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 Aenid 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. A literature guide for this book is part of the Heroes of the City of Man. A literature guide for this book is part of the Heroes of the City of Man. Soft 445p