Description

On his deathbed in 19 BCE, Vergil asked that his epic, the Aeneid, be burned and not published. If his wishes had been obeyed, western literature – and maybe even western civilization – might have taken a different course.

The Aeneid has remained a key text of university courses since the rise of universities, and has been invoked at key points of human history – whether by Saint Augustine to illustrate the fallen nature of the soul, by settlers to justify manifest destiny in North America, or by Mussolini in support of his Fascist regime.

In this fresh and fast-paced translation of the Aeneid, Shadi Bartsch brings the poem to the modern reader. Along with the translation, her introduction will guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the epic’s enduring influence.

Publisher Review

This ambitious and successful translation is probably the best version of the Aeneid in modern English ... this is not a translation just for scholars: Bartsch writes clear, vivid, concise lines that read well and read rapidly ... Readers, teachers, and students will find the kind of translation they need for private reading or a classroom encounter with the poem, and many scholars may find as I have that Bartsch has noticed things in the Latin that they have been overlooking. -- Professor Jim O'Hara, George L. Paddison Professor of Latin University of North Carolina This translation is alive. Very readable, a great boon to students, and, of course, it feels a lot more like hexameter than the usual too-long line. And devoid of translationese, which is so wonderful. Plain and strong. What a feat! -- Amy Richlin A tight, readable translation with a welcome feminist outlook and savvy engagement with the poem's political and imperial themes and imperialist legacy. Its natural iambic voice, clear language, and faithfulness to the tight, fast-moving pace of Virgil's original make it a refreshing way for modern audiences to access the Aeneid's power. -- Ada Palmer, award-winning author of 'Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance' and the 'Terra Ignota' series