Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BCE) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is written in dactylic hexameter.

Influence

The Aeneid is one of a small group of writings from Latin literature that has traditionally been required for students of Latin. Traditionally, after reading the works of Julius Caesar, Cicero, Ovid and Catullus, students would then read the Aeneid. As a result, many phrases from this poem entered the Latin language, much as passages from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope have entered the English language. One example is from Aeneas' reaction to a painting of the sack of Troy: Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt ? "There tears for the mortal way of the world brush our minds." (Aeneid I, 462) ({{perseus|Verg.|A.|1.462}}).

Related Topics:
Latin literature - Latin - Julius Caesar - Cicero - Ovid - Catullus - Shakespeare - Alexander Pope - English language - Sack of Troy

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