Virgil’s Aeneid Retold for Young Adults

After ten years of war, Troy has fallen to the Greeks. Now, the hero Aeneas leads the Trojan refugees on a quest to establish a new homeland. The son of the goddess Venus, Aeneas knows he must build the city that will one day become Rome. Over two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Virgil wrote the epic chronicling this Trojan hero’s wanderings and battles. While stories about the dictates of fate and about gods helping their children may seem old-fashioned, the story still speaks to the issues of our times, issues of war and peace, love and loss, duty and pleasure, privilege and self-determination, the triumph of battles won and the tragedy of battles lost, new countries founded on lands occupied by others and immigrants excluded by established residents. In the tradition of Black Ships Before Troy, Virgil’s Aeneid Retold for Young Adults offers a fresh retelling of the myth in modern English. Preserving the order and major events and characters of the original, this book makes the Aeneid accessible to readers unfamiliar with the grand poetic style and length of ancient epic. The author, who has taught high-school students since 2000, creates more realistic dialogue and shortens sections where students often get bogged down. Descriptions, particularly those of the battle scenes, seek to clarify parts of the original that can be difficult to visualize. The occasional inclusion of an oft-used phrase from epic poetry helps to preserve the tone and atmosphere of the Aeneid. The book includes discussion questions to help readers begin to think about themes, characterization, and literary technique. A number of the questions ask readers to think about the situations and motivations of minor characters, such as Iarbas and Amata, and the leadership qualities of Dido. Also included is an extensive glossary describing major characters and providing the pronunciation of their names, which students preparing to read Virgil’s poem in their English o