This week marks the start of our reading of The Aeneid. Two things really struck me when I started this week's reading. First - how different Virgil's prose is from Homer's. Second - how distracted I got trying to map the Roman god's names back to their Greek counterparts. It took most of these two books to set them straight again. If this happened to you too, don't forget to check out 'The Aeneid Begins' post for a handy guide to help keep the names straight.

As always summaries are below and questions are in the comments.

Book 1

The tale opens with Virgil stating that the poem is about war and Aeneas, the man who leaves Troy to found Lavinium. Juno (Hera) has it out for the Trojans who try to flee Troy for Italy after their defeat by the Greeks. Juno mentions that a man on one o the ships is fated to found the city that will overthrow her favourite city, Carthage. She pleads to Jupiter (Zeus) to destroy the Trojan fleet, and he obliges her. Most of the fleet it wrecked. However, Aeneas and his crew manage to find safety on the African coast near Carthage.

Venus (Aphrodite) pleads with Jupiter to keep his promise and allow the Trojans to reach Italy. Jupiter tells Venus not to worry and that her son Aeneas would found Lavinium and his descendants will usher in an age of peace.

Mercury (Hermes) goes to Carthage to ensure Queen Dido welcomes Aeneas. Dido prepares a banquet in Aeneas's honour. Venus sends Cupid as a replacement for Ascanius, so Cupid can fill Dido's heart with love for Aeneas.

Book 2

Aeneas reluctantly tells Dido his account of the fall of Troy. He describes the tenth year of the war when the Greeks built a wooden horse as an offering to Minerva (Athena) for safe passage home, but instead it was filled with their best warriors, including Ulysses (Odysseus).

Fooled, the Trojans brought the horse into the city. Laocoon speared the wooden horse to try to prove it was a trap. A Greek captive, Simon, says he deserted the army when he learned he was to be sacrificed. This was a lie, Simon was a plant to deceive the Trojans.

That night, the warriors descended from the Trojan horse, the fleet returned, and Troy was sacked.

Aeneas saw Hector in a dream, and Hector told him to seek a new city for the Trojans. Aeneas first tries to fight but ultimately decides to flee Troy for Italy.