Translation from Latin and Ancient Greek — the throughline between Ollie's classical study and their work on stage. Source and rendering, side by side, so a reader can see the choices behind each line.
The Aeneid — a new translation
In summer 2026, Ollie began a new English translation of Virgil's Aeneid as a research project with Professor Danielle La Londe in the Centre College Classics Department. The work approaches Virgil's epic with an ear for how the lines move and speak aloud — fidelity to the Latin, but with the music and playability that carry a text off the page. See the academic background on the Scholarship page →
Virgil, Aeneid — Book I: Juno & Carthage
Latin
Urbs antīqua fuit, Tyriī tenuēre colōnī,
Karthāgō, Ītaliam contrā Tiberīnaque longē
ōstia, dīves opum studiīsque asperrima bellī,
quam Iūnō fertur terrīs magis omnibus ūnam
posthabitā coluisse Samō; hīc illius arma,
hīc currus fuit; hōc rēgnum dea gentibus esse,
sī quā Fāta sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.
Prōgeniem sed enim Trōiānō ā sanguine dūcī
audierat, Tyriās olim quae verteret arcēs;
hinc populum lātē regem bellōque superbum
ventūrum excidiō Libyae: sīc volvere Parcās.
Id metuēns, veterisque memor Sāturnia bellī,
prīma quod ad Trōiam prō cārīs gesserat Argīs—
necdum etiam causae īrārum saevīque dolōrēs
exciderant animō: manet altā mente repostum
iūdicium Paridis sprētaeque iniūria fōrmae,
et genus invīsum, et raptī Ganymēdis honōrēs.
Hīs accēnsa super, iactātōs aequore tōtō
Trōas, rēliquiās Danaum atque immītis Achillī,
arcēbat longē Latiō, multōsque per annōs
errābant, āctī Fātīs, maria omnia circum.
Ollie's translation
“I never meant to be the villain of his story. I simply seek justice.”
The queen of the gods looked down from her throne upon the world of humankind, from the towers of Athens in Greece all the way to the ruins of Troy, to the newfound kingdom in Sicily and the gurgling mouth of the yet uncultivated Tiber river, and Juno’s eyes softened as they landed upon her favorite: the Libyan Carthage. It was a fruitful land teeming with bright-eyed settlers, and it was here that Juno stationed her divine chariot to rest. If she had her way, Carthage’s empire would know no bound, and would grow to encompass the entirety of the world.
That was if she had her way, of course. But Fate had another plan. The prophecy stated that an offspring from the blood of Troy would fester and proliferate until he had created a proud people strong enough to overthrow the citadels of Carthage. The destruction of Libya was written in the stars; thus had the Fates decreed.
Juno had heard this prophecy a hundred times. And Juno disagreed.