Young Heretics
The classical education you never knew you were missing. Join scholar and writer Spencer Klavan on a tour through the great works of the West. In a world gone mad, we're not alone: the great men and women who went before us have wisdom to guide us. With their help, we can recover truth, beauty, and the stuff that matters.
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Is This the End of the Aeneid?
10/31/2025
Is This the End of the Aeneid?
It's time to talk about the shocking, the dramatic, the THRILLING and also, the kind of confusing end of Virgil's Aeneid. What a journey it's been! The story is never truly over, but as we leave Aeneas behind we have to ask--did Virgil mean for it to end this way? With Turnus' blood spilled ruthlessly on the ground and after that, the dark? Some say no--this is an incomplete ending that would have horrified the Emperor Augustus. I say yes--and Augustus would have been delighted. What do you say? Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Read my latest essay on AI cand ancient Jewish wisdom: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Doin' It Live
10/17/2025
Doin' It Live
The planets are aligning, the moment is almost here, the fates are sealed...or are they?? Today, in our penultimate episode, right as Aeneas looks poised to take up the mantle of his destiny and live out the greatness that Augustus will one day inherit, everything seems to fall apart. The Gods throw up their hands, and the Rutulians go ferociously to war against the Trojans. Can it be that Virgil actually doesn't want us to know what happens next? Can it be the future of Rome is not as guaranteed as it seemed to be? Find out on this episode--plus, advice for writers to hone their skills. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Read my latest essay on why AI can't do your writing for you: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Aeneas Gets a Hot Latina Baddie
10/06/2025
Aeneas Gets a Hot Latina Baddie
Today on Young Heretics: a violent and unjust seizure of indigenous land!!! At least, according to Juno and the Furies, goddesses of retribution and blood guilt. Actually, the situation in Rome and in the Aeneid is a lot more complicated than that, which is one reason why the conclusion of the poem is a refreshingly sophisticated antidote to our often-oversimplified conversations about history, territory, colonialism, and the sins of the past. Plus: a mailbag question about Charlie Kirk and Julius Caesar. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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THE PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED
09/15/2025
THE PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED
...And also, pizza. Kind of. This might be one of the coolest parts of Virgil ever, and even though I’ve been reading the Aeneid since high school, I feel like I only just figured it out. One of the most famous lines of the poem—forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit, “one day it will be pleasing to remember even these things—finds its answer in Book 7, when Aeneas arrives on shore and has to face the possibility of war with the, erm...indigenous Latinx peoples. So much to discuss, here, and a great mailbag question about how to deal with situations you can’t change. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Read my essay on why we should read in thea ge of AI:
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Make Love, Not War
08/29/2025
Make Love, Not War
And now for something completely different. The Odyssey portion of our tour is over, and the Iliad portion will now begin. But wait! Wasn't the Iliad a poem about war? And isn't Aeneas supposed to do battle for Latium? So why is it all sunshine, butterflies, and love goddesses? Today we launch into Part II of the poem with a passage that has bamboozled scholars for centuries, and of course I will deliver the definitive interpretation so that everyone can stop arguing. Plus: a plot summary of what's to come, and advice on reading classic literature if you're having trouble understanding it. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Listen to my sister's podcast, Storytime for Grownups: EPIC, the Musical: Stephen Fry, Odyssey: Gareth Hinds, The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel:
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Augustus to Virgil: Are you Mad at Me? 🥺
08/15/2025
Augustus to Virgil: Are you Mad at Me? 🥺
It's time we finally talked about the elephant in the room: does Virgil actually like Augustus? Or is he just pretending? This doesn't seem to have been much of a question in the ancient world--the commentator Servius wrote quite bluntly that "Virgil's intention was to imitate Homer and praise Augustus." But in the wake of the two world wars, scholars in the Anglosphere started to wonder whether there might not be a hint of menace behind Virgil's apparently rosy picture of imperial Rome. This week on Young Heretics: the definitive take on all this, plus recommendations for the best translation of the Odyssey. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Read my essay on translating Homer:
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Is There Life Out There?
08/01/2025
Is There Life Out There?
Everyone, everywhere, thinks about the afterlife. If you think you don't, you're wrong: you do. Because what you believe about life after death is an expression of how you think the universe is ordered, and whether you believe there's such a thing as ultimate justice. That in turn affects how you live--and almost no one has had a bigger impact on how we think about this in the West than Virgil. This week, we're going in--down through the Egyptian Book of the Dead, past the churning waters of the Babylonian afterlife, into the carefully mapped-out world of the Greco-Roman afterlife. Plus: one final, heartbreaking meeting with one of the poem's truly unforgettable characters. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Do You Even Prophesy, Bro?
07/18/2025
Do You Even Prophesy, Bro?
