After the gods had seen fit to destroy Asia’s power
and Priam’s innocent people, and proud Ilium had fallen,
and all of Neptune’s Troy breathed smoke from the soil,
we were driven by the gods’ prophecies to search out
distant exile, and deserted lands, and we built a fleet
below Antandros and the peaks of Phrygian Ida, unsure
where fate would carry us, or where we’d be allowed to settle,
and we gathered our forces together. Summer had barely begun,
when Anchises, my father, ordered us to set sail with destiny:
I left my native shore with tears, the harbour and the fields
where Troy once stood. I travelled the deep, an exile,
with my friends and my son, and the great gods of our house.
(Aeneid 3.1–12, translated by A.S. Kline)
Back in December 2015 the Book Club read Books 1 and 2 of Virgil’s Aeneid, which ended with the fall of Troy and the escape of Aeneas. And last month we read selections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which included an account of part of the same mythological episode.
This month the selection picks up the story of Aeneas on his wanderings, and his encounter with Dido—Aeneid Books 3 and 4.
You can read any translation you like. Here are links to some free online versions:
- A.S. Kline—available to download in various formats
- Theodore C. Williams—on Perseus
- John Dryden—on Perseus
The Latin text is also available on Perseus.
The discussion starts in the forum, here, and the Google+ Hangout will be on Tuesday, February 28th, at 11 a.m. EST.
Happy readings!