The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil c. 29 B.C. Its story takes place shortly after Homer's The Illiad with the fall of Troy c. 1250 B.C.. Aeneas, royal descendant of the King of Troy, escapes with his soldiers and family in search of a new home, their old kingdom destroyed by the deceptive Greeks. 
 Aeneas's journey is reminiscent of Odysseus's in Homer's The Odyssey; although personally I find Aeneas's story somewhat pales in comparison. Don't get me wrong, Aeneas is a great leader, filled with wisdom, valor, and strength in battle. The descriptions of his exploits are filled with action and awe-inspiring poeticism. Also, Aeneas is a fleshed out character filled with numerous weaknesses along with his strengths. 
 It is also fascinating that Aeneas is an immortal. His mother is Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Aeneas is also blessed by Neptune, yet he is hated by Juno because it is fated that Aeneas would one day bring about the destruction of Carthage, her beloved city. If you are a lover of mythology, you will greatly appreciate the roles the gods and goddesses openly play in the events of this poem. I particularly love the personifications of the divine aspects of Fate, Desire, and Rumor. Rumor herself is particularly frightening. She is a monstrous winged creature that brings about chaos and destroys with no emotion but anger... 
 "Pinioned, with an eye beneath for every body feather, and strange to say, as many tongues and buzzing mouths as eyes, as many pricked-up ears, by night she flies between the earth and heaven shrieking through darkness, and she never turns her eye-lids down to sleep." 
 I shudder to think of such a creature. 
 If you're a fan of Greek and Roman mythology, I strongly recommend reading this book; however, be warned. I feel the book bogs down in the second half of the epic poem during the deadly war between the Trojans and the Latins. Sure, it's violent and gory, and possibly many war-lovers out there will love these passages. Personally, I am not a fan of war, so reading the descriptions of so and so being beheaded by so and so grew old fast, and it stretches on like this for 100 or so pages. 
 Also, Virgil portrays the story somewhat backwards. Fate plays a huge role in The Aeneid and we hear time and time again how Aeneas is fated to win against the Latins and later become the Father of Rome. Personally, I don't find it very exciting reading a story where Destiny plays such a strong role in a hero's victory. Stories always seem much more intriguing when the future is cloudy, as opposed to being clearly defined. Had descriptions of Aeneas's fated victory been removed from the text, I feel like the battle between Aeneas and Turnus would be much more exciting. 
 Although, the book does get good again when Virgil describes the battling Camilla, young warrior, adept at sword, javelin, and bow and arrow. She kills numerous men on the battlefield and each line describing her fighting prowess is utterly amazing. Xena Warrior Princess, eat your heart out! 
 All in all, I do recommend reading The Aeneid. It should be important to note that Virgil did die before he could complete the epic poem, so it does read incomplete. However, when it's good it's good, and when it's not so good, you can possibly skim it over. It's really close to being a 4. You can just taste it. But yeah, please read it, and I'm curious what you all think.