Aeneid

The epic poem by the Roman poet Virgil.

The Aeneid is the story of Aineias (Aeneas) and proceeds from the fall of the city of Troy to the eventual founding of Rome by Troy’s survivors.

The Aeneid was written between the years 29-19 BCE during the reign of Augustus Caesar (Octavian) and was an undisguised attempt to re-instill the noble values on which Rome had been founded and to give new faith to the people of Rome after the flagrant excesses of Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius.

The Greeks, who defeated the Trojans, are cast as villains while Aineias and his followers are portrayed as defeated, but not disgraced, noble warriors who suffered many trials as they traveled the seas from Troy to the mouth of the Tiber River and established the foundations of what would become the mighty empire of Rome.

The Greek heroes, such as Menelaos (Menelaus) and Diomedes, are depicted as butchers and cowards; graceful Immortals, such as Iris and Pallas Athena (Athene), were given a dark countenance that was unflattering and sinister.

There are many excellent characters in this story including the Amazon-like warrior Camilla and the tragic queen of Carthage, Dido.

The Roman goddess of Love, Venus, is not very lovely in this story; Venus is portrayed as a trickster and devoid of any sympathy or conscience as she enchants Dido and leaves her heartbroken and suicidal.

The Aeneid is unfinished; Virgil had intended to devote three more years to its completion but died before he could complete the final draft; after Virgil’s death, Augustus Caesar had the poem copied and distributed under the title, Aineis.

I highly recommend the Robert Fitzgerald translation of The Aeneid (ISBN 0679729526), which can be found at your library or you can order this book through the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.