The Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. Written by the Roman poet Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. The first six of the poem’s twelve books tell the story of Aeneas’ wanderings from Troy to Italy and the poem’s second half tells of the Trojans’ ultimately victorious war upon the Latins under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed.The hero Aeneas who flees his city after its fall with his father Anchises and his young son Ascanius—for Aeneas is destined to found Rome and father the Roman race. As Aeneas journeys closer to his goal he must first prove his worth and attain the maturity necessary for such an illustrious task. He battles raging storms in the Mediterranean encounters the fearsome Cyclopes falls in love with Dido Queen of Carthage travels into the Underworld and wages war in Italy.The Aeneid is widely regarded as Virgil’s masterpiece and one of the greatest works of Latin literature.