Translating Virgil for modern readers is a demanding task, especially for the 21st century Spanish audience. At times, the great Latin poet’s masterpiece risked becoming too constrained when rendered into another language, and the delicate order of the sentences cherished by Latin writers looked to be altered. This layering of linguistic shifts often complicated the picture further.
The end result was a translation that stayed faithful, yet felt a touch rigid and harsh, forcing readers to explore a universe far removed from their own and difficult to grasp.
Yet the translator, Luis T. Bonmatí, who led the new edition presented by Reino de Cordelia, managed to find a balance. He did not simply render the work in decasyllabic lines from the original Latin. He also achieved a clearer, more fluid rhythm without sacrificing the epic tone that defines the Aeneid.
The outcome is a beautiful, more accessible Aeneid in a bilingual format that lets readers follow the Latin original on the bottom of the same page, providing direct reference to what Virgilio Marón wrote.
The Spanish publishing scene had been without an Aeneid that could loosen the stiffness of earlier translations. Here we have an illustrated edition from Madrid artist Federico del Barrio, spanning nearly 750 pages. The illustrations, reminiscent of classic European graphic magazines like Pilote, Totem, and Cimoc, exhibit a schematic, modern style and an originality that oddly suits this enduring classic of Roman literature.
In the reading section, there are explanatory notes on the characters and the development across the twelve books, which is particularly helpful given that Virgil’s epic begins in medias res and follows Aeneas through a sequence of adventures that anchor the narrative to its broader world.
The Aeneid, along with its predecessors the Odyssey and the Iliad, forms a triumvirate of ancient epic that remains remarkably interconnected. Virgil’s composition, set after the long arc of events in the Roman world, is traditionally tied to the legend of Rome’s origins and its heroism. The poet, celebrated for his Bucolics and Georgics, faced a monumental task under the auspices of Augustan sponsorship, a project that would link Rome’s beginnings to the heroic saga of Troy. This legendary commission, historically linked to Maecenas, marks a moment where poetry becomes a vehicle for national myth.
Virgil accepted the challenge with a perfectionist streak, composing nearly 10,000 lines of the Aeneid in the final years of his life, and passing away at fifty-one without a final revision. The poem traces Aeneas’s journey from the fall of Troy to the founding of a new Rome, as destiny and divine favor steer the wanderers through trials and triumphs that define Roman identity.
Aeneas and his companions flee Greek treachery and, aided by the gods, depart from Troy, beginning a voyage that will culminate in the birth of a new homeland for the Romans after a series of fateful events.
As a sample of this new translation, the following excerpt comes from Book Three, which depicts the moment the Trojan contingent faces a fierce storm just after leaving Crete and setting sail on uncertain seas:
«The clouds… imprison the light, set behind the dome of the sky on a night of water, as the sky roars and brightens with rays. He has already lost his way, We sail on blind waves, so the pilot Palinuro does not know if it is day or night, and cannot find the way between the waves.» [Citation: Virgil, Aeneid, Book III, translated by Bonmatí]
This rendering illustrates how the translator modernizes cadence without sacrificing the tone of the original epic, offering readers a route through the ancient tale that remains faithful to Virgil’s intent while ensuring comprehensibility for contemporary audiences.