The cover of the ReadingRate edition of Aeneid

ReadingRate edition

Aeneid

Virgil, c. 19 BCE

430 pages · 107,489 words · about 9 hours · regard 93 of 100

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Virgil's Aeneid chronicles the Trojan hero Aeneas's flight from burning Troy and his seven-year odyssey to found Rome. The epic opens with Aeneas storm-tossed to Carthage, where Queen Dido falls tragically in love with him. Compelled by fate and divine command, Aeneas abandons Dido, who immolates herself in despair. After descending to the underworld where his father Anchises reveals Rome's glorious future, Aeneas reaches Italy. There he must fight the Rutulians led by Turnus to claim his destined bride Lavinia and establish the Trojan line that will culminate in Augustus Caesar. The twelve books balance Homeric adventure with Roman political ideology, interweaving prophetic visions of imperial destiny with intimate human suffering. Written under Augustus's patronage, the epic legitimates Roman power while questioning whether glory justifies the sacrifices it demands.

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