Book description
Virgil's Aeneid, inspired by Homer and inspiration for Dante and
Milton, is an immortal poem at the heart of Western life and culture.
Virgil took as his hero Aeneas, legendary survivor of the fall of Troy
and father of the Roman race, and in telling a story of dispossession
and defeat, love and war, he portrayed human life in all its nobility
and suffering.
Virgil (70-19BC) studied rhetoric and philosophy in Rome where he
became a court poet. As well as The Aeneid, his Eclogues earned him
the reputation as the finest Latin poet.
Before his retirement, David West taught Classics at the University
of Newcastle.
