Aeneid

Vergil's "Aeneid" was written in 12 books in the last years of the poet's life (29-19 BC) and was designed as a national epic of Rome. The tenth book, which contains some of the poem's most dramatic war-narrative, has been relatively neglected by Vergilian scholars. This edition aims to explain Vergil's text for the modern reader. An introduction examines the literary aspects of the work and the scholarly commentary assesses Vegil's skill as a Latin poet and his use of literary models (especially the "Iliad" of Homer). There is also some discussion of the interpretational problems of the "Aeneid" raised in Book 10. The Latin text is reproduced from R.A.B.Mynor's edition in the Oxford Classical Texts series. A facing English translation is included to make the text accessible to those with no knowledge of Latin.