The Aeneid (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) | Virgil | The Aeneid (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

The Aeneid (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) | Virgil | It's dense, but what can I say?

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The Aeneid (Pengui...

	The Aeneid (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Virgil Penguin Classics, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

From the award-winning translator of The Iliad and The Odyssey comes a brilliant new translation of Virgil?s great epic

With his translations of Homer?s classic poems, Robert Fagles gave new life to seminal works of the Western canon and became one of the preeminent translators of our time. His latest achievement completes the magnificent triptych of Western epics. A sweeping story of arms and heroism, The Aeneid follows the adventures of Aeneas, who flees the ashes of Troy to embark upon a tortuous course that brings him to Italy and fulfills his destiny as founder of the Roman people. Retaining all of the gravitas and humanity of the original, this powerful blend of poetry and myth remains as relevant today as when it was first written.

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The Aeneid (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

This book arrived on time and was in brand new conditions. The book was at a good price and I saved at least 6 dollars, and possibly 10 dollars of gas. Money worth spending on this book.

It's dense, but what can I say?

Okay, so it's dense and difficult to follow -- especially Book 3 -- but if you want to read The Aeneid, this is a great translation. Robert Fagles keeps the poetic imagery of Virgil very well and there are some passages you aren't likely to forget in a hurry. If you're looking for an exciting, easy-to-read book, don't read this. If you're looking for good writing, some history, and an entertaining but long story, this is for you.

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Fine poetical translation, not literal

Am reading this in a seminar on the Aeneid. Fagles' language carries one along, makes for exciting and very enjoyable reading: the glossary and notes are helpful. His version is further from the Latin than other translators---not a defect if one is reading solely for pleasure, but perhaps gives less sense of the orginal--a bit too Shakespearean at times. Of course for those reading the Latin, the very prosaic but literal translation in the Loeb edition will suffice. For what it is, an excellent effort.

Who will marry Lavinia???? Turnus or Aeneas?

There are several reasons Virgil is considered the greatest Latin poet: His poetry is a beautiful portrayal of human emotions, his words that describe actions and events are so mesmerizing that one would forget about the significance of these events.

The Aeneid, the result of eleven years of composition, that Virgil didn't live to complete and ordered to burn before his death but which was published later against his wishes, is Aeneas' journey from Troy to Italy chasing his destiny to find the Roman race in Italy.

Then, as now, there was a struggle to win a relatively unimportant prize. The main theme of the Aeneid is who will marry Lavinia. The cause of the Trojan-Latin struggle is a woman; the main theme of one of the greatest pieces of literature is a woman (talk about treating women as objects) . Sadly it seems to me that all human efforts such as literature, creativity, wars and struggles are driven by desire for power and conquest.
In the Aeneid, the Gods, just like humans, are rivals who avenge each other over perceived wrongs and who focus on individual glory, but with the power to use others as their tools to achieve their goals. Minerva, the Goddess who protects the Greeks during the Trojan War and helps them conquer Troy, was driven by her anger towards Trojan Paris's judgment that announced Venus as the most beautiful among goddesses.
Oddly enough, the reason for the Trojan war in the Aenied is not much different than the reason for the war in Homers' Iliad, where a woman, Helen, was the cause of a crazy war(in this story, Venus played a feminine/evil game to get the title of the most beautiful Goddess).

In 19 B.C., the Aeneid was A tale of vengeance, power, desire, love and prophecies, that is not substantially different from today's' tales of craziness. At least then, the words were charming and had some meaning.

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One of the few classics I had to force myself to finish

I am a great lover of all things classical. Got my first book of Greek myths in elementary school, started taking Latin in 9th grade, loved the Odyssey, liked the Iliad, love Ovid, Aeschylus, Suetonius, Livy, all the ancient heavy hitters....except Virgil. Robert Fagles does a good job translating, this story just didn't do it for me.

There were a lot of really good exciting bits in the Aeneid, but the whole thing didn't hang together. It seemed really disjointed, like there wasn't a thread uniting the whole thing. I know the thread is supposed to be Aeneas and the last of the Trojans' escape from Troy and wander and struggle to reach Italy and establish their destined empire. But it kept going off on tangents. It started out really well, with the sacking of Troy (here Fagles really shows his skill as a translater) and then just unraveled.

I also found Dido extremely annoying. I know she's supposed to be tragic, but to me she just came across as clingy and spineless. Maybe that's just this translation, or my inability to think in a historical mindset, but it was her choice to hook up with Aeneas even though she knew he wouldn't be sticking around, so I had little patience for her complaints when he left. She was a great queen before he turned up, why couldn't she still be a great queen?

This is one of the few classics I've had to make myself finish.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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