The reason that I picked up this Latin epic book (Yes, what I read did not seem to be a poem, at least to me, but just a splendid translation) is the The reason that I picked up this Latin epic book (Yes, what I read did not seem to be a poem, at least to me, but just a splendid translation) is the countless inter-textual references to this mythology book in the books I previously read. And I was not even half-satisfied to find none of them in this translation, in that sense. But, coming to this translation:
"Can there be so much anger in the hearts of the heavenly gods?"
The above line just summarizes the whole story of prophetic wanderings and wars of Aeneas, a Trojan who was forced to leave his own land Troy with his arms, men, father, and son, and a sign from the above. The divine interventions he encounters are always mixed blessings. While his mother Venus comes to aid during his hard times, the mother of gods, Juno always contrives some disastrous plan against him, reasons for which I am quite uncertain. "Women are unstable creatures, always changing!", says Mercury who comes in rescue of Aeneas from that nuptial trap of Dido.
As Aeneas sets sailing, hardships, rough weather, and unfortunate deaths that befall him are countless, inexorable, and irrevocable. All credits to the relentless efforts of Juno and the oversight of the god of gods. When the rumor does her part to bring unforeseen troubles to the ill-fated and embittered Aeneas and his son Ascanius from faraway lands and distant enemies, the god of war, Mars feels a pinching responsibility for his divine position and breaks all hell loose in the name of war on the poor mortals who try to endure all difficulties hoping on the divine destiny.
The wars, wanderings, and wraths seem to continue: Treaties are broken, wars are waged, lands are ransacked, ships are wrecked, fathers are broken, mothers are heart-wrenched, sons are killed, daughters are sullied and animals are slaughtered. Are the gods satisfied?
What I like much about the book are the vivid narrations of misery of fathers who sent their sons to war, and mothers whose sons went to war without telling them. What I don't like about the book are the countless sacrifices, mostly oxen or sheep or swine or sometimes even opponent soldiers or anything with head or something in hundreds or more. The only times when there were no hints of sacrifices were when they coughed or farted. Oh, forgive me, it is just my level of understanding on sacrifices or anything of that sort is very low.
So, if you want to know what happens to the guy who gets the sword from Orlando Bloom i.e. Paris from the TROY movie at the end, you might want to check this out. Well, hey! there is HOMER, too! ...more
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