To Hell and Back

This is a book for people who love a good story--this story has truly stood the test of time. Millions of people continue to discover it and love it, generation after generation, even 2,050 after it was first made available to the public. It's about the hero's quest; it's about a good man dealing with incredibly difficult decisions. If you've always wondered who Aeneas was, who Dido was, what all the famous artwork is about, and what the opera Dido and Aeneas is about--this book will give you all the background, in easy-to-read language. If you're looking for a book that's a page-turner, that has characters who stay in your imagination long after you've finished reading, then this is the book for you. Below is an excerpt: -- This story is about a man-Aeneas-who endured hardships on sea and land to fulfill his destiny and establish a city that would become the epicenter of a vast and mighty empire. The gods had blessed Aeneas with courage, strength, beauty, humility, wisdom, and skill in warfare. He was the one who had been chosen to father a race of men who would one day rule the world. The goddess Hera, wife to Zeus, had a deep and abiding hatred for the Trojans. Long ago, in a beauty contest for goddesses, a Trojan named Paris had failed to select Hera as the winner, wounding Hera's pride and profoundly offending her. At another point in the past, a beautiful Trojan man named Ganymede had stolen the hearts of many gods, Zeus among them. This was another offense that Hera could not forgive. And there was the prophecy stating that the city that Aeneas planned to establish would one day destroy Hera's beloved city of Carthage. For all these reasons, Hera devoted herself to thwarting the Trojans at every opportunity. Her fondest wish was to eliminate every last Trojan from the Earth. Aeneas and his brave Trojan refugees, from their ships, spotted the coast of Italy in the distance. Finally! After years spent traveling-years facing obstacles and dealing with setbacks-they were now about to reach their destination. Hera, seeing this, became enraged. Desperate to stop them, she thought of the various ways she could annihilate this stubborn Trojan remnant once and for all. Hera visited King Aeolus and asked him to send a storm that would sink all of Aeneas' ships. King Aeolus had been designated by Zeus as the keeper the Earth's winds. To keep the Earth safe, King Aeolus kept the winds locked in a mountain. In exchange for Aeolus' help, Hera promised to give him a nymph he had long loved. Aeolus pounded the mountain one time with his fist, and a portal opened up in the rock. The two strongest winds-Eastwind and Southwind-came screaming out, furious at having been locked away so long, and eager to do as much damage as possible in the shortest amount of time. They immediately swept towards Aeneas' ships. Aeneas and his companions saw the clouds thicken suddenly. Where there had been sunlight, now there was darkness. They felt the boat lift up, lurch to the side, and then sink down freefalling in a twenty-foot swell. Without the slightest warning or signal, they found themselves in the midst of a hurricane! Aeneas tried to keep an eye on the other ships, but the swells and the walls of crashing water made it impossible. All he could do was hear. He heard the shouts of his men as they fought to survive the storm. He heard the screams and cries of others as they were pulled overboard by the angry sea. He heard ropes snapping and breaking. He heard wood creaking and cracking. Above it all he heard the roar of the storm, the wind and water pounding his ship again and again. -- Experience the unforgettable story for yourself!