The Aeneid

I originally checked out a verse form of The Aeneid the same time I checked out The Ambassadors. I also thought it would be a good idea to check out a book on Classical literature, and this book contained a summary of all the different books. This helped me slash my way through the first 4 books. I was able to understand the plot only by reading the summary after reading the book. Eventually, I had to turn the book in without finishing it.
Where I live, there's a fabulous used book store downtown. Occasionally, My husband and I will mosey around and find some real treasures for cheap. I purchased a paperback prose form version of The Aeneid for about 39 cents. Reading this went much smoother. The translator pointed out in his introduction that he tried to maintain the voice of Vorgil throughout his translation, and not letting it get lost in the fact it was now transcribed in prose as opposed to the usual verse.
It was still incredibly boring in places. But I was able to visualize the story and follow everything that was going on. Virgil really got into war depictions. The last half of The Aeneid was battle after battle with some of the goriest descriptions I've ever read. I'm not one for blood and guts. The paragraph long explanations of how "so-and-so-theus" spilled the miry brains of "what's-his-bucket-son-of-ladida-ominus" onto the battlefiels already slippery with the warm blood of dozens of Trojans... fascinated me and turned my stomach.
This was a story I would love to have heard Virgil reiterate live. I'm sure it would have been a splendid performance. The Aeneid piqued my curiosity for ancient Greek and Roman literature. I can't wait to get to The Illiad and The Odessy. In the meantime, I will have to read Edith Hamilton's Mythology to even better understand the gods and all their twisted relationships.