The Aeneid, while not particularly gripping in my opinion, is nevertheless terrifically important in terms of its impact on Western culture. Inasmuch as Virgil crafts the founding story of Rome, and with it an allegory of the triumph of Reason over Superstition, he provides the groundwork for the long-standing desire of Western Christendom for Empire, and its continued longing for the idea, if never quite the reality, of Rome.

Naturally, the Aeneid is also essential reading for any reader interested in approaching the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri on a serious level. Since much of Dante's work was influenced by Virgil, having so many of Virgil's work in one volume makes this all but indispensable to the Dante scholar. Of special interest is the Fourth Eclogue, also known as the "Messianic Eclogue," for it is often interpreted as a foretelling of Christ, and therefore is a pivotal text on which many scholars hang their hope that the Virgil of the Commedia can, indeed, earn the rewards of heaven. It is also the text claimed by the late Roman poet Statius, Dante's guide through Purgatorio and into Paradiso, as the thing which converted him to Christianity, as he explains in Purgatorio.

As a translation, of the Aeneid in particular, it is quite readable (especially given its age; it manages not to founder into language that strikes modern readers as stilted like many older translations do). It's prose, not verse, so for those who prefer a prose translation, it may be preferable to more popular and more recent verse translations. For its compactness, relatively easy availability and affordable price, it is recommended! ( )

Includes the Aeneid, which I read in high school in Latin, and the Eclogues and the Georgics. I remember of the Aeneid that Aeneas was an itinerant hero much like Ulysses; I know nothing of the other two books, and my experience with the Aeneid was not such that I will probably ever devote the time and effort to reading them. I'm satisfied with the classical aspect of my education. ( )

Prose rendering of the poems

Book Description: Copyright 1869 and 1885 by A. S. Barnes & Co.