"He ain't heavy, he's my father:" The Aeneid

[issybird]

There is interest in continuing our epic journey this year with a group read of The Aeneid. For those who may be familiar with Homer in English translation, but not with Virgil, he well rewards the reading. The Aeneid retells the story of Aeneas (a Trojan who appeared in The Iliad) in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Troy, and his subsequent journeys ending in Italy where he founded the Roman people.

In order to give people time to decide on a translation and to order one if they're going the pbook route, we'll start reading two weeks from today, on September 17. As with the other epics, we'll plan to read six books a week. The work can be discussed from kickoff.

Looking forward to the discussion!

[rkomar]

Great! I bought a used copy (Penguin Classic, translated by Jackson Knight) decades ago, but hadn't felt the urge to read it yet. It'll be fun to read along and compare to whatever is said about the version most people read.

P.S. Love the thread title!

[paola]

very tempting!

[holymadness]

I highly recommend Allen Mandelbaum's translation to those interested.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Great! I bought a used copy (Penguin Classic, translated by Jackson Knight) decades ago, but hadn't felt the urge to read it yet. It'll be fun to read along and compare to whatever is said about the version most people read.

P.S. Love the thread title!

Welcome aboard. And, thanks!

Originally Posted by paola

very tempting!

Please join us, Paola! Can't beat that local connection!

Originally Posted by holymadness

I highly recommend Allen Mandelbaum's translation to those interested.

I read Mandelbaum in college and I loved it. This time around, I've decided that having enjoyed Fagles so much with Homer, I'd stick with him for Virgil.

I typed that, and then I checked ebook prices and Mandelbaum is a steal at $1.99! I already ordered Fagles, but I can't resist Mandelbaum at that price. I'll try to compare.

Which leads me to a comment for those who might be thinking of joining in (please do!). Even though there are multiple public domain translations available for ereading, a modern translation can make all the difference in terms of enjoyment and understanding. At $1.99, I think it would be hard to justify not getting Mandelbaum in favor of getting a free version.

[poohbear_nc]

I'd also suggest looking at Delphi Classics - they have the complete works of Virgil -- with some older PD translations of the Aeneid (including dual Latin & English texts for some - for those wanting to read the original text) - in both ePub (http://delphiclassics.com/shop/?p=2654) and Kindle (http://delphiclassics.com/shop/?p=730) -- DRM free and $1.99.

[AnemicOak]

I haven't read these (Homer & Virgil) since high school. I loved them then and it might be worth reading them again as I'm sure I'd get "more" from them now.

[Bookpossum]

I'll sign up too, as I have never read the Aeneid, apart from the section on Dido which I can remember staggering through in Latin in third year high school!

I can borrow the Fagles translation from my local library, so I'll be reading that.

[HarryT]

I'd recommend the Robert Fagles translation; it's very good.

[pholy]

My 'Great Books' from 25 years ago has a translation by C. Day Lewis, so that's what I'll read unless I find it too heavy and awkward. Then I'll look for an ebook translation.
The C. Day Lewis was first published in GB in the '50s, and I know nothing else of it; scholarly (or otherwise) comments are welcome. Just no comments on why I've had a book or 50 for twenty-five years without reading it/them

[sun surfer]

I'm in!

I need to find a good translation. I was hoping for Lattimore but I'm not sure if he did the Aeneid, so based on these posts, I'm first looking at Mandelbaum and Fagles.

ETA - Like the Odyssey and Iliad earlier this year, I've only read passages here and there from the Aeneid but never the entire thing, so I'm looking forward to it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I'm in!

I need to find a good translation. I was hoping for Lattimore but I'm not sure if he did the Aeneid, so based on these posts, I'm first looking at Mandelbaum and Fagles.

ETA - Like the Odyssey and Iliad earlier this year, I've only read passages here and there from the Aeneid but never the entire thing, so I'm looking forward to it.

No, Lattimore didn't do the Aeneid, unfortunately. Like you, Lattimore is by far my favourite version of the Iliad and Odyssey.

For those who prefer a prose translation of the Aeneid, the Penguin Classics version by David West is perhaps the best, although personally I prefer the Fagles poetry version.

[paola]

I am back from holidays () and should have access to various translations from my library - the only thing is, not sure whether I can manage in two weeks, we'll see, but I'll definitely try and join in!

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by pholy

... Just no comments on why I've had a book or 50 for twenty-five years without reading it/them

Hi. Kettle! Nice to meet ya. My name is Pot.

I only start reading a book if I feel the urge for that particular one, just after I finish the previous one. I have a few of those twenty-five year old, unread books myself, that never grabbed me in one of those small windows in time. I just can't plan on reading any particular book ahead of time, so it's good to have lots of them in the TBR pile.

[Latinandgreek]

I'm all in! I will see if I can find a nice epub version in Latin. I do have a pbook version, but it is not with me at the moment, and I prefer ebooks.