of students worldwide. West captures the pure power and scale and grandeur of Virgil through his enormous talent for rendering epic poetry into prose. And for me the words ring true through the accessible prose style of West. He is worthy of great credit for opening this ancient, mystical tale of war and pea
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May 25, 2011
Eugene
rated it:
If the word "classics" intimidates you, consider the Fitzgerald translation of The Aeneid. I never could abide the Dryden long enough to get past the first page: all that incessant rhyming! (I don't understand this compunction to rhyme translated verse—haiku, for example—since it means imposing a form on a form already distorted by the translation process.)
Granted, even with that hurdle mostly surmounted, there are still obstacles: lots of names I have no idea how to pronoun More...
Granted, even with that hurdle mostly surmounted, there are still obstacles: lots of names I have no idea how to pronoun More...
Jan 24, 2011
Heather
rated it:
My second time through, I still have yet to grasp the essence of the quality that makes "The Aeneid" a classic. The first half is fascinating, but the latter six books to my American, 21st Century mind, read as an unnecessarily prolonged struggle that could be much shortened save for Virgil's desire to mirror "The Iliad" (which I like!).
I think the key difference between this Roman epic and the Greek ones lies in characterization. Whereas I can weep for Hector's More...
I think the key difference between this Roman epic and the Greek ones lies in characterization. Whereas I can weep for Hector's More...
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Sep 21, 2010
Tatum
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Romans had a way of filtrating most desired cultural attributes from really anyone around worth copying. The Greek beginning stories speak of The Iliad and Odyssey, illuminating the heroes of war. War becomes an intrinsic part of the idea of an immortalized name. Perhaps, the most popular of these wars is the Trojan War. Virgil creates the epic adventure of Aeneas founding Rome, somehow finding a way to connect Rome from Trojan descent. Aeneas however, has very one dimensional character traits,
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Aug 01, 2010
Adam
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I am limited in reading the Aeneid in that I have neither any knowledge of Latin nor recently read other translations. So I lack the basis to assess the translation or how it compares to other works. But Robert Fagles' ambition to trace the "no-man's land" between faithfulness to the original text and modern English readability appears, to the causal reader, to be successful. Enough of the Latin is retained to illuminate the esoteric quality of Roman literary form and culture while the
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May 17, 2010
Rowland
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The Sufferings of Wanderers
The first half of the Aeneid tells the story of the Trojans’ wanderings as they make their way from Troy to Italy. Ancient culture was oriented toward familial loyalty and geographic origin, and stressed the idea that a homeland is one’s source of identity. Because homelessness implies instability of both situation and identity, it is a form of suffering in and of itself. But Virgil adds to the sufferings of the wandering Trojans by putting them at the merc More...
The first half of the Aeneid tells the story of the Trojans’ wanderings as they make their way from Troy to Italy. Ancient culture was oriented toward familial loyalty and geographic origin, and stressed the idea that a homeland is one’s source of identity. Because homelessness implies instability of both situation and identity, it is a form of suffering in and of itself. But Virgil adds to the sufferings of the wandering Trojans by putting them at the merc More...
Mar 30, 2010
Meave
rated it:
It absolutely changed my idea of "the Classics," in that it included actual sympathetic ladies. Or at least Dido, I don't know. I read it a second time in school, in maybe 2003 for another Comp Lit or for a French class, I can't remember now, but reading it a second or third time it made even more sense, it was lovely. Thinking about it, I should read it another time, if it improves with review, right? Clearly.
Anyway. If you don't get it--which is perfectly acceptable! I ha More...
Anyway. If you don't get it--which is perfectly acceptable! I ha More...
Mar 27, 2010
Lars
rated it:
What a wonderful experience. I've been meaning to read the Aeneid for a long time, and after reading another (http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/14327...) Goodreader's positive report on a simultaneous reading/listening of Dickens's 'Bleak House,' decided to use that approach.
I'm not knowledgeable about these things, but I am aware that Robert Fagles' translation has its detractors. However, I found the language and rhythm of this 'Aeneid' powerful and poetic. The text version a More...
I'm not knowledgeable about these things, but I am aware that Robert Fagles' translation has its detractors. However, I found the language and rhythm of this 'Aeneid' powerful and poetic. The text version a More...
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Mar 21, 2010
Robert
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Oh, Aeneid, it isn't you... it's me!
I tried to like you, Aeneid, I really did. And we had some good times, didn't we? But I have to admit that I think I was still a bit hung up on Iliad, and I was trying to make you something you aren't. That isn't fair to you, and it isn't fair to me.
You've got such nice language in you. Such poetry! I'm sure that someone will come along soon who can appreciate you for what you are. You deserve it. Really. You're a wonderful stor More...
I tried to like you, Aeneid, I really did. And we had some good times, didn't we? But I have to admit that I think I was still a bit hung up on Iliad, and I was trying to make you something you aren't. That isn't fair to you, and it isn't fair to me.
You've got such nice language in you. Such poetry! I'm sure that someone will come along soon who can appreciate you for what you are. You deserve it. Really. You're a wonderful stor More...
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Jan 04, 2010
Mike (the Paladin)
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When in high school I read the Iliad and Odyssey. After completing them I had to run down Virgil's Aeneid. If you've ever read these books the word pictures of this epic story (Greek myth and then Roman) I doubt you'll ever have clearer ones. Though written centuries ago the epic tales of mythological gods, goddesses, and heroes will stay with you. For me also the "shift" from Greek characters to Roman (especially in the case of the mythological deities) was extremely, what(?) interest
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Nov 30, 2009
Nicole
rated it:
The Aneid * two reviews*
By: Virgil (translated by Robert Fagles)
Pgs: 386
Publisher: Penguin Group Publishing
ISBN: 0-670-03803-2
We all remember the myth about Achilles and his death. It was one of the most classic stories about strength, and people’s weaknesses, and even behind a story like that, there is a moral to be told, but what happened after that? What did Aeneas, Achilles enemy after he got what he wanted? This book, The Aeneid, tells that story in detail. We More...
By: Virgil (translated by Robert Fagles)
Pgs: 386
Publisher: Penguin Group Publishing
ISBN: 0-670-03803-2
We all remember the myth about Achilles and his death. It was one of the most classic stories about strength, and people’s weaknesses, and even behind a story like that, there is a moral to be told, but what happened after that? What did Aeneas, Achilles enemy after he got what he wanted? This book, The Aeneid, tells that story in detail. We More...
