The Aeneid (1P)

Virgil's Aeneid is the epic of Western civilization just as Homer`s Iliad and Odyssey are the epics of Greek culture. The poem tells of the remote past, the world of Homer`s heroes, in order to be able to speak of the present and future of Augustan Rome. Virgil was chosen by Caesar Augustus to write a poem that would glorify Rome. The Aeneid is intense in its graphic and stirring expression of intense human experiences from fast-paced gory war scenes to tender stories of love. Fitzgerald's translation is excellent, particularly due to the outstanding glossary and postscript. Soft 445p