The Aeneil
by Virgil
★★★★
After reading The Odyssey and The
Iliad I was hungry for the next piece of the puzzle. The Aeneid is the continuation
of the story of the Trojan War. Unlike the first two books this one wasn’t
written by the Greek poet Homer. It was written centuries later by Virgil, a
Roman, who modeled his writing style after the Greeks.
The story follows Aeneas, a Trojan who
travels to Italy after the war and becomes one of Rome’s founders. Early
sections in the book cover the storming of Troy and the betrayal with the
infamous Trojan horse. I loved those sections and they worked much better for
me than the later chapters on the war in Latium.
One interesting aspect of this book is
the Roman names of the Gods vs the Greek names. After reading half a dozen
books on Greek mythology last year it was strange to hear of
Juno and Neptune instead of Zeus and Poseidon. I also read The Mark of Athena
around the same time and that book focuses heavily on the different names
of the gods. I would highly recommend reading it alongside this one if you like
the Percy Jackson series.
BOTTOM LINE: I’m so glad I was
finally able to read the thrilling account of the Trajan horse. I was so
disappointed to discover that wasn’t in The Iliad. Other sections of the book
dragged a bit for me, but it’s a crucial part of the story. If you love learning
about Greek and Roman mythology then this one is a must and it helps bridge the
gap between the two nations’ cultures.
