The Aeneid - Virgil

It is impossible to state the importance of this book to Western culture and society. The Aeneid is Virgil's epic tale of Aeneas, a Trojan prince who flees Troy when it is burned by the Greeks and goes on to found the dynasty of Rome in Italy, complete with an ill-fated romance between Aeneas and Dido, Queen of Carthage, a full chorus of gods and a descent into the underworld. Background: The Aeneid was composed some time between 29BC-19BC by the Roman poet, Virgil. Rome had recently suffered the civil war that resulted in Ceasar's death, and his nephew, Octavian, at last victorious, had taken the name Augustus and was in the process of recreating ...  Read the complete review

I suppose when most people peruse library/bookshop shelves looking for a weighty tome to pass the hours, the don't automatically jump on ancient Roman literature. They might go as far as Dickens, but most people tend to draw the line at Vergil (in case you're thinking this is a spelling mistake, Vergil can be spelt both this way and as Virgil). It's a shame, really, as it is a rather interesting read. The Aeneid is, in effect, a continuation of the Homeric epic cycle concerning Troy. Before you attack The Aeneid, therefore, you might want to read at least Homer's Iliad and possibly The Odyssey, too. The Aeneid was written at the point in Roman ...  Read the complete review

The gods are very important to this story. Without the gods’ intervention, the story would merely be about Aeneas’s quest for a new home in Italy. There would be no mention of Dido or Carthage and it would be a very uneventful trip to the future site of Rome. One of the most important gods in this story is Venus. She is Aeneas’s mother, so she has his best interests at heart. When Aeneas is in Troy, Venus appears to him and tells him to get out while he can. This action saves Aeneas life, and gives him a feeling of good luck that he uses to his own advantage. He feels like he is invincible. She directs Aeneas to Carthage in the guise of a huntress. ...  Read the complete review

Classical civilisations, the art of reviving conversation they said. Not so it would seem when you come to the second year text, the Roman Epic composed by Virgil. The Aeneid is one of the hardest books that you will find in Western civilisation. The text centres on the survivors from Troy, Priam's Asian fortress. The Greeks have already sacked the city which Aeneas tells Dido about in books 2 and 3 (Flash back). The central character is Aeneas, but he seems to be a weak and washie person, he wishes that he had died next to Hector on the killing fields. Fate has decided that Aeneas will found Rome, unfortunately the book is just Virgil ...  Read the complete review