One of the West's great recurring characters, the Sibyl of Cumae, takes center stage today. Deranged, holy, prophetic, and apparently totally jacked, she guided Rome throughout its history and now teaches Aeneas what he must do to become the man who can found Rome. She may have been one of the pagan visionaires who prophesied the coming of Christ. Plus she's part of a crazy history that goes back to the invention of the alphabet and all the way to the creation of Star Wars. Then: another figure of speech you'll see everywhere once you learn it. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???
06/27/2025
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???
If, like me, you're still sore about what they did to the Gladiator franchise, let this episode be part of your healing journey. It's certainly part of Aeneas': with the fleet grounded back in Sicily, the crew realizes it's been one year since the death of his father Anchises. This is the occasion for a good old fashioned fight night, with funeral games in honor of the great patriarch. It's a connection between Rome's gladiatorial entertainments and the heroic passtimes of yore, a way for Aeneas to seek closure after his year of grief, and a pause between the emotional tryst with Dido and the biggest challenge yet: the descent into the underworld. More on ancient sports: Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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I Will Go Down with This Ship
06/10/2025
I Will Go Down with This Ship
There are some indelible scenes inscribed forever into the psyche of the West, and the death of Dido is one of them. When William Congreve wrote that "Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd," he surely had in mind this archetype of all scorned women, the tragic heroine who stands in for every abandoned lover and for an entire civilization. Aeneas--and Rome--must leave her ruthlessly in the dust. But no one knows how to guilt trip you like your ex, and no one knows how to remonstrate with Rome like Carthage. All the same, in the end...destiny awaits. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Judith Hallett, "Can Love Alleviate the Unseen Wounds of War?" "I'm Not Sorry for Loving You," from EPiC: Readings in Western Civilization from the University of Chicago Press:
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Once in Royal David's City, ft. Doron Spielman
05/29/2025
Once in Royal David's City, ft. Doron Spielman
Major Doron Spielman has dedicated much of his life to excavating the City of David, the ancient archaeological site just outside modern Jerusalem which confirms much of the Jewish history recorded in the Bible. It's an astonishing tale of theological warfare, cutting-edge scholarship, and contemporary politics that shows just how dramatically ancient and modern history sometimes converge. Major Spielman's NYT-bestselling book, When the Stones Speak, is rich with fascinating details about the impressive and ongoing effort to uncover the mysteries of ancient Jerusalem. Order When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David: Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Dido and Aeneas need Couples Therapy
05/23/2025
Dido and Aeneas need Couples Therapy
I'm not saying that the catastrophe in Carthage could have been avoided. I'm just saying, everyone--the two main characters especially--behaved very badly. Now the deed is done, the nymphs are ululating, the "wedding"(?) announcements are out, and the gods are on the move to put a stop to all this. Which means Aeneas has some hard conversations he has to have and he...punts. Not his proudest moment. But instructive for us and as always, beautiful, timeless poetry. Enjoy! Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Mean Girls
05/09/2025
Mean Girls
This is it: Book 4 of the Aeneid. The storm of love that's been brewing now breaks into full force. Two human sisters start flirting with disaster while two divine frenemies enter into a catty pseudo-alliance. It's a nuclear-grade meltdown of relations between the sexes, all taking place under the soaring vault of destiny. Dido transforms before our eyes into a deranged Greek tragic heroine on the model of Phaedra or Medea, while Juno and Venus find their power dynamic flipped on its head from what it used to be in Homer. It's master craftsmanship and master politics on Virgil's part...and hot tea for us. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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An Odyssey without an Ithaca
04/25/2025
An Odyssey without an Ithaca
Virgil, master of the setup, is now laying the groundwork for some of the Aeneid's major setpieces: the love affair with Dido, the voyage into the underworld. But first Aeneas has to pass a different milestone, one that people sometimes miss: he has to say goodbye to his father. It's one of the most human moments of the poem--something every single one of us has to go through--elevated to magisterial significance in the hero's journey. Follow along with us to the end of Book III as Aeneas enters a new stage in his adventure. Plus: a firsthand update from the Ivies after my trip to Ithaca to give a speech at Cornell. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Galileo: The Elon Musk of the Renaissance? Ft. Dr. Brian Keating
04/18/2025
Galileo: The Elon Musk of the Renaissance? Ft. Dr. Brian Keating
My friend Dr. Brian Keating, leading cosmologist and all-around mensch, joins me to discuss one of the most brilliant, complicated, and misunderstood men in all of Western history. No, not Elon Musk. Galileo Galilei! We cover Galileo's daring philosophy of science, his contributions to human knowledge, his devout Catholic faith, and his many, many mistresses and children. Plus: what can believers learn from scientists, and vice versa? It's a terrific conversation and the kind you could really only get on Young Heretics. DEADLINE TOMORROW: check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Find Dr. Keating's work at Listen to our interview on Into the Impossible: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com
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Who Says You Can't Go Home? Virgil Does.
