Virgil's Aeneid and the Epic of Empire

The Aeneid is an epic poem written by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. It tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero who escapes the fall of Troy and leads his people to Italy, where he becomes the ancestor of the Romans. The Aeneid is not only a masterpiece of Latin literature, but also a political propaganda that celebrates the glory and destiny of Rome under the rule of Augustus, the first emperor. In this lecture, you will learn about the historical and cultural context of the Aeneid, the literary features and themes of the epic, and the influence and legacy of the Aeneid on Western civilization. This lecture is part of a series called The Western Literary Canon in Context, which covers the most important and influential works of literature from ancient times to the present.