The Aeneid

5/5★

Honestly, this book was a little hard to get through because of its poetic and traditional writing style. But I feel like you need to read a classic like this at least once in your life. And this is a fascinating classic. I find it very thought-provoking that the history of the book is a little fuzzy. Supposedly, Octavian paid Virgil to write this to prove his connection to Aeneas and why he should be in charge. I also think it's worth noting that there is an ongoing debate about whether or not Virgil truly supported Aeneas' endeavours with Dido or whether he was being severely sarcastic. Aeneas goes on this journey after the Trojan War to found Rome but stops in between and falls in love with Dido. However, Zeus tells him to get a move on, which ends up breaking Dido's heart and results in a very messy breakup. Don't you think it's funny that the majority of problems that occurred in Greek/Roman history were due to the Gods and their questionable decisions? I do. Anyway, this was a really fun book to read and I got a lot of recognition from people who either had also read the book (surprisingly in Latin) or were impressed that I was reading such a big book. Either way, I looked smart, so I am not mad.

Recommendation

Although I gave the book 5/5★ I wouldn't recommend this per se. For one, it has the same plot as The Odyssey, but the timeline is a bit afterwards. I think it incorporates history and entertainment value in a good way though. so I would suggest picking this up if you need a classic or change of pace.

The Aeneid