The Aeneid

The Aeneid is Virgils Masterpiece. His epic poem recounts the story of Romes legendary origins from the ashes of Troy and proclaims her destiny of world dominion. This optimistic vision is accompanied by an undertow of sadness at the price that must be paid in human suffering to secure Romes future greatness. The tension between the public voice of celebration and the tragic private voice is given full expression both in the doomed love of Dido and Aeneas, and in the fateful clash between the Trojan leader and the Italian hero, Turnus. Hailed by T.S. Eliot as the classic of all Europe, Virgils Aeneid has enjoyed a unique and enduring influence on European literature, art and politics for the past two thousand years.