04/11/2025
Who Says You Can't Go Home? Virgil Does.
It's time to embark on Book III of the Aeneid, and with it a mini-Odyssey. But there's a catch: Odysseus had home waiting for him at the end of all his wanderings. Aeneas has left home behind him, and he can never return. This episode is about why that's so important--for Virgil, for Augustus, for Rome at the dawn of its imperial age, and for America on the verge of its 250th birthday. Plus: my daily routine does not involve rubbing banana peel on my face. But it does involve the liturgy of the hours. 100/10 would recommend! Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Map of Aeneas' wanderings by Simeon Netchev: iBreviary: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, ft. Justin Brierley
04/04/2025
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, ft. Justin Brierley
I'm back from Hungary, where the topic of the day was the future of faith in the West, without which it seems unlikely we'll survive. But are we on the brink of a revival? There are some hopeful signs, and no one better to discuss them with than my guest today. Justin Brierley has been podcasting and writing about the return of religious faith for 20 years. The trends he's been watching all that time are suddenly coming to a remarkable prominence. We talked faith and politics in the U.S. and the U.K., how the church may have let men down, and where this is all going next. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Visit Justin's website: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Israel and Civilization, ft. Josh Hammer
03/25/2025
Israel and Civilization, ft. Josh Hammer
This is a podcast about the West, which means Athens and Jerusalem. Without the second part of that equation you don't get the key notion of the "Imago Dei," or mankind's creation in the image of God--and without that, arguably, that you don't get America. Then of course there's the enormous storehouse of political wisdom that makes Israel a bulwark against globalism both ancient and modern. All this makes it hugely distressing that antisemitism--philosophical, virulent, and open hatred of the Jews--has returned to prominence in developed nations. My guest today, Josh Hammer, has written a book explaining the indispensable value of Israel to the West, and to civilization more generally. We had a great conversation about the deep history and immediate future of the West. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Israel and Civilization (and rate it five stars): Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Listen to Josh's podcast:
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The One That Got Away: Creusa, Aeneas' AI Girlfriend
03/19/2025
The One That Got Away: Creusa, Aeneas' AI Girlfriend
Speaking just for myself, I'm still not over Creusa. Aeneas' first wife, the woman who bore the future forefather of Rome's emperors, must stay behind to die in Troy while her family forges on ahead. Today we'll talk about why that has to be, what it says about the tragic cost of destiny for each of us, and how book II of Virgil's epic concludes. Plus: the cast list for Christopher Nolan's Odyssey is out! My reaction to Zendaya as Athena, and a mailbag question about the legacy of Carthage. Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Tech and the Future of the Family, ft. Jon Askonas
03/13/2025
Tech and the Future of the Family, ft. Jon Askonas
We will not live in the pod. We will not eat the fake meat. We will not perform robot necromancy. But then...what should we do? With the Right in political power and a radically new mood sweeping the country, Jon Askonas of the Catholic University of America is among those thinking about how we can use technology well and in service of our humanity--not the other way around. I called him up to discuss a new First Things statement on preserving the family in the digital age. We talk AI, lab-grown meat, cursed robots, Soviet Ender's Game, Potempkin Dystopia, and so much more. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Follow Jon on X: Protoclone, the horrorbot: A New Technology Agenda for the Right, from First Things:
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After the End
03/05/2025
After the End
When we first met Aeneas, he wished he could have died at Troy. Today, we find out why. By all accounts, the honorable thing to do would have been to go down with the burning citadel of his fathers. But this ain't your daddy's Iliad, and one thing we're learning is that honor and glory don't fetch quite the price they used to. If there's anyone who understands that it's Neoptolemus, AKA Pyrrhus, AKA Achilles' hellspawn, AKA the living wages of Greek decadence. It's not a pretty sight. Plus: what should we make of the Septuagint? Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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Snakes on the Plain
02/26/2025
Snakes on the Plain
Hey look, it's some Greeks! Bearing gifts! What could possibly go wrong? Today the Trojans will find out the answer to that very question, which will take us (at last!) into the story of that freaking horse. In Virgil's masterful hands it becomes a parable of Greek rhetorical trickery, Odyssean danger, and above all Roman anxiety over just how we should feel about the Greeks. On the one hand, without them, there would be no Aeneid. On the other hand, they're...kinda sus. Plus: why you should read the Aeneid instead of letting Grok do it for you. Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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That's the Power of Love
02/20/2025
That's the Power of Love
