3d:I[58016,["/_next/static/chunks/0jjo8hz~ewue4.js","/_next/static/chunks/0abq8zp15pmva.js","/_next/static/chunks/05gz47kazl1ze.js","/_next/static/chunks/139o5utivfajl.js","/_next/static/chunks/0a~e7k..h6jfc.js","/_next/static/chunks/0d1e9m2ig9v3v.js","/_next/static/chunks/0fg30bidui1gn.js","/_next/static/chunks/0rizq9ux3s1w3.js","/_next/static/chunks/0bbc2ioe2xmkf.js","/_next/static/chunks/0z7avafhgjcyr.js"],"ProcessEpisodeButton"] 3f:I[185,["/_next/static/chunks/0jjo8hz~ewue4.js","/_next/static/chunks/0abq8zp15pmva.js","/_next/static/chunks/05gz47kazl1ze.js","/_next/static/chunks/139o5utivfajl.js","/_next/static/chunks/0a~e7k..h6jfc.js","/_next/static/chunks/0d1e9m2ig9v3v.js","/_next/static/chunks/0fg30bidui1gn.js","/_next/static/chunks/0rizq9ux3s1w3.js","/_next/static/chunks/0bbc2ioe2xmkf.js","/_next/static/chunks/0z7avafhgjcyr.js"],"SendEmailButton"] 40:I[45269,["/_next/static/chunks/0jjo8hz~ewue4.js","/_next/static/chunks/0abq8zp15pmva.js","/_next/static/chunks/05gz47kazl1ze.js","/_next/static/chunks/139o5utivfajl.js","/_next/static/chunks/0a~e7k..h6jfc.js","/_next/static/chunks/0d1e9m2ig9v3v.js","/_next/static/chunks/0fg30bidui1gn.js","/_next/static/chunks/0rizq9ux3s1w3.js","/_next/static/chunks/0bbc2ioe2xmkf.js","/_next/static/chunks/0z7avafhgjcyr.js"],"SignupCTA"] 35:["$","svg",null,{"className":"w-4 h-4","fill":"none","stroke":"currentColor","viewBox":"0 0 24 24","children":["$","path",null,{"strokeLinecap":"round","strokeLinejoin":"round","strokeWidth":2,"d":"M8 7V3m8 4V3m-9 8h10M5 21h14a2 2 0 002-2V7a2 2 0 00-2-2H5a2 2 0 00-2 2v12a2 2 0 002 2z"}]}] 36:["$","time",null,{"dateTime":"2025-01-17T13:26:00.000Z","children":"Fri Jan 17 2025"}] 37:["$","p",null,{"className":"text-base text-foreground/80 leading-relaxed","children":"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..."}] 3e:T52e,

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.

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A helpful list of translations: https://foundinantiquity.com/2023/12/05/do-we-have-too-many-english-translations-of-the-aeneid/#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20there%20is%20not,English%20translations%20of%20the%20Aeneid.

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Aeneas: the Frodo of Epic Poetry