The Destruction of Troy comprises a translation by W.F. Jackson Knight of most of the first half of The Aeneid. It tells four stories - the arrival of Trojans at Carthage, a narration of the destruction of Troy, the tale of escape from Troy, and the suicide of Dido. Each of these is a masterfully crafted piece of Roman literature. The Penguin Epics version is from the same Penguin publication that has the full Aeneid translated by W.F. Jackson Knight. There are no notes or explanations contained within the text but it is very easily read and there are no real areas where further explanation would be necessary.

The story itself is a work of real genius. Taking clear note from the Odyssey, the tale of Troy's woes are told from the other side. Aeneas and his surviving Trojans find themselves at Carthage and their tale unfolds in this new land as they make their way to Italy. Virgil's audience would clearly have known the Odyssey and the Trojan's original fate. Virgil explicitly turns the sympathy that exists for the peoples of Troy into part of the Roman national story by casting the Trojans as ancestors of Rome. Politically this is genious. The specific references to the Julian dynasty are a little grating to an audience not in thrall to Augustus but it is another piece of Augustan spin to fit into the world of the greatest ancient PR expert.

Virgil's narrative is more sympathetic than earlier Greek tales in that his characters are not especially brutal or warlike but fight because they have to. In the case of Aeneas, Virgil goes to great lengths to spell out the honour and dignity of the course of actions he takes. Typically this honour is framed in the forms of godly machinations. The decisions to leave Troy and later to leave Dido are potentially read as cowardly but for plot reasons Virgil has to have them happen. In order to keep his character noble, it is the gods that force him to take action for the greater good when he would rather fight and die in Troy or stay with Dido's love in Carthage.

For an ancient narrative, the action scenes are outstanding. This could be a feature of the translation. It is a difficult balance to strike in getting the translation suitably accessible and authentic. Wright's version is extremely readable - how this compares to the original is not easy to say though there are phrases that jar occasionally. Regardless, the battle sequences in the retelling of the fall of Troy are grippingly written and genuinely exciting.

A baffling feature of the Troy story is how they would have been convinced the wooden horse was a gift. Virgil's explanation is an expertly constructed description. The lies of a treacherous Greek are the source of the deception but even those are not sufficient as Virgil's Trojans are still generally sceptical until persuaded otherwise by one of their number and the malicious intervention of gods. The godly messages that Aeneas follows are part of the national epic characteristic of the Aeneid as Aeneas obeys the commands in order to found a society that will lead to Rome.

The role of the gods in Virgil's tale is remarkably similar to that of the Greeks. The Roman and Greek literature traditions are very similar and so are their deities. The battles between each other - Juno vs Venus most notably in the Aeneid - are a fascinating cue to the societal order Virgil was a part of that seems relatively unchanged since the time of Homer.

The metaplot items are also intriguing. Carthage vs Rome stands the test of time as being a truly momentous struggle and Virgil deliberately sets much of his plot in Carthage, ascribing Phoenician origins to Queen Dido. The link with the Odyssey is neither plagiarism nor homage - it is the building of character based on places and people the audience will have been familiar with and that is a step above some of the older pieces of literature. The Penguin Epics version does not include the foray into Italy itself so this would require the longer version.

Dido is a fairly well written character. Most ancient texts are about men but Dido gets her fair share of spotlight and is a particularly tragic heroine. Dido's passionate love for Aeneas is her undoing and her descent into tragedy is unrelenting. Dido is a strong and powerful queen reduced to despair by love and her end is quite moving.

The Penguin Epics version of the Destruction of Troy is a great read, it is an excellent reconstruction of Virgil's fantastic tome. For those who might be concerned about the translation - read the original in dactylic hexameter Latin. This is not the original poetry, it is the story told in a very readable fashion and it is a great story told well. ( )