Don't take money...don't take fame...just takes a primordial deity whose powers of creation and destruction supervised the origins of the world, who is now divebombing straight at Dido's heart. What could go wrong? This extremely twisted Valentine's Day special will bring us to the end of The Aeneid, Book 1, which ends in blood-pumping fashion with a moment of extreme sexual tension. In the midst of which, Aeneas will be asked to relive the time his home got obliterated by a ruthless army of bloodthirsty Greeks. Fun! (No actually, it's fun.) Plus: the Drake and Kendrick of the ancient world. Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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TarSHEESH
02/14/2025
TarSHEESH
Wail, O Tyre and...where now? Just where WAS Jonah going when he got re-routed via fish? The possibilities aren't limitless, exactly, but there sure are a lot of them including...just, like, the ocean itself? Nah, probalby not, but it's a fun thought and there are lots of others. It's one of those little Biblical mysteries that holds out all sorts of tantalizing possibilities. I can't tell you which one is definitely right, but I sure have a favorite. You asked, I answer: where is Tarshish? Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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They Say All's Fair
02/11/2025
They Say All's Fair
It's Aeneas and Dido: A Tale of Love and War. As we get into the first major episodes of Aeneas' journey, we embark upon an intricate composition of wheels within wheels--stories of carnage and battle interlocked with stories of desire, affection, and lust. From an explanation of ring composition via Harry Potter, to a Virgilian image that has changed poetry ever since, to a bonus segment on chiasmus and the clapper (you know, that thing you can use to turn your lights on and off) it's a jam-packed addition to our Aeneas series. Check out our Sponsor, The Ancient Language Institute: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag: Beatrice Groves on Ring Composition in Harry Potter:
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More than a Woman: Dido and Aeneas's Epic Love Affair
02/04/2025
More than a Woman: Dido and Aeneas's Epic Love Affair
Who's that dime walking down the temple corridor? Is it Juno? Venus? Diana? Cleopatra? No, it's Dido, queen of Carthage and warrior princess of Tyre. In this episode, Virgil introduces one of literature's all-time greatest heroines, high on her throne but doomed to fall. She's demure...or is she? She's mother...or not? Whatever she is, she's always a woman to me. And to Aeneas, who at this point can't do much more than stare at her like a dope. Use code HERETICS to get 20% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Subscribe to be in the mailbag:
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C.S. Lewis's Lost Aeneid
01/28/2025
C.S. Lewis's Lost Aeneid
When I tell you my finger smashed the "order now" button--apparently there's a fragmentary translation of the Aeneid by C.S. Lewis that he was working on all throughout his life. It's a rhyming version in 12-syllable Alexandrine lines, and you KNOW I had to do a review of it. Here are my thoughts, as well as a little more on Lewis's theory of epic and his lifelong relationship with Rome's greatest narrative poem. Use code HERETICS to get 10% off Field of Greens: Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Check out a new review of the book at Law and Liberty:
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I'm In Danger: Ralph Wiggum versus the Phoenicians
01/24/2025
I'm In Danger: Ralph Wiggum versus the Phoenicians
Of all the gin joints on all the shores of the Mediterranean, Aeneas had to wash up onto this one. He doesn't know it yet, but this is Carthage: the home of what will become Rome's greatest rival and the ultimate obstacle in her rise to greatness. The genius of Virgil is how he tells us all that while also showing us what things looked like from Aeneas' vantage point--before the clash of civilizations was made manifest, and when the immediate point at issue was where to get something to eat. Here's the key to understanding Virgil's opening moves. Use code HERETICS to get 10% off Field of Greens: The End of Everything, by Victor Davis Hanson: https://a.co/d/iCDan7I Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Check out a new review of the book at Law and Liberty:
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The Three Little Words no One Can Resist
01/21/2025
The Three Little Words no One Can Resist
If you've ever wanted to make the ladies or the fellas swoon with just three little words, now is your chance. I'm talking, of course, about the words "arma virumque cano." So few syllables, yet they say so much. In fact, they connect Virgil's epic to Rome and Greece, past and future, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the human and the divine realms, all at once. And each one is a kind of transformation of what went before it. Digging in deeper can help show the power of language and translation. It's time for another episode of words, words, words. Use code HERETICS to get 10% off Field of Greens: A helpful list of translations: . Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars):
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Aeneas: the Frodo of Epic Poetry
01/17/2025
Aeneas: the Frodo of Epic Poetry
Aeneas really, really does not want to be in this poem. As in, he would rather be dead. That's how the Aeneid starts out: when we're introduced to our hero he's a very unwilling participant in a grand plan for world history, and he doesn't feel remotely up to the task. Virgil might have felt the same way, crushed under the political and artistic pressure of telling a founding story for Rome's new era. Which makes this a perfect time to read the poem, as a troubled America gets ready to celebrate 250 years since its own founding. Use code HERETICS to get 10% off Field of Greens: A helpful list of translations: . Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): Mailbag: Check out , by Derek Walcott
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